Chrondroplasty with Drilling

[celinenj03]

It's seems I've been living with medial pain for 4 months straight albeit sometimes worse than others and sometimes none at all. It is really depressing. I sure hope you get some relief tomorrow at your appointment. I mean they have to be able to do something to make you comfortable. Right now I'm dealing with fat jello knee. Here we go again... This happened after my last surgery. I get all the fluid and stuff above the knee. Looks like my knee has a fat lip. So uncomfortable. Don't go back until June 7th I think, he'll probably drain it. I hate that... 

[knee deep in Goo]

I had a fiberglass cast of my full leg made for the Generation ii oa unloader.  and  Next week I start orthovisc injections..     for three weeks .. i get three needles .. plus one parting needle of cortizone..

This may help me be at least 6 months pain free...   Doctor.. said .. Lets try to hold off 2 years before the uni.

[knee deep in Goo]

celinenj03

I  never had my leg drained before.. but after my surgery my leg was pumped with lots of saline and I had a big watermellon leg.    Right now I have a small pocket of swelling.. on the medial side and I am going to cuff soon ..  I cuffed today at work..  I love my ice.. 


****
Also the pain after doing a full day in the office is quiet strong.. .. I find myself taking a percocet at night.. just to block the pain I feel..   I dont think taking one a day .. makes me a drug addict..  Plus the fact that if my injections go well..  I wont need to take any pills..       Plus the fact..   If there was an alternative medicine.. the doctor could put me on to take away the pain in the interm he would.. ..  ******* bone pain sucks. ****

[celinenj03]

Gosh, I can understand what you're saying about the painkillers.

I remember when I went for my post op, the nurse was a guy and he was quite hysterically funny. He was going through all the questions and then he asked what drugs I was taking. I went through naming all the vitamins and the Motrin and then added, oh and I do occasionally take a Vicoden ONLY before PT and ONLY if it's going to be painful stretching session. He reached over and patted my arm and said with a smirk, "it's okay, we can get you the help you need..." haha. No, I dont think one a day makes you a drug addict! I think either you like being in a stupor state or you hate it. For me personally, I hated the percocets. Great for pain, but made me cry a lot. Weird. The vicodin although much milder, doesn't mess with my head or personality, does take the edge off of the pain, but probably would not be strong enough for you.

[knee deep in Goo]

Actually the doctor said if i ran out of percocet between visits. > He would call in an rx for vicodin and I was to take two pills.   This has not happened yet.. since I am not really good at taking pills..   Anyone got a stamp i got to  mail my mail order RX in for MObic.. kinda late..  should have mailed it May 12

[celinenj03]

If you feel loopy with the percocets, I would honestly say 2 vicodens would be fine. It doesn't make you stupid at all and again, it didn't seem to make me feel weepy or depressed either. I think you'll find it works well for you.

[knee deep in Goo]

Just came back from my first of three orthovisc injections.   I kept reminding my doctor no pain.. no pain..   .. ... and really it wasnt painful .. .. We shall see after the numbing medicine wears off.

Got a refill for the pain killer..  Got a rx for the lidoderm patches.. ..

Also .. doctor said.. he can fix my foot up.. with some cortizone..


He also said i can do the pool tonight if i feel up to it..

[knee deep in Goo]

I thought I type in a good post today..

The first shot of orhtovisc is really reducing the pain..I think I started to feel it start to work Saturday but have held back to offically say.

Dont get me wrong its not liek the pain has totally gone away..its just brought it down..

What made me first think that it was working was on Saturday.. I was sitting on the sofa.. and suddenly I felt so relaxed like I was not bracing myself to take the pain.. that has been a constant compainiion .. Its weird.. to catch yourself so used to bracing for the pain.. and when you body stops doing it.. its a small victory ..


Its raining and very cold and miserable out.. and yet.. no rain pain..

[micromel]

That's really good news Goo, i'm really happy for you. Did they say how long the effect of the injection would work for?

[knee deep in Goo]

six months and I get my second shot in the morning ..   

[knee deep in Goo]

Had the second shot yesterday and was in a bit of pain afterwards..  I can only describe it as a tender swelling pain.. I got my trusty cyro cuff out last night and started to ice it.. This morning it is not feeling as tender and I feel my lower calf working hard... Which I guess is a good thing... Must mean I am weight bearing better.

Also I found out my brace is ready and I get my fitting on thrusday.  Friday I get my third shot and a cortizone shot..

The thing with these shots . they are not just one shot per visit they are two.. ONe to numb you up .. one with the rooster juice..

So this friday I will have three shots..omg..  and my doctor might not be there to give them to me.. His wife is preggie and ready to give birth any minute.. uggghhh..

