guam's osteotomy

[guam]

day 6

been off the pain meds now for a little over 48 hours.  can actually feel the metal plate in my leg, but pain from the incision is really down from previous days.  waking up to loosen up the knee is a task in itself.  it's not too bad once it's loosened up though.  but straight leg raises are more difficult with the new feeling.  still bending at about 120-130 degrees assisted with some pain.  would love to be able to drive in a week or two but i'll let pain be my guide. 
@ lisa.  good to know someone's actually heard of guam.  most people give me a strange look when i tell them where i'm from.  and yes, food is amazing here. 

[guam]

day 7

man, does it hurt waking up in the morning.  those first few steps of the day to loosen up the knee are a new level of pain. once its loose though, the pain isn't bad at all.  i refuse to  take the pain meds.  i'd rather have a few minutes of pain than a few hours of burning stomach. 
i keep attempting to walk a few steps every few hours plus some cannonballs, quad sets, leg straightening, and leg raises.  leg raises seem more painful now than a few days ago.  i'm only able to do about 10-12 before pain becomes too much.  i think it's because all the pain meds have officially worn off.  that and the fact i'm using all knee to lift my leg.  my quads haven't quite activated that much yet.  i try to get it going with quad sets, but i'm still unsuccessful.  will keep trying.  will also start stationary bike this friday.  tomorrow, i take the dressing off.  hoping not to scare anyone.  at least the stocking will be over it.

[guam]

day 8 post op

woke up this morning to a wonderful surprise.  the swelling on my leg had gone down overnight dramatically.  while it still hurt to get out of bed, the pain was bearable, unlike all the other days. i didn't do anything different to make it happen.  as a matter of fact, yesterday i did less icing and a lot more moving around.
took the dressing over the staples off today.  the incision has really healed well since i last saw it. 
however, putting the stocking on after a shower is still a horror i dread every single time.
with the pain down, i decided to drive around the parking lot to see how my leg would handle.  went from the parking lot to the store and just kept driving.  surprisingly, no pain when driving.  the hardest part was getting my operated leg (right) into my car.  it felt so good to be able to this simple act.  i'm finally able to do my work. 
will be doing stationary bike this week, so that will be another milestone for me on my road to recovery.
as promising as this all seems, i know better than to overdo it, so of course, after a few hours of going to work, i'm back at home in my bed with my cryocuff, internet, and videos so that i can heal properly.  thank God i work for family.
crossing my fingers and saying a little prayer for my speedy recovery.

[Maryannegb]

Good luck with the bike and nice work with the reduced swelling! I hope things keep improving at a rapid rate! 

[kneepainhelp]

Good to know that swelling has come down. How much height do you usually elevate your leg? I am putting three pillows nowadays as the swelling has been increased this week. Hopefully I try to increase some more height and see if it helps reducing the swelling.

[drmark]

Ice, compression with the TED hose and the Cryocuff, rest and elevation of the foot with the knee extended 8 (measure with a ruiler) inches above the heart.

[*Tiffany]

Dr. Mark!  Long time no see...hope you had a lovely holiday. 

I have not been on KG in quite some time..but it is nice to see some old friends are still around. 

Tiffany in NH

[guam]

I've been pretty religious about leaving the compression stockings on 24/7, except when i shower.  I usually do all my ice, rest, compression, and elevation at night because work has me unable to do all that good stuff during the day.  thankfully, I have a desk job, but I don't have the convenience of just sitting there all day.  I end up having to move around a lot and drive all day.  It's not too bad though.  It just makes it that much better when i get to RICE, which i do for the whole time i sleep (6-8 hours).
As for height, like Dr. Mark said, 8" above the heart.  about 3 pillows worth. waking up still kills me in the morning, but less every day.  I quit pain killers 4 days after the surgery because i didn't like all the side effects. 
I think one of the biggest downsides right now is that i don't get to wear shorts all day because of the stockings.  one of the perks of my job.  oh well.  if that's one of my bigger complaints, i should be happy. 
Happy NEw Year all!

[Maryannegb]

How is it getting in and out of the car all day? I find the getting in and out the hardest. I'm quite tall though and have a splint on so that poses an additional challenge.

Is it your right or left leg that had surgery and in Guam do you have left or right hand drive vehicles?

[guam]

had surgery on my right knee.
we drive on the right hand side of the road with the driver's side on the left, so i use my right foot to gas and brake.  i'm using all ankle and staying within a 10 mile, not so hilly, radius from my home.  lucky guam is small.
getting in and out of the car definitely presents it's challenges. 
i can't wait til this pain is gone.  getting better sloooowwwly every day. 

[guam]

day 13

pain is slowly getting better by the day.  still can't walk on operated leg, but i've gotten really good with the crutches.  waking up in the morning isn't so bad anymore.  still doing my stretches 3x a day and i try to walk a few steps, but the pain keeps stopping me from the rest of the walk.  also, now that the hair on my leg is growing back, the whole area is getting really itchy. 

[LisaDX]

Can you use lotion on the areas away from the incision? That sometimes helps. Look for a lotion with a high level of vitamin E, you'll be able to use it later to massage scar tissue.

I've been wondering, who will be doing your post op exams? I think driving an hour is unreasonable, can't imagine flying for 18! Didn't you say that Dr. Mark had you walking without crutches? Are you out of the brace yet?

Hope you continue to improve, have heard from others that it's baby steps before marathons!

[guam]

thanks for the tip with the lotion. will be getting some.
as for post op, dr. mark ordered some xrays after 6 weeks from my local hospital.  i can just send him the disc and wait for his response.  i don't think there's such a thing as an hour drive on guam unless you go around the island.  thankful for that.
and as for dr. mark making me walk, we did indeed do that to my surprise a day or 2 after surgery.  he made me walk about 20', but it hurt like hell, even with pain meds.  i can do that distance without much pain but still dragging my op leg for the most part.  walking about town is still an impossibility for me.  i can do a little bit around the house but i prefer not to.  it seems to hurt more around my incision when i walk rather than the knee.  the incision itself where the staples are at is still numb to the touch.

i always put about 20-30% weight bearing when i walk with crutches, but i'll wait til no pain to start walking without them.  for now, i'll settle with the stationary bike and i'll work my way up to assisted treadmill at a verrrry slow pace.  hopefully in a week or 2 for the treadmill.

i was never given a brace.  just a cryocuff and compression stockings (which come off this tuesday). my knee was never really unstable, which i think is why i wasn't given a brace.

it truly is baby steps but i try to be as independent as possible.  i'm able to drive, clean, and cook for myself.  i can even do laundry.  i can't say the same for most non-handicapped men. haha!

[LisaDX]

Congrats! Truly a renaissance man! Sounds like you have a solid plan and are motivated to recover quickly.  What is an assisted treadmill? Sounds like something that would help me. I have MS, which makes my surgical leg drag, so I can literally trip over nothing, even on a treadmill. I remember the joys of driving on Guam. It was so hard to go faster than 45 mph once I got back to the states!

[guam]

Assisted treadmill just means holding on to the bar on the front or sides of the treadmill machine. Basically using my arms to support most of my weight