Jessica patella cartilage lesion story - De novo surgery pending

[Jwin138]

Hey thanks Bluices!!

I am a little late for my week 7 post op update (was past weekend) - so this will be a 7.5-8 week post op update
- i ditched the crutches and the brace this past weekend and was hobbeling around like Frankenstein
- my knee pain has gone up considerably since i stopped using the brace and crutches! the doc says to push thru and work on my ROM
- currently my ROM is 92 actively and over 100 passive (with the pt's slight push) so it seems to be increasing pretty well
- the knee is most stiff and pain ful in the morning -

so right now my knee hurts more than it did pre -op.. and the most since i have had the surgery (am guessing it could be from fullweight bearing and PT).. i am doing my PT at home just about every day and going to PT 2x a week and also doing pool exercises there.

im trying hard to stay positive.. and remember that I am healing, no matter how slowly,.,.trying being the key word!

Ive been workign from home, and sometimes that is a blessing (no boredom) but also a curse (neglecting my RICE and PT)

Hope everyone else is doing well!

update soon.

[Jwin138]

hey hey - about 8.5 -9 weeks post op now.
- I am at 110 degrees ROM on my own and 115 assisted..
- Pt is gettting a bit more challenging (ie fun) can i say fun?
- I started going for 30 min walks on the boardwalk for the past 4 days.. so far so good. it did slightly buckle once or twice but nothing major.
- the pain level has gone back down.. i would say its the worst when waking up or during/after PT otherwise its just a general sore feeling
- my scar scares ppl. LOL what can i do? i accept it and hope whats underneath it heals well.. ok..and also hope the scar fades too

on a side note i weighed myself - and gained a hefty 10 lbs. i guess week(s) long pity parties dont help??!! going to be more alert to my diet and get in 15 mins of exercise a few times a day and a walk.
not gym yet for me.. so at home shenanigans it is.

looking forward to weeks 9,10, 12, 16 and beyond! hope it keeps getting better!

have a good knee day!

[NickCat11]

Glad to hear it's going well, keep up with the updates!

[blueices]

Hiya! How is the limp now that you are walking more?  If you're still having trouble, have your PT watch you walk.  They'll be able to see where you're limp is kicking in and can help modify it so you start walking a bit more smoothly

[Jwin138]

Hey Blueices - ya she is helping me on my gait.. my medial ligament was tight and causing me to have a weird stride - so she helped me massage it out and stretch and am walking better now! i try to walk about 30 mins a day (besides the daily walking) my knee gets a little tired at the end and sore.. but i keep icing and elevating.. I started stairs (with 2 handrails of course) going down is scarier than going up!

I'll check in on ur diary to see how you are coming along!

[cdubb]

Popping in on your thread here...it's been a loooong time since I logged into KG.  Saw your post about gaining weight...serioiusly...don't even step on a scale now.  It's not worth the grief and stress.  Once you can do more and be more active, you're weight will drop down.  Even once you return to working from the office, that in and of itself will help because you'll be commuting and walking, etc.  Just focus on rehabbing and doing what you can.  As you can do more, you will and then your weight will go back to it's normal state.

[Jwin138]

Hey Cdubb thanks for poppin in and checkin in on my thread !Hope you are doing better and better!

I just got back from PT - I'm almost 10 weeks post op..
- I am 120 passive ROM and about 124 active with my PT's hands.. any more and the front of my patella has a very sharp pain.. may still be due to swelling. My good leg i have 140 ROM.. so i have quite a bit to go.
- I am working on controlling my quad as i stepup on a step.. it seems to be very wobbely..
- I have the most pain in the morning, it seems to subside during the day.
- I am doing the bike about 30 mins a day.. i tried a weird version of an elliptical today like a walking bike Cybex machine with no resistance and my knee cap felt weird, so i stopped that!
- the swelling is going down (but still is v swollen) and i think i can feel the TTO/AMZ ' bump' - that freaked me out a litte.
- I started inceasing my walking and PT at home, so today it hurts a bit more. will ice and elevate a little more today
- I should start commuting into work in about 3 weeks - I am working from home now - I want to be a little more confident in the knee before I make the long, stair filled, crowded subway commute.

Hope everyone else is doing well -

[Jwin138]

sigh -

I'm having that nagging medial pain come back, and new lateral side pain (the lateral side pain usually subsides when i start walking around)

BUT today when i take a step i feel a slight snapping in my knee.. nothing major, it doesnt cause any more pain - i just feel it

last night when i took a step i felt my knee cap like 'lock' cause a sharp pain and then i was fine (it happend about 2 times). a little scared but fine... and now this am this new snapping feeling.

over the wekened i did walk more, and attempt marchiing (not jogging, low impact stand on one leg - raise and repeat) in place for some movement - and that felt fine.
At PT -I started to do side step-ups on my bad leg and touch down my toe on my bad knee(which is horrible on my part).. maybe that new exercise did something?

I ran out of positive energy today! and trying to stay calm. I emailed my doc a short note about my concerns.

