After knee replacement surgery

Posted by beatricefay @beatricefay, Jun 16, 2016

Had left knee replaced 9 days ago. Right knee two years ago. Having a problem with inflammation so hard to bend knee and exercise. Trying to ice and raise knee above heart. Doctor suggested getting compression hose. Anybody have this experience and can offer suggestions. So tired all the time from pain interrupting my sleep and painkillers. My insurance refused to pay for the painkiller recommended by surgeon so have to take one with more opiates. That's frustrating. Two years ago it was covered but now too expensive for me to use. Seems the drug companies, not our doctors are determining what we use.

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@beatricefay

Hi gailfaith, niazumbanut, ronnie3716,
Good luck to ronnie3716 on your upcoming knee replacement. Keep us up to date on your progress. Thanks to gailfaith and niazumbanut for your support and good suggestions. I'm now doing home health PT but want to start out patient PT next week. I'm trying to decrease pain meds but sleeping through the night is still challenging. I know I have to give it time. beatricefay

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My LKR has gone so well BUT my right knee- The real one, is so inflamed and hurts so badly when I walk that I find myself doing everything to avoid walking. PT thinks I strained a ligament on my upper leg and it's pulling on the kneecap. The pain is far worse than my left one that had the replacement. I had all kinds of test run on the right knee prior to the operation on my left knee in late June.
Has anyone else experienced pain and swelling in the non-operated on knee? I have appointment with orthopedic surgeon in two weeks.
If yes please tell me what you did about it.
Thank you

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@beatricefay

Hi gailfaith, niazumbanut, ronnie3716,
Good luck to ronnie3716 on your upcoming knee replacement. Keep us up to date on your progress. Thanks to gailfaith and niazumbanut for your support and good suggestions. I'm now doing home health PT but want to start out patient PT next week. I'm trying to decrease pain meds but sleeping through the night is still challenging. I know I have to give it time. beatricefay

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Hello Ronnie. I have not experienced that but have a suggestion as to what might have caused it. After surgery we understandedly favor the knee that was replaced. That puts is in an unbalanced posiition when we walk and can cause all sorts of issues. With me, i experienced severe back spasms to the point that I became almost completely immobile. I hope your problem is merely a strain that will work itself out but you are doing the right thing by seeing your orthopedic surgeon. Good luck.

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@blswilliams

Ice, Ice, Ice. I had bilateral knee replacement. Started PT within 3 days. Yes swelling but it takes time. Was back at work 8 weeks after surgery. Dr said it will take a year to fully recover. At 9 months I awoke to no pain, didn't feel like I had something in my leg. All felt normal. 2 years later, broke my pella. DON'T do that! Worse than bilateral replacement ever could be. Just remember you have to give it time and do your PT! and again, ICE. And stay ahead of the pain with your meds. Don't wait until you hurt. Take as directed.

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Isnt that odd. I had my surgery in December and one morning in August I awoke with no pain. If I over do it I need to ice my knee but the constant pain was gone. Glad to know that others experienced that too.

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I am scheduled for bilateral TKR at the end of Nov 2016...but,
I had an appt with a regenerative medicine doc at a clinic about placental stem cell injections in both knees that is leaving me confused about what to do! I would love to have this done but I'm unsure of the REAL outcome of this procedure compared to Tkr! This Dr says that cartilage will regrow and the knees will heal to some degree, but I cannot find any info in online research that states stem cells can make cartilage regrow! I'm concerned about the high cost of the shots esp if it doesn't work and it's not guaranteed! They will repeat the injections 6 mos later if I'm unhappy with the results at no extra cost.
I wanted to know if anyone has tried stem cell shots a few years ago that have proven to last over time? Online research implies cartilage cannot easily regrow YET, but prob in the future! Also seems there have been no large studies done with stem cell for knee arthritis. With Tkr it's a done deal, outcome is assured, new knees!

