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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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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Mar 28, 2019
In reply to @ellerbracke "Hope your surgery goes well, and your recovery should really benefit from your pre-op exercises! Not..." + (show)
@ellerbracke

Hope your surgery goes well, and your recovery should really benefit from your pre-op exercises! Not sure if my surgeon insisted on help at home - I guess he just assumed because he knows my family. Was nice to have husband around, and visiting kids from time to time, but could have done it solo if necessary. Actually, after 4 days I chased hubby out onto the golf course since I was tired of compassion and concern..... wanted to suffer in peace 🙂.
Home PT is nice, of course all PT depends a lot on the individual therapist. As an alternative, some people elected to transfer to a rehab program within the hospital, if that is an option for you. I met a few people who had fabulous results doing that.
Regarding the driving: I’m pretty sure I was driving around day 17 after surgery, had been off opioids since day 8 or 9. Yes, it was my right knee as well - driving is not the problem. Getting into the car takes some maneuvering, it’s the getting OUT of the car which is the most challenging. Easier if you have an SUV-type verhicle - I don’t......
Tongue-in-cheek advice: enjoy the first 6 to 8 hours after surgery, while the nerve block is still in place. Even with proper pain management, that will be the last time for a while that you are not feeling a thing!!!

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@ellerbracke thanks for the encouragement. I have a small SUV - Ford Escape which sits a little higher than a normal car. With my bad right knee now I don't have problems getting into the drivers seat but when my wife drives I do have problems getting into the passenger seat trying to swing my right leg over the bottom of the floor edge. I was nervous about the nerve block though I know it will help. I just don't want to make my neuropathy any worse. My daughter works with some of the folks in the surgery area and told me to quit my whining - glad I raised her right ☺

REPLY
auntb1947 | @auntb1947 | Mar 31, 2019

Has knee Rp on 02/20/19. Very hot to touch. Pain is really bad. PT going ok. Can not take the pain killers. Can only use Aleve 4 every 8 hours. Does the pain ever get better?

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3 replies
auntb1947 | @auntb1947 | Mar 31, 2019
In reply to @bonlgd "I am scheduled for bilateral TKR at the end of Nov 2016...but, I had an appt..." + (show)
@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 talked to my Dr. and he advised me not to do stem cell. Waste of money and does not last. I had knee replacement 02/20/19 and will never do that again. Will just do shots.

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2 replies
cheris | @cheris | Mar 31, 2019
In reply to @auntb1947 "I talked to my Dr. and he advised me not to do stem cell. Waste of..." + (show)
@auntb1947

I talked to my Dr. and he advised me not to do stem cell. Waste of money and does not last. I had knee replacement 02/20/19 and will never do that again. Will just do shots.

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What happened with your surgery? I had both knees replaced. After the first one said I wouldn't do it again but eight months later did the other. It takes at least six months to feel like it was worth it. I am not regretting getting it done. Shot only work for a time and then they don't help

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santi | @santi | Mar 31, 2019

I was diagnosed with bone on bone in my right knee last October after an injection in December I am confident I can put off TKR surgery for another year. My BMI is normal and I am the fittest 66 year old male in the gym.

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1 reply
dkapustin | @dkapustin | Mar 31, 2019
In reply to @santi "I was diagnosed with bone on bone in my right knee last October after an injection..." + (show)
@santi

I was diagnosed with bone on bone in my right knee last October after an injection in December I am confident I can put off TKR surgery for another year. My BMI is normal and I am the fittest 66 year old male in the gym.

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@santi What kind of injection did you have?

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santi | @santi | Mar 31, 2019

My injection was an osteoarthritis treatment done by Dr. Berger in Chicago. He inflected the needle right in the tendon. Eventually he will do quad sparing TKR surgery on me when I can't tolerate the pain. Not there yet.

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JK | @contentandwell | Mar 31, 2019
In reply to @auntb1947 "Has knee Rp on 02/20/19. Very hot to touch. Pain is really bad. PT going ok...." + (show)
@auntb1947

Has knee Rp on 02/20/19. Very hot to touch. Pain is really bad. PT going ok. Can not take the pain killers. Can only use Aleve 4 every 8 hours. Does the pain ever get better?

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@auntb1947 Hi Aunt, and welcome to Connect.
I had my second knee replacement in October 2017. It was quite painful for about six weeks, warm too if I recall, but the pain suddenly lifted. At this point, I am so thankful that I had the TKR. I can walk for miles very comfortably.

I was really upset at how much pain I was in for those weeks. I had asked the doctor's assistant how long I would be in pain because my daughter was having a wedding reception in NYC in the beginning of December. She assured me that I would be fine by then. I never thought I would be able to do any walking around the city about a week before the reception, but I was fine!

Your pain is persisting a bit longer than mine did but I think it will get better very quickly at some point. I was able to take hydrocodone but in a very minimal amount. Being post-transplant I could not take NSAIDS, only Tylenol which is not an anti-inflammatory so it did not help much.
Keep in touch. If at some point it still has not gotten better, you need to see your doctor.
JK

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ellerbracke | @ellerbracke | Apr 1, 2019
In reply to @auntb1947 "Has knee Rp on 02/20/19. Very hot to touch. Pain is really bad. PT going ok...." + (show)
@auntb1947

Has knee Rp on 02/20/19. Very hot to touch. Pain is really bad. PT going ok. Can not take the pain killers. Can only use Aleve 4 every 8 hours. Does the pain ever get better?

Jump to this post

Yes, pain will get better. I took Oxycodone for about 8 days after surgery, which helped, then Tylenol for 6 days since I was still on 14 day aspirin regimen (and Tylenol did absolutely nothing for me), after that Aleve as needed. Some people had sudden end to all pain, mine very gradually subsided. I think at about the 3 month mark it had become more of an ache instead of pain, but at night it was still pretty intense at times. Hang in there - not that you have a choice!!! Icing helped me a lot, and as I have mentioned in other posts in the past, the very best thing I did was getting into a pool to do the PT exercises and generally move the knee. A lot less painful than on land. Plus, the fitness center I went to has the most amazing huge spa whirlpool........ heaven after workout!

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