SherrieT
senior
@mlwreader - And I am looking forward to hearing about the move and your new life 
Bilateral TKR Second Year Progress
- Thread starter mlwreader
- Start date
I have found that any movement lifting my tkr leg to the side is painful. It might be it's just the nature of these new knees. They will never be as flexible as the old knee. I can't even sit with my foot across my old knee. That's really painful for my new knee. As for swelling, I still do sometimes. Not bad, but noticeable. I think your painful knee probably had a lot more damage than your other one and is still angry.
OP
OP
mlwreader
senior
@sistersinhim Thank you for your response. So comforting to know someone else has had this and your comment about my lefty being more damaged than righty is spot on. In fact when my surgeon came and spoke to my son after surgery, he told my son exactly that - the left knee had a lot more problems than the pre-surgery X-ray had shown. Taking a deep breath. 
skigirl
Former BoneSmart staff member
- Joined
- May 5, 2009
- Messages
- 13,594
- Age
- 82
- Location
- Minneapolis, MN
- Gender
- Female
- Country
United States
I don't think it is at all unusual to have swelling at 5 months. We are sometimes led to believe that we will be right at rain at 3 months. But, in fact, I had swelling for almost a year-- but usually after some bigger activity. For instance, I could ski a half day no swelling, but if it was a powder day and i stayed out for a full day, there would be swelling. I found that I iced and elevated to get rid of it.
Elevation is the key to controlling pain and swelling
Elevation is the key to controlling pain and swelling
Swelling at 5 months was not unusual for me. It was at 10 months when I began to firmly have noticeably long spells of my legs feeling quite good! That was a real plateau. It gets better and better. At one year now im feeling better than I have for years!
Of course I expected to be this healed at 6 weeks. Then 3 months or 6 months etc. sheesh! Ignore the milestone expectations!! There’s SO much healing to be done, that surgery is very brutal so be patient.
And my left knee has always been behind the right. My surgeon told me while the right was more classically “arthritic “ it was breezy compared to the left knee, which he said needed “a lot” more work. I get preachy about icing and elevating. Don’t undervalue them!
The swelling does diminish over time.
Of course I expected to be this healed at 6 weeks. Then 3 months or 6 months etc. sheesh! Ignore the milestone expectations!! There’s SO much healing to be done, that surgery is very brutal so be patient.
And my left knee has always been behind the right. My surgeon told me while the right was more classically “arthritic “ it was breezy compared to the left knee, which he said needed “a lot” more work. I get preachy about icing and elevating. Don’t undervalue them!
The swelling does diminish over time.
OP
OP
mlwreader
senior
Thanks @Ricki, that is so encouraging. Too bad we can't take a patience pill - haha.
I used to live in Glendale - the one near LA. I loved my apartment and used to see deer when I'd come out my door in the morning. And I watched a family of raccoons march across the roof of the flat-topped garage out the window from my living room. And I had a stare down with a coyote one day when I was walking to the laundry room. It was a great experience living there, and I have many fond memories. Great little city, but for the smog.
I used to live in Glendale - the one near LA. I loved my apartment and used to see deer when I'd come out my door in the morning. And I watched a family of raccoons march across the roof of the flat-topped garage out the window from my living room. And I had a stare down with a coyote one day when I was walking to the laundry room. It was a great experience living there, and I have many fond memories. Great little city, but for the smog.
SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
My left knee lagged my right for many months. It still does lag, but not in any truly problematic way; just enough for me to notice. My OS told me Lefty had more damage than Righty, which I already knew given Lefty was so much more painful. In any event, OS had to do more work on Lefty, including some soft tissue trimming and fixing. Bone spurs had apparently torn things up a bit. So it's no wonder Lefty gave me more problems even after surgery.
I think that's why it's important to remember each knee is undergoing it's own recovery. We BTKRs simply have two TKRs going on at the same time. Each knee will take as long as it takes. Each knee will tell us different things about the amount or type of exercise we do. Righty was all about bending and stretching and gung ho about walking. Lefty... didn't like much of anything. I had to baby Lefty along. Eventually I realized Lefty was simply behind Righty. Lefty got to all the same goals and milestones. Lefty just got there two months later.
Now that I am nine months out from surgery, Lefty is almost at the same place as Righty. Only I can tell. When Lefty bends (just as far as Righty, just as fluidly and just as well), there's twinge of pain in the same spot on the medial side below knee as there was from the beginning. It's not much of a pain. It's just there. I think it will go away entirely soon. I still ice on occasion, Lefty only.
