I had a left TKR on 3/7/16 and a right TKR on 31/11/16. I exercise and have good bend and straightening on both knees, and, unless i over do it I can walk without pain ( just the usual clicking and clonking you get with a knee replacement but you ignore over time) However I cannot walk upstairs, downstairs or tackle any slope without considerable pain. I have had to give up my part time job of 15 years because my progress is so slow I have even moved my bedroom downstairs because of the pain of trawling up and downstairs. When I last saw the consultant he said either my ligaments have not got strong enought to get my kneecap in position or sometimes the knee cap does not like rubbing against the implant and he may have to go in and put plastic backings on my kneecaps!!! Another op Aghhh!. He has suggested waiting until my second knee replacement is a year old in November and then having a CT-SPECT scan (whatever that is). I have asked him if there is anything else i can do to aid my recovery and he said no, he said if I exercise and it hurts, to stop!!! I do water aerobics twice a week and try to push myself although I don't do anything that hurts, for a few days afterwards I am in quite a bit of pain but how can I progress if i don't push myself a bit? Also am I damaging my kneecaps if they are not aligned and I carry on exercising. I am so frustrated that even though I have gone through the pain of the ops i am really no better off. I am going to Tuscany this June but cannot do things like visit the Iffuzi in Florence because apparently there are lots of steps involved and the lifts are only for wheelchair users, and as for the tower of Pisa, don't even go there!!! it may seem trivial but I thought my life would be better afterwards and these are the things i was looking forward to doing. Has anyone else had this trouble? Should I be asking for a scan sooner to get this sorted? I would be grateful for your thoughts x Jan
Hi Janice - I am in a similar position but not in as much pain as you are. I had by first knee replacement in November 2014 and my second one in November 2016, Before my first knee was operated on the surgeon said that I may possible have patella resurfacing as well when they did the operation, however, they decided that it was not necessary when they did operate. However, I have felt some discomfort on the front of my knee from time to time since. My second knee replacement took place six months ago and everything is fine apart from a pain on the front of me knee which I get intermittently. I asked for an appointment with the consultant as I was unsure what to do - less exercise or more exercise. Just worried me as the pain had stopped me from walking as far as I had been doing. The surgeon said that it was arthritis on the back of the patella. They are going to xray both knees in November this year, ie twelve months after my second knee replacement and they will see what is happening at that time. So - same timescale as you, ie twelve months after knee replacement. I would also be interested to know if anybody has gone through this procedure, ie patella resurfacing, separately and what is involved in terms of pain and recovery time. The surgeon did tell me to carry on exercising and in particular to build up my quads as this will help support the patella, so at least I know what I should be doing! Hope your pain eases off, Jan. As I said, mine is not as significant as your pain and some days, I do not get any pain, so should not be complaining - it is so much better than before I had the knee replacement.
Hi janice i have had both knees done one in 2015 and the other in 2016 the first knee has been a problem from the start i have had pain and limited bend also cannot fully get leg straight i have been told that i was not working it hard enough by the docs and physio but i know i had put the work in for recovery i had a appointment at the hospital last month and was seen by a new consultant he sent me for a xray and it showed that my patella was rideing in the wrong place up on the side of the knee joint and not in the grovve of my knee the other knee seems to be working ok at the moment with far less work than the first replacment been told to have a new mri and come back in 3 months im a bit concerned that more damage may be caused by such a long wait
Thank you for your reply Dorothy. I hope you get some replies about resufacing as I would be interested as to what the procedure involves. I am glad you have less pain than before your op, hope your recovery progresses well x
Thanks for your reply Alan. I had xrays when I last saw the consultant so I presume my knee cap is in the right place, but then why did he say it might not be aligned right? Trouble is you only get about a 10 min appointment and you always think of things to ask after you've left! That's why these forums are so helpful. You get advice from people that have actually been through it all. I hope you get a quick appointment for your MRI x