Worrying Pain Post TKR

elainebadknee

Hi

Im now 10weeks post TKR...For last week or so have had constant pain down lateral side of joint which is there 24-7....Its like a permanent ache and the joint feels very clunky (almost like I was before arthroscopies, crunchy)...I dont know if this is normal and my paracetemol and brufen doesnt take it away, only dulls it...
Am bit worried to be honest...Can only think Im now driving only into town and sat in back seat last week which wasnt comfy at all..Other than that ive been to hydro twice a week but I swim with three limbs now as cannot move my leg in any capacity in pool now...
Think its time to ring the arthroplasty practitioner and ask if this is normal or not..Wasnt expecting it to feel crunchy again so soon and thought would be more or less pain free...

Elainexx

barbara12

Elaine I would certainly ring them, at the very least they may be able to put your mind at rest...please let us know what they say ..I hope its nothing to worry about x

elainebadknee

Hi Barbara

Yes will ring and post on here maybe...Dont want to bore folk?...Is a bit worrying..

Elainexx

barbara12 wrote:

Elaine I would certainly ring them, at the very least they may be able to put your mind at rest...please let us know what they say ..I hope its nothing to worry about x

applerose

Don't feel you are being a bore. We are here to listen and support. Give them a ring and let us know how it goes.

elainebadknee

Applerose

Well think maybe im right, stats say so....I will ring but may not blab about it...

Elainexx

applerose wrote:

Don't feel you are being a bore. We are here to listen and support. Give them a ring and let us know how it goes.

chookgate

10 weeks post TKR isn't long, the new pain you are getting could well be due to you having increased activity levels (including driving). Clunking is fairly normal and will reduce as the muscles strengthen. I was told the knee strength and mobility will continue to improve for up to a year. Don't forget you probably had reduced mobility for quite a period before surgery where muscles/tendons would have been stiffening and weakening. It will take longer than 10 weeks to get them back to normal.

Having said that, definitely speak to someone, even if it is just a physiotherapist specialising in TKR, they will be able to reassure you all is okay (or do something about it if not!)

Good luck.

elainebadknee

Hi Chookgate

Everything you said makes perfect sense I guess its when you have lived with how your leg was for so long you (well I) expect the new one not to have some of the same symptoms of the old one....Im always the sort of person who can deal with something if someone identifies it, kinda better the devil you know than the devil you dont if you know what I mean...
10weeks I suppose is still early days but people around me expect me to be walking longer, standing longer and be more fit which I dont feel at moment...Ive in fact cancelled going to a party at weekend in Inverness which is 5 hours drive away and I couldnt face the journey even though part of it I would be driving...Other thing is my mum has hip pain right now and doesnt drive so I would have to swap with her the back seat and I dont find that comfy right now at all...
Thanks for your response...

Elainexx

chookgate wrote:

10 weeks post TKR isn't long, the new pain you are getting could well be due to you having increased activity levels (including driving). Clunking is fairly normal and will reduce as the muscles strengthen. I was told the knee strength and mobility will continue to improve for up to a year. Don't forget you probably had reduced mobility for quite a period before surgery where muscles/tendons would have been stiffening and weakening. It will take longer than 10 weeks to get them back to normal.

Having said that, definitely speak to someone, even if it is just a physiotherapist specialising in TKR, they will be able to reassure you all is okay (or do something about it if not!)

Good luck.

stickywicket

You seem to be havig a lot of different problems with that TKR, Elaine. In your shoes I really would want someone to check it out.

elainebadknee

Sticky

I dont know if its just minor things or me being a bit over cautious though...I have my dad who tells me daily "I had this and that and I am fine"...To be honest he;s like a flipping angelic TKR and THR person...! I do want to speak to someone..

Elainexx

stickywicket wrote:

You seem to be havig a lot of different problems with that TKR, Elaine. In your shoes I really would want someone to check it out.

elainebadknee

I have just been phoned by the arthroplasty practitioner and he says everything sounds as if I have been pushing myself too hard physically ie walking a bit further and swimming twice a week...He said if paracetemol and ibuprofen isnt working ask for codeine for the pain...He said if this pain persists to contact him in a couple of days time and he will fit me in to see me on monday...
Very good service I have to say...

