Guest viewing is limited

TKR The Odyssey of My Newfangled Knee

Thanks @newlybionic all of this certainly keeps us on our toes. I'm not really a complainer and tend to work through painful days. By the time the sun sets, the knee starts letting me know how much it wishes I had taken it a little more easy. So, I rest. But then I'm stiff and sore. I can't win. Ahhhh, the pleasure of recovery!!! I have an appointment with the new surgeon on June 21st. Until then....

@KarriB good to see you are still around. Yeah, still working at it. Eventually, things will work out and an answer will come. I still have faith.

@PegGar16 and @Swish thank you so much for your continued support. I always know that I can count on this site to come to and voice my concerns a year later and have people who understand. It's very comforting.

Hi @Majic you are almost exactly one month behind me. I know you've had some issues as well. Hopefully working with the new physio will help with the muscle issues. I have strong muscles in my legs, at least I think I do. The hard part with the knee pain is it makes your back pain more prominent as well. My gait is off so my back hurts more. One thing leads to another. I'm going to the spa with my daughter next week. She's getting a massage and I'm getting a facial with foot massage. I think I should get a full all over body spa treatment!!:loll:Well, it sure couldn't hurt!

Have a good week everyone. Thanks again for your support. I'll keep you all posted as things move along, slowly.
 
It is good you are getting a second opinion and wise of your surgeon to request it. I hope you get more definitive answers soon. Let us know and try not to worry in the in interim.
 
Thanks @Wanttobebiking I'm trying not to think about this crazy knee. Time is moving along and before long I'll know if this is something I have to live with or if it can be fixed.
 
Hey girl--for some reason your posts quit coming into my email--so sorry you are having these problems!! I don't have near the issues you are having, but I am certainly not pain free at one year. I still get a lot of tightness/pulling at back of knee and I still really notice the weather changes!! Had one gal tell me that she thinks it was more like 18 mths. before she was pain free--hope!!:thumb: I will be really interested to hear what you find out from the second surgeon.
 
Good to hear from you @Kssii. I still a few weeks to go before I see the second surgeon to see what he has to say. He may just say what your friend says -- hang in there, you are just one of those folks that healing takes more time than others. I was prepared for the 6-9 months, not for the 11 months to a year or more. I drive home to Connecticut from New Hampshire today, a 3 1/2 hour ride. You'd think that by now that would not be an issue. Driving can at times be very uncomfortable. Keeping the knee in any one position for a long period of time is still a big no no. I guess only time will tell.
 
Tomorrow it will be my one year anniversary!!! Today I went for a second opinion on my knee for a second set of eyes to try and determine why I still have pain. I was actually referred by my OS. I was hesitant since this surgeon has been around awhile, but I really liked the guy. He not only wanted to know about my knee, he wanted to know about me! :)

There is fluid in and around my knee joint. The IT Band is swollen and inflamed that it actually looks like a bump on the side of my knee. He examined my knee and said the implant felt a little loose. So, he's sending me for a Nuclear Bone Scan. That will happen July 8th.

I've already had blood work to check for infection and it seemed ok. But the next step would be to aspirate some of the fluid from deep inside the joint and check that fluid.

So, once again. It's one step at a time to see if a revision would be worth it. UGH!!! A Revision is certainly something I am not looking forward to but it is looking more and more like a real possibility.

Let's see what the bone scan shows!
 
You have really been through so much. I pray that God leads you to the correct answer for you.
 
Yes! It is time!

Your lump on the side interests me. I have a huge lump on the inside of my right calf. It's bigger than a baseball, but none of my docs are worried about it. It was a much smaller lump before the infection surgery and I thought it was from a car accident I had been in. When I had the infection surgery the OS cleaned it out, saying it was full of dead fat. For the month I was imbolized the lump was gone and I had a skinny leg, but as soon as I started using the leg the lump came back 5x bigger. If they find out what your lump is I'd live to know.
 
So sorry to hear the news. I can tell you though my revision has been an easier recuperation than the first time. A few weeks after my surgery I no longer had the pain I had in my TKR knee for the entire 8 months between the two. Let's hope that you don't need a revision but I just wanted to let you know that in a capable OS's hands my life is a lot better.
 
Well Bummer!! Not the best news, but at least you are starting to get some answers and some options. I think anything is better than just being told not to worry about it, or that it will eventually be better or that it is normal--when YOU know there is definitely something wrong! :sigh:
 
Wellll, got the results of the bone scan today and it's more of the same. Everything looks good and is normal. According to the report: "The distribution of activity related to the right knee arthroplasty is within normal limits for a one-year postoperative state" Yeah, me! My left knee showed a increase in activity in the left patella, no kidding!! My left foot also showed a marked increase in activity presumably due to the failed talonavicular fusion. Nothing new there either.

Took my husband with me to the office visit hoping for different results. Instead the OS examined the knee again and felt the knee still had a small amount of instability going front to back. There's a possibility that could be taken care of by removing the current spacer and putting in a thicker spacer.

He decided to aspirate some of the fluid in the knee joint to have it cultured "just in case". All blood work came back negative. It was one of the most painful things I've ever had done. Instead of clear fluid most of what he aspirated was blood. That was not what he expected. He said it's usually caused by something rubbing in the joint and is not normal.

So, there I go again. Something else, that is not normal with no solutions as to what to do about it. I can go back to my previous surgeon to seek out options or seek a second opinion outside of UCONN. I think I'm heading in that direction. This is getting crazy!!
 
You certainly have been struggling long enough searching for the answers of why you still have problems with your knee. I'm sure the aspiration must have been very painful. I do pray that someone can figure out what's going on and come up with a plan to help you.
 
The new OS took Xrays which showed that my knee cap wasn't tracking correctly because it was towards the outside of my knee. He then carefully examined my knee. I could only flex to 95 degrees and had been having increasing pain as I tried to just get back to life. It was also pretty swollen especially since I hadn't done anything that day. It was also starting to give out on me periodically when it hadn't in the beginning. During surgery he found pieces of cement floating throughout the joint.
 
Well bummer!!! :hissy::headbang: Was hoping for more positive results. So there is blood in the joint--I am thinking that not only is that seriously not good, but bound to add to the pain issue. I know how having a needle stuck in your knee can hurt--I had that done back in the 80's when trying to figure out what was wrong with my left knee (the one I still haven't had replaced) and I swore nobody was going to stick a needle in my knee ever again!! However, 30 years later I did finally give into a cortisone shot--dr. was so good--no pain!! I sure hope they get your problems figured out soon.
 
@Kssii I love your choice of emojis!! Exactly how I feel. LOL!! About the only thing I know tonight is....I'm going to get a second opinion from a surgeon not associated with my current surgeon. I really need someone who is not associated with UCONN to review my history. I'm in the process of putting everything together. Something's not right and somebody has to be able to figure out what's wrong. :shrug:
 
I agree. A second opinion from someone not associated with your OS sounds like an excellent decision. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

Members online

Total: 884 (members: 2, guests: 882)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom