Pre-Surgery Symptoms?

Posted by kac62 @kac62, Oct 7 1:04pm

Were there any pre-surgery symptoms, mostly for TKR, that you experienced that made you wonder if they were applicable to your bad knee/s or something else?
I have 36 days until my right TKR and I am experiencing fatigue, low-grade fever and slight depression amongst the usual painful knee.
Just wondering if this was all related to the upcoming surgery and maybe it is more anxiety than anything physically worrisome.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Joint Replacements Support Group.

rainyday541 | @rainyday541 | Oct 8 6:59am

I experienced fatigue, but I would be concerned about the low grade fever. It may be something other than your knee. I think I would make an appointment with Primary Care.

july1955 | @july1955 | Oct 8 9:27am

I agree with rainyday541. See your primary about the low grade fever. If you have any kind of infection right before your TKR surgery it is likely to be postponed. I'd take care of it now. My surgeon required blood work and an EKG before surgery to make sure I was healthy. You don't want to wait until then to find out.

steveinarizona | @steveinarizona | Oct 8 9:28am

Like @rainyday541 I would check out the fever. I don't think a surgeon wants to operate on someone with an active fever.

I have spinal and lumbar stenosis. It was not symptomatic until this calendar year when suddenly pain starting shooting sharply in both legs. I went to a pain doctor who gave me an epidural steroid shot. My left side had been the worst and it stopped the pain on the left but the pain on the right side continued. It took me a few months to figure out that my right knee had failed at about the same time.

I had severe referred pain in my heel and ankle area. It was so bad that I went to a foot/ankle surgeon (MD) to make sure there was nothing happening there and he cleared me. I think my problem was that when my knee failed and became misaligned it impinged on a nerve. When my surgeon did a "Functional Alignment" it took the pressure off the nerve.

It did take me months to figure out the source.

seven days post replacement and that pain is gone. So, fingers crossed, the steroid shot is holding off the pain. When it wears off I hope another will work as well.

I do have a wonderful neurosurgeon (Luis Tumialan) who has written a primer for surgeons on doing minimally invasive spinal surgery, if it ever comes to that.