TKR Swollen & painful 8 mos. post-op

Quilt@tn

new member
Joined
Sep 3, 2018
Messages
2
Age
75
Country
United States United States
Gender
Female
8 mos post-op, my knee is swollen, painful, and kneecap clicks like a keyboard when tapped. Surgeon never had a patient with this problem before. I'm to have metals allergy testing... in 8 more weeks. That doc is very busy. I have complete flexibility - bends as far as other knee. Recently started swimming and other water exercise. I do some land exercise, but it all results in searing pain all day & night. Standing causes pain. Everything causes pain. I don't take pain meds except for Rx topical anti-inflammatory cream. My life is on hold. Am an active 70 yr old woman, not overweight.
 
Hello @Quilt@tn - and :welome:

Please will you tell us the full date of your knee replacement and which knee it is, so we can make a signature for you? Thank you.:flwrysmile:

I'm sorry to read that you are having problems with your knee and I do hope that your surgeon can get to the bottom of them.

Do make sure that you have the blood test for metal allergies, as it is much more accurate than the skin testing.

Here is the information you need - and it appears you may not need to wait for your surgeon do order it:
"For anyone who would like to get a full metal allergy test prior to any joint replacement surgery, you can get the test done in the USA by ordering the test kit from https://www.orthopedicanalysis.com/testing/order-testing-panel . You want the Orthopedic Panel Test 2. Once you get the test kit, your GP/PCP (or any lab) can do the blood draw and send it in for testing."

You have good ROM (Range of Motion) in your knee and you won't lose that if you stop those painful exercises, so I suggest you stop putting yourself through the pain and either cut back the exercises drastically, or stop doing them altogether. Exercise should never hurt.

The anti-inflammatory cream won't help much, as it is not absorbed deep enough. Instead, try icing and elevating your knee.
Ice to control pain and swelling
Elevation: the do's and dont's
 
It is true that you don't have to have a doctor's order to buy it, but you have to have one for the lab to run it. I bought the kit and found a nurse to draw my blood. When I started reading the instructions for sending it back, it said that they had to have a doctor's order with the returned blood. Neither one of my doctor's would give me the order. Thank God the company took my kit back for a full refund since I hadn't used any of it yet. So, please check that you can get the order from your doctor first before buying it. It'll save a lot of aggravation!
 
Welcome to Bonesmart!

I am going to tag @Josephine
our forum administrator and nurse director to address your concerns.
 
Rx topical anti-inflammatory cream
research has shown that topical drugs don't penetrate more than 4-5 mm into the skin.
but it all results in searing pain all day & night.
Perhaps you would tell me where this pain is using this chart?

aa knee-references-horz.jpg



I'd really like to offer you some structured advice but in order to do that, I also need to ask you some questions. Are you willing for me to do that?
 
lower part of C, D, E, LB3 & LB4. Surgery date was January 24, 2018, right knee
 
Thank you for your surgery date.
I've put it in your signature.
 
To assess that, I will need more information.

Did you miss the last part of my previous post?
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,167
Messages
1,596,862
BoneSmarties
39,356
Latest member
JanieMarie
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom