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Swelling returned after 5 months

Posted , 5 users are following.

lighterson
lighterson

Found last night the swelling above the new knee has returned after 5 months, cant under stand why, any ideas what to do?

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • cheryl90571
    cheryl90571 lighterson

    Posted

    Hi lighterson!

    I had weird swelling issues with my left knee. LOTS of swelling, trouble LIFTING my leg and moving it not to mention difficulty with bending it. I did not have these issues with my right knee.

    I have come up with several theories:

    1) No two knees are the same-- even on the same body!

    2) There MAY have been issues during surgery such as more repairs being done on that knee than the other knee

    3) Circulation might be the problem. ( I had a vein ablation done two years prior on my left leg because my veins on that leg were not closing properly and leakage was occurring.) Right leg was OK without any vein procedure.

    4) Salt levels cause more swelling. After eating more salty foods I had more swelling.

    5) I needed to elevate my leg very high above my heart to see improvement. I literally would lay on my bed facing the headboard with my leg against the headboard WAY up there! (Our son is a distance runner who gave me this tip. WORKS WONDERS !)

    6) Being in a car with legs down REALLY caused swelling for me! Four weeks in after swelling was a bit better, we needed to travel two and a half hours to attend a dear friend's funeral. By the time I got there my leg was SO swollen. The return trip to home gave more swelling that took DAYS to diminish!

    7) I found that if I didn't drink enough water my swelling would return.

    8) Once I got off narcotics at two weeks and went to Ibuprofen, my pain level diminished AND my inflammation did, too. Swelling for me was worse when on narcotics.

    9) The knee heals as it heals. One day may be better, and the next might be worse. Healing is a busy process for the body to take!

    10) I found that if I rested when I was tired rather than just pushing through really helped. We heal as we sleep. Getting more rest ( a real challenge with TKR surgery!) helps with all aspects of recovery.

    I hope my theories help you. It DOES get better in time. Patience is NOT easy to achieve, though, and sometimes it is three steps forward, four steps back!

    Take care!

    Let us know how things go for you, OK?

    Left knee TKR June 2015 and Right knee TKR October 2015

    • lighterson
      lighterson cheryl90571

      Posted

      Thanks for the help and advice.

      I went back to lawn bowls about 2 weeks ago, and after bowling 2 1/2 hours the swelling actually went. Not bowled since Tuesday and the swelling has returned. Going to play again on Sunday and will let you know if the swelling goes again or still the same or worse, it an interesting and frustrating subject.

    • lighterson
      lighterson cheryl90571

      Posted

      Actually how did you feel having he second knee done? I need to have my other one done at some point, but at the moment I am going to make the decision at the end of the summer dependant on how I feel and how the knee is coping. My logic is get the first knee well on the way to recovery first.
    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 lighterson

      Posted

      My second knee went much easier than my first! I fully expected to have lots more trouble with it because it had ALWAYS been my TROUBLE leg.

      Goes to show you...You never know how things will go!

      For me, I knew both knees were bad. One look at my bone-on-bone X-RAYS and the bow of both knees on the X-RAYS and I KNEW that surgery was the only way to fix my problem. Since both were bad, it made sense to fix both and be DONE!

      NEVER have regretted my decision!

      Wishing you success in your continued journey of KNEES!😁🙌🙋☺😁

  • pam92068
    pam92068 lighterson

    Posted

    Not sure why you have swelling, but the healing process takes well over a year.  Until then anything is possible.  Since your swelling left while being active, maybe you will need to walk daily until this issue is resolved.  

    Pam

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