A year and a half from TKA, was doing great, sudden changes

That sounds awful, I hope to never do this again. I hope you start to feel better.

It’s been 11 years since my original tkr( I forgot to mention that along the way my leg would buckle and I would fall, fell once and fractured my femur),and I get along now, as they say “it could have been worse”!

I’m OK- been taking pain meds way too long though!!!

And Thank you

I’m young for TKR too, and mine is 1-1/2 yrs old. My chronic swelling developed sooner (at 8 months) though and is progressively worse. It started as localized bumps by kneecap and now has engulfed the front of the knee, including quads, and stays hot. My surgeon’s office did its own X-rays at regular intervals post-op, and results were always that the replacement was fine and that I had chronic swelling. They swore an MRI of a TKR would show nothing but distortion(?!) and that there were no other imaging options. I was told swelling was expected for up to year, but at one year checkup was told swelling can last longer. At 18 months I was dismissed bc my ROM was what they wanted. They seemed not to care about chronic swelling or pain. I did extra PT but was dismissed bc again I passed their tests. Now my knee is most certainly inflamed imo and my ability to walk is diminished like yours, and my functioning is steadily more limited, not to mention chronic pain.
Now guess what?-my surgeon has disappeared. I have a referral to a new ortho surgeon outside of the original medical group. (I’m supposed to get other knee done; I have AVN— bone death.) Will post what second opinion states. I suspect a problem that original office was covering up. Needless to say, I’m hesitant to do other TKR based on this experience. I think there’s a possibility that my knee bursa became infected and now I have bursitis elsewhere too…..

My swelling is on and off, almost exclusively when I take a walk. It goes away after a few days of rest and ice, but returns as soon as I go for a walk again. It becomes so stiff and I can barely bend it, and it’s painful then. My team has been supportive, but I’m in a different state. I will be going for a check up, hoping for something small and manageable.

I had my right knee replaced three days ago, Tuesday, April 4 2023. I was sent home the same
day as the surgery, as is the policy for the orthopedic surgery center were I received the knee.
I was as home by 6 pm. I walked every two hours until 10 pm. That is when the excruciating pain hit me and my restless leg started in my surgery leg. Around midnight, I called my surgeon's office and was told the doctor on call would call me. Around 2am, I got a call from a very grumpy person who did not identify himself. I asked if he was from the surgery center. His reply was this " I am the doctor you woke up in the middle of the night." My reply was this, " Why are you on call when you are sleeping?" He hung up on me.
To make a long story short and being desperate with pain, I just doubled up my painkillers until my doctor called at 7am. I got no pain relief and was writhing in pain all night. When I spoke to my surgeon at 7am he suggested what I had already done, to take two hydrocodone instead of one. I told him that I had already done that and it did not work. He then told me that I should expect a pain level between 7-8 after a total knee surgery. I had a pain level of 10 for 12 hrs and lost a nights sleep doubled up in pain. He finally gave me a prescription of torodol. Now, I feel like my pain is under control and I can work towards recovery.
This was my second TKR. My first was on, November 1, 2022. Narcotic pain killer did not work then ever. For this surgery they switched from Oxycodone to Hydrocodone. The switch did not help the pain .I don't have thyroid. It was removed in 2013 and maybe that is why these narcotics don't work for me. But my surgeon believes that surgery cannot be done without narcotics. Is this true?

Anyway, it just stinks that an on call doctor thinks he deserves more sleep than a surgery patient.

It’s awful the way the Dr treated you, I am very lucky with that end of it. I’ve had 3 other knee surgeries on the same knee, and this was by far the most painful. I would not do it without narcotics, I was crying with them. I slept very fitfully, on and off all night and day. I had oxy IR, it knocked me out which was good. I was told early on I could double up. I walked each time I was up, just around the room.

The Oxycodone and Hydrocodone just doesn't work for me . I think it keeps me awake too.
I wish they would have told me to double up. I did it on my own, which is something I don not like to do.
You had you surgery the same day as I did. Today, is a great day. I made my own breakfast.
Three surgeries on one knee. Did you have a recall on your knee replacement?

I don't understand why Medicare doesn't pay for allergy testing for knee implants before surgery. Because I have many contact allergies I asked for metal and bone cement testing before my scheduled surgery and Medicare denied payment. This blood test cost me $600.00 which I don't regret spending as it saved my from years of suffering from inflammation and rejection. My results came back showing an allergy to 5 metals, but not the bone cement. Titanium was not one of my metal allergies, but the surgeon told me traces of my other metal are in titanium. My surgery was cancelled.