Swelling after total left knee replacement!!!

Given time and proper exercise you will improve. Proper exercise doesn't mean being in aging but it does mean continued movement.

Remember a couple of the axioms: this is a marathon, not a sprint and the other, everyone is very different. Don't compare your progress to anyone else's.

If there was ever a surgery that taught patience, this is it. Ice will become a trusted friend. Increasing your water intake is imperative. If your meds aren't doing the job, talk to a pain specialist. There are lots of choices and sometimes finding the right combination is the secret. Don't give up on the process because the process has been proven to work. Stay with this group. They have all been through this mill and will give you all the support possible.

Had my left knee done 23/03/18 and what a shock I got. Never known pain like it. Had an appointment in May to discuss right knee but cancelled not ready to even think about it maybe 2 yes time. It does get better but slowly on a night I take 2, paracetamol and 1 tramadol, well worth asking gp for these. Keep on with the exercises and I ice then wait an hour and heat. It's better to ice after exercises. It's done now so keep positive vibes and keep thinking somewhere down the line we'll be so glad got it done. Chin up we understand your pain x

hi angela

hang on in there.i am 3 wks post op on 6th knee replacement i know how u feel.yday was horrific today not done much as have hydro later. .it us normal what ur feeling but its part of recovery.

Hi. I had exactly the same pain was unbearable had to go back into hospital and had injections for the pain as tablets were useless as you say, they changed my tablets and put me on shortec and garbepenten and zapain tablets which worked for me but not straight away, i am 9 weeks into my knee replacement and still have swelling and pain but its now bearable i am still on tablets, i exercise and have physio which does help, my surgeon says  i will wake up one morning and the pain and swelling will be gone, what he didn't say was which morning, pain is an awful thing especially when you cant control it, good luck and hope your pain eases. Max

Thanks Angela this site is so helpful but I didn't find it till after my op. Its great knowing that you're not alone. I was at the physio on Monday to the keep fit gym. For 2 days after it was hell but today settled down I've achieved 110° bend and flex is good. Just wish it would settle down the swelling unfortunately I have had a toe fusion on the same leg as the tkr so am blaming that a lot for the swelling. Still ice a lot so here's to us all pain free days

Hi Angela,

I’m sorry your post made me laugh. It’s as if I’d written it a week ago. I had left tkr 16 days ago and it was pretty swollen but all told I was doing ok, walking hourly doing all my exercises and sleeping ok allbe it waking during night but nodding off ok.

then a week ago my knee felt incredibly swollen and the pain wouldn’t go away whatever I tried from 5pm onwards. Luckily a dr friend called on me and rang A and E and insisted that I be immediately brought to hospital. I got there by ambulance and neither 10 ml morphine or gas and air was taking pain away.

Taken into A&E and after 5 hours got taken up to ward.. 5 hours later my consultant had slipped onto emergency list and I had a full wash out and drains put in my knee. I had a number of clots and a haematoma.

a week on and my knee though still swollen is half the size it was.

i have lost all the benefits of the movement that I had but consultant and even the Physio agree it’s better to go very slowly rather than same happen again.

the reason for my problem was more down to warfarin than anything else

 

Hi Angela I was the same it is a horrible operation. Have u tried ice pack on your knee as it is really helps with the swelling and brusin g . If I have got no ice packs wrap a lot of frozen veg pea in a tea towel and place it on your knee for about 10/15min also helps as your knee is not as well. It does get better as I had mine done on 31 jan this year I k is pain is horrible.x

Hi Angela I was the same it is a horrible operation. Have u tried ice pack on your knee as it is really helps with the swelling and brusin g . If I have got no ice packs wrap a lot of frozen veg pea in a tea towel and place it on your knee for about 10/15min also helps as your knee is not as well. It does get better as I had mine done on 31 jan this year I k is pain is horrible.x

Hi Angela I was the same it is a horrible operation. Have u tried ice pack on your knee as it is really helps with the swelling and brusin g . If I have got no ice packs wrap a lot of frozen veg pea in a tea towel and place it on your knee for about 10/15min also helps as your knee is not as well. It does get better as I had mine done on 31 jan this year I k is pain is horrible.x

Feel for you.....its hard, yet you clearly ha v a sense of humour which will be helpful!

Get better pain medication sorted... are you in UK...morphine is good.

Hi Angela 

i was was wondering how are you feeling now?, what was the result of the visit to the hospital?