UPDATE ON MY NIGHTMARE

[lilly_kc]

Hi Becky and all - well, you have sure been to h*** and back since we were scheduled for our initial surery onthe same day, way back on March 1st. I think you feel weak, but reading your posts makes me think you are very very strong and directed. Hang in there my friend! You are way closer to the end than when you started all this!

I am one week out from my #2 TKR, have been home, mostly alone, this week. Hubby works pretty close and he comes home couple times a day to check on me, make lunch etc. He says today was a milestone because I carried my own cuppa coffee. LOL. Whatever.....

I got out for first time, which felt like bigger milestone. Gorgeous spring day here, and daughter took me in her big bubba truck to the chiropractor. Both fresh air and adjustment in one short half hour. WOW.

Still cant sit in once place for long, so need to say goodbye for now. Keep on taking care . . . Kathi

[knee deep in Goo]

Becky my thoughts are with you.  I hope for the best for you.  Give them hell...    You are a hard worker... You are the surgery queen of been there done it and done it again and again and again..  Take all the time to heal.. 

Lilly - wow a cuppa coffee carry.. very well done .. you are an overachiever..  It is a very big accomplishment that only someone who has been there .. can appreciate.   I had a put my own sneaker on moment once...

[DeborahinNC]

Hi all,

Becky sorry I've been MIA too.  I'm sorry you are still having this much trouble.  I'll try to call you this weekend or the beginning of next week.  You are strong and like me not a shy person about saying what you want or need to stick to it and give them a piece of your mind!!! 

I met with a new OS about two weeks ago - my current OS referred me to a colleague to discuss PKR since I'm no better from the last scope.  I was frustrated because I had a conversation in my head - he was going to come in, introduce himself, smile and say he could fix my knee and I'd be good as new.  I know stupid conversation but that is what I had going.  Instead he came in, did introduce himself and then said - you are too young and hate to do this surgery on someone my age - I'm very tired of hear that.  He said he wanted to try one more thing - an unloader brace and see if we could hold off for a while before having to do a replacement.  Part of me is good with the fact he wasn't just willing to do surgery without thinking but the other part.... well that just is not what I expected.  So, I just got (yesterday) the new unloader brace.  He thinks I'm hard to talk out of surgery.  I told him he was crazy and I was not hard to talk out of surgery just wanted to have something done to be done with this knee crap.  So, I'm in the brace, trying to have a positive attitude about the fact that it might work and waiting for that pain free moment to hit.  What is really funny about my being upset with him was I was gong tell him we needed to wait until July anyway because my company is changing insurance in July and I didn't want to start with one and then change.  So this really fits my timeline - I think I'm just such a control freak that it was his decision and not mine.  I've laughed at myself about this a few times.

So now I'm waiting to see if this will work.  If it does great - its not to bad and I could live with the brace.  If not we'll have to have another discussion.  I don't see him again until the end of May so have some time.

Let me know how your appointment goes and I am sorry that you are still not where you want to be.  On the flip side of that you really had a big insult to your body with both surgeries so close together.  Maybe this increases the healing time some.

Think about you often.

Deborah

[luckygrandma]

Hi Everyone, I'll let you know how my Dr's appointment went tomorrow. Deb, I tried calling you but you were not home. I'll be gone most of tomorrow until tomorrow evening and then I should be home the rest of the week if you want to call. Becky

[luckygrandma]

I saw my Spine Surgeon yesterday and it went better then the last visit. He took another x-ray and nothing has moved out of place We told him about my visit to my GP and he totally agreed that I have nerve damage and that it will take time. He said just keep working at it and he wants to see me in 4 weeks. Depending on how I'm doing then he will send me to water therapy. He wants me to be walking before I do this, probably for safety. I also need to have the brace off first as I can't go in the water without it. The brace is like wearing a cast. He cut out some of my vertabrae to crush up the bone to fuse the three vertabrae together and planted an electrical stimulator. He wants to make sure the bone has healed enough before I can shed the brace. Remember the bone broke so it's like waiting for he bone to heal before you can get rid of the cast, but at least he's not pushing me and has acknowledged that my problem is not the normal that he sees. At least I'm moving ahead and see improvements everyday. I wish everyone on this board could say that. I know I will walk again.

[peggy1]

Hi Becky,

Glad to see some good news for you, even though you may have some nerve damage at least that will be the least of your worries. So he wants to have you do water therapy? I hear that makes it so much easier to move, I wish my pt office had a pool. I would have loved to get in there and move my leg more. How is everything else going?

I have my surgery this Friday, I can't wait, the pins psuhed enough the other day to cause my leg to start bleeding. Scary but  the pin didn't come all the way through. I'm glad that didn't happen!!

Talk to you later,

Peggy

[plantgeek58]

Hi Becky,
Glad to hear that you're healing OK. It's a slow process, but you'll get there eventually. Water therapy sounds great.

You and I both have sore backs right now, though mine is just from a muscle strain. I lifted one too many tables at work yesterday, and all of a sudden felt a sharp twinge. Owie!