Elainexx

LignumVitae

I'm glad you feel a bit more confident about things Elaine. I've read your progress and it sounds like you have done well so he could well be correct with doing a bit too much but do keep an eye on things and go back to him if you are at all worried. Your Dad is probably trying to help you and be positive and supportive but I know what parents can be like and sometimes that 'support' can be a bit like they are competing for how well they did things compared to you. Don't let it enter your mind, every case is different and you have to do what is best for you...only you can say how it really feels.

Good luck
LV

stickywicket

Very good, Elaine. Now you can relax as you know that, if there are any further problems, you can contact him.

chookgate

Hi Elaine, I hope when your Dr checks it out he is able to reassure you that all is okay. I remember with my first TKR (5 months ago) returning to work after 6 weeks, and being completely taken by surprise how much just getting to work, sitting at a desk all day and getting home again took out of me. So much so that a couple of weeks later I had to take a week off - I'd started to just feel sick all the time, and the knee felt like it had stiffened up and lost mobility. Thankfully I was still seeing the physiotherapist and they were able to reassure me - measuring the bend etc proving that I hadn't lost the mobility I was exercising to gain! I had an advantage over you in that because my other knee also needed a TKR (done now, 6 weeks ago), I was still on strong pain killers (tramodol and naproxen - probably why I had the sick feeling).

With my second knee, the hospital gave me about 2 1/2 days worth of co-codamol (8mg/500mg) so I have to admit I reverted to the co-codamol I had at home (30mg/500mg) of which I had a couple of weeks supply - gradually over the two weeks I reduced the dose to twice daily, and now have reduced still further to once or twice daily of the 8mg/500mg tablets. I had a couple of weeks before Christmas of a pain like you describe down the outside of my knee, which worried me because it felt exactly like a pre-surgery pain, but that has gone now. Then I started to get a pain in the back of the knee joint, when bending the knee - exactly as I had pre-surgery, but it also is getting better.

So, although things can go wrong, it's normal to expect everything to be much better post surgery, and it's also normal to have ups and downs - when you're up you do more, and it causes a down! Not fair, but 5 months in and my first TKR feels like a normal healthy knee most days (except when I got dragged around the shops at Christmas, then it throbbed for a couple of days!)

elainebadknee

HI LV

The arthroplasty man was nice and didnt make me feel like I was being neurotic...He also couldnt beleive how old I was and he had to ask me three times (Im 45) so that made me feel like a young chic!..I will keep an eye on the pain though and will contact him at end of week if need be....
My dad is a cajoler but he always says I go to the doctor quick about things to get them sorted, well im my opinion he leaves it too long but I know what he means....He got on me nerves a bit tonight and I threatened to spike his whisky lol (dont take that seroiusly mods?)...

Elainexx

LignumVitae wrote:

I'm glad you feel a bit more confident about things Elaine. I've read your progress and it sounds like you have done well so he could well be correct with doing a bit too much but do keep an eye on things and go back to him if you are at all worried. Your Dad is probably trying to help you and be positive and supportive but I know what parents can be like and sometimes that 'support' can be a bit like they are competing for how well they did things compared to you. Don't let it enter your mind, every case is different and you have to do what is best for you...only you can say how it really feels.

Good luck
LV

elainebadknee

Sticky

Yeah its a good service although it would mean the journey from kendal to wigan on me own...Havent driven that far yet!

