yc_angel MPFL recontruction Left knee 5 April 2012

[Tiggs1986]

ahhhh, isn't it fabulous when you can FINALLY sleep a few hours?
  You seem to be bending faster than I've been able to, I've been bending for 3wks and still can't get it to far past 70 without REALLY pushing it (and I can't do that on my own, my whole body retaliates against it).
   This rehab IS long and patience is definitely needed, but I know what you mean with the whole wanting to get things rolling. I was told in advance the rehab was long and hard (like 6months!) and I STILL want to just be done and BIBBITI-BOBBITI-BOO be fixed. It's frustrating when everyone else you know is out and about. A couple weeks ago a lot of my friends were competing in the 1st 5k and 10k races of the year and posting about them on Facebook or about their training and I was so spiteful that they were "bragging" about their times when my accomplishment was walking slower than a snail for 5 min on the tredmill sans brace *sigh* At least once this is done we'll be able to more physically active again.  Good luck to you Friday!

[yc_angel]

Day 35 & 36 & 37 & 39

Thanks tiggs....I'm glad that i'm not the only one feeling a bit frustrated...

Since my last post i've had 2 more PT sesions and i'm now on 80 degrees bend, but my leg is like dead weight on its own to do an SLR...seriosly side ways it works perfectly but just straight without the brace its like trying to move a brick wall.....So on the one hand i'm happy to be able to bend to quickly and that i'm on scedule with that and on the otherhand i'm annoyed my muscles arent working with me to get me better....they are just mush from the Operation.

My PT and I have been talking about taking the brace off but the thought of that just makes me feel a bit scared cuz even though i'm walking kinda normal with the brace on I can still feel my knee buckle when its too tired from all the exercises.
So i'm now weening myself off the brace with the help of a smaller brace which I used to wear for extra support when my knee dislocated.....so doing big stuff means  I keep the brace on and when i'm at home I take it off and walk without it...wel thats the deal anyways....I start doing that tomorrow at my next PT session..

Also I dont know what happend over the weekend but my sensation in the numb parts are coming back and they are here with a vengeance...it seriosly feels like my leg is on fire....the top of the kneecap and the side of my leg....I'm happy that my sensation is coming back and that my knee wont stay numb but to have them all come BAM at once is just horrible.....its a different kind of pain but its just sheer hell cuz it doesnt let up....
Icing it only helps temporarily and the meds just take the edge off.....its like the nerves are shooting lightning bolts against my skin...
Thats just really the only way to describe it.

Anyone else having this?

Pff i'm off to pack i'm going on a miny vacation on thursday till monday to visit my best friend in another city...its my first big trip since the operation nearly 6 weeks ago so i'm very happy about that....its only a 2 hour drive so I hope my leg doest give me to much grieve due to all the siting in the car without the brace..

Xx

Angel

[Tiggs1986]

SLR's are the hardest. I could fly through all the other hip exercises then needed someone to come and help me lift me leg up for the SLR's. Slowly they'd wean their hand away so I'd have to 1st hold my leg in the air for a count of 5 (with their hand below my leg just in case) then we got to where I'd only need help with the first few inches off the bed, then I got my leg to cooperate and could do it as long as someone was "tapping" my quad muscle to help it work and a couple of weeks ago I FINALLY got it to go on it's own (though every once in a while it doesn't want to work and I have to start slapping my quad to wake it up) Keep working on it, it'll come. The longer a person's immobilized the harder it is to come back. O I also found that if I did my SLR's after all of my other hip exercises my quads had gotten the general idea of what was going on and they went better.

About the burning, i don't know where all your numb areas were, but You don't have redness, itching, fever, chills, drainage that kind of thing do you? or swelling, tenderness,  cramping, or increase in pain when you stand? is it radiating heat? If so I'd contact your OS. You may have developed an infection or clot or something.

Good luck on your trip! I sat through a 3hour dance recital this past weekend (I thought it was going to be 45min at most  ) It was tolerable with medication and intermission to stand and stretch my leg.

[Lorikeet]

I hope your pain you've been getting has decreased since your last post, Angel. I hope you've let your OS know if that has continued on at all because that doesn't sound normal to have that much pain, especially if you are still taking medication. With regard to the PT, I would think it's just a matter of staying with it...progress seems to happen at such different rates for different people that you really can't compare too much.

[yc_angel]

Day 40 & 41 & 42 & 42 & 43 & 44 & 45 & 46 & 47 & 48 & 49 & 50 & 51 & 52 PO

Gosh its been over a week and a half without an updat I'm sorry been busy busy busy with the vacation that actualy went on a little longer than planned, and my dad flew from curacao to here in holland to visit with me and my brother so after my mini vacay I had a couple of days of fun with them...
All in all it had been busy and the pain was manageble....

