guam's osteotomy

[kneepainhelp]

Hey Guam.. Nice to read about your recovery is going well. That was nice to keep post updates regularly. Did the itching come down? I did had itching, probably when the hair was regrowing on the leg. I used to feel like to itch all the time, I think it was during second week and third week. Thank God, After that it came down. I have not used any creams. I heard some of the foods like eggplant cause itching that's what my mother says. Swelling also came down around the osteotomy spot, still have little swelling in the knee joint. When you do the bike for an hour, any idea how many miles do you do in an hour? I am still trying to cover an hour at a stretch but could not do it. It is mostly because of the position of the upright bike as I need to lean to the front. It hurts my shoulders to hold them for long time leaning to the front. I am doing three to four miles in 40 minutes. I do the rest 20 minutes in another sitting. Did you have the staples removed?

[guam]

day 23

the itching is finally going away.  now, it's just beginning to scab. other than me being allergic to the adhesive used on the bandage, i was also itching where the metal plate was.  i decided to get off the glucosamine and the itching seems to have eased up the last 2 days.  i didn't think it would bother me even though i'm allergic to shellfish, but i guess it bothers me enough to have me itch in some areas.  so, i'm getting off it for now.  i'm still taking calcium citrate, vitamin d and c, a multivitamin, and 1 aspirin a day

just got back from a small vacation.  noticed that as the muscle is healing, it sometimes tends to twitch to the point my leg starts moving involuntarily.  just small foot pumps, but it's weird.  was happening on the plane back home.  nothing i'm too worried about though.  only happens when i haven't moved the leg for a few hours.  other than that, i seem to be able to walk further each day.  around the house, i don't really need the crutches anymore, but i still use them when i leave the house.  i can't walk too far without them.  am even able to go up and down stairs now with the aid of a crutch.  removing the staples this friday

as for the stationary bike, i go about 12 miles in an hour at zero to 1 resistance.  i'm using the recumbent bike though.  i haven't tried the upright stationary yet.   haven't used the bike in 4 days while i was on vacation but i'll be back on it tomorrow.  i'm even able to lift weights on upper body now using machines.  don't wanna be moving those free weights around. 

while on vacation, my friends dragged me to a bar (which allows smoking) with them the other night.  i really didn't want to go as doc's orders discourage inhaling tobacco smoke while i'm healing.  so, i made a deal i would go in if i had a good respirator mask.  they were good sports and got me a good one so i could enjoy in the festivities.  had a few drinks, but not too much.  don't wanna do something stupid and trip and hit my operated knee.  had to keep going outside to remove my mask in order to sip my drink.  felt weird being in crutches and having a respirator mask on.  got teased a lot, but all in good fun.
plus, everyone was real helpful in carrying my drink while i was going outside to sip my drink.  with that mask, i never smelled any smoke, even though my clothes reaked of it by the end of the night. 

[smartdriver]

Hey Guam,
Glad to hear the itchies are finally on the mend!

Everything that I have read has said that the range of motion is the same on a recumbent bike as it is on an upright, it's just how the muscles are worked, what muscles are worked, and the force put on them.  Here's an article that one of my trainers wrote, along with some sample workouts, for the recumbent.  I used to do these same workouts on an upright, but to me, they seemed harder on the recumbent.  http://blog.metaboliceffect.com/2009/08/26/killer-recumbent-bike-workouts/  If you're on the recumbent at the gym, get someone to bring you some free weights to use - it's like one stop shopping - get your weights in while biking     (of course you could do that on an upright as well).

I'm hoping that my knees and hip will settle down soon so that I can get back on the bike (but mostly my skates!) 

[guam]

day 26

doing some mini squats with no problems.  can't get past 90 degrees on the squat, but i don't think that's bad at all.  it feels like it's taking forever to heal.  really hating these crutches.  keep trying to slowly ween off them but it's not possible yet.  was sitting all day yesterday at a bjj event and my leg was slightly swollen after that all day affair.  i was able to sit at the top of the bleachers going up and down stairs all day.  really learning to master those crutches, which i will definitely not miss when they're gone.
will be traveling to the states again in mid february.  hoping to not need the crutches by then

[kneepainhelp]

That's amazing to know about the squats, full weight bearing. Are you sure you can do full weight bearing before 6 weeks? Do you still sleep on your back, or onto your sides too?

[guam]

ya.  i'm able to do full weight bearing squats, but i'm sure my left leg is doing much more work than my right to get me up.  dr. mark encouraged me to do as much as i can as soon as i can.  he said let pain be my guide.  i think he wanted me to be off crutches by now, but that's not happening just yet.
i still sleep on my back as i'm still elevating my leg, but i don't have any problems sleeping on my side opposite the knee surgery.
waking up in the morning still has it's challenges.  my knee is always stiffest at this time.  that's why i start my stretches as soon as i wake up.  still just a couple of degrees shy of fully straightening my leg.  can't seem to get past that final hurdle of ROM.  But i've still got a loooong way of recovery even when i do get it straight.

