Knee pain, swelling after surgery

[Nannie39]

Almost four months after surgery, I am still experiencing massive swelling and excruiating pain with inflammation. I was having a great recovery for the first ten days, then BAM!  My leg, knee and ankle swelled to gigantic proportions.   My doctor has said only that I have arthritis in my knee and I have to be patient.  On at least three occasions, I have been in tears in his office and asking what to do about it.  He still tells me be patient.  This is surely not normal.  I went to another doctor last week who sent in his PA to tell me that they "don't like to tread on another doctor's territory" and won't see me again, but the PA prescribed Prednisone 6 day dosage that seemed to give me some comfort while I was taking it.  The day after I completed the dosage, the pain and swelling was back in full force.  No one will see me without a referral because this certain doctor operated on me.  What am I to do?  I am so frustrated after four months of extreme pain, all I do is cry.  I've turned into a big crybaby and that is not me!  Help, somebody!  

[milltam]

Had knee arthoscopy at the end of June and six weeks later a hemi-knee replacement.  Uppper thigh, knee and foot swell after being on leg for less than 2 hrs.  At times, I feel a popping and always feel the crunching.  In tears standing for very long or sitting.  Very frustrated because I should have been back to work a month ago.  My job is very strenuous and I can not imagine doing it for an hour a day, let alone eight at this point.  Dr. listens, but just keeps me on therapy and pain meds.  No bone scan or mri have been done on this knee.  Very warm to touch.

[Bird1981]

I have been given the speech about expecting too much from my surgeon and my physical therapist.  I wish I had a video tape of my pre surgery appointment. He clearly presented the surgery as a breeze with quick recovery.  Post op appointment he wants to talk about another surgery. He doesn't want to talk about my hip pain, he wants to smooth talk me about another surgery that has a 12 month recovery!  I am doing fairly well at 8 weeks compared to others here, but I am not convinced this surgery will end up being something I'm glad I did.  I did not realize that he was both a salesman and a doctor.  This is so obvious that they are even harassing me to pay my bill quickly.

Since my doc won't discuss my hip and back pain, I am switching to another physical therapist who can/will address how this knee surgery affected my back.  After 4 weeks of squats and other serious weight bearing I am in a lot of back pain a day after therapy.  Each week is a roller coaster of feeling good, going to therapy and then being in pain for a few days.  One week without therapy and i feel better than ever.

I think I would be much less upset if I felt like my doctor had my best interests in mind. So far this new therapist seems to be on my side so I have new hope.

[phuubar]

wow I'm a 50 yr old male -  6'4" 230 lbs...  very active & in shape... had a bad knee/ torn meniscus from years of basketball & softball abuse....  went through the entire routine the rest of you did.... dr appt, x-ray, MRI etc....   the hot-shot dr in the area told me after 6-8 weeks i would be back on the ball court with all the young dudes just like the old days......    been 12 weeks now and I'm singin the same song as the rest of you.....   I am a stud in the rehab clinic as far as bicycle, stair master, hamstring curls, leg press etc...   but after 2 hrs of raking leaves I can barely walk.  I have a desk job and after 2 hrs of sitting in typical posture my knee totally freezes and I limp like the day after surgery.... had to quit taking motrin 800 because it tore up my stomach, knee swelling won't go away... totally frustrated!!!  Dr gave me a shot of cortisone/lubricant/some **** - no help....   I do know that I have an area of bare bone under my knee cap but the bottom line is this: I am worse now than before surgery.... my dr has an excellent reputation (top dog in town - period) but I feel like i am a victim of the system....   he did whatever the insurance company allowed him to do to perform the surgery and pocket a few $$$grand....and now i am flirting with knee replacement surgery that will allow him to pocket however many more $$$$ thousands.  I feel like a victim.... I am starting to think my dr knew my knee was fubar but worked the system (more to his benefit than mine....) after reading these threads i'm neck deep in conspiracy theory... thank you everyone for your honesty.....