I know it may be scar tissue and all of that, but I never felt it before so its weird and scary. Plus the nagging, medial pain that led me into surgery is acting up..

sigh

[Jwin138]

hi hi - Getting into my 11th week post-op

with 2 days rest (minimal walking, more ice and elevation) the pain calmed down a bit - the 'snapping' sensation seemed to be coming from behind my knee - my hamstring and something were making that sound. with some stretching it seemed to go away

- I am about 128 degrees ROM on my own about 130 with a slight touch by my PT - she massages my scar and that seems to help. She says the last few degrees will come in slower since my knee is still swollen.
- my knee is still wobbly if i try to do side step toe taps on a low step.. its like no control when crouching down on one leg.  small wall squats with my back on a ball hurt my patella, so its hard to figure out a way to strengthen that muscle!
- still pretty sore in the morning and night - I hear that is normal at this stage. i wouldnt say my knee hurts - but it is sore and I am really aware that i had knee sx- I'm still careful when i am walking, or turning around, or stepping down out of bed or a chair.
- going from having my knee bent for a bit to straight is kinda painful! i have to do that slowly.

I see my doc for a recheck this coming Monday so i wil update then! hope everyone is doing well.

[Jwin138]

hi hi around 12 weeks post op!
- saw the doc for recheck on Monday - took some xrays and he says the bone healed -the 2 screws shine so bright on those xrays! lol
- he is happy with the progress, and now to work on strength
- i see him again in 3 months to take a MRI (at 6 months and 1 year)
- reminded me that i am the tortoise and not the hare... and full results may be seen at 12-18 months.

PT progress
- ROM is 130 -132 on my own and 135 with a slight push
- I started walking on the treadmill with no giving out, or weirdness up to 3.5mph
- added light resistance to the bike
- started some light squats against a ball on the wall.. much less pain behind patella at this point. but still get some pain here and there
-walking up stairs i can do with light touching on handrails
-waking down stairs is scary! i have to hold on with both hands, stepping down with the good leg, and having the bad leg bend almost feels like it will give out, my PT still thinks the down is looking better than just last week.

as for the pain - i feel lke it has gotten much less all around the knee and medially where the pain was before surgery. there still is a feeling of soreness (medial, lateral.. well all anterior) but i dont thinki would call it PAIN at thi point, or Im just geting used to it!  LOL

[Jwin138]

HI All - i Hit 3 months Post op on May 16th..  I am fairly the same as my last update. I started commuting (subway) to work 3 days a week and work from home 2 days a week.. why is it SO much harder to wake up on the days i have to commute?? lol i take it slow and steady, holding onto the handrails when i go up and down steps. i cant hustle around yet, but I think its good to get out of the house.

i still have some pain, mostly in the morning.. its a very sore feeling.. not a sharp pain, a dull ache. i hope it continues to get better!

PT i started doing bridges, more core work and lots of step training. she asked if i felt i could jog, i had to laugh!

check in soon, hope you are all doing well..

[cdubb]

Just saw your comment where your PT asked if you felt you could jog...DO NOT jog.... I know you don't feel you could, but even if you did, make sure you get clearance from your doc before attempting anything like that.  Probably 12 + months post op before you can attempt.  I know that there's no way I could even think about jogging at this stage....on either knee actually....

[Jwin138]

HI Hi - About 15 weeks post op now!
- PT is basically the same and boring - butt bridges, SLR, lateral movements, stairs, ball squats, bike & treadmill. My quad if very week and will amost buckle if i was to try to mini squat on the surgery leg.. so i have made a promise to myself to do SLR's at home more often, and calf raises to try to build up my quad too!

- I cannot even think about jogging either! i had to laugh. once on my way home, the train was pulling in and i attempted to rush to catch it (its in my genetics i guess) and i couldnt !! i couldnt hurry down the stairs or hustle once on flat ground. I have to take deliberate steps to be careful.

- sometimes my knee will buckle - maybe 1-2 every 2 weeks? not too often. it has to be the weak muscle.

- the morning soreness/stiffness is still there but i believe week to week it is improving

- I am aware of my knee during the day, but i wouldnt go as far as to say it hurts, its more a soreness, inflammation.

- I am happy with my progress so far, although at times painfully slow!

i want to thank everyone who uses KG becasue it helped me so much to research and understand my issue - and the support is awesome
shout out to Cdubb !

update soon.

[NickCat11]

How's your recovery going?

[Jwin138]

Hey hey - hi Nickcatt

I am about 20 weeks post op - almost 5 months out. I had a bad few days around the 4th of July - with lots of knee pain. The doc and therapist think that it is caused by my patella not tracking correctly (yet) due to weak/unbalanced muscles surrounding and supporting the joint.
the bad knee pain lasted for 2 days and then subsided to the standard soreness that i feel..  the knee cap doesnt glide smoothly - it kind of skips at some points. but the therapist is not too worries since its not new, it is just more visible since i have minimal / if any, swelling.
On a scale of 1-10 i would say that the 'soreness' is like a 3, maybe a 2? its there - but its not too bad. I usually forget about my knee at times during the day which is great! (Before surgery it hurt all day long) I feel the soreness has lessened since last month - so thats a plus!

I bike at the gym for about 30-60 mins 5x week - and take long walks a few times a week too.
I got a Gaiam Strong Knees DVD which i really like.
Going up stairs is better- i dont really have to hold the banister anymore.. but i most likely compensate since it does feel uncomfortable at times.
Going downstairs is still tricky, but getting better.

Overall - I know i am making progress - I have soreness in the morning and at night but I also am pretty active (not too much! but enough to keep me sane)

I go for a 6 month post op visit on Aug 20th - after that i get an MRI to see the fill.. i hope its a good result!
I can feel the pin thru the front of my shin, but it doesnt hurt to touch..

and for those that kept up with my earlier post - i shed most of that sedetary weight : )

let me know if you have any questions.