TKR What is your pre-op pain like?

Rain Dancer

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I am bone-on bone in the patellar-femoral compartment, but I have had surprisingly little pain in the knee itself. I have had several brief knee locking episodes, with the pain and crunching sound as it unlocks, and occasional pain below the knee cap. The vast majority of my pain is on the lateral side of the knee, the calf, and lower hamstring behind the knee. The pain can be severe. The tightness in those areas restrict my ROM. I am curious what others feel.
 
Prior to my first replacement in 2019 on my left knee it felt like someone was putting a knife into my knee cap, it was so painful I could barely walk, now fast forward nearly 2 years my left knee is strong and pain-free however my right knee is giving me grief, not as bad as the left was but I'm sure by the time I get operated on it will be pretty much the same, my surgery is scheduled for 2022 due to the backlog of operation caused by covid 19.
 
My pre-op pain on a scale of 1-10 was at least a 12. I, too, was bone on bone with the grinding and crunching sound that sometimes freaked out people near me because it was so loud. I think the “good” thing about my pre-op pain was my post-op pain in comparison I called discomfort. I had two pain pills in the hospital and only took three after coming home. After that, I took acetaminophen regularly and was comfortable.
 
@Sara61 That pain sounds awful. Sorry about the right knee. I hope that it won’t be as bad as your left before surgery. I am hoping that my right knee calms down after the left knee is replaced. @FourCats Your pain sounds awful too. I am hoping to follow your path and not take opioids because my body hates them. I had severe back spasms a week ago that totally locked my muscles and were agonizing. I think it was a good reminder that I have made it through some really painful things in the past and can do so again.
 
Not to rain on your parade but my left knee has become more painful since my TKR on the right. It compensated for so many years and now is trying to figure out how it’s supposed to work with its new partner that is now carrying its share of the load. I am considering having it replaced as well so the two can “grow up” together. I do find the rehab exercises help the left as does icing and elevating. You’re going to do great!
 
@FourCats Thanks! I may ask my surgeon to x-ray my right leg to see what it looks like.
 
It is not uncommon for the other knee / ankle to become painful after & prior to TKR. Your gait will be off and that causes everything to be off. Be mindful to at least attempting to walk heal toe. (I'm still working on this.) If its very troublesome mention it to your surgeon.
 
I have bone on bone on both knees and finally agreed to do TKR on right, the left really doesn't bend and not much pain but will be done next. If I have an episode of knife stab in knee it goes to the toes and to the hip and then stops. However, at the moment my left leg is swelling badly and foot goes numb so will be seeing a vascular surgeon on recommendation of ortho at the end of the month
 
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I am bone on bone in my left knee, but in pain only with weight bearing. Because of this I have cutoff surgery. It is now very difficult to go down stairs and walk on un-even surfaces. since I live in a tri-level
house I can't avoid the stairs and I m tired of side stepping down them. It's time for a fix.
 
I had minor pain prior to surgery. My knee was bone on bone but was severely swollen and I couldn't straighten my leg or put any weight on it. For the year prior to my decision to go ahead with surgery it became worse. The lack of pain made me doubt I was doing the right thing but now I'm sure I did, knee is great.

After surgery my other knee was overcompensating for my tkr, I caused an insufficiency fracture, it's getting better with time and rest.
 
I was apparently, stage 4 Osteoarthritis in the knee., bone on bone.Surprisingly, there was no pain, unless I walked too far."Too far", became less of a distance monthly.My world became smaller and smaller.Some on here said, your knee will only get worse, having a replacement done, it will get better.
 
All of these comments sound familiar. My first TRK (right) was 10 years ago and my left has slowly gotten worse over the years. The last couple of years I've seen a replacement looming and knew I wanted to get it done before my hubby retires in a couple of years. We had our house painted this spring and had a ton of work getting ready to host a big 90th birthday party for my father in law. That essentially pushed my knee WAY too far. I was in a lot of pain leading up to that and after. I've now lost range of motion and can only bend it so far before it's in agony. Stairs are hard and I need to do them one at a time. Thankfully I live in a rambler. I can barely walk my dog a couple of blocks without lots of pain. Surgery is scheduled for Aug 30th.
 
Pain while walking has gotten much worse last few months. I think the isolation due to the pandemic really hid how bad it had become. Not going into many stores, groceries being delivered, I didn't notice how limited I had become. Surgery scheduled for October, anxious to get mobile again.
 
@kate97497 you are so right the pandemic really hid the problem with my legs since I wasn't out doing things. I look forward to getting it done. I saw the vascular surgeon for the non-surgical leg/foot and having a test in 2 weeks but he doesn't think anything will stop the TKR as pulses are good. Thanks everyone for your comments.
I have learned so much from the people on bonesmart!
 
My pain is related to weight bearing activities. So, I've become a pandemic slug spending as much time as possible doing sedentary activities and living on 3,000mg of acetaminophen a day. I am unable to take ibuprofen due to stomach issues.
 
@Maregold I couldn’t tolerate Aleve prior to surgery, but I could use Voltaren cream. It doesn’t work right away because it has to build up in the body. It wasn’t as good as Aleve, but it helped. Once I started doing pre-hab exercises, which greatly reduced my pain, I was able to stop using the Voltaren.
 
My world became smaller and smaller.
This is exactly how I describe it. I am bone on bone with medial osteophytes and my pain level is actually manageable with NSAIDs and ice but I have cut a lot of activities. I got my last corticosteroid injection last July and it did not work well. My 3 questions for myself: 1) how far do I have to walk; 2) how long do I have to stand; and 3) is there a place to sit. Going down anything - a ramp, a hill, stairs - causes immediate pain, swelling and instability. Also, NSAIDs really tear up my tummy so I'd love to see those in the rear view.

I found this great arthritis stage reference, helpful for self-assessment (which is no substitute for a doctor's evaluation).
 
"My world became smaller and smaller."

Boy, isn't this the truth. The closer my date gets, the more pain I'm in and the less I can do before I have to sit and rest. I'm still icing and taking the occasional Ibuprofen/Aleve but next week I'm going to have to stop taking it altogether so I'm trying to become less dependent on it. The couch, Netflix and Prime are becoming my frequent companions. My last work day is next Tuesday, somehow I will need to medicate myself enough to be on my feet for 4 hours. Luckily I can sit on a stool for part of it and take breaks.

I'm finding ADLs, shopping and errands harder and harder. A trip to Costco and the grocery store will wipe me out. I rarely ever use my parking break anymore because I can't bend my left knee enough to push it down. I'm also still walking my dog daily, maybe 3/4 of a mile max on the neighborhood sidewalk, no power line trails for me anymore on uneven terrain, ugh. My surgeon said to keep walking, even if it hurts, probably to keep my muscles strong and moving? Even a slight slope downhill is becoming hard. Glad I don't have to wait much longer to get this knee done.
 

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