I'm sad today. My kitty had to be put to sleep last night, because her kidney problems got worse. My son is very upset, because Crystal was really his cat. She usually slept in his room and would turn to him whenever she wanted to play or to be petted. He said last night that she was his best friend.  This is the hard part of pet ownership. I wish they could live longer lives. Sigh! It does help to have the kittens, though. Inky cuddled up next to Josh for a while and made him feel a little better.

Well, I've got to get ready for work. Take it easy. Hope the brace isn't driving you too crazy. Have you painted it pink yet?

Terre

[peggy1]

Hi9 Everybody,

Well it's over, YEAH!! He took everything out ( pins and wires ). Sent me gome with percs and I am taking 2 every 4 hours, that is when the pain starts. I have never in my life had pain like this and I went through 2 major operations before. I have been waking up sreaming at the top of my lungs. I scared my poor husband and the cat goes into hiding. My poor husband came running like never the house was on fire. I think I scared him pretty good. My leg also throbs and burns. Also I have bruises on the top of my legs, probably from being strapped down, but the one leg is really a mess, the bad one. I know this will pass and I will start feeling better in a few days. Right now I am in an immobilizer until Sunday when I can shower and change the dressing. Don'y think I will be able to get upstairs though. I can put full weight on the bad leg but it is too painful at this point.

Sorry to share such a story but this is how it's going and believe me when I broke the kneecap, I wasn't in this much pain. Hubby taking good care of me, hasn't left my side except to get the script and go up to bed. Funny thing, neither has the cat, he's been hanging all around me and sleeping with me.

I hope you all have a great pain free weekend.


Boy these percs certainly do make you loopy!!

Peggy


PS I posted this reply on other sites, cannot stay up much longer, will talk with you all later.

[luckygrandma]

Hi All: Sorry I haven't been on in  a long time. Right now I'm playing  a waiting game and getting discouraged cause I can't make these legs move the way I want them to. I can stand and put weight on them and I try to keep them moving all the time, but the minute I try to take a step they just won't cooperate. I go back to my OS next Thursday and hopefully he will tell me I've healed enough to start therapy. I never was so anxious to go to therapy in my life. Does anyone here know anything about nerve damage and how long it takes to rejuvinate them. I've been through so many operations so I could walk pain free and now after the most major operation of my life I can't wallk without assistance. The original pain of the nerves being pinched has gone in both legs but I will have days where my legs ache so bad I can't get them comfortable. I sleep in a recliner and thought I'd try my bed last night and I ended up back in the recliner as I want to move around too much on the bed and that makes things worse. I haven't slep with my husaand for over three months. I know the surgery was only about 2 monhs ago but it seems like two years with all I've gone through.
Peggy how are you doing now since the hardware was taken out of your leg. On you last posting you sounded like you were still in a lot of pain.

[peggy1]

Hi Becky,

Sorry to hear that you are still having problems moving the legs. I don't know how long it takes nerves to regenerate but I hope that it's real sson for you. PT will probably help you along tremendously!! I started pt last week and weights at home, my legs are pretty sore from the weights since I haven't used them for 3 weeks but that will pass. My knee feels great with all the hardware out!!  Keep me posted on how you are getting along.

I haven't slept with my husband in almost a year, I know I will keep him up since I move the leg all night long too. No wonder I am dead tired during the day.

Peggy

[ataraktos]

Sorry to jump in at the end of a long post ... I'm new to the board and just wanted to say "hang in there" ... I had nerve damage following a Post-op femoral nerve block (TTT surgery in 95) and I know exactly what you mean by your legs "not cooperating!" ... it basically took me two years to recovery from a surgery that was supposed to take, I can't quite remember the estimate now, 6 weeks or something ... it just takes time to heal ... just keep asking those nerves to fire, so they'll know they're still needed! :-) My original OS kept telling me that he had no idea what was wrong, I must not want to get better ... took quite a while, and visits to other doctors before I got a diagnosis and could put to rest any little nagging thoughts of "maybe my OS is right - do I *really* not want to walk?!?" It's quite strange when body parts don't really hurt but just don't work and you used to be able to make them work without any thought at all ... anyway, again - hang in there and keep at it - the baby steps (maybe, quite literally, baby steps - was for me!) will add up over time and down the road, you'll be able to look back at how far you've come!

[luckygrandma]

Sorry to jump in at the end of a long post ... I'm new to the board and just wanted to say "hang in there" ... I had nerve damage following a Post-op femoral nerve block (TTT surgery in 95) and I know exactly what you mean by your legs "not cooperating!" ... it basically took me two years to recovery from a surgery that was supposed to take, I can't quite remember the estimate now, 6 weeks or something ... it just takes time to heal ... just keep asking those nerves to fire, so they'll know they're still needed! :-) My original OS kept telling me that he had no idea what was wrong, I must not want to get better ... took quite a while, and visits to other doctors before I got a diagnosis and could put to rest any little nagging thoughts of "maybe my OS is right - do I *really* not want to walk?!?" It's quite strange when body parts don't really hurt but just don't work and you used to be able to make them work without any thought at all ... anyway, again - hang in there and keep at it - the baby steps (maybe, quite literally, baby steps - was for me!) will add up over time and down the road, you'll be able to look back at how far you've come!

