Nine months ago I had my left knee replacement. The left leg is now nearly pain-free. Now and then there's a flash of pain around the knee itself and I expect there's some remaining scar tissue getting pulled. It's not severe and it goes away fast.
The right leg and knee is another story. That side had been compensating for years because of the weakness on the left. And seriously working extra for the past four years or so.
My right foot and ankle are moderately swollen all the time and often my lower leg is as well. The sore heel can stop me in my tracks now and then.
In the past few days I have felt some serious discomfort in my right knee and down to the ankle. Often it is a deep bone pain and nothing helps much. It is particularly bad in the night, waking me around 2:00 AM every morning this week. Sitting up helps a lot, supporting the knee and lower leg on pillows helps some, Tylenol and/or Vicodin gives very little relief.
This reminds me of what I went through seven years ago when my left knee started acting up seriously. I see my MD in two weeks and hope he will refer me to an orthopedic doctor for a cortisone shot. I imagine I'll need a right knee replacement in about 18 months. I hope we still have Medicare then.
Getting the right knee done should be much simpler than the left turned out to be. Right now at least there's no sign of ligament damage on the right.
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