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TKR. My worst life decision

Posted , 14 users are following.

Jeannenp
Jeannenp

I need to vent tonight. I hate for my family and friends to constantly have to hear this. In February of 2014 I had a left TKR for one on bone osteoarthritis. After 3 months of unimaginable pain and telling my surgeon it was infected, he finally tapped it, it was infected ( from pseudomonas in the OR) and was removed. 3 months with no joint and IV antibiotics at home, I got a new knee. End of story, right. No, I have neuropathy that is ongoing and lateral joint pain even at rest. I'm not sure why this is mine to bear, but sometimes I even get sick of the story.As I lay in bed tonight, I wonder if I will ever be the same. When I hear that knee replacement works, I just can't even imagine. By the way, I put on a happy face and do the best I can.

2 likes, 40 replies

40 Replies

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  • patsyrose
    patsyrose Jeannenp

    Posted

    Hello Jean

    I am so sorry that you have had such a rough time.

    I am one of those who has not had a smooth ride either and so I completely understand how you feel.  I am struggling to walk and my knee is just getting stiffer and more bent, now that I am back at work.  It's also very uncomfortable in bed.  I've now had this for 17 months with this knee...which was a bespoke one.  Thank God that I can at least Drive, as I cannot travel on trains or plains, so a lot of my life has changed.  I think that it's also difficult living on my own and also working from home.

    We should not be in this position!  I also now wish that I'd never had my second knee done.

    wishing you all the best.

    Patsy

    • Annibgood
      Annibgood patsyrose

      Posted

      Hi Patsyrose,

      I sympathise with you! I am due to have my other knee done later this year and at the moment I am definitely cancelling and I have had no complications whatsoever, so as I said I sympathise.  Cant believe it takes so long to recover.  Nobody tells you that before you have op. I had to come on this site to find out.

      Please please stay strong (wth the usual rant on here)

      Ann X

    • veronica91735
      veronica91735 patsyrose

      Posted

      So sorry Patsy that you too are suffering. I went through about 3 weeks of extreme stiffness after doing so well after the revision, then one of my friends begged me to give up the excercising for a week - I did   - & I feel so much better. I have started them slowly again - no hurry, & I feel the bend & straightness has returned (or is returning). Still can't sleep, & still can't do flipping stairs (26 of them in my home) - but it could be so much worse! Chin up - we'll get there!
    • marilyn64827
      marilyn64827 Annibgood

      Posted

      Hello again Ann I am now aware and no longer curious as to what happens.

      Marilyn..

  • veronica91735
    veronica91735 Jeannenp

    Posted

    So, so sorry for you. I had my TKR Oct 2014, then due to misalignment & mechanically loose, the revision was done Oct 2015 - I was going to have a rant this morning, as I still can't go down stairs properly, just both legs at a time like a toddler - reading your post has stopped me in my tracks. I was taken into theatre & had an aspiration to see if my knee was infected - thank goodness the results came back negative. I feel for you - I am always saying I wish I could turn the clock back - but the wiser ones around me say we can't - but to try & be positive - you are now on the road to recovery, no matter how slow, but you are on that road. I too get fed-up of hearing the "good" knee replacement stories - lucky them! Not so lucky us - but we will survive. Stay on this forum, Lord knows how I would have coped without it, - & try & be positive - get a pain management appointment like Oldfatguy says (boy, has he been through it) & talk to all of us here.x
  • Melodi
    Melodi Jeannenp

    Posted

    Hi Jeannenp

    You are very brave to put on such a brave face it sounds as if you've been very very unlucky.

    I worried prior to both of my TKR's which l feel have gone well although my second one slower which worry's me but l'm taking one day at a time.

    Let me know how you are progressing xxxx

    Let me know how you are progressing xx

  • irish_linda
    irish_linda Jeannenp

    Posted

    hi jeannenp  your not alone feeling like this ,ive been to hell and back since my bi lateral went horribly wrong ! f**cked up !! i picked the wrong surgeon ,he has messed up more ops since and is still operating ,shamefull but no one can sue not that i want money just a propper knee .   ive been through every emotion possible ,depression ,even thought of doing the unthinkable ,i could not have dropped lower ,i was on the floor . you too have been through alot ,it can really bring you down ,if i hadnt got my granchild to mind twice a week i dont think id have made it this far  ,she is so funny and happy it rubs off and she keeps me going . my hubby has been very good ,but he can only do so much , every time i get very low i make sure i get out if only for a little walk it helps even if my leg aches i do it ,i spend too much time on my own (my choice) i dont socialize much with friends because of this knee they got fed up of it and i never wanted it to come to this but this has happened to me and ive got to live with it ,im getting there slowly but i will get there  no matter how long it takes .  your looking at others doing well and you envey them i know i do .but you will get there . hang in there and feel free to moan we understand and dont judge !!!!!!!!!!!!!! cheesygrincheesygrincheesygrin
  • anne07663
    anne07663 Jeannenp

    Posted

    Wow, what good reads. I'm here still exercising waiting on # 2. Never going to be the same. But I can't complain. It like the saying" I used to complain because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet". Lots of worse problems for sure. I don't have that dreadful grinding pain in both knees now...just one. Lol. My left Tkr dec 2014. Chin up and take care. 
    • SolarCycles
      SolarCycles anne07663

      Posted

      Indeed Anne, it's normal to feel anxious at the future more so when things arent right but worrying resolves nothing so it's best to focus on the positives in life which we all have regardless.

       

  • Jeannenp
    Jeannenp

    Posted

    Well, I'm plugging along. Even after two years with no improvement in pain, I remain optimistic. Sort waxes and wanes, so I look forward to "wanes"! Lol. Going to continue to try things until something that helps and try to trust that most people have good results .(so when I have to do knee#2!)
  • Lame_woman
    Lame_woman Jeannenp

    Posted

    So sorry to hear about your awful experience!

    I don't know your circumstances, but it sounds to me as if you could try to find a specialist pain team to help you with the neuropathy. These teams handle just the pain, irrespective of cause. It's about making it bearable for you and trying a range of techniques to give you some control. They have a track record with intractable back pain and I have seen them work with surgical teams to improve the postoperative pain patients have.

    Just a thought. You have gone through the very worst of complications. It's what all we TKRers fear most. I think we must all feel raw, shuddering sympathy for what you've gone through.

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