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Second knee on its way out

Posted , 13 users are following.

susan33930
susan33930

Hi everyone.

Had right TKR last May - had been taking a lot of painkillers for years and didn't think they were doing much until started to be weaned off them and realised how much my left knee was hurting!

So, Doc put me back on them and I've been not bad until the last couple of weeks and I'm in agony. Not quite sure what to do with myself - can barely walk down stairs or even sit down on the loo!

It seems to have got really bad really quickly - has this happened to anyone else? I'm 49 and don't think I can face a second TKR just yet.

1 like, 18 replies

18 Replies

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  • deborah90838
    deborah90838 susan33930

    Posted

    Bothof my knees were bad although my left one was worse so I had my left tkr Sept 1st. My right one deteriorated rapidly after that. I never got off a cane after my surgery because of my right leg. I had my right knee done Jan 5th and it's the best thing I've ever done. Although it's a little slower coming around I've just this week gotten completely off my cane. The first time in over a year! Although it's a lot to go through I can happily say I'm pain free for the first time in years.
  • lyndawcanada59
    lyndawcanada59 susan33930

    Posted

    I am in the same boat. I had one tkr done Jan '15 and was told to lose some weight b4 even considering getting my left tkr. While my right is very good I am having trouble getting my head around getting the left one done. It has started to really bother me so I think it will have to be sooner rather than later.
    • bev39551
      bev39551 lyndawcanada59

      Posted

      Lynda I am the same as you. I had one done ten weeks ago. Dr says I need to lose weight before the next one. So here we go. The more I want to diet the more I want to eat. Having a difficult time with it.
  • cheryl90571
    cheryl90571 susan33930

    Posted

    Hi Susan!

    Once my first knee was replaced and recovery was underway, it was quite obvious to me that my Not-Yet- replaced knee was lagging behind, causing me pain, and truly holding me back!

    At my two month check-up I scheduled my second Knee's surgery.

    Both of my knees were bad. I knew I needed both replaced. X-RAYS were the visual I needed to convince me to have both surgeries.

    For me, once that awful pain with knee #1 was over and I was just dealing with recovery, Knee #2 was really painful IN COMPARISON. Maybe you are experiencing the same effect.

    Either way, I knew that without surgery the only thing I could be sure of is that my pain would keep increasing.

    I wanted a CHANCE to walk/ move / LIVE without pain. I took it, and I have not regretted my decision... not even once!

    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee cheryl90571

      Posted

      And I would add to that, to be able to not have to rely upon pain medications.  The combination of pain and pain medicine can change a person.
    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 DawnDedee

      Posted

      You surely have THAT right!

      Taking the Meloxicam for pain helped my PAIN, but it also caused stomach issues. My GP sent me to a gastroenterologist because "occult blood" was found in my stool sample. That led to upper and lower G. I. testing. My Rheumotologist prescribed ADDITIONAL pain medication when I told him I STILL had lots of pain. It became a vicious cycle!

      I realized after seeing my new X-RAYS of 2015 that surgery was my only option. I guess I finally understood that, for me, taking all the pain medication was just like putting a bandaid on a broken leg! What I needed was physical REMOVAL of the thing causing me all the pain. In my case, that "thing" was THE KNEE JOINT!

      I also now realize that my pain had taken over my life! I thought about my knees all the time. Every decision was first filtered through my "can I DO this" knee pain assessment. I was not thinking clearly either.

      I didn't even realize all this UNTIL I was off all the additional pain meds!

    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee cheryl90571

      Posted

      Yes!  Since I have not had my knees done yet, I can relate to my hip replacements.  First one was perfect.  Second one was a nightmare.  Same surgeon and same kind procedure, but the device became loosened within the first two weeks, but the surgeon could not find what was causing pain that caused me to scream involuntarily.  In my records he even wrote down that when I was distracted, the pain seemed to go away!  REALLY?  ALL IN MY HEAD?  The pain was on and off at that time.  Unpredictable but sure to happen.

      Of course as time progressed it only worsened.  Then instead of having a surgery and weening off of the pain medications within the first 6 weeks or sooner, I had to take it round the clock.  Both the pain and the meds changed me.  Like you, this crippling pain defined my whole life and eventually caused me to be bed ridden except for only when I absolutely had to be up.

      My temper changed for the worse, I stopped reading, had no interest in anything because my outlook became so negative.  Then after my surgeon abandoned me, no more pain pills until my eventual revision with a different surgeon.  And having this pain without medications made me even worse.

      I feel for those who are in chronic pain with no surgery to fix the problem.  

    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 DawnDedee

      Posted

      Goodness! What an experience you had with your second hip replacement! Loosening...oh my!

      In your head??? Oh! Did you ever get a chance to let Dr. Crazy know that the reason you were IN PAIN was that your replacement was LOOSE???!!!!

      I'm so sorry you had to endure all that you did!

    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee cheryl90571

      Posted

      I have constructed many letters to him in my mind, and plan to send it to him.  AND, copies of my x-rays to prove how loose it had become in the end!  It will do no good, but it will feel good.  He stole from me a year and a half of my life.  Six months post op, his practice kicked me out, would not treat me anymore because I missed two payments on my account.  So I was left abandoned feeling like I would be crippled for life.  

      Then I found this site...and the good just kept flowing from these wonderful people!  