[guam]

day 28

at the 4 week mark today.  just finished doing my stretches and was surprised to be able to do straight leg lifts without much pain.  i just noticed the quads beginning to fire up to help with the lift. thank God!  when you can't do something, it feels like you'll never be able to do it again, but then it slowly heals and you get so relieved.  so you can imagine how i feel not being off these damn crutches yet, knowing that i won't be off them for a while.  it feels like forever.  and then there's the feeling of "what if i don't heal past a certain point?"  it's happened before with my previous meniscus trims.  i was never able to jump after each knee was worked on.  healing just stopped after a few weeks.  hoping this one turns out different.

really missing surfing.  i've come to accept that i won't be able to do it til september (or later) and it's killing me.  it's good to know that when i do come back to it, my knee should theoretically feel better.  i should be able to surf again without pain in my right knee.  it's been 4.5 years since i've been pain free surfing.  and i'm hoping that i'll be able to snowboard in january.  no, i don't do anything crazy.  i just enjoy carving down a mountain of powder snow.  i figure it's easier on my knees than the hard stuff.  then there's brazilian jiujitsu training.  i used to love doing that too.  everyone i started with has progressed so much that it will be pretty embarrassing when i do get back.  i haven't touched the mat consistently since my first knee surgery 4.5 years ago.  every time i've tried to go back, i end up injured for a week or so. 

wow!  i didn't realize i did so much before my knee problems.  i have to say though, my knee has taken me more places having problems than it did without problems.  i've been to philippines, thailand, viet nam, japan, california, hawaii, chicago, new york, and texas to visit OS's and homeopathic doctors.  i've gotten to experience different cultures and eaten different cuisines.  it's been a great and horrible 4.5 years at the same time.  i wish i could have visited all these places with a good knee.  maybe i will be able to.  crossing my fingers.

[guam]

did 22 miles in an hour on the recumbent bike today with a resistance of 1.  my knee doesn't feel any different than when i was doing 12 miles in an hour last week, but it must be doing better if the distance i'm getting in the same amount of time has increased so much.  numbers don't lie i hope

[guam]

day 30. 

leg raises seem to be getting easier to do, but my knee itself feels the same.  really seeing the quad firing up now.  however, now that swelling has been going down, i'm noticing how skinny my leg gets around my quad area when those muscles start working. and they're really flexing when i do those straight leg raises, especially around the IT band area. 

the area where they cut is still slowly regaining feeling.  when i read other people's experience, it seems as if they never get true feeling back in the entire area of the incision.  that's fine with me.  no feeling is better than pain.  then again, dr.. mark said everyone heals differently, which is why he encouraged me to start this diary.  i have a feeling i'll be looking back at his in a year or so.  hopefully, i'll be snowboarding by then.

wanted to ask how feeling in leg is if you leave the plate in vs. if you take it out after a year or so.  i was figuring to leave it in.  my reasoning is that the metal plate should make the area stronger and therefore make it last longer.  thoughts or experiences?  does it hurt to leave the metal plate in?  do you feel pain in knee when the barometric pressure begins to drop?  i haven't noticed if pain goes up or down with weather yet.  and i've gone from 30 degree weather with snow to 30 and sunny to 90 and rainy to 90 and sunny and a few degrees in between as i was traveling between texas and guam.  pain in knee always stayed the same.  there was never any kind of up and down pain as the weather changed. 

forgot to mention that i had my staples removed last week. piece of cake.  my doc even let me remove one of the staples after showing me how to use the tool.  minor stuff, especially since the area near my scar is still pretty numb.  my doc said for how long the scar is, he is really amazed at how well the incision has closed and even i was amazed that the holes from the staples will probably scar worse than the incision.  my compliments to dr. mark. 

also, here's a funny story prior to having my staples removed.  my niece (3 years old) bumped her leg and got a cut.  she came to me crying about her "owie"  i told her "it's ok.  don't cry."  i then told her that i also have an owie, so i showed her my 9" incision with 30 staples.  she started to cry more and ran to her mom.  not the greatest idea to calm her down.  but now she keeps asking to see my owie to see if it's getting better.  such a sweet girl concerned about her uncle

[smartdriver]

I think some will say about the hardware that "if it's not bothering you, leave it in".  It won't hurt if it stays in.  In my left leg, the hardware's been in since Fall 2009 with no problems.  My right leg, I had the hardware out after about a year.  I had 2 plates in - one on each side of the tibia.  The medial side plate was bothering me, so both plates came out.  It's been about a year since my right leg hardware removal.

