Burning lower thigh, 7 days post TKR

Posted , 7 users are following.

Please! HELP! My PT says I am doing well above average, however I have this new burning sensation that is EXCRUCIATING! I cry out, like a baby! Worst pain of my entire life. Cannot get comfortable. Will call my Dr and PT in am for their advice. Need to know if others have experienced this. I can't take it. I don't even have to move, the burning comes on when perfectly still. Help, 11/10 pain, like my leg is being cut off. I am one week post surgery 

1 like, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    Not to be an alarmist but maybe good to ring someone ASAP it doesn't sound good and I'm presuming your not able to weight bear, if your not UK and I have the times out then ring as soon as you can, please let us know how you get on, in the meantime get someone to get some ice for you and don't try to move to much, it could of course be straight forward muscle spasms

  • Posted

    I had something similar 4 weeks post op after a heavy PT session. I think it was too much PT and a couple days rest with ice, pain meds and rest eased it. But notify your doctor asap.
  • Posted

    Hi Linda.

    i am so sorry you feel like this. I'm not qualified to say there is nothing underlying going on however, Exactly the same thing happened to me. At the same point 7 days post PKR I was in so much pain, nothing touched the pain and burning. In the middle of the night I even emailed my surgeon to prompt an early morning reply. He told me it was normal!  It was the nerves he had cut and everyone is different. He told me to massage and rub all around the joint. Difficult I know when the staples are still in but this is what I did. I also contacted my gp and she gave me stronger pain meds - Tramadol. Both things worked, not straight away but after a couple of days.

    hope this helps. I am now 11 weeks post op and only just feel it was all worth it! It takes time and patience, both difficult. 

    Good luck you are not on your own on this forum.

  • Posted

    Hi Linda. I experienced exactly the same, not a clinical person but I had a secondary bleed which was caused by doing to much whilst still on blood thinners. The pain is excruciating, like nothing ever experienced before. I live in the UK incidentally, and ended up at the As&E department. I was instantly advised too properly elevate above heart and keep it iced. I feel for you, I couldn't sit, stand and travelling in the car was horrendous. I take codeine , plus paracetamol, brufen and have Pregabalin which is for nerve pain. Good luck. Sue

  • Posted

    Increase 2 things...ice and hydration. Elevate the leg to get it slightly higher than the heart, ice it almost continually and increase the water intake. The last thing you need and one of the easiest things to happen is dehydration when you are in pain or ill. After that, call your Dr. Make sure you are taking pain meds on schedule as well. Many people will wait ti'll pain sets in and then try to play catch up with the meds and it won't work.

    Stay off of multi vitamins and aspirin until cleared by Dr. as both can lead to bleeding. Stay inactive as much as possible. I know the pain well that goes with any kind of bleeding. I have a rare tumor (pvns, that hits about 1 in 1.8 million) never had any indication it was there. Exactly 15 years ago today my leg was fine at noon. By 3 p.m. it had turned black and purple half way to my groin. It was almost 4" larger than my other leg. Never had I experienced anything like the pain. Now, 10 surgeries and radiation later, I'm still in pain as they can't get all of the tumor and its still doing its dirty work. I learned from that the word benign doesn't mean a thing when it comes to misery. It just means it isn't cancerous and won't matesticise in an organ. Swelling in a joint translates to pain any way you look at it. Sometimes its serious and sometimes it's just what it is...a pain.

    Hope the Dr s get you straightened out quickly. Remember its your leg and your pain...don't let them poo-poo it as something that's not serious and that it doesn't need checked out.

  • Posted

    Are you taking all the pain relief medication you have been given by the hospital? You have lots of good advice here, seems worth seeing a professional asap. Always risk of DVT so best to check. Best wishes!

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