After knee replacement surgery

Hi Debbra @debbraw -- Definitely not meds ☺ The group is anti meds for treating PN. Here's the link to my story and how I found the group: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/anyone-here-dealing-with-peripheral-neuropathy/?pg=42#comment-65985

The supplements I take for my neuropathy are over the counter vitamins, minerals and supplements I found through a closed Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/groups/spnpd). They also have a website setup since they became a 501c3 which has links to order the elements - http://solutions2pnpd.com/products/. The ordering page is kind of hard to see the list of all the items but the instructions page is a little more readable. It's not a cure for neuropathy but it does help with the symptoms - more so with the pain according to members of the group (over 8,000 now). I think it's slowed and maybe stopped the progression of my neuropathy but it's subjective on my part. The Facebook group has a lot of documents they have put together since the group came together on the research as to why it works and how it helps. I love the group but the one thing they do not like is a new member who doesn't read all of the new member information and starts asking questions - it's really a self help, you are your own advocate type of group.

I'm really not sure if the supplements are the reason I don't have the pain or not but the surgeon's RN didn't have any problems when I told her I was not going to take any gabapentin as part of my recovery meds which was originally part of what they wanted to give to me. She had the list of everything I was taking and I explained to her that's my gabapentin only mine works without messing with my brain. She said OK and would run it by the surgeon...never heard back although he made a slight change in my supplements I take for my PN --dosage increase for my vitamin B12 in my list of supplement to start back on when I got back home.

@johnbishop @jmjlove @debbraw and all others with a TKR scar! You folks are really brave to go through that. Do the scars fade after a while?

@contentandwell What a great idea for a t-shirt, Help, I’ve fallen and can’t reach the remote.” So funny!!

Yes Teresa @hopeful33250 - they definitely fade. Here are mine. The one on the right is from April 2017. The one on the left is from 10 weeks ago - late January 2019. It's not beautiful, but I'm not embarrassed to go swim laps. And it won't be long with my left knee until I'm ok to wear a dress. And bear in mind that this is a real close up. I'm 68 and I'm hoping nobody gets this close to gander at my knees!!

@debbraw That certainly looks slot better then John,s might have s nightmare

@debbraw I don't think scars ever go away completely My scar from heart operation is still there it's been 22 yrs scar on leg also

Sorry to hear your going thru this! I had a tkr on my right knee 7 weeks ago and sounds like i went through what your going through. I was so swollen i could only get 60° of flexion. I laid on my back with my leg elevated for 3-4 hours at a time with ice 20 minutes every hour. The swelling did end up going down. I was still super tight and ended up getting a manipulation at 5 weeks. I could only get to 90° with the therapist pushing on it. It has been 2 weeks since the procedure, tonight at therapy i was at 123° by myself. Still a bit swollen and tight. As for sleep, i feel lucky to get a solid 4 hours at a time. Not sure what happens at night, but my knee just starts throbbing. I can't wait to get a solid night sleep! Good luck!

@johnbishop ....After my first TKR while still on Iv pain meds, my pain level was sooooo high I maxed out the limits my surgeon allowed. I had been through many types of surgery, so it was not a new experience, but to this day I am still horrified by the memory of the pain. No one believed me. I was 42, and cried for 3 days in agony. I was terrified to go home with only pills and no help controlling the beast.I have always been a toughie. No whining, suck it up kinda girl. Well, the pain crushed me and turned me into mush. I don't know if the horrible condition of the joint contributed to the off the charts pain, or not. I do know that I had not walked properly on the leg since I was 14 and had my accident, then first surgery. Could it have been the fact that a correct joint forced proper conformation, which I had not had for all those years?

You are one of most that need their pain meds after TKR. For some, their knee actually feels BETTER right after surgery. Right away. That can not mean they suffered more than we did prior to surgery. In my case the joint was so distorted, I actually wore holes clear through parts of the joint, due to the mishapened bones. They found broken pieces of bone the size of almonds. Spurs so large I was the talk of the ortho department! I was always the one up and around, getting moving and actually helping roommates, sometimes just a few hours after my surgeries. Thank God, the second knee was, comparatively, a breeze. Oh, it hurt, but it didn't turn me into a blathering, out of my mind, crybaby.It was likely just what one would expect.

When you think about it, it's a wonder we don't all lose our minds due to pain. I mean, really, they just cut the top off one bone and the bottom off another...screwed on caps, removed our kneecaps and possiblely replaced it entirely....not to mention an incision bigger than a ruler. Yep. Pain med worthy, me thinks.

@jmjlove....I was 14, not 15 at time of accident. Wanted to edit, but seems that is only available for a little while after post. Not like this is urgent info, lol....but I like getting my facts straight!

@jmjlove you are describing the kind of pain I felt with my first round of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). I feel very fortunate not to have the pain others here have described after their TKR. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to get the swelling in my leg to go back to normal. I hate to stop working on the rehab and resting more but I think I may give the doc a call tomorrow and see what he says. My right foot ankle and leg are much bigger than the left foot. I'm sure it has something to do with my lymphedema but no way in you know what can I get a compression sock over that monster. Took off my one zippered open toe compression sock from the right leg this evening to take a shower and you could definitely see how the toes were much fatter and then the leg part above the sock below the knee was puffed up about a 1/2 inch fatter. Looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy's foot. ☺ But it doesn't hurt 🙁