I've never been bothered by the weather, pressure, etc. with or without hardware.  But, I've also never regained 100% feeling around the incision areas either - esp. on my right leg (but it also has had 3 surgeries, so I'm sure that is a big part of this).  On my right leg, I can feel pressure, but can't tell if it's dull or sharp.  I also can't distinguish much on temperature either around the incision area between hot/cold/scalding....My knees bother me now though, along with my hip; but I think that's because I took a pretty good spill a couple weeks ago, so I've quit biking and working out 

It's amazing how your muscles atrophy from all of this  Glad to hear that the leg raises are coming along - they can be harder than what you think!

[guam]

day 31

i've been trying to get off the crutches and finally got me a cane.  so much less bulky and more maneuverable for me.  am now able to get out of bed with no help from cane or crutches.  been walking around a little more than usual the past few days and my knee has not swelled up at all the last 3 days.  my operated knee is actually a little skinnier right now than my "good" knee from lack of exercise, but it's better than swollen up.  i'm sure it will get swollen with more work. it still gets super stiff when i haven't stretched it or moved it, but a little bit of movement gets the muscles loose again.  still can't get the knee fully straight, but i can get a full bend with no assist.  hoping that this improvement continues at this pace.  i've been really extra careful to watch the surfaces i walk on.  don't wanna make the mistake of overconfidence again just because healing is going well.  have done that too many times before only to take a really bad fall.  it also really sucks that a bunch of my friends scored some really good surf today and are trying their best not to rub it in....but i know.  oh well

[Geminiflipster]

Glad to see you are progressing well. I know it sucks to see your friends enjoy the activities you did before surgery. Just think, sooner rather than later, you will be catching some great waves yourself.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. Keep up the great work!!

[guam]

day 33

thanks gemini.  i know i'll be back in the water soon, but it can't come soon enough.  this time last year, i was in japan snowboarding.  had so much fun doing that.  will definitely be back again next year.  but i'm gonna wait til i'm fully healed to do both.  no sense doing these activities too early only to see a major setback. 

knew it was too good to be true that my knee stopped swelling.  was standing most of the day at work yesterday and had a party to go to last night.  by the time i got home, it was 2am and my knee was a little bit swollen.  not so bad, but it did stiffen it up a bit.  lucky i sleep every night with my compression stocking and the cryocuff. woke up this morning to a nice looking, non-swollen knee.  now if only the stiffness was gone

[guam]

day 35.

i started walking without the help of a cane or crutches today, so it's a little bit of a milestone for me.  i still carried the cane in my car and will keep doing so in case i go somewhere i need to stand for a long period of time or walk long distances.  knee was a little swollen after walking all day without my cane, but nothing a little ice didn't cure.

also went to the gym today and was able to do some leg exercises other than the stationary bike.  was able to do 30 lbs of abductor and adductor exercises, 10 lbs hamstring curl, and mini squats.  4 sets of 25 for each exercise.  also did 30 minutes of stationary bike at level 3.  managed 11 miles.  then i added some chest, back, shoulder, and tricep circuits with machines just so i could get a full workout in.  my body felt ok after the workout.  didn't push too hard today.  i'm still kind of weak from lack of exercise and that little operation.  my motto right now is if it hurts, pull it back a bit, which i had to do with some of the weights on the leg exercises.  i originally tried to do 10 lbs more on each of the leg exercises i mentioned above, but after the first attempt, i knew the weight was just a tad too much.  maybe in another week or so.

incision is healing fine.  the skin is finally not looking like it pulling at the incision anymore.  and the holes where the staples were are closing up nicely.  it still looks like string from stitches was left in there, but it's just the blood dried out to close the holes.  and the skin is still also dry and peeling from when it had the allergy.  and finally, the area around and on the metal plate is slightly discolored.  not badly where it looks like a bruise, but the skin is slightly darker in that area.  people told me i would have bruises on my leg for up to 8 months.  i'm very thankful the bruising went away after the 3rd week. 

although, the back of my calf and quad where my it band is feels bruised still.  and once in a while, i feel the skin right where the plate is is warmer than the rest of my skin.  it's odd how warm it can get compared to the rest of my skin.  it doesn't hurt or feel any different when it's hot.  i just find it strange.

[guam]

day 37

i got rid of the cane again today. i do it daily it feels like, and i always end up getting a little help from it at some point during the day.  i'm able to walk without it now, but with a limp of course.  i try to walk with normal gait and it's not working.  my knee still won't get fully straight.  i still carry the cane in my car...just in case. 
i noticed a knot formed around my IT band area and some scar tissue is also forming around one of the scope incisions i did 2 weeks prior to my osteotomy.  i'm trying to massage the knot down with my cane and just using my fingers to break down the scar tissue on my incision.  massaging the knot on my IT band is a real pain.