[knee deep in Goo]

Had the third shot on June 16.  I had three needles. One to numb it up. One of the orthovisc and the third one was the cortiizone.
I did bleed for a minute after the thiird shot. Not painful  but I asked my doctor why.  Is that bad ?  (every strange thing seems to be bad for me lately) He said no. You just have a strong heart.

I posted in another area for the shots and someone mentioned that horses bleed after their shots also.   Weird huh.

So I like to say perhaps Saturday was one of the best knee days I had in a long long time. I went into the garden in the morning and picked a lilly .  I swam for an hour.  I went to the craft store with my unloader brace on. I took a cart in with me since I really cant tolerate standing in one spot long. Came home and did a little walking in the garden again

Came home did  four hours of crafts on the sofa.. Mde four necklaces, one bracelet and one parir of earrings.  and only noticed a minior stiffness while getting up from the sofa.

zero pain killers at night.

I have a follow up with my doctor in six weeks August 4.  I had dicussed with him after the second shot that I am concerned on my mobility.  This third shot combined with the cortizone.. did take me to a new level. but how long will it last I wonder.

I am jaded.. if its too good to be true it normally is.. That is why I take things day by day..   Take advantage of all the good days.   Do not give up.


Also I posted this week was one of the hardest weeks for me so far.  I had a fire drill at work. I had to walk down a big hill across a long parking lot and to a baseball field to get to a seat.  Coming back into the office. I was totally overwhelmed and went home to work for the rest of the day. I had strange black and blues appear after lifting a small pocket book.  I had neck stiffness from mobic.  I didnt want to go swimming .  Helll even the grocery store seemed to be overwhelming.  When I went to pick up my unloader brace  The brace fitter mentioned that the way I stood indicated my OA was more sever on my lateral side.  Yet my medial side is collapsed and has been the point of pain since November.

I put the unloader brace on pretty tight to make it feel secure.. to my leg.  My brother mentioned he can still see the knee is bending in it. Whereas my good leg is straight.  I have a follow up with the brace fitter in three weeks. to review how my lateral side is holding up.


So my new goal is to wait six weeks.. and than my doctor will take another standing xray.   Parting the doctors office..  The doctor had said .. it looks like we may have to bite the bullet and get you a knee replacement and get you  10-15 years of life... but the next standing xray will show how the OA is progressing or hopefully not progressing ..

Oh his wife didnt have the baby yet.   

[micromel]

Really glad to hear you had a nice day on Saturday, no pain killers at night is great.
How do you feel about a knee replacement?

[celinenj03]

If you look at your posts, you can see that you are progressing towards a more normal day every week or so and that's positive. I know you have the knee replacement still, but it's good to get yourself to do more now. It will be great to get those muscles all doing their thing again too. Very good for you.

I don't think I remember reading how you hurt your knee, or did it just happen over time?

[knee deep in Goo]

Degenerative OA  -   Just one day I started to notice it hurt more and more on the medial side. I thought I had a "small tear" but when the doctor scoped it he found  a large area of bone being exposed on two condoyles and crab meat cartlidge.


I had growning pains since a child. I pretty much thought I had aches and pains due to the weather.  I started to get stiff when standing up from long sits in chairs. 3 years ago, I had a bone spur on the bottom of my right foot and never thought that I would have bone spurs growing in my knee as well. So this small tear the MRI found on Dec9 2005 changed my life for the last 6 months. and perhaps the rest of my life.

Role models in courage sometimes offer me that extra strength to carry on.   Pope John Paul II - I mean looking back at his last years.  I never really thought about his daily struggles to be such a public person and very sick.  Courage to carry on.

FDR lost his ability to walk at 37 due to polio. Did that stop him from becoming a president of the United States ?  Did that stop him from being an advocate for aqua therapy? No infact he created the March of dimes.   Did he have to wear braces to work ? Yes he did.

I told my boss that every day I have to push myself not to allow the OA to win.  She tells me not to over do it. I tell myself I have to strive for the things I once was able to do.  Going for a small walk should not be a luxury.  Going for a small walk today is a treat.  Value those moments when you can do something so simple and remember there are people who are striving to obtain the small luxury of going to the store with out pain. Going to the baseball field with out pain. Going to the casino with out pain. Going to the beach with out pain.   If you want something you find a way..  If you say that you can live with out things that is fine as well.

Personally at my age I am not willing to sit in the house the rest of my life and fear getting myself into pain.  I keep telling my doctor the simple things seem so overwhelming sometimes  and my age is against me.   Bitting the bullet  .. Emotionally .. It took me months to start preparing myself for the thought of a knee replacement and there is a ton of emotional pain.  But as everyone knows who is a frequent flyer to this site.  The more you learn the better you gain acceptence to something that tis totally beyond your control.   

Yes the last six months have been a bit of a ride ..and being Patient is sometimes a longer assignment that you sometimes realize.   Six months  will never mean the same again to me.