Knee & Hip Replacement Community

I had a TKR July 2006. My knee still gives me pain sometimes and is still warm to the touch.

Your swelling, snapping, and grinding seem to be red flags. Perhaps this Ortho Surgeon knows what he is doing. If I were you I would get at least one more opinion - more if it is possible.

I don't know if this is scar tissue, but it sounds like something is really wrong here. You will feel more at ease if you get another opinion to find out if they both agree.

had total knee replacement surgery Oct 18th 2007,I am still suffering like I never had anything done. but worst,now my knee is also numb and tender to the touch. at 1st the doc said everybody is different and the healing is different for everyone. it has been four months and no improvement. the doctor says my knee should be bending back at around 120 degrees,and it only bends back to 80 degrees, anything further causes great pain,so this is my 3rd bout with pt and still no improvement. the doctor is n't really saying much or giving me any answers. every time i see the doctor,he gives me the impression that he is happy with the way this surgery is coming along. i am not i am not a rocket scientist,but after 4 months why is my knee still stiff and numb and painful.and the range of motion is less now then it was before i had the surgery.i have had blood test to see if there is some kind of infection,but as per the doc,everything came back normal,i do not know what to do do i hobble around for the rest of my life.i am probably addicted to pain killers, i stayed off them a week and my life was hell.the stiffness and pain was too much to bear. can a doctor familiar in this field please lead me in the right direction,and maybe let me know what i can ask this doctor for some kind of improvement than k you ps please forward any answers to my email

what is scar tissue?

Dear Cherrie47: I had a TKR August 31, 2007 and I have no problems. I can bend about 117 which is about what I can bend my other knee which I also have to have replaced. I have a little pain, but not much. I still have a little stiffness but nothing compared to what it was before. If my back wasn't so bad I could walk much better. But I still have to walk with a walker because my back is so bad. If you have so many problems get another doctors opinion. Get as many opinions as you need until you are satisfied that you are getting the help that you deserve. Don't worry about hurting your surgeons feelings. If he was any kind of a surgeon he would support your decision to find the problem. Keep going until you are satisfied. Good luck and let us know what happens. You should be getting better, not worse. Linda Kennedy

Well I had 2 hips replacements in 2005 I had one done in Oct. and then the next one is Nov..I was told that I would be pain free.Well other promblems arised, I was in the hospital from Nov. 2005 to Feburary 2006.My right leg was very painful to live with. So in March of 2007 I went and had my right hip scraped.But I am still having pain and the Dr. who did my surgeries told me no pain. Yes I went thru alot to even be here today. I was clinical dead. But they keep me alive and made sure I was strong enopugh to get out of the hospital.But I am still haveing pain in both hips. I went off all of the pain meds at christmas time this year. I just went cold turkey. I am finding now that I can live with my pain. Somedays it is more then I can take /but I do not want to be on those drugs anymore. So I go to my Dr. on the 6th of next month. I am going to see what else he can do for me.I know he wants to scrape my left hip. but I did not get any relief from my right hip.So I guess I don not know what to do?So if any one has any suggestion for me please leave a messages I will respond

My total knee replacement surgery was April 10, 2007. Range of motion was never very good (mid 80s) during PT and on June 4, 2007, my surgeon did a knee manipulation. The swelling subsided for exactly 2 days. The left side of the knee cap responded to the manipulation, but the right side is still swollen and also warm to touch as well as it grinds when I walk. In fact, the swelling and tightness in the knee is getting worse. When I stand for prolong periods of time, the swelling gets worse. It seems better when I first wake up in the morning. Im going for a second opinion along with 2 sets of xrays the first surgeon took this coming Wednesday. Like another post, every time I saw the first surgeon, he also gave me the impression everything was fine. The last time I went to him was in Oct, 2007 - he was rude for my persisent questions and told me to "loose weight" for the swelling. Hopefully, the second doctor will give me some better answers. Vicki from Texas