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@bonlgd

I am scheduled for bilateral TKR at the end of Nov 2016...but,
I had an appt with a regenerative medicine doc at a clinic about placental stem cell injections in both knees that is leaving me confused about what to do! I would love to have this done but I'm unsure of the REAL outcome of this procedure compared to Tkr! This Dr says that cartilage will regrow and the knees will heal to some degree, but I cannot find any info in online research that states stem cells can make cartilage regrow! I'm concerned about the high cost of the shots esp if it doesn't work and it's not guaranteed! They will repeat the injections 6 mos later if I'm unhappy with the results at no extra cost.
I wanted to know if anyone has tried stem cell shots a few years ago that have proven to last over time? Online research implies cartilage cannot easily regrow YET, but prob in the future! Also seems there have been no large studies done with stem cell for knee arthritis. With Tkr it's a done deal, outcome is assured, new knees!

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I listed a note on my great experience with stem cells and my poor experience with knee replacement. Had stem cells also on my back and my friends just did two knees this week, and one did one on his hip. I have noticed the knee rep lament doctors are telling patients stem cells foes not work. Losing business.
The main thing, no pain, no hospital stay, and two weeks later no knee pain. That was my experience. Good luck

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@leh09

I had a partial knee replacement 7 months ago and still have quite a bit of knee pain. Surgeon said my pain should be gone. Anyone else have prolonged pain?

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(jmacvol)Just wondering what response was from Mayo Clinic regarding Your daily pain. Where did you have your knee surgeries ? I need to have my TKR replaced due to scar tissue etc. I am trying to decide where to have this replacement .I hear great things about Mayo. After Ortho.surgery at Mayo is the patient required to have Physical Therapy there also ?

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@leh09

I had a partial knee replacement 7 months ago and still have quite a bit of knee pain. Surgeon said my pain should be gone. Anyone else have prolonged pain?

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I do hope by this time that you have gotten a response from Mayo Clinic. Who perormed your last 3 surgeries ? If one has Ortho surgery at Mayo are you required to have your Physical Therapy there also ?

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@leh09

I had a partial knee replacement 7 months ago and still have quite a bit of knee pain. Surgeon said my pain should be gone. Anyone else have prolonged pain?

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You are no t required to have your PT at Mayo. You can go anywhere that you feel comfortable.

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@leh09

I had a partial knee replacement 7 months ago and still have quite a bit of knee pain. Surgeon said my pain should be gone. Anyone else have prolonged pain?

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I went to tje Mayo on Wednesday. They took a lot of x-rays and I had bloodwork done before talking witj the surgeon. We had a long discussion and tje surgeon's recommendation was that we don't do any further surgery. He asked if i would be willing to go through the surgery to improve my ROM by 10 degrees and I said no. He explained that with each surgery my expectation for reaching full ROM would be decreased and the risk would be higher.my problem is the rapid growth of scar tissue that blocks my ROM. He explained that the Mayo has a research team working on tjat issie but it is unlikely to be available in my lifetime..So, with the expectation of a low expectation of success with high risk, I decided to forego surgery. I am not disapointed. My surgeon who performed my last 3 surgeries was ready to do number 4. I even had a date scheduled. Think how disappointed I would be if I had number 4, another 3 months of PT, several months of pain to end up right where I am now. At least now I can go on without the surgery and not second guess myself. I am at peace with the decision and will return to the Mayo next year for a followup. I hope the rest of you have successful outcomes or are able to resolve your issues in some other way. Best wishes.

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Hi ... this is just my experience and may have nothing to do with your situation. I had a TKR 4 years ago, went to P.T., etc. Then I noticed pain starting about 9 months later and it was scar tissue. The surgeon went in, arthroscopically, and cleaned it up. Shortly afterwards I fell on my knees on my kitchen floor and it jarred the whole thing, so about 1-1/2 to 2 years ago I had to have a revision .... a total redoing of the TKR, except the posts that go down the tibia and up the femur are longer. I went to PT again, and my knee has been excellent ... no pain. Now I'm working on building up the strength in my knees. I'm 71.
abby

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