Elainex

stickywicket wrote:

Very good, Elaine. Now you can relax as you know that, if there are any further problems, you can contact him.

elainebadknee

Hi Chook

Yes I will get checked out if this persists..I guess we all forget how much they cut through and what my limping/walking style was before so Im bound to be using muscles etc I havent used in yonks, coupled with the fact I did try to walk quite far the other day (we reckoned it was over 2miles)...
Its just great to hear from folk who have been through similar experiences and can tell me how they got on...Have to admit havent had codeine a lot in the past, it used to keep me awake so used co-proxamol pre surgery but had hoped to stop using it...
Thanks for the comments...:-)

Elainexx

chookgate wrote:

Hi Elaine, I hope when your Dr checks it out he is able to reassure you that all is okay. I remember with my first TKR (5 months ago) returning to work after 6 weeks, and being completely taken by surprise how much just getting to work, sitting at a desk all day and getting home again took out of me. So much so that a couple of weeks later I had to take a week off - I'd started to just feel sick all the time, and the knee felt like it had stiffened up and lost mobility. Thankfully I was still seeing the physiotherapist and they were able to reassure me - measuring the bend etc proving that I hadn't lost the mobility I was exercising to gain! I had an advantage over you in that because my other knee also needed a TKR (done now, 6 weeks ago), I was still on strong pain killers (tramodol and naproxen - probably why I had the sick feeling).

With my second knee, the hospital gave me about 2 1/2 days worth of co-codamol (8mg/500mg) so I have to admit I reverted to the co-codamol I had at home (30mg/500mg) of which I had a couple of weeks supply - gradually over the two weeks I reduced the dose to twice daily, and now have reduced still further to once or twice daily of the 8mg/500mg tablets. I had a couple of weeks before Christmas of a pain like you describe down the outside of my knee, which worried me because it felt exactly like a pre-surgery pain, but that has gone now. Then I started to get a pain in the back of the knee joint, when bending the knee - exactly as I had pre-surgery, but it also is getting better.

So, although things can go wrong, it's normal to expect everything to be much better post surgery, and it's also normal to have ups and downs - when you're up you do more, and it causes a down! Not fair, but 5 months in and my first TKR feels like a normal healthy knee most days (except when I got dragged around the shops at Christmas, then it throbbed for a couple of days!)

diamond

Still early days Elaine it takes time to build up muscles and tendons that are weak.You will get there we all have different recovery times.Every knee is different i have had both knees done with a six month gap in between ops.Kind Regards.

elainebadknee

Hi Diamond

Yes I keep thinking it isnt early days will soon be 3 months but I guess in terms of what have had done it is....Im probably just a worrywart...

Thanks!

Elainexx

diamond wrote:

Still early days Elaine it takes time to build up muscles and tendons that are weak.You will get there we all have different recovery times.Every knee is different i have had both knees done with a six month gap in between ops.Kind Regards.

Helenbothknees

Less than three months, and you're walking two miles and expecting to only take paracetamol and ibuprofen!!!! Are you mad...or just extremely over-optimistic?

Everyone told me I recovered fast, but I took 60 mg codeine and paracetamol four times a day until about 4 months after my TKR; then started cutting down the codeine gradually. I first went to hydrotherapy after three months, and the instructor, who'd had two TKRs herself and knew about them, wondered if it was a bit early and was concerned about giving me too much to do and my knees swelling up. I don't think I've walked as much as two miles yet...though I was working up to it before this awful weather set in.

I get pains and stiffness and twinges and so on in my knees all the time - and it's just over six months now since my op. I was told this is normal, and would carry on for a year and possibly as much as 18 months, and that I would see improvement for that long too.

Patience is a virtue...

elainebadknee

Helen

Well maybe I am but nobody else has told me for one to be taking anything other than the medication im on and the walk I did was on new years day, it was a long walk and I did struggle.....Im also at hydrotherapy twice a week it could be three but ive cut it back...
Nobody has told me either how long aches/pains/stiffness will last so maybe youre better informed than me....
I am told though that as im younger people my age tend to have higher expectations but im hardly Usian Bolt or even Eddie The Eagle agilewise...
Besides when you say patience is a virtue I seem to remember you wanted to drive at the 6 week mark, you said you felt ready, and posted on here...I held off on the driving front as didnt feel confident enough....
Everyone expects me to be fit for work now the operation is over, the government will be hounding me and members of my family cant see why I still cant reach the awkward plug or get the fitted sheet on the put-u-up bed in the spare room cos I cant reach the last far away corner....

