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After knee replacement surgery
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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What is PRP?
Did they take cells from your belly?
Yikes 12/ ___?
Hi thete PRP stands for plasma inriched platlets. They take 3 syringes of blood and spin it down
They use a large needle, one larger than when you donate blood as they dont want to break the platlets. They want to want to keep them whole
I have difficult veins Dr Smith did the draw using ultrasound. He did it himself no big deal got on first try. The stem cells were way low back about L4 L5 its from the illisac of your hip i think.
Hi Beatrice, Today is day 30 following my TKA. I can empathize. Still taking pain meds, will begin NSAIDS tomorrow to reduce swelling. I can finally get my shoe on and somewhat tie it. Those exercises that the PT have us do are painful. The knee is very tight, stiff, and tender. I was told to ice, ice, ice and have been trying to do so. I exercise two of the three times a day that i am supposed to. I acquired a complicated popliteal cyst post op so some of the swelling i guess could be from that. Last week i purchased those compression socks ($74 yikes). I lost my sock butler so it is harder to put them on now and i have yet to figure out a good way to take them off without bending the knee and causing more pain. I can only wear them about 3-6 hours because the dig into my leg right about where that cyst probably is. They do help with the inflammation and swelling as does using a wedge pillow to elevate the leg above the heart level. Hang in there. Not all of us are speedy healers. At first i felt bad because someone told me that their friend had the TKA on a Thurs. and was back to work on a Mon. Go figure. Super human or something. Rest and get better; be careful not to push too hard too soon. That's all the experience/advice/etc. i have to offer. Blessings.
Hi Win, Decisions, yep that was the hardest part. Deciding to give up parts of my knee. I asked if i could keep it, but they said no. Go figure. I had watched that stem cell clip also and have a friend who had it done. I was told that my knee was too far gone for that. I will have to have the other knee done also. It was supposed to be done in August and has caused me to walk with a cane for four years now. I suppose now that one is done, they can't MRI the other. Glad it worked for you. Encouraging to here that it works. Be blessed.
I'm having TNR on Feb10 knee pain is real bad and have to use a cane.....not looking forward to this...need reassurance ..
If you haven't considered stem cells instead of tnr then if people get them during surgery they have less pain and heal quicker according to Kerlan Jobe.
Hi Mistyouto,
I had both knees done and it has given me a new lease on life. I can now walk pain free and do all of the traveling I enjoy. I know it's a difficult operation and it will require patience, hard work and lots of pain medication, but in the long run it's worth it. I won't say it's an easy operation and you won't feel very good for a while, but if it's successful you will be very happy to have improved mobility. The PT after the operation is very important as you must break up the scar tissue. Good luck with the operation. When you can, please post how you are doing. BeatriceFay
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2 ReactionsHello @mistyouto, welcome to Connect.
As you can see from this thread, recovery is hard to judge from a person-to-person basis. Personally, I had a close relative who replaced both knees and was walking within a week. I myself had a replacement when I was 19 and it was a hard road to recovery that included two additional surgeries. However, I wouldn't worry about that too much considering my surgeon said of all his patients my scar tissue development was the fast and worst he had ever seen.
What I can say, is that in the end it was absolutely worth it. I went from excruciating pain after a block of walking to zero pain regardless of what I do with my new knee.
@mistyouto, what about the surgery concerns you the most?
@nancylh, keep working! Your experience sounds quite similar to mine. I had a real battle with swelling and scar tissue. Unfortunately, I let the pain and swelling get to me and I started slacking on my PT. Even though I had extremely aggressive scar tissue formation, I know that I am also to blame because backing off of my PT allowed for the development. Hang in there, however long it takes. You will reach a point where you can't remember the pain and how hard it was before the surgery because you are able to return to activities that you had to give up for so long.
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1 ReactionHi Justin,Thanks for the encouragement. I think i will print it and keep it for my next knee replacement. Don't know when it will happen. Was supposed to happen last August.Thanks again.BlessingsN-----------------------------------------
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