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TKR When oh when oh when

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@LeftKnee123 …. If you continue to have problems beyond the one-year mark, it may be time to get some new eyes on your knee. Have you considered second opinions?
 
@LeftKnee123 An X-Ray doesn't show much. Ask your doctor to do a CT scan. That should show more. Also stress that you need to feel better. I suggest you put together a list of your complaints and tell him that No, another 6 months of discomfort is not going to work.

@Jamie - I am seeing a new surgeon. He has the full report and doctor's notes. He has an X-ray and the CT scan. He thinks the surgery looks good. I think with the burning buzzing feeling in my leg, I need to see a neurologist about nerve damage. I have been taking tramadol, Advil and Tylenol. As such I just woke up from a nap on the sofa! Maybe this will be my life, dulled and sleepy from pain meds.

A friend had a TKR a day after I did, on Dec. 21, 2022. She's been having a lot of different pain the past months. She went to see her surgeon (not the one I went to) and he said the spacer is too small and she needs a revision! And he said it wasn't his fault. Whose fault is it, we wonder? Did she put in a too-small spacer? This surgery is doled out with no thought as to how much it can mess people up.
 
Suggest to her that she seek out a second opinion. I would never go to that same surgeon! He has no accountability. Also, tell her about Bonesmart. It can't hurt.
 
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@sistersinhim - I did. She is seeing a different doctor for an opinion about a knee revision.

To everyone else - it's 1:00 am and my leg feels like there's a volcano going on in there. I still have that tight band feeling. All I can do is regret that I had this stupid surgery. And yes, I saw a new surgeon. I feel hopeless.
 
Oh I'm so sorry the second set of eyes on your knee yielded no path forward.

Are you planning to ask for a neurology specialist?
 
So sorry to hear of your continued pain. I think @mendogal suggestion of a neurology referral is a good one. It must be really miserable to feel nothing is improving.
The knee does seem to be a particularly complicated joint and up to 15-20% of people have some ongoing issues.
Was the CT scan definitely fully OK? I found a paper a while ago ( which I put on BoneSmart by Rowley & Nicoll I think). It showed that rotational errors in the tibial component were a very common cause of ongoing pain at one year plus.
An interesting comment I read somewhere was that it was difficult sometimes to size implants correctly if a patient was small. I remember reading in one of your posts that one of your surgeons said that maybe your pain was because you were thin. I wonder if they were somehow referring to that issue??
The paper on rotational errors implied they sometimes have to twist the leg to fit the implant. I think now that there are implants made individually to fit.
I think if I were especially small I would explore that option.
 
I am sorry and I understand it's a nuisance seeking multiple opinions, but what about a third, fourth, or fifth opinion, whatever it takes, you're worth it! Please don't feel hopeless. :console2:
 
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@EalingGran - thanks for your thoughts on my problems. I'm 5'10 so I'm not small. Just slender. I have noticed that 20% of people who got a TKR were unhappy with it. I am one of those. My ex-surgeon said the CT scan looked good--but is she trustworthy? It definitely is more of a neurological issue, so I am going to try to find a doctor who is a neurologist, specializing in peripheral neuropathy. I am not sure what makes my leg so hot and uncomfortable. I am also looking into drugs that help nerve pain. Gabapentin makes me sleepy so I only take it at night and don't really know if it's doing much.

@Layla and @EalingGran - thanks always for being there. I am not giving up, but tired of this. It's been going on for half a year. I wonder if it's fibromyalgia.

Does anyone out there have any experience with Cymbalta/Duloxetine? It is supposed to be helpful for nerve pain issues.
 
Sorry my idea doesn't apply.
I have been reading a lot recently about how medical treatment ( both drug regimes and medical devices) don't work as well for women- because the research is done using men's bodies ( physiology and anatomy) as the standard and then just assuming women are just a bit smaller versions.
 
Cymbalta and Lyrica are both alternatives that are used sometimes with nerve pain. Results vary widely, but sometimes alternatives like this are worth a try.
 
@EalingGran - please don't apologize. I always like to hear what you have to say! You tell me your thoughts on the things I spout off about. I get hugs from @Layla. I am good.

And everyone else, thanks for your input. And emojis! :skep:

The latest and greatest is, I'm going to see a neurosurgeon on the 6th of March. Volcano legs are a neurological problem, I hope! Because it's not the surgery?

I still have the crazy tight band feeling. A year and 2 months later. It's terrible. What is a neurosurgeon going to do about that? What a mess!
 
Best wishes for your appointment with the neurosurgeon next Wednesday, Jammy.
Please let us know how it goes.
 
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Reading your posts, and yes you have a great sense of humor! You are a couple of months ahead of me. What did we get ourselves into anyway!?! Donott worry!?! Just give it another two years LOL
 
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Good luck today! Hope you get some answers.
 
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I hope your appointment with the neurosurgeon went well yesterday.
If you feel like sharing, we're here with a listening ear always.
A great evening and rest of the week to you.
 
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Hi there, :)

My appointment was scheduled for 11:00. I saw the PA at 12:40 and the doctor at 1:00 pm which lasted till 1:15. I swear! OMG! I am getting an MRI of my neck, an MRI of my hip (on the TKR side and has been hurting more and more), five specialized X-rays of my back, seeing a PT for my back with Traction (maybe like a torture rack in the olden days?) and made an appointment to see a hip ortho after I get the hip MRI! After I see him I will follow up everything with Dr. In and Out Neurosurgeon! March Madness! Also he changed my gabapentin script to generic Lyrica which he for some reason likes better. Shees, and I just bought a new gabapentin. And he prescribed a muscle relaxer, which I didn't buy. NO.

I didn't bring up my knee's tight band feeling with the doc, he was looking at his watch after ten minutes of Jammy time.

Thanks for caring!
 
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So sorry you didn't get a longer and more caring appointment. I know when I was worried about my knee, it helped not to feel rushed by my surgeon. It really helps if you can believe and understand a doctor's explanation- even if the news isn't great.
Still at least hopefully the various MRIs will yield some useful information.
I know for me the tight band was residual swelling- but I guess that even that might be linked to the hip or back if you are out of alignment.
 
My goodness. I guess he's one of those surgeons who really only likes his patients when they're asleep. Good he's looking for more information though!
 
He looked at my back MRI and said my spine was curved but not that bad and did a few weird things with yanking on my toes and my fingers, pulled at my middle fingers, weird. I must say I liked him though. He said he can tell me more when all the tests come in. I like the idea of getting PT for my back. I had back pain when I was getting PT for my knee and said something about it, and the PT said, "We don't do knees" and totally dismissed it. I had so much knee stuff going on then I didn't pursue it.

By the way, my knee doesn't feel too bad TODAY but just saying that I'm sure will jinx it. I mostly have the tight band feeling but I need to walk more. My gait is not good though, sheees.

I decided today after taking gabapentin for my nerve tingles this morning and then having to sleep three hours, I am done with gabapentin. What a mess. It makes me sooo sleepy. Doc gave me a script for Lyrica but it sounds like the same. I will take Lyrica at night and see what happens.
 
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