swelling 6 months out BLTKR

[Susie Mac]

Help, has anyone heard of this?

I am nearly 6 months post BLTKR and my lower legs hurt all the time. I have bone pain and swelling like no other. I can hardly walk. I went to my surgeon and he says he has never seen this before. My left leg calf doubles in size in a day. I have such huge swellings I end up with no ankles. I’m discouraged and frustrated. I need to limit my activity again! I’m basically down to doing nothing. When I get up in the morning I can hardly walk to the bathroom, it takes me an hour or so before I can start to walk normally but end up limping just to get around.

My upper leg feels fine and the knees are fine too.

I’m all ears here…any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Texas]

Hi Susie. Sorry you are having some problems. Maybe try to put your feet up, ice relax and see if that works. I know it is not fun to have a set back, but maybe that will do the job. If it does continue and your Dr says he doesnt know what to do then maybe seek a second opinion. I sure hope you get to feeling better soon. You will get back to normal. My take a lil time....But you went thru all of that with your knees before , you must be a very strong person.

 

[Susie Mac]

My surgeon wants an MRI to determine if there are stress fractures (shin splints)…YIKES, bone density and for grins a blood clot. I have cut doing nothing in half, so I’m now doing half of nothing and still swelling. I’m icing and heat. Should I try to swim or will that do more damage?

 

[Josephine]

Yes, I have met that before on a case of just one! My sister! She had her knees done about 18 months apart and from the start, has suffered gross swelling and oedema from the knees down, also intense pain.

After much fussing to and from the hospital, getting her second knee done, which seemed to make things worse, she finally sent a fax to the surgeon at 3 in the morning! In it she poured out all her anguish and desperation and every single facet of her symptoms. He decided she had a spinal condition (very intuitive - she had a bad injury in her teens!) and had her spine scanned. However, in the meantime, she realised that her knees were actually very good despite the pain and swelling in her legs. Mr Surgeon finally had a look elsewhere and found she was bone on bone in her hip and has probably been like that since her TKRs! She is booked to have her first hip done next Monday.

Moral of the story is, don't be mislead into thinking pain that arises since your op is inevitably arising from your op. You can still get symptoms from other conditions. Get him to check out your hips and spine and also check your vascular system.

Welcome to BoneSmart - hope we can help you get through this.

 

[Jamie]

SusieMac, so sorry to hear you're going through so much swelling and pain. Listen to Jo's wonderful advice. Get this checked out immediately so you can get to the bottom of it. Until you know what's causing the swelling, I would think you do need to take it easy. All the more reason to get the MRI and other consultations going! Let us know how things go. We care about you!!

 

[backbay38]

Jo and Jamie have excellent advice as usual. This isn't something you should have to live with so if your surgeon won't do the necessary testing, get someone who will....Keep us posted, OK?

 

[Nana55]

Welcome and sorry to hear about your problems. I too would push to find out what the underlying cause of your pain and problems are.
Good Luck and hope you find out soon.
Nana

 

[Judles]

Welcome, Susie! Definitely get yourself checked! Listen to Jo and Jamie! They're spot on in the good, practical advice category! Let us know how you are doing!