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my tkr

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No1nanny
No1nanny

morning ladies & gents. i am now 19 days post op. i had the temp stitches out for a gape on saturday & the dressings off. my knee feels worse than ever. its on fire, harder than hard & the pain is getting worse. i have only been able to exercise once maybe twice, due to the swelling & horrific pain. any suggestions? i usually exercise through the pain, but this pain has just gone up 10 fold xxx

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  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 No1nanny

    Posted

    Sorry things aren't going well. Is the knee unusually red and hot. Are you showing any signs of running a temp, nauseated etc. Generally a staph infection in the joint will take 3-4 weeks to incubate but certainly worth making the surgeon aware of, symptom wise. Our nephew is an infectious disease doc and he tells me we all have staph in and on our bodies and no matter how good the hospital and pre-op care its always a possibility. It happened to me. I broke my leg the day after TKR (revision) and they put in an 18" plate and 8 screws. 10 months later I had the hardware removed because of irritation and the bone has healed great and the hdwe wasn't necessary. Appx. 3 weeks later.......temp shot up, unbelievable pain in the joint, nausea and redness in the upper leg. Blood tests and finally lab work on the fluid from the joint determined the infection by strain and then the fin began. It's rare but just don't let it hang on without making your docs aware of the problem. They know at a glance if you are heading the wrong direction in the healing process. It may be just a cantankerous  and you will need to hit your pain meds and be a little more patient in the exercise, continue to do them but not push quit as hard and use lots of ice packs afterwards. Good luck and keep us posted
    • No1nanny
      No1nanny Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      thanx so much. i am on here all the time, made lots of advice friends, but just not been on this weekend. my leg is as hard as a bullet, its not red, but boiling hot, the ice helps, but now the dressing is off, the hole in my cryocool is not long enough & rubs & digs into the scar. i am soooooooooo tired, not sleeping anymore than 2 hrs a night. i have always been a bad sleeper, but at least before my op, most of the time i got 3-4-5 hrs a night. x
    • Tucks
      Tucks No1nanny

      Posted

      I symphasise so much about the sleeping problem the first month I hardly slept at all. At 61/2 weeks though I am sleeping better. I have just had paracetomal as pain relief and am now down to just 4per day. i take 2 when en I go to bed along with a cup of tea, and bingo things are   Getting much better had a good six hours last night. Take care things will get better tucks x
    • No1nanny
      No1nanny Tucks

      Posted

      rrrrrrrrr thanx so much tucks, your a real help. enjoy your day, hugs, julie xx
    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 No1nanny

      Posted

      Again, be sure and communicate this to your doctors as soon as possible. Letting this sort of thing hang can make clearing it up more of a lengthy processs, something no one needs. Use a recliner if you have one and try sleep sitting up with the legs propped up either with the recliner or a footstool. I have found that position takes some of the weight off the joint and surrounding tissue. Rest during the day.....an hour in the morning and another hour in the afternoon can do wonders for the mental health. A foam wedge or small pillow between the knees can give you a lot of instant relief. Having that good knee banging against the bad one is so very painful and takes it takes so long for the pain to go away. Best of luck and hope every day is just a little better than the last
  • elizabethj63
    elizabethj63 No1nanny

    Posted

    Have you ever tried low level laser light therapy?

    it is not available that widly on humans but some trained physics offer it

    it is very effective as swelling reduction and preventing scar tissue - I intend trying when I get home as I have used it with surgery before 

    • No1nanny
      No1nanny elizabethj63

      Posted

      not heard of it before elizabeth, worth looking into though. thanx a lot x
  • pam39536
    pam39536 No1nanny

    Posted

    Nanny, it being hot and hard is ok, when you uses the cryo cuff you should have something under it , like pajamas or a tea towel wrapped round . Don't put it on too tight . I put mine on before filling it and have my leg elevated  at the time ..when it gets cool I empty and refill .bit it shouldn't be tight .

    at nearly 11 weeks my  knee us still swollen a bit and feels hot to the touch although I only get pain if. I over do it. I found naproxen helped at your stage with the pain and swelling. You must keep bending and straightening or it will totally stiffen up ..it will hurt , but you must do it . You will see an improvement soon xx

    • No1nanny
      No1nanny pam39536

      Posted

      thanx pam, i was wondering if i could put something over the scar & then put the cryo cuff on, but you have answered my question, so off to the freezer, lol. thanx a lot pam. i hope you are ok & coping, i just don't seem to be at the moment. my physio is well pleased with my progress, but i feel as though i have gone backwards since seeing her last tuesday, see her again tomorrow, so better get exercising xx
    • pam39536
      pam39536 No1nanny