Thanks so much for jumping in here. Your letter was very encouraging. My OS never did tell me that nerve damage was the reason I was having trouble walking. He figured he fixed the problem and in a few weeks I should be able to walk without the assistance of anything even though I had two surgeries in three weeks because he screwed up.  I think that is when I got the nerve damage. The disk literally collapsed and landed on  a nerve. Picture a tree falling on your leg and you are trapped and can't move. That's what it felt like. I went to my GP and he is the one that explained the nerve damage to me and told me it could be months etc before I got the nerves working again. He said basically what you did. Keep moving the legs until they wake up and realize you still need them. When I went back to my OS and told him I saw my GP and this is what he told me, he didn't argue and treats me differently now and not just like a routine patient.  Anyway thanks for your input. My back and legs feels so much better since the surgery that I guess I can be patient and give my legs time to do what they have to do. Afteall I've walked with so much pain and pinched nerves for so long they have a right to be mad at me. [/color] How did you  now the nerves were waking up. What were the first signs.

[DeborahinNC]

Hi Everyone,

I'm still around.  Sorry Becky for not keeping up with you on a regular basis.  This back at work thing is really killing me.  I'm on my second 36 hour shift this week alone (had yesterday off and if the stars are aligned right should have Friday off).  We had to fire one person, suspend another and since we are only 22 strong this really puts the rest of us covering a lot of open time.  I keep telling myself the paychecks will be great if I live long enough.  Oh, well this too will pass - kind of like gas!!

Becky, I'm sorry you are still having nerve pain issues.  I was hoping these would clear up quickly.  It was good to hear from someone who has been through it and obviously it can take awhile.  So hang-in and know that even though it may be slow recovery should be coming your way.  How else are you doing?  How is your daughter doing?

I've been wearing this brace (not as bad as your brace) for almost a month.  The only thing I'm getting so far is that I am more sore when I'm not wearing it but still not pain free when its on.  I'm thinking that this was not what they expected - but then I'm not a doctor...lol.  I'll see my OS on Monday and see what he has to say but I bet I could write his comments before he even says it.  It will be something like - we need to give this more time to see if it will help.  I'll let you know if I'm right after I see him.

Anyway - you have been thought of often.

Take care,

Deborah

[ataraktos]

Hmm, first signs ... my situation, I'm guessing, was probably a lot different from yours, since my damage wasn't as "high up" as the spine ... so, initially, I could move my leg some(like sideways!) but the quads weren't very responsive.

And, keep in mind, I didn't know, for *ages* that I had nerve damage, so I wasn't paying attention for "nerve regrowth" type signs. My progress was just in super-slow motion. It took days (probably a couple weeks, looking back on it) for me to pick my leg up (straight leg lift) just a fraction ... and yes, it felt about like it was crushed under a tree! Actually, I had (still have) a rather large screw in there, and it felt more like a piece of re-bar had been driven through my leg, pinning it to the bed!

So, I went on with exercises for a while (and in the middle of all this, my patella tendon scarred down and that was quite a set-back, but that's a different story!)

But when it came to weight-bearing, things, again "just didn't work" ... some steps would be okay - all the first steps, mind you, were in an immobilizer - and with other steps, my leg would give away (without much that an onlooker could really see expect my frightened expression, because my leg was in an immobilizer!) So, in retrospect, I think my muscles, nerves really, just weren't up to the task of firing the way they needed to, to hold me up - walking is a lot more complicated than picking up 5-10lbs strapped around one's ankle! I think those early steps, the steps that were okay, I had managed to balance just so, by chance, mostly.

I ended up relearning to walk - with a walker and that immobilizer ... I walked miles back and forth in my living room and over a while, getting a little better, at a snail's pace. First, lessening the weight in my hands, on the walker, then, briefly not holding on to walker, talking slightly bigger steps, etc ... the immobilizer "shrunk" over time, to a smaller brace and the walker was replaced by making it between pieces of furniture, around the kitchen with the counter there to grab if needed, etc.

After I found a PT office that was content to let me hang out and exercise, I eventually gained the ability to do stairs and curbs again and got rid of the small brace altogether. It was just a really long process ... a lot of rehab, a lot of research ... a lot of learning about things that used to be involuntary so I could concentrate on them while taking a step.

I wish you the best!

take care,
-jill (sorry I forgot to "sign" before)

[luckygrandma]

Hi Jill, I am so sorry that I haven't been back in so long. Your letters are very encouraging that I will continue to get better. So did they have you wear a brace. I'm thinking I might need to wear one for awhile to stabilize the knee that is giving me fits. Oh!! Deborah Caren, Peggy and anyone else who was in on the conversation about my daughters marital problems. I will not get into it on this thread again but a lot has happened an you will be very pleased about how it is going, if you give the word I'll talk to you about it on the chat board. Just let me know. Al I xcan say is we are very proud of her and how she is handling everything. Becky