    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 DawnDedee

      Posted

      I would think that a surgeon would owe a patient the care needed regardless of the financial issues. Money should never prevent a surgeon from making sure that the patient he/she operated on was healthy, safe, and cared for in the best way possible.

      When we have had surgery we are not completely whole for quite some time. We need every benefit of the doubt to be extended to us as we literally get back on our feet!

      Again, I am so sorry that you had this terrible experience.

      Yes, I really love this site, too! There are so many great ideas found here, the support and understanding is amazing, and I always feel in good company of those who really know what I have experienced.

  • debz13
    debz13 susan33930

    Posted

    Had left tkr Aug 2015. Finally felt as if it was improving by Dec. Now, for the past few weeks it is bothering me more than ever! So, no, you definitely are not alone! My right knee will need tkr at some time in the future, but it is still doing fairly OK with injections.

    There are definitely times I feel like giving up. But, I keep plugging away.

  • tracey59320
    tracey59320 susan33930

    Posted

    I had my first TKR on July 1st last year. I already knew that the other knee was actually worse and would need to be replaced before long. I have only recently reached a point where I reluctantly accept that I need to get on and have the other knee replaced.

    After all these months of the other knee taking the weight while the new knee healed it is now really painful and I am finding that I even have some pain in my hip. I have seen the consultant and I am now waiting for the appointment to come through for the other TKR. I dread it but I just want to get it over with now and start what has proven to be a long slow healing process. I told the surgeon that I saw that it had been at least 5 maybe 6 months before I believed that I had not made a mistake in having my knee replaced and that I could actually feel the benefit. He said that he thought that the medical profession perhaps do not manage peoples post-operative expectations very well and that patients should be made aware that it could be at least 18 months or so before you really are feeling "normal".

    So if you need that other knee done I would say get on and get it done before it puts too much strain on your new knee and hips and let the healing begin!

  • chrishappy
    chrishappy susan33930

    Posted

    My left tkr was June last year and I'm having my right one done very soon, I too am having aches in my tkr leg quite badly some days when I don't take my strong painkillers, it seemed to be getting better but the last few weeks with the soreness at the back of my knee and the pain on the outside of my knee makes me wonder was it worth it!!!!! Grrrr. I'm sure or I hope this is all part of the healing, so your not on your own and now neither am I .x
  • terri59470
    terri59470 susan33930

    Posted

    Hi there Susan, I just typed a great big reply on my Kindle but its disappered - apologies if it appears suddenly!!

    Yes, this is OH SO FAMILIAR to me! I had my 1st (right) TKR in March last year. At that point my left knee was deteriorating, and was going to need surgery eventually, but at some point in the future. My knee had other plans for me! About 3-4 weeks after my 1st TKR, my left knee just gave up the ghost. I was going downstairs and I literally felt something "go", as though the knee was disintegrating. And the pain!! I ended up unable to straighten the leg, had to sleep with the knee bent, supported and propped up with pillows....which in turn has caused major problems straightening post op....the pain was dreadful, despite the pain meds I was still taking from TKR #1. The knee was constantly getting "stuck", with me having to wiggle it around to free it....stairs were nigh in impossible....

    So, I spoke to my Surgeons assistant at my 6 week post-op check on my 1st knee, and was told that my surgeon doesnt carry out 2 TKRs less than 6 months apart, so it was a waiting game. When the time came, and I had new Xrays taken, my surgeon was really surprised at how quickly and severely the knee had deteriorated, and promised me that I wouldnt have to wait long for my op. He was training a new Doctor at the time, and it was nice to hear my surgeon explaining his reasoning ofr carrying out the 2nd surgery - Im 49 years old myself, was 48 when I had #1 done, and he was explaining about reverse age-ism, where people our age are often told that we are too young for these surgeries - he vehemently disagrees, thankfully, and explained to the new Dr how my quality of life was non existent, and that at my age it was unfair. Plus he said the pain was too severe to make me wait. I love my Surgeon!

    I completely understand that you will have major reservations about going through this TKR journey all over again, but in my experience it is worth it. Is it hard? VERY!! Is it any easier 2nd time around? Well in some ways yes, it is - we know what to expect (maybe not a good thing!), we know what preparations we need to make with regard to preop exercises and strengthening, and most importantly we know what recovery entails. Its hard work, its painful, its tedious, but I think sooner is better than later, as the more damage is done to the joint, the more the surgeons have to do to get it right - the scar from my 2nd surgery is over 2 inches longer than the 1st, because he had to expose more of the joint....

    I hope you find the strength to make the decision to go ahead. If youd asked me 2 or 3 weeks ago, it would have been like talking to a different person, I was weepy, despondent and wondering when it would all end.  Now, my pain is subsiding, Im getting stronger every day, and I can finally see the light at the end of the TKR tunnel. Im feeling more like "me" again, and I kind of like it!

    Good luck Susan, please feel free to message me with any questions or worries you have, no matter how small or silly you may think it is - the only silly question is the one you dont ask!!

  • martinarvelo
    martinarvelo susan33930

    Posted

    I've only had one TKR but the need for that one developed very quickly . .started in May, and I had an arthroscopy in October, which made it worse, and ended up with a TKR in the J;anuary . . .I know many people  put up with it for years, but at my age I thought it better to get it over with, as it obviously was only going to get worse, and was really affecting my ability to lead a normal life. . .I do understand you not feeling able to have a second TKR . . . it is a pretty horrible operation!
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