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TKR The Good Parts and Some of the Challenges in my Recovery Path

Your cruise sounds wonderful.
Your left TKR is less than a year old, I am not surprised it is aggravated, healing can take a year or longer.
The PKR sounds like you need to keep an eye on it and if it does not start feeling better let your OS know.
I would follow the mantra, Rest, Ice, Elevate, and Medicate.
Hope you start feeling better soon,
 
How are you doing @Haze ?
 
I have not been here for awhile and it was actually my husband that reminded me as I am now 1 year out! Over all things are pretty good. The problem I was having with my right knee PKR has resolved itself. There was bursitis in my left hip which has now also resolved itself. I saw the surgeon two weeks ago. He is intent on keeping track of his patients which is good. I have an appointment booked for the beginning of next year. I am having occasional calf pain but am not on pain killers for it except for the odd Tylenol so he did not seem too concerned. He showed me the X Rays and said everything looked good. I have a handicapped permit from him to get me through the winter which is quite nasty here at the moment. I do not want to fall! The snow is quite challenging and there is more coming! The permit is quite helpful as far as parking spaces are concerned.
I am in a volunteer position at the hospital where the surgery was performed. They have contacted me and asked me to be on a conference call this Tuesday concerning the new Knee Patient Guide to surgery that they are updating. I was quite pleased to receive the call to be of assistance. I found the Guide a wonderful aid in every step of the process.
I must keep in touch on here more often. I have another small volunteer job with the college I graduated from and I do it from home on the computer. After I have worked with that job on the computer I find I don't want to spend a lot more time on it but this site has been a life saver for me and I must come back in. I have given it to so many others who are about to undergo this surgery. I can't say enough good things about it so I must work on continuing communication.

Left TKR Feb 03 2014
Right PKR April 22 2010
Thyroidectomy Aug 17 2010
Laminectomy L5 Nov 1976
Septoplasty and Cautery to Turbinate bones Sep. 1976
 
An absolutely wonderful report and we are glad that Bonesmart was a help to you.
 
Thank you for coming back and telling us how you are getting on. It's good to hear that you are back to a normal life. :thankyou:
 
:thumb:
 
Hello , I am back sooner than I thought. I hope it is OK to run something by everyone on the site. Where I live it is extremely cold right now . Temperatures like -24 Celsius with even colder wind chill factors. Yesterday, my PKR that was done in 2010 has started to bother me to the effect that I am limping on and off. Could it be the cold? This sounds like a silly question but when all of a sudden this has happened I am feeling concerned.
Can anyone relate to this?
 
@Haze.....I'm so sorry that no one responded to your question!!! We certainly don't like to have that happen here on BoneSmart, but sometimes we miss posts.

In answer to your question, the cold really does not have an impact on your implant as it is tucked away inside your very warm body. If your pain or limping is sporatic, it would be more likely that it's a factor of your activity level and it should be treated with rest, ice and something for any pain you experience.

If the pain/limping becomes constant, you need to have your surgeon check things out for you.
 
For the first few months I felt like the cold made my knee a bit more sensitive but not limpy. I agree with Jamie.
 
Thank you for your responses. What I was feeling seems to have stopped. This is good news.
I have just returned from a trip by train to Chicago and that went well.
Also just came back from the swimming pool this AM. I find now that I have had both knees done, I am so much more aware that there is something different where my knee joint used to be. Not a complaint as the suffering is gone.
I am now one year and one month out.
 
It has been a long time since I have posted here. I want to become involved again so I decided to post an update. My last surgery was Feb 2014 and was a TKR left. it is going well. My PKR right which was done in April 2010 is becoming interesting. I saw the orthopedic surgeon today due to an event on April 8th. All of a sudden there was a lot of pain shooting through my thigh area when I tried to put any weight on my right leg. It was like this for four days and I could not walk without a cane. Then on day 5 it was fine with no pain and I did not need the cane.
I made an appointment to see the specialist but it was 3 weeks ago that it happened and I felt like a fraud going in today as I was fine. His explanation is interesting. He said that my symptoms were typical of inflammation behind the knee cap which will usually heal itself. Has anyone heard of this? He examined both knees and twisted them and flexed them etc. He advised that if it happened again I was to come into his office. We have a big trip planned in the fall so both my husband and I were concerned about what this could be. We are actually going to England in October by ship. I have not flown since my surgeries and find that I stiffen up easily so this will work the best. I will be sure to take my collapsible cane with me just in case and appropriate medication if required. Hopefully this incident will not repeat itself in the near future.
 
Well, the symptoms have returned and I was lucky enough to get an appointment with the Orthopaedic specialist within two business days. Here is the report which is not thrilling;
Diagnosis: Inflammation behind the knee cap on the leg that has the PKR
Remedy: can't take cortisone as I reacted allergically to the freezing used along with the last shot
Synvisc did not work when it was tried before
Have been given a new topical drug called MULTIPROFEN-CC PLUS. it is a sample and if it works I will
receive a prescription for it which I have been told is $175. Apparently it is supposed to penetrate 5 times
deeper than Voltaren. Papers have been sent to the drug company and they will contact me in 2 weeks
time to see if it is working. I have to return to the specialist in July unless it worsens and then I would call
to get an earlier appointment.
If this has not worked, I have to have surgery to remove the PKR and have a TKR in its place.
I am not too happy with this and would not advise anyone to get a PKR done. I wish I had known then what
I know now and I would not have had a PKR just a TKR.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your problems and I hope the topical cream works well for you. Since there is no other option for you most insurance companies will approve the med for you or you can call the drug company itself and explain that you need it and your insurance company won't pay for it.

I just had a revision of my knee only 8 months after my TKR. It has actually been a much easier recovery than the original one so don't assume if you wind up down the road that it will be a hard recover. I hope your knee starts feeling better soon.
 
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I have been thinking about what it will be like to go through it all over again. it is good to know that you did not find things as bad. My goodness having more surgery 8 months after must have been very challenging.
I live in Canada where there is a good chance the drug will be covered. Once we turn 65 the government covers a lot of our drugs. I also have an additional drug plan through the insurance company which I think my be what you are referring to.
I really appreciate your response as I did not expect to hear what I did hear today at the appointment and your response has been helpful.
 
Hi Haze,
Sorry you might be facing a PKR to TKR, @Celle did very well with her PKR to TKR and can advise.
Let us know how the new topical cream works.
 
Hi @Haze
As Pumpkln said, I had a PKR that was converted to a TKR. My PKR lasted for eleven years, which was, apparently quite good.

I was apprehensive about the revision, but it turned out not to be such a big deal. If anything, my recovery was easier than my recovery after the original surgery.

I agree with you, though. If there is ever any doubt, I advise people to go straight for the TKR. PKRs don't have a good record for lasting well. When my second knee needed replacing, I was offered a PKR, but I chose to have a TKR.
 
It has been many months since I have signed in to this sight although I have recommended it to many people. I have been doing well but something interesting has happened and I think it is my fault.
Unexpectedly, yesterday, my left TKR just seized up and I could not bend my knee without severe pain. I had to get out my cane which I have not needed for four years! Today it is better but not 100% so I am hoping it will continue to improve . I wanted to ask if anyone else has run into this situation which is that I was just fitted for orthotics. I was told to gradually wear them increasing them an hour a day. I forgot about that and just put them into my shoes and started wearing them. Could this be the problem with my knee? I have left them off since mid day yesterday.
I would appreciate any comments that anyone might have. I did not tell the orthotic fitter that I had knee replacements as it just did not occur to me at the time..
 
I have managed to get an appointment with the Orthopedic surgeon tomorrow at the hospital so will post here after ward.
 
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