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Revision TKR Totally recovered at last!

I wish I had the right answer. But what Celle said makes sense. And I say remember to rest, ice, elevate, and medicate. I know PT will help me regain the strength I need, but I really have no swelling. I do still have pain and I take OTC tylenol and sometimes aleve, which helps. But I am not on my feet for 8-12 hours a day. Wish I could offer more sage advice. This is a very frustrating recovery.
 
I feel your pain! I was on my feet for 4 hrs today and am dying now! I'm icing, elevating and medicating! I honestly do not know how you guys have gone back to work! I'm totally worthless! All of a sudden, at dinner, my head almost hit my plate like a toddler ( again with the toddler comparison! ) whew! The knee feels fine, but man oh man, behind it is screaming! Maybe more new shoes for me, too!
 
Glad to see you got some good sleep on your day off. I hate shoe shopping but since yours have already made a difference while you worked I need to make the time and head to the running store and get some sneakers. My Dr recommended New Balance.
Was out and got a haircut today so feeling a bit more human. Went out for an early dinner afterwards. Sat in a booth with leg up and then went to Hobby Lobby to get some glue and colored pencils. Enjoyed the outing but now home with leg up and ice packs on.
 
WARNING: the following is a rant/rave and synopsis of my past 4 months.

I guess I wasn't so bright in choosing my surgeon. He was a member of the orthopedic group that my usual orthopedist is a founding member of and I really like him and how he has been helping me for several years. He doesn't do replacements as he is a little bit older like I am. The surgeon has done a large amount of replacements every year. ( 150 approx.)

I didn't find this forum until I was 3 months out. So I just went along with what the surgeon and his nurse said. (Stupid me and I'm a nurse). Vicodin, Percocet made me sick and I was put on Nucynta in the hospital. I still was nauseous anyway. I had to stay an extra night in the hospital so the medicine they put in my knee to stop pain wore off. I was sobbing at 3am since I wasn't told I could have anything else. A nurse just happened to hear me and she gave me something IV.

When I went home I was given a script for Percocet (which they took me off at the hospital). I called OS office and didn't receive a call back for 8 hours and then the nurse was really nasty. My daughter had to go get the paper script and then take it to the pharmacy to get filled (another 2hours).

PT in home started that next day. 8 visits in 12 days!!!! I was told I had to keep my leg perfectly straight and level. ( lots of pain and of course swelling). Therapist warned my daughter to keep after me about it too.

Had lots of pain, headaches, nausea and stomach pains. At 2 weeks out I started outpatient PT. I called OS about pain meds again and was told there was nothing else they could do except maybe a light dose of tramadol but that was just like Tylenol. I drove to OS office and picked up script in an envelop. (30 miles each way) and went through pharmacy drive through. OS FORGOT TO SIGN THE SCRIPT!!!! So no more pain meds for me. PT twice a week, stomach pains from aspirin twice a day ( yes the coated ones) and having to keep driving to lab 25 miles round trip for labs which remained abnormal since the hospital. I went back and forth twice a week for 3 weeks with that. PT was a No Pain No Gain establishment. So now I have stomach pain, nausea, constipated, swollen knee with a lot of pain and I was sent to GI Doctor too. GI Doctor wanted to do scope for ulcer. I declined but was put on a number of medicines for my stomach. Fortunately the meds started working and after about 4 weeks or so I was ok there.

It took took a while longer but I got my ability to eat again back and I finally found this forum after feeling like such a failure. I started taking one 50 mg tramadol at night to try to sleep. The only thing I ever did right was to put ice on my knee. I was alone after a weekd and a half so I was just miserable. I know my daughter didn't know what to do for me anyway.

Two weeks ago I went to OS because my lower leg on the side was causing me a lot of pain and there was an area behind my knee on my thigh that was blocking my knee from flexing all the way. He took an X-ray and sent me for an ultrasound. I had an MRI of the other knee too. The other one has a bone spur and torn meniscus and ultrasound was negative for DVT. I never got an answer what was wrong with my leg and also what to do with the other knee for now since its bothering me. I'm totally fed up right now.

Moral of the story is to get all the info you can. I thought I did but I certainly did not. I'll be more diligent if I decide to do knee number two!!


Ok rant/ rave is over. Now back to your regular broadcasting!!
 
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You certainly did have a bad start and I don't blame you for ranting. :console2:

Apart from work, things are improving now, though, aren't they?
 
Yes I'm doing better but I still have the pains in my leg and I'm not sure what to do about it and I'm not sure if another series of injections would help the old one. I'm thinking of doing some research and going to another doctor for help.
 
Hey Newlybionic! You're awesome!

