Unsuccessful knee replacement

I had that force bending last year with the first one and to top it off there was terrible, agonzing pain inside the joint...The therapist killed me until I said no more...my cousin told me not to let them hurt me...No amount of pain meds helped me through PT...and the therapist kept saying you need more pain meds...and the dr...wouldn't do it...and I was caught in the middle...suffering.

There is no way this should happen. I didn't have this type of treatment this year...there was no forced bending...until after the manipulation and then it wasn't forced...very gentle pressure...which is a whole lot different that what Atilla did the year before...and then tried to make me feel bad because I couldn't suck it up...

We're on our best advocates and there are other therapists and if they don't listen well go to another one...my cousin this year is interviewing them...

Well my knees were right...it's raining today...some times they just announce it...guess I don't have to watch the weather any more.

Sorry to hear about all the problems you mother is having. I too had surgery in Dec. and basically had no progress in ROM for the first six weeks. I finally decided that I needed to take charge of my entire body and began weekly sessions with an acupunturist (great pain relief from her) I also go to a massage therapist once a week, she works on all those muscles and tendons that are causing most of the pain when I try to increase my rom. After 7 weeks stuck at 48 degrees (yes you read that right) I got the manipulation under anasethia, and it was nothing to it! Just fifteen minutes in the pre-op area and it was done! I stayed the rest of the day (nerve block on the leg kept me from having pain) and used the CPM machine. The problem I kept having is my body can obviously produce scar tissue as fast a speeding bullet. My P/T people were finally in agreement that less was more when I had therapy. The more they pushed, the tighter it got. So I began the alternative therapies mentioned above. The acupuncturist also gave me nutrional advice, especially taking Magnesien Citrate every day. It will help your muscles to relax and heal better. I also use castor oil (for massage) arnica oil for massage, and St. Johns Wort oil for massage of the area. The castor oil really softens up the scar tissue. My surgeon at Duke University wholeheartedly supported all of my alternative therapy choices. The main thing I want to get across is that YOU really do have to become your own advocate. Do a little research for the therapys available for you in your city. But mainly do not just give up. I still only have about 90 degrees ROM, but I feel so much better that those first few months. I have also had to deal with a nerve that was damaged in surgery, and that is my biggest obstacle now...but I have faith that it will eventually heal. I take Lyrica for the nerve pain and it is a GODSEND. Nerve pain is not dampened by narcotic pain killers.

It is great that you are there to help your mother get through this. Feel free to write me if you would like clarification on anything. Time is truly the best healer of all..and it is free! Good Luck!

BettyF--- I have tried talking or more or less begging them to stop and all I was told is that I needed to have this done. If I didn't let them do this they would not be carrying out the doctor's orders. Since then I have stopped outpatient therapy and I am doing it at home. Not sure if the doctor likes it or not (I won't see him until the 15th of this month) but it is my knee and my life.

Starlady, what they did to you is ridiculous! The fact that nobody will listen to you is, unfortunately, not that unusual.

We need to take control of what is happening to us. One of my PTs gave me such a rough cool-down massage that I couldn't walk the rest of the day. The next time she was assigned to me, I told her to be easy - and she listened!

Sometimes we have to speak up to make our health care providers listen to us. They treat us like we are knees, but we are really people!!!!!

Hi 674615,
I had my bkr almost 2years ago coming up in August and I CAN NOT tell you the agony of pain I went through. Even after my manipulation. And still today, I still have some pain, swellen and tightness, but it is diminishing. My knees looked like balloons as to how swollen they were, they looked deformed out of shape and I often wondered if they were going to stay that way. But after a while, I got tired of trying to have the medication take over totally on my recovery and I started taking it a day at a time, religiously icing, massaging and excerising my legs. There were days that were harder than others, and for those I took a break. I refused to let my legs take over my life and the only thing I thought of was "the pain" day in and day out..... especially that I felt it.

So, I decided to take the pain as if it was any other kind of pain, and not from a major surgery and try to do my daily activities. I noticed that if I found something that had my entire focus and kept busy, it felt like the pain was getting less.

When I stopped focusing on my knees and took a day at a time with the pain, praying to make it 1 more day, I noticed my knees were taking shape....

I know it is very painful and hard to get back on your legs after a major surgery like this, but we also have to give our body the time...... My Mom use to say, when she saw me in so much pain, that my knee replacement was also unsuccesful... and I remember tellilng her that it was the "surgery" that went fine, everything was in its place..... it was my healing process that was taking time. My knees just didn't want to heal that fast.....lol

So hang in there, it took me 2 years to say... I do feel better.... and will get better....

Evelyn

Hello, my heart goes out to your mother. Since infection and device failure appears to be ruled out, and I am by no means a doctor or an expert, but I've seen posts on here about RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy?). Many of the posters refer to the same swelling and pain to which you refer. Check out their posts to see if any of their syptoms sound similar to your mother's and also more information can be found on the internet. This is not a diagnosis; but something maybe to be looked into if all other problems have been ruled out. If RDS is the case, It may be treated sometimes successfully by nerve block injections is what I have read. I am no expert and only just had BTKR recently; but I read these posts and your mother's symptoms sounded similar. I hope your mother gets some answers and some relief.