      Posted

      At your stage, I cried at the physio , real tears and blubbing lol. I was never going to get th either knee done  ,never ever lol..I did make sure though that I did those exercises . Straightening and bending  can both be done in bed , just a couple of times every couple of hours . You don't need to 20 at a time  every time , just a few . Try doing the sitting , put your foot on a piece of grease proof  paper and slide it backwards and forwards it makes it easier...I am now doing far better than I expected at thus stage ... You will be surprised in a few weeks too xx
    • lynn08926
      lynn08926 pam39536

      Posted

      Just read your comment about blubbing with your physio.  Wonder how many times they go through that with patients!  I did exactly the same at 10 weeks post op.  Felt I'd never feel like 'me' again, be able to do all the important things again with my grandchildren, be 'Mum', the centre of the family who got on and sorted everything out.

      As far as 'the other knee' goes, that has been one of the most difficult things to come to terms with - having to go through all this again.  I, too, said never again, regretted having the first one done - all those things.  But the truth of the matter is we have no choice.  No-one has this operation once, let alone twice for the fun of it.

      I am planning to get the second op done next March, 2015 due to Christmas and then family commitments.  You?

    • pam39536
      pam39536 lynn08926

      Posted

      I am seeing surgeon in January who will X-ray both, and then make the decision . At the moment , because I suppose having the right knee done , it has taken a lot of strain off the left ...and I am not getting  too much pain . I think it will be wait and see, but I have no problem with getting it done if need be ... The pain was so bad before ,I don't want that again 
    • jennifer86104
      jennifer86104 No1nanny

      Posted

      I think Pam gives you really good advice. It's so hard when you're in pain to do those exercises but I've come to realise that they're my friend not my enemy! I was really hurting last night but came downstairs this morning and could feel the muscles behind the knee looser. They do pay off in the end so keep at them - but get plenty of rest too. At your stage I was taking a daytime nap in bed every afternoon. Hope the pain lessens soon. 

      Jen x

    • No1nanny
      No1nanny lynn08926

      Posted

      not sure about right knee yet. as yet just aching, but that will be the strain of my left knee. i also have spinal stenosis & fibromyalgia, so they are quite bad at the moment with strain. thanx for all the info xx

    • betty07083
      betty07083 jennifer86104

      Posted

      Hi Jen,

      I was just curious ~ you said when you came downstairs the muscles behind your knee felt looser. I also live in a two story home and I wondered if you were able to go up and down the "normal" way yet, one foot at a time? I'm 9 weeks post op tomorrow, and it is still difficult for me, and I still go up and down two feet at a time.

    • jennifer86104
      jennifer86104 betty07083

      Posted

      Hi Betty, yes I've been going upstairs normally for a few weeks and have made myself come downstairs for about the last week or so. Upstairs is ok but coming down hurts a bit but,as I said, it was a bit easier this morning. I did a bit of shopping today, though, and standing around in the shop made me ache something awful! This seems to be how it is - I think it's improving then I go backwards again. Grrrrr! I've also been using my stationary bike for just over a week and that hurts behind my knee too. That seemed a bit easier today though, so fingers crossed! Have you got a bike? The physio suggested I use it. I think we've got to try things a little at a time and, remember, everyone is different. I think I've got the problem in muscles that had gone out of use because my leg was so bent before. Jen x
    • betty07083
      betty07083 jennifer86104

      Posted

      Hi Jen,

      Good for you, being able to go up and down stairs the normal way!! I think part of my problem is just being afraid and still feel a little unstable. I am also having to work on standing up from a sitting position without having to pull myself up from the arms or something. My leg muscles are extremely weak, I think because like you, my leg was so bent before. Yes, I do have a stationary bike. It has just sat here gathering dust for years until I started using one in physical therapy, so I dusted ours off and am using it now.

      Your situation is so like mine. I also ache something awful when on my feet for too long. I also feel at times I'm really improving, just to feeling like I'm going backwards again! Will we ever feel "normal" again??

       

    • jennifer86104
      jennifer86104 betty07083

      Posted

      Hi Betty, I know what you mean about getting up from a chair. I get a pain above the knee if I don't hold on to something. If you're managing the bike I bet you could do the stairs, especially going up. I had to keep trying for a few days before able to pedal right round. Think I was doing the stairs before the bike! But, as I said, we're all different. I long to feel "normal" again too. Keep in touch. X
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