Vicki from Texas, My second knee replacement was March,07. The first over three years ago. Two different Dr. Good luck finding a doctor that will help you with a knee that was done by another surgeon. They won't touch them in the town I live in if another dr. has done it. Have had so much pain with both. Both drs. are arrogant, rude, and really don't care. I was told by another dr. that once they are finished with the surgery they are done with you. They just don't care. My only option is to go out of town. I guess they either turn out good or so bad nothing can be done. Good luck. Hope you have better luck than I have had. pamint

I had a TKR 25 July 2007, I am still having a lot of problems. I am now in my 9th month after surgery. The pain is worse now than before I had surgery. I wish I had never had it done. My knee was totally distroyed so I didn't have a choice but to have surgery. I have yet to return to work because I can't be on my feet more than 15 to 30 mins without being in severe pain. I am now seeing a new doctor to see what can be done. He is talking about a revision but he won't do surgery until it has been 1 year since surgery. I saw him today and he said he might consider doing a scope before having to do a revision. I go back to the doctor in 4 weeks. Since I haven't been able to return to work and being in constant pain has caused me to be depressed. I am so tired of being in pain. I now have poor circulation in that leg and I also have restless leg syndrom and I can't sleep at night because of the pain. I wish you luck in finding a doctor that will help you. My doctor told me today that he doesn't treat restless leg syndrom, sleeping problems, and doesn't like to give pain meds especially since he hasn't operated on me.

I am so scared now after reading these posts. I am a patient in waiting for a TKR. I had a surgery about 2 years ago to scope out my knee due to the constant pain and the knee " locking up" on me, especially while laying in bed or getting in and out of my car.. The final straw was one day trying to get into the car and the knee locked up and i was stuck there, unable to get in or stand up fully...for 2 hours. I had to call 911 and a ride to the er. There i was poked & prodded and pushed, etc., until I was being x-rayed and despite my protests of pain, the person pushed my knee for a certain pose and the knee "popped" or cracked loudly. Well, after being wheeled back to the er, I was told by the attending doc that it was a good thing my knee popped as he was going to operate right then and there!! Still I had no clue what was wrong..and here they were all ready to operate!! Scary....oh well...as it turned out, I've no meniscus in the right knee and what remnants there were, were actually jamming up my knee cap and floating around. of course the repeated question I get is " WHEN DID YOU DO THIS?". I have no idea. There were a couple of things, but who knows. Anyway, the scoping didnt work and now they are going to do the TKR. I am 50 yars old and my doctor tried to talk me out of it as he said these normally only last 10-15 years. ( The first time he mentioned it 2 years ago, the expectancy was 25 years so quickly it changes??)

Anyway, I have aksed what opther options I have to decrease the pain and he has none. Injections won't do. Pills wont really help ( I've been on vicodin since 95 daily and now moved on to Norco) and the only option of decreasing the pain and hopefully decreasing the back pain too( 2 herniated discs..) is surgery. yet...I am too young? heck, who knows what advancements there may be between now and then.

But I am getting worried reading some of this.

Am I making the right choice?

In additon, since the Norco is mainly for my back but I also try to help the knee out....any idea what pain meds i may get?

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I cannot believe all the continued problems of total knee replacements. I had a TKR on September 18, 2006 and it is the best decision I have made, I have no pain and my range of motion is 131. I am able to walk at least 2 miles a day and I go to a gym a couple of days a week. I could stand to lose about 10 pounds...the Dr. told me if you are obese or have a severe weight problems that can cause complications in the healing process. Thank God for the technology...sorry for the ones that continue to live in pain without not much relief. I guess I am blessed. I hope this helps the ones that are considering a TKR

Have you tried a knee brace? There is a knee brace called an "unloader brace" which can take some pressure off of the knee and hopefully relieve some of your pain. Major companies such as VQ OrthoCare, Breg, DONJOY, all offer this type of brace. I would defiantely try it before opting for the surgery. Good Luck!

I had an "unloader" brace" made by DONJOY and I felt immediate relief of pain. It changes the angle of the bones, and in so doing, relieves pressure which caused the pain.

I just broke my foot and have an air cast on, so now I'm not able to wear it; but when I was, there was pain relief. My ortho won't consider surgery until I've tried the unloader.

AnnieRN

had surgery 4 months ago and only bend 80 what can i do help thank you