[capitanissa1]

I had the Meniscus repaired 3 years ago, both knees. I had been suffering for 4 years, from inflammation and trauma, it is a long complicated story, but most of my problem was due to having eaten mussels, after which my body had a very violent reaction, and the inflammation went to the knees and would not go away.
It took me years to get answers. When the knees were almost back to normal 3 years ago, I had the surgery; back to square one. It has taken acupuncture, and a series of homeopathic remedies,a change in diet, and taking MSM+ Glucosamine to get the inflammation to come down to a manageable level.
I would suggest to all who write in here to first, take all foods out of your diet that can cause inflammation: alcohol of any kind and wheat products, - I am sensitive to these and coffee as well. Try eating vegetables, no sugar, white meat and fish for at least a couple of weeks. I eat oatmeal and whole grains in place of wheat products and tons of vegetables when I do my yearly 6 weeks "body clean up' and this helps a lot. I also use a fair amount of garlic and red pepper as blood cleansers. I have had good results with "eating clay" which absorbs toxins (geophagy) see Eating Dirt: It Might Be Good for You - ABC News LINK
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDYQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FHealth%2FDiet%2Fstory%3Fid%3D1167623%26page%3D1&ei=CE--TqbvDo-KhQfnxvGmBA&usg=AFQjCNGq2zxWZff80usz9H_TLTkQOJx1-w&sig2=BM0xvw7xYovGMPeKprG_Ew
As clay causes constipation follow this guidline: mix a level teaspoon with water, in a glass using only a wooden spoon or chopstick (metal reacts with the clay) stir vigorously; leave over night. Stir in the morning, wait 2 minutes, drink only the water. Do this for 7 days increasing the amount of clay that you take in each day. If you have problems with constipation, just drink the liquid. You can also combat the constipation with "dieters tea" pleasant and good for you as well. I strongly believe that you have to clean out your system (gently) to aid in getting over the inflammation. I also ingest for periods of time, Diatomaceous Earth, which provides a source of minerals and is cleansing. The jury may be out on this, but 100's of people over centuries, have used it with good results.
There is a lot of information on the web, try starting with
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/human-use.php

Apply natural external remedies as suggested in entries above. Many substances are anti inflammatiory, external use of clay is one of them. Use ice. Be patient and persevere. You might also try a course of antibiotics in case the inflammation is caused by bacteria. I also did this,  by accident as I had to take antibiotics for something else.  It is a complex matter with a complex remedy, I don't believe that any one thing will "cure" this condition, and you have to persevere, attacking the inflammation on all levels, and a strong anti inflammatory for a period of time might also be the answer. I used all of the above, and now find that with consistent use of MSM+Glucosamine (I get it cheap at Costco) I am "managing" the situation and am back to walking normally and some very limited jogging to build my very weak muscles back up.  No one doctor gave me a pat answer, they just helped me along the way. Orthopedic doctors don't have a clue about inflammation, if any thing, go to an internist who deals with infections, the cause may be an infection deep inside. I have used so called "alternative medicine for 35 years with very good results, as I live most of the time in Europe where we have very serious and good homeopaths and acupuncture. I wish you all luck, and the strength to persevere and don't believe what any one doctor tells you is sacrosanct! If you want to be healthy, you have to be your own doctor, no one knows your body like you do.

[dd1123]

I had arthroscopic knee surgery on July 29th, 2011.  It is now November 7th.  Seems that the pain and swelling is getting worse with time instead of better.  I should have left it the way it was and not had the surgery.  I had tear in the cartilage where the femur bone connects in the knee that was flapping off and getting stuck in the join causing pain.  It was removed and smoothed out and I though it will feel better, now it's worse.  I'm going to a new doctor tomorrow for a second opinion and see what he has to say.  My surgeon wants to start Supartz injections toward the end of the month.  I want to know what is wrong inside first and what is causing so much pain and worse pain then before the surgery???  Very frustrating!  I've been doing PT for almost three months religiously.  I'm running out of patience.  Does it really have to get worse before it gets better?

[gentlekitten45]

I had artroscopic surgery done on my left knee.Now its worser.The doc said that he did a lil smoothing out.But my knee hurts all the time.Its swolling and painful when i walk.I had the surgery done in April of this year.I fell after surgery and the doctor says not to worry:(