Im only asking for advice, cant help how it comes across but like I said you seem to have been better informed than me on somethings....Or thats how it seems to me...

Elainex

Helenbothknees wrote:

Less than three months, and you're walking two miles and expecting to only take paracetamol and ibuprofen!!!! Are you mad...or just extremely over-optimistic?

Everyone told me I recovered fast, but I took 60 mg codeine and paracetamol four times a day until about 4 months after my TKR; then started cutting down the codeine gradually. I first went to hydrotherapy after three months, and the instructor, who'd had two TKRs herself and knew about them, wondered if it was a bit early and was concerned about giving me too much to do and my knees swelling up. I don't think I've walked as much as two miles yet...though I was working up to it before this awful weather set in.

I get pains and stiffness and twinges and so on in my knees all the time - and it's just over six months now since my op. I was told this is normal, and would carry on for a year and possibly as much as 18 months, and that I would see improvement for that long too.

Patience is a virtue...

Mutley1964

Hi Elaine. How are you feeling today? I have to say, reading through your post, the one BIG thing I agree with you is the total LACK of information given to the patient. I sometimes think that just because the surgeon carries out 100's of TKR operations, it's so routine to them that we don't need to know about all the why's, but's, if's etc. I did read up as much as I could about having the op, but you have to be so careful looking on the Internet or you would scare yourself stupid! I came out of hospital clutching an A4 piece of paper with 5 exercises on it. I really felt that it was a case of, "We've done the op now bugger off & get on with it"... Being a bit of a drama queen, after a couple of days I felt like I was having a mental breakdown, until I rang the hospital & spoke to someone who deals with post op problems and she, luckily, totally put my mind at rest! Even now, at nearly 6 weeks, I'm not 100% sure of how much I could or should be doing? It's all well & good someone saying, listen to your body, but mine is so tired thru lack of sleep, it would probably say, don't bother today
Luckily I'm seeing my surgeon next week, so will be interesting to hear if my "lack of progress" is due to a problem physically, all is fine & I'm just expecting too much too soon,or actually, if I'd exercised more regularly I wouldn't be seeing him on that day!
Have to say I can't see myself driving anytime soon as like you felt, I don't feel confident and probably wouldn't be seen as being fit to drive. I can manage a half hour walk round the block every other day and then I'm knackered! I suppose other people are different and either recover quicker...and slower :-( Have a feeling I'm definitely a tortoise in my own race!
Anyway, wishing you well in your recovery :-)

elainebadknee

Hi Mutley (was your real name Jaki, if not sorry)?

Yes I think to some extent there is a lack of information...I have my TKR 12 page worth of reading material, I attended the patient education therapy session..Ive also got 2 member of my family who have had TKR's too have tried to find out as much as I can, as well as get advice on here too...Youre so correct too that you can get filled with too many stories, information etc and it can scare you stupid (well maybe just me, lol!)
Even in hospital I wasnt prepared for the after effects of a catheter and like I said didnt expect my blood count to go as low as 7.2 and to need a transfusion...Those days are all behind me now but I still have to get used to how my new knee feels now...
I thought once the operation was over I wouldnt need extra painkillers, maybe thats naive, but thats what I thought - hold my hand up to that but yet again maybe I didnt ask enough questions..
The arthroplasty practitioner made a lot of sense and made me feel not so neurotic but he was soo gobsmacked at my age and I think maybe younger patients like you and I who are seen as wanting a more active life should be more informed...
I read your post the other day and I felt for you, I can feel you wanting to pull ahead with the quicker tortoises (by the way they arent always very slow, i owned one - Speedy)...I am glad your surgeon is seeing you sooner than and he will at least be frank and honest with you...Everyone is different and if you need more help with your recovery or god help if you need manipulation then i sincerely hope it works for you...
I thank you for your reply and do wish you all the best...Like I said ive got a Muttley and now youve mentioned a tortoise and i love them too, thats lovely...