That really sounds like a house of horrors. I am glad things are looking up and am a firm believer in second (and sometimes third) opinions. Someone else may read the MRI and ultrsound results and say "Oh, that's a X". I hope that it all works out for you.
 
I'm going to try to get another doctor's name. My sister knows of someone else that has TKR recently. I'm going to try to get in touch with her
 
Newlybionic - I have to say that your pic scared me for a good long time until I finally enlarged it and saw it was a cute puppy. What I previously saw was a skeletal lady with a curly wig and a dark gash across her forehead and left eye. really weird perspective.
 
That's what I saw, too. If I tilt my head one way, I see the woman. If I tilt it the other way, I see the dog.
I'm enjoying it now.
 
{{{Newlybionic}}}

Don't apologize for your rant. You've had a horrible time of it and the OS doesn't deserve any more of your money, IMHO. I wasn't fond of traveling after my surgery -- to put it mildly -- and realize it'd be adding another source of stress to add a trip to the big city to your TKR recovery, but in your case my advice is yes -- Do it! I'd suggest looking for someone who is Board-Certified, in addition to having done 250 or more TKRs per year. broken link removed: https://certificationmatters.org/abms-member-boards/orthopaedic-surgery.aspx. A number of our members have traveled to the big city to get their surgery done -- @wberry is still active on the Board; @snowleopard hasn't visited in a while, and I'm sure there are many others. Talking to other people in the waiting room is one way to find out how satisfied patients are with how they're treated.
 
While I agree that a second opinion is a good idea, there may be a snag with looking for a new surgeon. I've read that some surgeons will not look at another surgeon's patient until a year has passed since the surgery.
That may not apply everywhere - I'm throwing it out there "just in case."
 
The surgeon does at least 4 a week ( that's what is scheduled). He is board certified too. Both he and his nurse have absolutely no bedside manner at all!! A friend of mine is a doctor at the hospital ( a psychiatrist actually) and I had her look over my labs and meds because I have had major depression for quite a number of years and I wanted to make sure there was a set of eyes looking over everything. The medical doctor was assigned to me because my regular doctor goes to a different hospital and I strongly dislike their ortho docs.

Here's a scoop on my avatar picture. I took that one night at 3 am. My 9 year old jack Russell/ pug was laying on top of a pillow and pulled a blanket around here head. She was sound asleep with her eyes open and snoring loudly!! I laughed so much that I eventually woke her up!!
 
I had a friend who had a hard time getting someone from a different group to look at her knee. In the end, someone from the same group did the revision. It's a large group and this dr works out of a totally different hospital.
 
@hawk2go OH MY! I thought the same thing!! Soooooo glad we cleared that up! I really like NewlyBionic but was unsure about WHY the avatar!! :heehee:
:flwrysmile: Hugs dear Newly Bionic friend! I do hope things get better for you. Your platter is full - you're past a full plate! It must be additionally frustrating since you are a nurse. :friends:
 
I guess I'm lucky enough that a revision isn't needed. It's just that i have some pains in different areas in my leg I want to know what to do to help it get better. I also want to know what I can do for my other knee right now because of the pain I have there. I don't think I've asked him for too much. I'm just so done with both him and his nurse. I thought about going back to the ortho in that group I originally saw for the past 5 + years. I'm just so confused. I'm not in a time or place that I would even any surgery on my old knee.i have to work and I'm in a new job. I definitely would have to wait for at least a year or more. I'm just not sure what I should do now.
 
Have you tried Supartz injections? I know a lot of medical folks don't believe in them, but they held off my surgery for 5 years. Can't hurt. My OS says ( and Josephine concurred) that knees that have had the gel inj look filled with snot when they open them up! Oh, well! :thud:
 
Ya'll have just about talked me into going and getting yet another pair of shoes. Here in Orlando we have a really high tech personalized shoe store not too far from me, and the price is commensurate with their reputation. But, what the heck, I might be worth it!

You said the back of your knee is hurting. I was having problems with my hamstrings being tight back there. My PT had me lie face down. He bent my knee and wiggled it in some very special way, I guess, while he pushed down on the back of my knee with his other hand. No idea what he did, but man it felt good and it felt better for a long time after.

Your rant was very appropriate. It does sound like things will work out okay. It is such a process.
 
I have had cortisone injections before. I also have had synvisc which is supposed to be what I think you're talking about. One ortho did it in a series of three injections ( 1 per week) while the other one gave it in one injection in both knees. With the single injection I couldn't even walk for about 20 minutes and I walked out to my car on toothpicks ( or so it felt that way).

@Slainte The shoes do help. It's worth the price. I would suggest you bring/wear an old pair especially the ones you used the most so they can check the wear pattern and how you are standing right now.
 
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