Hi All!
Today I noticed that places on my legs that WERE numb are now NOT NUMB!😁Over the last several months I had been feeling little prickly sensations from time to time. I guess that was the nerves WAKING UP!
I still have a few places that apparently are still SLEEPING (Lazy Nerves!😴That's OK. Will be patient and wait for them to WAKE UP!
Anyone experiencing this, too?
(TKRs June and October 2015)
Hi Cheryl
Am 18 monhts out from TKR to left knee.
Have not experienced what you write about.
Your reference to nerves prompts me to ask however, if you experienced nerve pain in the incision area that resulted in what I call an ongoing burning sensation that keeps me awake each nite?
Regards
Pete
Pete
Hi Pete!
No, I didn't have a burning sensation from surgery, but I DO occasionally get a bee sting kind of burning whenever a new varicose vein pops in my leg, foot, or ankle area. It feels exactly like I was just stung, and I often find myself swatting the "bee" if it happens when I am outside!🐝
Sometimes I get random pain which goes as fast as it comes and feels a lot like a sharp poke. Very weird!
I'm sorry to hear that your burning pain keeps you awake. Does it go away if you rub your leg in the area of burning? Maybe ice would help. Another thing to try is Solarcaine spray for sunburn. It takes away burning pain on the skin pretty fast.
Let me know if any of these things help.
Nerves cut during surgery. Doc said can take up to 2yrs to regenerate. Left knee on knee cap still numb (used to be 4inches above AND below knee) and right knee, size of a quarter, is still numb. I got the itches when it started getting better. Rub rub and oh! Wait! I can feel that now! Was very happy!! I had both done same time 25wks ago.
Great to have your experience from this point in the process....shows how long it is!
Very interesting! I wonder how those nerves regenerate...🤔 It must be a detailed process since it takes so long!
You are VERY BRAVE to have had BOTH knees done at the same time! My neighbor had both of hers done at the same time and said it was challenging BUT that she couldn't even THINK of having TWO DIFFERENT SURGERIES! She's a real trouper, as are YOU!😁😁
Yes, it is amazing how long some things can take! Also, my right knee (second knee done) was MUCH LESS NUMB overall than my first knee (left).
This really surprised me because my right knee was my worst knee prior to surgery. I expected it to be a real bugger, but it was MUCH better behaved than my left knee which shall forever be known as MY TREE TRUNK FILLED WITH CEMENT (right after surgery and for quite a few weeks after due to SWELLING!😲
That's encouraging Cheryl:-)))) Mine is still numb but it's only about 12 weeks since op LOL! I have wondered if the numb areas are shrinking slightly though. Now and again I get a sharp 'sting' around there, like a fine needle has just gone into it, very briefly and I'm sure that's nerves repairing:-))))
Yes, that seems to be it! Strange, isn't it???!!! I'm constantly reminded that the TKR is a pretty all-encompassing event!
Absolutely LOL! The biggest thing I've learned, through this group and through my own experience, is just how much is 'normal' LOL!
I hope I experience this! I'm 16 weeks post bilateral TKR and still numb around my knees and down both legs. You give me hope!
I wanted to post this because I, too, was beginning to wonder if the numb feelings were going to be permanent. I think it is SO important for all of us KNEE PEOPLE to support one another, offer help and suggestions that make recovery easier, and, most of all just allow one another to VENT, which is a great help in and of its own!!!
Hope your recovery goes well! Hang in there, and look daily for small improvements. They will come. Be patient!😄
Yes! I had most of my lower leg numb immediately after surgery and now 20 days post surgery, most of it has "woken up". It started with being painful on touch with that "dead limb" feel but then a few days later that area would have full normal sensation. My surgeon told me it would do this and to just give it time...
I am so glad to read this. I am now 9 months out from my bilateral TKR and the outer sides of both of my knees are numb - I tell people it feels like your mouth after being at the dentist for fillings. Hopefully the feeling will return for me as well.
Congratulations on your LIGHT SLEEPER LEG!😁 Mine took MUCH longer to awaken!😴😮😄
Funny how there can be such differences, isn't it?!
Thanks for responding!
Mine was the same until just recently. I had to be EXTREMELY CAREFUL when shaving my legs!😲😬
Yes! The numb feeling WAS a lot like that Novocaine feeling in the mouth after dental work! GOOD ONE, Audreys!😁
Just be patient. If it came for ME, two years after surgery, it will probably come for you, too, and maybe SOONER!👍
YES! And realise that it's all 'normal':-)))))
Cheryl....
Monday I had my 16 wk checkup with my Knee Dr. I told him about the numbness in the lower left side of my left knee and also an area down the outer side of my shin and also how the three outer toes are also numb and tingly. Pain and numbness also around the left side of my lower back and down the front and back of my thigh. His response was that I have nerve issues with my lower back that are the problem. So... I'll see the PT today at 4pm, the same guy I give high marks to for doing 6 wks of my knee rehab and I made an appointment for next Friday to see a Neurosurgeon.
I do have a history of back issues but they always were center right of my spine and upper right butt, 5 yrs ago MRI showed degenerative disk L4-L5 which is common with aging as we lose fluid n gravity makes thing squish on the nerve roots, blah blah bla. ...okay I get it, but I never had my left leg give me this kind of fit before the new knee. It just seems like cutting my leg in half might have had something to do with the toes/knee/shin being numb!!!
I never thought much about nerves! The closest I got was, "She REALLY gets on my NERVES!" 😁Then I had my TKRs and with the numbness I finally NOTICED it when different parts of my leg felt numb and others didn't. It was strange!
I DO know now more about nerves. I know that our whole nervous system is connected, and a nerve firing in one place often will cause another nerve someplace else in the body to fire. It makes sense then that ANYTHING done to one set of nerves CAN affect other nerves.
After my first surgery ( left knee), my Sciatic nerve on my RIGHT SIDE was firing BIGTIME! 😬 I began using IcyHot roll-on to ease the pain. Three and a half months later I got my surgery on my RIGHT knee. My Sciatic pain on my right side eased A LOT. Go figure!🤔
It will be interesting to hear what the Neurosurgeon has to say! Please let me know if he offers any solutions or at least any answers, ok?
K