Total knee replacement April. Constant pain spiraled into depression

Thanks for the info. Getting massages and electron therapy now. Really helping

@luvkitties

Are you expecting too little from this doctor and his surgical team.?

Actually I’m a bit disappointed. He did my hips in ‘12 and ‘13 with no issue. Seems going from private insurance to Medicare made things more difficult and the opioid crisis restricts those meds to 90 days. So after 90 days I’m on my own to deal with the pain. Knees are 4 times harder than hips. This experience has been anything but positive. I believe it’s the system not my dr. Hope in a few more months I’m better cause my attitude right now is I will never get another knee replacement. It has drained me.

Hi everyone. I just found this group and maybe I'm a little late to the game but maybe I can get some advice from others who have gone through what I have.
I had TKA back in February 2026. The complications started about a week after surgery. The wound never healed all the way. Down under the knee I had a open section about an inch and a quarter long by about half an inch wide and half an inch deep. That started leaking while I was at physical therapy. And that's when the infection started
I had a stage one surgery end of June 2026. Three/4 weeks later my knee swelled up like a grapefruit. It was massive! Doctor took out 60 mL of of reddish yellow fluid and said your knee is fully infected again.. And it's infected with Staphylococcus lugdunensis, supposedly that's the mild kind.
But last week I saw a knee orthopedic specialist, who is more specialist than the specialist I was seeing. He recommends a two stage operation. Take it apart put it back together with special cement. 3 to 6 months later put it all back together.
I'm having nightmares about having surgery again and I don't wanna do it. There's no guarantee that it will work.
Has anyone out there tried doing direct injections of antibiotics into the knee joint itself. To try and destroy the biofilm that surrounding the implant? I've read that they've also used to direct inject antibiotics into the bone marrow instead of using antibiotic cement to hold in your replacements. Has anyone tried that?
And recently I saw a doctor here in Atlanta who is using shockwave of therapy to break up the biofilm in a man who is about to have his knee amputated due to a heavily infected TKA.
I found a few other specialists online who handle infected joints. And I am looking to avoid the stage two surgery . Anyone had any miracles or "Hail Mary" treatments that have save the day?
Oh yeah last thing, I'm having nightmares, really weird nightmares. And I don't wanna get out of bed anymore, and I'm sleeping a lot more than I should, I asked the surgeons office for a name of a psychiatrist to speak to, and they said that's not my department. I feel like I am a cog in a money making machine and the process now is just to hand you off to the next specialist to do more surgery. And turn my knee into an ugly battlefield. Sorry to wax poetically but I'm kind of getting desperate.

@gmooney I am so sorry you are experiencing this nightmare. If I were you I think I’d go with the 2nd specialist recommendation. Having an infected knee is worse than a weakened one. Do the 2 stage procedure to get the infection eradicated. What you have now is not going to last, but could cause more problems if not taken care of. I was very close to depression, still haven’t slept well in months. When we can’t get decent sleep that affects our whole being. If no one offers a place of recommendation to find a psychiatrist call a hospital and ask for a good referral. I too feel the surgical team is lacking in post support, but I also attribute some of that to restrictions placed on them. Seems if we don’t have a ‘perfect’ recovery we get knocked against walls even just trying to get pain relief. These TKR are a real bite.

Hi All,
I am one of the 26% of post TKR patients that rue the day I consented for this surgery. In my following two years I took on a lot of education on all the negative outcomes. Re: scar tissue: 1) get on it asap. Myofacial and targeted massage. 2) NO! to manipulation. It will cause additional rebound scaring.
3) do expected PT but careful to think more is better. It is not. The knee needs ice and rest just like athletes take on when training.
4) Done EARLY engage Low Dose Radiation Therapy for scarring and general arthritis pain. Look this up and schedule. Germans have been doing this 50 years and US is behind the ball. Usually 6 sessions to a targeted joint.
Last, do not think reopening the area surgically will help. NO it won’t and infection rate is very high.
Best to you.
I have not given a name to my limb yet but it basically just comes along for the rides now. 🙂

I couldn't agree more with the massage. It's been a game changer.

@gmooney One thought for you. You are not that far (300 some odd miles) from Jacksonville where there is a Mayo Clinic facility. They have excellent surgeons and physicians and would be a great place to go if you can get in.

@tiredoftkr I don't know where you are getting your data from. The only place I have seen that 26% number is from this study:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12250144/
The Decision Regret Scale includes a wide range of regret:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10560339/
So...for example, if a TKR recipient regrets that his surgeon used a tourniquet but is otherwise satisfied, the individual would be on the scale. Another example, if the recipient wished that his surgeon had done a plastic surgery close, but is otherwise satisfied, that person would also be on the DRS.

The percentage of TKR recipients who completely regret doing the surgery, such as you, is somewhere less than 10%:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36252743/
But I am not saying you are wrong as applied to you. Whether the percentage is 5% or 26%, it is still more than it should be and it is unfortunate that you had such a bad experience.

I want to post some positivity. On Saturday, 123 days post surgery, I began to see my life as I knew it before the surgery returning. The constriction I mentioned in my original post on 8-8 has ended. I still have difficulty getting a good night sleep as my leg does bother me laying down, but the pain I felt constantly has finally receded. My energy level has improved as well all tied to, I’m sure, my mental health improving. I still know I have a TKR, but it is now manageable. 1/3 of a year to reach this point. Don’t give up. I am a testament to the fact we will heal with time. Hugs to everyone still dealing with discomfort. This is a very difficult procedure to endure, especially alone in a 2 story environment. Keep the faith. Each new day brings more healing.