I still went to PT and I can now say that I'm brace free....i still walk with 2 crutches and I can only still bend it to 90 but its progress.....my extreme pain was my nerves fyring up and letting me know were are still here and working.....cuz the numb areas now are not so numb anymore....I can feel my kneecap completly and its an awesome yet a bit painfull feeling....on the leg there are still a few numb spots but the PT said for being 7 weeks out and having almost full feeling back thats  great achievement from my body..

Since my last post and all the busyness the weather has changed into scorching heat all the time and that with all the walking I've been doing has caused some swelling in the knee....its so bad since last friday with my PT apointment that he told me to lay off the exercises to let it rest since it impaired my bending to only 80 degrees.....so now i've been icing it on and off for the past few days and putting my feet up cuz its the whole leg thats swollen now as a whole....which is weird to see..

I've been taking less and less meds now.....I only take it when a pt session has been intense and then leave it at that.....i'm happy to be almost off those pills cuz I dint like all the side effects I was having....SO now it's only when nesecery and my OS agrees with that...
It's not that the pain has gone away but its more like it's changed and i can handle it better without the heavy medication.....although with the spikes ocasionaly to 7  on the a scale of 1 to 10 i'm keeping em handy somewhere I can reach it if need be...hehe XD

SLR's are going great I only need help the first few times with the first few inches and then my leg remembers how to do it and it goes automaticly....so I'm hoping that I wont need help soon with those first few inches..

My PT started taping my leg for more security in my mind....it helps the scars stay soft and gives me piece of mind that my knee somehow is kept together with the tape.....I know it sounds totaly crazy but without it i'm constantly guarding my leg and trying to not put too much pressure on it....and just worry all the time....and now with the tape somehow it makes me feel safe enough to start trusting my leg again....

About the scars the one on the inside of the leg was feeling a bit tense last friday and the PT told me that it might be that that scar would knot underneat and it might impair my bending the leg further so with tons of painfull massages and tape hes hoping to prevent that.....so i'm trusting his judgement on that.....if he notices this so early on i gues he knows what hes doing...

Well i'm off to have a day of relaxation and have some lovely watermelon cuz its like a oven here and its only 9:15 am so that doesnt bode well for the rest of the day...

Xx

Angel

[Lorikeet]

Good to hear you're able to reduce the amount of meds you are taking now. And also great to hear you have had a good extended holiday. I'm finding I spend less time here myself now that I'm back to so much of my normal activity.
Anyway hope the taping is helping with the PT and that it continues in a good direction. And enjoy your warm weather. It's damp and chilly here now that we're into winter weather...nothing compared to many places but still unpleasant.

[elainefish09]

I also had MPFL Surgery 12 weeks ago. I had recurrent kneecap dislocation problem since I was 13 and I am already 30 years old. I had knee discolation maybe atleast 50 times. After the operation, my doctor said that my knee is very loose. I was able to lift my leg only after 4 weeks but after achieving that I was so happy because my progress in bending is so noticeable not until 2 weeks ago. My knee was so swolen, the size is twice than my other knee. I was able to bend my knee atleast 120 degrees but decreased to probably 95 degress after the swelling incident. Also, my leg from knee downwards (only in front part) is still numb.

Anyone here can share their opinion on mycase... I am really worried

[allyd]

Hi Elaine – I don’t think you should worry quite yet. MPFL is a long recovery, and ROM is the hardest/longest part of that recovery… it comes easier for some than others. Swelling absolutely will affect the ROM, and sometimes it’s one step forward, two steps back. The fact that you WERE at 120 is a good sign.

As for the numbness, definitely don’t worry about that. It’s completely normal, in that when the incisions are made, the surgeon unavoidably will cut some nerves… it takes time for them to regenerate. It may never completely go away, I’m nearly one year post op and still have some numbness on the top of my kneecap and lateral side. It doesn’t bother me, unless I go to kneel, and it’s just weird a.

Just hang in there and try to stay positive and motivated in your recovery. 

[Tiggs1986]

Elaine, I agree with allyd. It's a long road and you'll have better and worse days. If your knee is more swollen you won't be able to bend it as well. I too have numbness over my knee (which freaks me out when I kneel as well) but it' covers a lot less of an area as even a few  months ago (it felt like the front of part of my thigh all my knee and down part of my shin was numb). Keep working at it and ICE and ELEVATE!