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TKR The Odyssey of My Newfangled Knee

I'm sorry to hear that you are still experiencing problems with your knee. I know how frustrated you must be. I was feeling the same way about my knee. Hopefully they will all be able to finally come up with a plan that will solve the problem. I really did not want to have a revision but I can tell you that I am already feeling so much better and at only 1 month out I have less pain and better ROM then before it. I'll be interested to hear what they come up with. I'll keep you in my prayers.
 
Hi. What will they clean out?? Scar tissue? Debris? Or are you unsure? Did they expand on the tendon issues?

You don't need me to tell you that I totally understand how you feel. Can you believe it is 10 months?? I sure didn't expect to still feel like this at this stage.

I'll update my thread now.

You're definitely in my thoughts. Please post as soon as you have an update. Sending a very big hug your way.
 
Hi, I fully appreciate your feelings. I am 9 months out, and although I don't think that my knee is the problem I a m suffering with pains around both knees. It seems to be due to my big weight loss, which caused lots of muscle problems. I have had lots of massage and the muscles now are pretty good,the problem now seems to be around the knee, ligaments maybe, and also tightness and stiffness especially in the morning. Do you suffer from this? I am still on paracetamol which gets me down at this stage,and as I am also still on low dose antibiotics in case UTI returns I do get very tired. @momweb i do hope you soon feel better and get some answers.
 
@Majic I do have some tightness associated with the pain, but it is all day not just in the morning. It does get worse at times. Working out makes it worse so I have to be careful what I do. I love my fitness classes but I limit them to water exercises so there is less pressure on the joints and even then I have to be careful. Isn't it funny losing weight is so healthy for us and a wonderful thing you were able to do, and now you're finding it creating other issues? Never a dull moment. Thank you for your good wishes. I'm staying positive because at the moment I'm still better off now than I was before the replacement. I just wish this pain would go away.
 
Thanks @Raffs, at this point, I'm not sure what they will clean out. Possibly scar tissue, possibly look at tendons? I guess I'll have to wait until after this Powwow on Friday and see what the decision is. I think there's frustration all the way around.

I can't believe it's 10 months!! And then again, I can. Some of these issues, like you, I've been talking about since the 3 week mark. Seems crazy we're the only ones who keep repeating the same thing over and over until someone does something about it.

But then again, takes a strong woman to go through this surgery, then keep the surgeon on his toes to fix our unique issues. I won't stop until it is fixed!! Let you know what happens.
 
Thanks @newlybionic. I am so glad your revision worked out. I have an awful feeling that more surgery is coming my way but I think that is the only way this issue will get resolved. The frustration lies in the fact that no one, not a single medical person can figure out what the problem is. I'll post again after this meeting and we'll see what happens. Thanks for your prayers, I'm going to need them so these 3 very educated men can get their heads together can come up with a plan.
 
@momweb I think my problem was that I didn't want or need to lose the weight, it just dropped off because I was on so many drugs had a UTI and just couldn't eat. I first really enjoyed a meal 3 months after my op. I was only 120lbs before the op so I really didn't need to lose 21lbs. I was like a skeleton it was really quite frightening, I was afraid I would never feel like food again.
 
Wow, @Majic I knew you had the UTI, I didn't realize it had made you so ill. And being so tiny at the start, you are right, you almost couldn't afford to lose that amount of weight. Have you gained any of it back? And are you feeling well enough that you can eat? You must be extremely frustrated. Losing muscle is tough at our age, it's so hard to get back, but not impossible. Just go slowly. I will be thinking of you.
 
@momweb I have regained most of what I lost, but my muscles are still weak. The main muscles in my legs no longer feel like piano wires, and generally stretch normally, but they seize up from time to time if I do too much of the same thing. For instance I have just prepared our evening meal, and one tightened up very painfully as I was washing up at the end. Mainly the pains are on the sides of my knees which I suppose are tiny muscles which are not yet healed properly. One day they hurt on the outsides the next the insides. Mysteriously they alternate day by day. My masseuse thinks that I overcompensate by walking differently from day to day depending on where the pain is. I just hope my muscles will gradually get stronger and stop hurting.
 
Hmmmm. I will be waiting to hear the results of the pow wow.

I am sure you are discouraged and I understand totally wanting to sort out this knee before tackling the next. Please let me know what you hear.

At 9 months I still have discomfort going downs stairs and I am now using a topical NSAID. We will see. Hang in there!
 
@Wanttobebiking I also used Diclofenac gel for awhile but it didn't do anything for me so I stopped using it. When things get real bad, I use 2 Aleve during the day and a Vicodin at night. That seems to get me through. Today, my husband and I were at my daughter's house breaking up a bar that her ex had half-way built. Then it was up and down the stairs with all the wood to the car for the trip to the dump tomorrow. I'm now sitting in the chair resting. My knee is killing me. It was a lot of one step, one step but things need to get done. It's when I try to go up and down stairs like a normal person that I get all the pain. That's what really frustrates me. I remember one of PT telling me what's the big deal? The big deal is I had the surgery so I wouldn't have to go up and down one step, one step. I'm way too young to act like an old lady. Hopefully I'll have some answers early next week.
 