Elainexx

Mutley1964 wrote:

Hi Elaine. How are you feeling today? I have to say, reading through your post, the one BIG thing I agree with you is the total LACK of information given to the patient. I sometimes think that just because the surgeon carries out 100's of TKR operations, it's so routine to them that we don't need to know about all the why's, but's, if's etc. I did read up as much as I could about having the op, but you have to be so careful looking on the Internet or you would scare yourself stupid! I came out of hospital clutching an A4 piece of paper with 5 exercises on it. I really felt that it was a case of, "We've done the op now bugger off & get on with it"... Being a bit of a drama queen, after a couple of days I felt like I was having a mental breakdown, until I rang the hospital & spoke to someone who deals with post op problems and she, luckily, totally put my mind at rest! Even now, at nearly 6 weeks, I'm not 100% sure of how much I could or should be doing? It's all well & good someone saying, listen to your body, but mine is so tired thru lack of sleep, it would probably say, don't bother today
Luckily I'm seeing my surgeon next week, so will be interesting to hear if my "lack of progress" is due to a problem physically, all is fine & I'm just expecting too much too soon,or actually, if I'd exercised more regularly I wouldn't be seeing him on that day!
Have to say I can't see myself driving anytime soon as like you felt, I don't feel confident and probably wouldn't be seen as being fit to drive. I can manage a half hour walk round the block every other day and then I'm knackered! I suppose other people are different and either recover quicker...and slower :-( Have a feeling I'm definitely a tortoise in my own race!
Anyway, wishing you well in your recovery :-)

stickywicket

I think aftercare varies enormously from one hospital to another. Mine have been brilliant with a phone number to call for any problems and post-op physio sessions. GPs can usually help out with any basic questions, such as how much/how often but, because we are all different, it does vary to some extent and hard and fast rules would probably be unhelpful.

If you're still not sleeping well, Mutley, I suggest you tackle that first. The rest will, hopefully, follow.

elainebadknee

Youre probably right Sticky just as different doctors surgeries can offer various services too...Thing are always worse too when you cant get your sleep sorted out....Hope Mutley does make progress, am on her side!

Elainexx

Mutley1964

Elaine, this will make you smile, I have a tortoise called Toby who is 17 months old :-) I refer to him being a male because you generally find him FAST ASLEEP!!!
The no sleeping has been a bit of a pig. Have always been a very light sleep but to have no sleep some nights has been miserable. Got some Amitriptyline from the Dr's which are actually normally prescribed for depression but also used for sleeping problems, but hasn't worked. Have just upped the dose and managed to get a bit of sleep last night :-) Just hoping the same happens tonight too! The only downside was when I tried to get out of bed my knee was so stiff I couldn't walk properly! Still, small price to pay for a bit of sleep :-)

elainebadknee

Hi Mutley

Ah that did make me smile as I would love to own another tortoise...The cost of them now as the way they were transported decades ago was appalling and so cruel....
I had my Speedy and a little one that didnt live too long called Tootsie...Speedy lived with me for about 14 years and came from Scotland to England with me...All that time we thought it was a male but apparently its hard to determine sex in them...Our local vet told me Speedy was actually a she - whoops!
Im glad you for some amtripiline for sleeping, if its helping you charge the batteries a little then it helps somewhat to your general wellbeing....My knee was stiff in the mornings right up unitl about 3 or 4 weeks ago and I thought it was destined to always be like that but it has eased now...I too am finding sleeping a challenge at moment but im a bit stressed too so that could be a contributor...
Do tell us how youre getting on eh?

Elainexx

Mutley1964 wrote:

Elaine, this will make you smile, I have a tortoise called Toby who is 17 months old :-) I refer to him being a male because you generally find him FAST ASLEEP!!!
The no sleeping has been a bit of a pig. Have always been a very light sleep but to have no sleep some nights has been miserable. Got some Amitriptyline from the Dr's which are actually normally prescribed for depression but also used for sleeping problems, but hasn't worked. Have just upped the dose and managed to get a bit of sleep last night :-) Just hoping the same happens tonight too! The only downside was when I tried to get out of bed my knee was so stiff I couldn't walk properly! Still, small price to pay for a bit of sleep :-)