The swelling will go away. It just takes time. I only recently, in the last week, when putting an a dress, noticed my knees are "slimmer." That was a pleasant surprise!
I think that's why it's important to remember each knee is undergoing it's own recovery. We BTKRs simply have two TKRs going on at the same time. Each knee will take as long as it takes. Each knee will tell us different things about the amount or type of exercise we do. Righty was all about bending and stretching and gung ho about walking. Lefty... didn't like much of anything. I had to baby Lefty along. Eventually I realized Lefty was simply behind Righty. Lefty got to all the same goals and milestones. Lefty just got there two months later.
Now that I am nine months out from surgery, Lefty is almost at the same place as Righty. Only I can tell. When Lefty bends (just as far as Righty, just as fluidly and just as well), there's twinge of pain in the same spot on the medial side below knee as there was from the beginning. It's not much of a pain. It's just there. I think it will go away entirely soon. I still ice on occasion, Lefty only.
The swelling will go away. It just takes time. I only recently, in the last week, when putting an a dress, noticed my knees are "slimmer." That was a pleasant surprise!
OP
OP
mlwreader
senior
Today (Feb. 11) is my official five month kneeversary. I've come a long way, baby! I had lunch with the lady who has been my knee roll model this week. She and I went to college together many moons ago, back in New England. She's my only college friend out here on the left coast. Anyway, she had btkr six years ago, and referred me to my surgeon.
In discussing our motivations to get the surgery, I told her that prior to making up my mind to do it, I felt as though my back was up against the wall in terms of quality of life. I had pretty good health after a melanoma scare in my late 50's, (normal blood pressure, high cholesterol, fibromyalgia) I had work I thoroughly enjoyed doing, I was independent, had good friends, five beautiful grandchildren, and yet I was living in so much pain. At first it was just the right knee, but then last spring my left knee completely blew up, I was in so much pain I had to go to the ER via ambulance, and after that was unable to walk without a walker, and could put very little weight on lefty at all. I sat here in my living room and thought to myself - is this it? Is this going to be my life from now on? I was already scheduled to have righty done, but I wanted more. I wanted my life back. I'm not a big sports person, but I loved to walk the beach trail, which I could no longer do. And I enjoyed my water exercise class in our gorgeous aquatics center, but with both legs shot, I was too scared and the knees hurt too much. I knew that there were no guarantees with this surgery, but I just knew it was time to take the risk. Bottom line, the thought of living with the arthritic bone on bone pain for the rest of whatever time I have on this earth made me decide to go for it. I'm so glad I did. I remember when I had my first consultation with the orthopedist, his PA told me at the time that there were things they could do to help me with the pain (shots, knee braces, pt) , but that the only "cure" was the tkr. And she looked me in the eyes and said that only I would know when I was ready to do it. And five months ago I was ready.
Would I do it again? Yes. Absolutely. Has it been easy and is the struggle over yet? No! But I am so happy to putter around my life, with the freedom to run errands, take the stairs instead of the elevator, do my chores, have lunch with my friends, tutor my students without pain, spend time with my family.
The other part of this that is so rewarding is the feeling of accomplishment each time a new threshold is met. I can sleep comfortably now, such a miracle. I still have stiffness and pain with certain movements, plus slight swelling which can become borderline moderate, especially in lefty. I try to remember to move carefully, because I don't want to injure myself. I have always been a quick mover once I get going, and I have become much more cautious.
I no longer use any walking aids, and haven't since about 8 weeks. I have noticed a steady improvement in my balance as I continue to walk daily. At first I felt so wobbly and out of balance. But gradually I have become steady as she goes.
I had a lot of skin issues around the surgical site which took me by surprise and caused a great deal of anxiety and discomfort up until about a month ago. But through it all the inner workings of the knee has been on solid ground. I was very lucky that my Rom was about 115 the first time they measured it, and was at 120 shortly after I left skilled nursing. I don't know why that was the case, it was just the cards I was dealt, I guess. With all the skin issues, I guess they were balanced off a little bit by the ease that I achieved the 120 Rom. It certainly wasn't because of any stellar exercise program or anything else I might have done. It was just the luck of the draw.
I also had terrible reactions to the heavy duty pain medications, plus allergic reactions to the suture material. So I had my share of challenges, and still do. But I feel so happy and optimistic. And grateful. To have the opportunity to get this done, all the help I had from my family, plus the excellent medical coverage through medicare, and the wonderful skills of my medical team, I feel so blessed. And the care and support I have received on bonesmart has been awesome, especially because I live alone and don't have a life partner to talk to and commiserate with.