I was just having a similar discussion with @magic. I have been told by one PT that I have very high expectations. And I am going to keep them high. I too want to be able to do stairs without pain or discomfort. I saw my PA the other day and he asked if the pain was bad enough to do an arthroscopic look around. I said no way, so I guess for now I am still on the slow train. I am lucky I don't get swelling and the pain is never more than a 1. I will be watching your thread with anticipation. I leave for Europe next Friday, so it might be awhile until I catch up! But I will.
 
An update from this week.....
I saw my OS about 3 weeks ago and was waiting for the results of this POW Wow he was going to have with a colleague of his and the radiologist. Well, the OS finally called me the other night and of course, it was the one night I wasn't home. So, he left a message telling me that they decided there was no value in doing arthroscopic surgery and he wants me to see another colleague of his named Dr. Beebe to discuss some other options. He would try and reach me the next day from the office.

Well, I looked up this Dr. Beebe online and found out he was another joint replacement surgeon. I felt sick. I felt like my surgeon was abandoning me for another surgeon. He couldn't figure out how to help me so go see someone else. I got very little sleep thinking of my options. The following morning I decided to drive to his office and see if there was any chance they could squeeze me in to talk to my OS for just 5 minutes instead of waiting for his phone call.

Luck was on my side and I was able to talk my surgeon. One of his patients never showed up, so I was checked in as a scheduled patient. He took another set of x-rays, put me back on Neurontin, and has me taking Tramodol with Tylenol at night. Blood work was ordered for 2 weeks from now. (I'm on an antibiotic for a salivary gland stone). He still wants me to see Dr. Beebe for a second set of eyes. This doc has been doing replacements and knee surgery for many more years than my surgeon. I don't think I'd want him to do surgery on me, but I think his knowledge might be invaluable.

So, as I approach my one-year anniversary, I still have trouble with pain behind the knee, on the lateral side as well as in the front. Going up and down the stairs can be very painful. Nights have been difficult with throbbing pain beneath the knee. One day it even felt like I had torn meniscus, which of course, is not possible. I'm hoping that it either goes away by itself, or we figure out what's causing so much discomfort. A revision is still not out of the question. Fun, fun!! But, I remain optimistic that it will work out!

Well, this was the longest post I've ever written and if you've gotten this far, thank you for reading. You really are special. How's it going @Raffs?
 
I'm sorry that you still don't have an answer to what is causing your problems. I know you were counting on having an answer since the doctors got together. Another set of eyes can't hurt at this point. I hope you can get in to see him quickly. I definitely do understand about the prospect of a possible revision. I've been down that road. I'll say a prayer that this other doctor can offer a better solution for you and you can finally be pain free.
 
I am so sorry you still have no answers. I know thus wasn't what you were hoping for.
 
@momweb - I don't know if we are having the same issue, but I am also a year on my right knee and started to develop increasing pain about 4-5 months ago. At first my surgeon said "Let's just watch it" since it can take a full year to heal, but when I saw him in late March it was apparent there was definite tenderness on the lateral side of my knee and looking at my X-Ray from December he noticed a tilt in my kneecap and thought maybe that was causing some irritation so he prescribed a double dose pack of prednisone. That really helped and for about 2 weeks I felt like the knee was normal and felt like my first one. Then as the affect wore off the pain returned with a vengeance. So I pushed up my appointment for June to last week and after more X-Rays he was finally able to determine that I have new bone growth that has occurred on the back of the patella and because of the tilt in my kneecap it gets irritated, especially with stairs or anything that puts extra weight on that knee. So I'm scheduled for a Patellar Facetectomy and Lateral Release on June 8th. My surgeon, who gets referrals for revisions from doctors all over the Midwest said he's only seen this occur a couple of other times and they were patients referred to him. It sucks that I have to have surgery on this knee again, but he feels confident this will take care of my pain. He also assured me this surgery wouldn't be nearly as bad as the replacement so I should recover quickly. I sure hope so because like you said the whole reason we went through this was to be able to do normal things again and not feel like an old lady! I'm not sure if this could be your problem, but it's something to consider.
 
Hopefully Dr Beebe can help. Like stated above..another set of eyes can't hurt. At least he is looking for assistance and not just saying everything is fine.
 
I do hope you get an answer to your continuing pain, and that something can be done easily to cure it. I am almost ten months out and still in some discomfort, but I think the problem is muscular and I am seeing the hospital Physio on Monday to see what she thinks. It is however I know very disappointing when you still have problems when you expected to be pain free. Best of luck with your second opinion perhaps the problem can be resolved easily.
 
@momweb, sorry you're still having so many issues. I hope the new doctor and new set of eyes will help find what the issue is so you can get some relief.
 
I hear you @Gigi32. I had patellofemoral syndrome prior to surgery. So my kneecap was already severely damaged and most of the bone removed during the tkr. I've often wondered if the new kneecap was in the right place but my OS said it is. People with patellofemoral issues often have a more painful recovery for some reason according to my doctor. It still doesn't answer for the pain behind the knee. I still think there's a tendon issue of some kind there. I feel like something is pulling. Exercise makes it worse. Steroid injections reduce the inflammation and makes it better for a short while. Then it returns just like yours after the prednisone. Hopefully, you'll get the relief you're looking for after your surgery. I'm hoping that this new surgeon will see something my other surgeon didn't. I don't relish the thought of being on pain meds for ever.
 
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