Septic arthritis twice

Crazymonkey
Crazymonkey Member Posts: 5
in Living with arthritis

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all well :-)

I've had a look on the info on the site and past posts I could find about septic arthritis of the knee yet just wondering if anyone else has had it and recovered and how you are doing now ?

I had a routine arthroscopy back in Oct 2024, day surgery for multiple meniscus tears on left knee. All was well until a week later when knee started swelling, pain increased, was hot to the touch and I started feeling unwell. GP said to go to A&E, within 2 hours of arriving I was on IV antibiotics having passed out. Was admitted and spent 2 weeks in hospital, multiple keyhole washouts and a synovectomy. Discharged and kept on oral antibiotics for 4 weeks. After discharge I wasn't able to fully straighten my knee yet was working hard at rehab to get off crutches and was able to hobble around the house without crutches.

8 and a half weeks after the original discharge, the same knee started to swell amd pain increased to not being able to weight bear.

Took myself to A&E and there was some "uhming & aahing" as junior doc said he didn't think I was sick enough for admission and to him knee didn't look swollen even though to me it was double the size of my right knee and even thigh had swelled.

He was adamant on sending me home until he asked if he could try aspirate fluid off my knee, so even though I was tempted to say no as I know how painful it would be I agreed and he managed to pull yellow fluid off my knee. He tried to drain more yet knocked the needle on my knee which resulted in me loudly wincing. After this the tune changed to you are definitely being admitted.

Back onto the same ward I was on last year.

Cut a long story short, septic arthritis was back, back to theatre I went for an open washout, debribment and synovectomy.

IV antibiotics and in hospital for 2 weeks, got home today and on oral antibiotics for another 6 weeks.

Knee is so swollen, can barely bend it or straighten it, can't lift my heel off the bed and need a leg lifter to move my leg when getting in or out of bed or the car.

This pain is nothing like I've experienced before and I've had loads of surgeries on my right knee including an osteotomy and a bone graft and my left knee I've always joked and said it's my good one until having septic arthritis twice in a matter of months.

Logically I know it will get better yet in so much pain I can't sleep. Hospital discharged me with 5 doses of oramorph and that was it so need to ring GP in the morning and beg for pain relief when pain management isn't top of thier list.

Occupational health taught me breathing exercises to help with pain yet nothing is working.

I am hoping there is someone out there who has some experience and can shed some hopefully positive info that it does get better?

Thanks for reading my long post.

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