I'll be honest and confess that I have some residual fears about developing bacterial infections. For example, I need to visit the dentist to get a check up and my teeth cleaned, but I am just so scared to do it. I have the antibiotics in hand from my OS's office, and I know to take four of the pills an hour before my dental appointment, but I have this irrational fear that the pills won't be enough protection. At least I hope its an irrational fear. And what about my dermatologist? I see her every six months for a full monty melanoma check, and she has sometimes found things to remove. Never a second melanoma, thank goodness, but a couple of squamous and one basal. Do I need to take the antibiotic when things like that are removed? Or should I? As I write this I am struck that I should send my OS's nurse an email and ask her about the pills and the deratologist.
Anyway, I know this is long, but I wanted to share where I am with my knees and with life in general. I always check the age of the member when I read posts, and I know I am one of the older members. Even so, I do feel like a new chapter in my life is unfolding. Happy five month new knees to me!!!!
In discussing our motivations to get the surgery, I told her that prior to making up my mind to do it, I felt as though my back was up against the wall in terms of quality of life. I had pretty good health after a melanoma scare in my late 50's, (normal blood pressure, high cholesterol, fibromyalgia) I had work I thoroughly enjoyed doing, I was independent, had good friends, five beautiful grandchildren, and yet I was living in so much pain. At first it was just the right knee, but then last spring my left knee completely blew up, I was in so much pain I had to go to the ER via ambulance, and after that was unable to walk without a walker, and could put very little weight on lefty at all. I sat here in my living room and thought to myself - is this it? Is this going to be my life from now on? I was already scheduled to have righty done, but I wanted more. I wanted my life back. I'm not a big sports person, but I loved to walk the beach trail, which I could no longer do. And I enjoyed my water exercise class in our gorgeous aquatics center, but with both legs shot, I was too scared and the knees hurt too much. I knew that there were no guarantees with this surgery, but I just knew it was time to take the risk. Bottom line, the thought of living with the arthritic bone on bone pain for the rest of whatever time I have on this earth made me decide to go for it. I'm so glad I did. I remember when I had my first consultation with the orthopedist, his PA told me at the time that there were things they could do to help me with the pain (shots, knee braces, pt) , but that the only "cure" was the tkr. And she looked me in the eyes and said that only I would know when I was ready to do it. And five months ago I was ready.
Would I do it again? Yes. Absolutely. Has it been easy and is the struggle over yet? No! But I am so happy to putter around my life, with the freedom to run errands, take the stairs instead of the elevator, do my chores, have lunch with my friends, tutor my students without pain, spend time with my family.
The other part of this that is so rewarding is the feeling of accomplishment each time a new threshold is met. I can sleep comfortably now, such a miracle. I still have stiffness and pain with certain movements, plus slight swelling which can become borderline moderate, especially in lefty. I try to remember to move carefully, because I don't want to injure myself. I have always been a quick mover once I get going, and I have become much more cautious.
I no longer use any walking aids, and haven't since about 8 weeks. I have noticed a steady improvement in my balance as I continue to walk daily. At first I felt so wobbly and out of balance. But gradually I have become steady as she goes.
I had a lot of skin issues around the surgical site which took me by surprise and caused a great deal of anxiety and discomfort up until about a month ago. But through it all the inner workings of the knee has been on solid ground. I was very lucky that my Rom was about 115 the first time they measured it, and was at 120 shortly after I left skilled nursing. I don't know why that was the case, it was just the cards I was dealt, I guess. With all the skin issues, I guess they were balanced off a little bit by the ease that I achieved the 120 Rom. It certainly wasn't because of any stellar exercise program or anything else I might have done. It was just the luck of the draw.
I also had terrible reactions to the heavy duty pain medications, plus allergic reactions to the suture material. So I had my share of challenges, and still do. But I feel so happy and optimistic. And grateful. To have the opportunity to get this done, all the help I had from my family, plus the excellent medical coverage through medicare, and the wonderful skills of my medical team, I feel so blessed. And the care and support I have received on bonesmart has been awesome, especially because I live alone and don't have a life partner to talk to and commiserate with.
I'll be honest and confess that I have some residual fears about developing bacterial infections. For example, I need to visit the dentist to get a check up and my teeth cleaned, but I am just so scared to do it. I have the antibiotics in hand from my OS's office, and I know to take four of the pills an hour before my dental appointment, but I have this irrational fear that the pills won't be enough protection. At least I hope its an irrational fear. And what about my dermatologist? I see her every six months for a full monty melanoma check, and she has sometimes found things to remove. Never a second melanoma, thank goodness, but a couple of squamous and one basal. Do I need to take the antibiotic when things like that are removed? Or should I? As I write this I am struck that I should send my OS's nurse an email and ask her about the pills and the deratologist.
Anyway, I know this is long, but I wanted to share where I am with my knees and with life in general. I always check the age of the member when I read posts, and I know I am one of the older members. Even so, I do feel like a new chapter in my life is unfolding. Happy five month new knees to me!!!!
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2011
- Messages
- 29,465
- Location
- United States, West
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
mlwreader,
Great post! Glad you are doing well, with more healing you will see even more gains in activity and comfort.
As far as infections from dermatology procedures, there is no reason to worry.
I had a tiny melanoma removed 2 years ago, developed a small infection, had the same worries as you. Scheduled an appointment with an Infection Specialist, he had no concern about it traveling to my knee. After telling the student with him that this is how a healthy person handles an infection, he scooted me out of the office.
Both the dental and orthopedic associations no longer recommend antibiotics prior to dental procedures.
Dental antibiotics: Evidence insufficient to recommend prophylactic antibiotics for dental procedures
As your OS and do what is best for you.
Great post! Glad you are doing well, with more healing you will see even more gains in activity and comfort.
As far as infections from dermatology procedures, there is no reason to worry.
I had a tiny melanoma removed 2 years ago, developed a small infection, had the same worries as you. Scheduled an appointment with an Infection Specialist, he had no concern about it traveling to my knee. After telling the student with him that this is how a healthy person handles an infection, he scooted me out of the office.
Both the dental and orthopedic associations no longer recommend antibiotics prior to dental procedures.
Dental antibiotics: Evidence insufficient to recommend prophylactic antibiotics for dental procedures
As your OS and do what is best for you.
OP
OP
mlwreader
senior
MSgirl
senior
What a positively wonderful report! You have done it! It sounds like 2018 is going to be a good year for you with healed knees, a new home on the first floor(!) and seeing your grandgirls more. Whether or not you need that first floor anymore because of your knees, it will just be a lot more convenient for carrying groceries, etc. plus no more waiting for the elevator. And if things are good now, imagine your life in six months. A strange thing happened to me after my first TKR last year. The left knee hadn't exploded yet and I had resumed an almost pain-free life. And the amazing thing was that I just simply stopped thinking about my knees! Steps weren't wonderful but I moved around so well. Despite my age, to me, I only looked old on the outside. My body felt so good that inside I felt about 45. After so many years of pain, my knees were just another part of my body just like an elbow or foot. I am so looking forward to feeling that way again in a few months and know that your new life is going to be incredible. Please keep us updated as you move into your new life. It is going to get better and better. Congratulations!!!
Feeling good is one of those giant steps we are were looking forward to! You made it!
SherrieT
senior
So happy for you. I don’t even remember what “feeling good” feels like.
KarriB
Former BoneSmart staff member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2015
- Messages
- 11,941
- Age
- 70
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
Very happy to read your great up-date!
OP
OP
mlwreader
senior
In the irrational fear department, I have a teeth cleaning appointment day after tomorrow, and I am scared that it will impact my knees. I have read that modernly more and more orthopedic doctors are not prescribing antibiotics for dental procedure post tkr's. However, my doctor is not one of those, and I am to take four 500 mg amoxicillin capsules 1 hour prior to my dental appointment. So I'm scared of two things. First that I'll get an awful bacterial invasion of my new knees from the teeth cleaning. And second I will get the you know what's from the antibiotics. I am going to the appointment no matter what, because I can't go the rest of my life without getting my teeth cleaned. And I am taking probiotics daily (re the antibiotics). I just needed to share the insanity - I mean the irrationality - to get it out of my head so I can sleep tonight. Thanks for reading.
SherrieT
senior
It’s not an irrational fear.
1. The “you know what” is a very real possibility
2. All this time we’ve been told of the dangers of transmission of infection to our knees and then suddenly we are supposed to forget all that while part of the medical community does a “never mind “ on us??
@mlwreader I wish I could say something that would make you feel better but all I can offer is a virtual hand to hold
1. The “you know what” is a very real possibility
2. All this time we’ve been told of the dangers of transmission of infection to our knees and then suddenly we are supposed to forget all that while part of the medical community does a “never mind “ on us??
@mlwreader I wish I could say something that would make you feel better but all I can offer is a virtual hand to hold
