terrible awful no-good very bad knee

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Getting out and about really helps give perspective doesn't it?  Hope it goes pretty well next week.  Hopefully you can truly go home when you need to.  You will be suprised at how tired you get after a big surgery like this.  Good luck getting a spot to use while at work as well.

Milly

[mdk]

Week 6 down.

I'm starting to feel human again, finally. Still double-crutching because too much weight bearing still hurts an awful lot, but I'm able to at least go through the motion of walking now, and the wb is starting to improve. First week at work went decent -- having a hard time getting to sleep (although that's improving too, if slowly) on account of trying to drop the painkillers cold-turkey. I've been told to pop a motrin whenever I need to, and if I decide I need to sometime, I probably will. For now I'm trying to stay drug-free to see how it goes, and I think it's working out. The knee is still pretty swollen and misshapen, but it doesn't hurt at rest anymore really, which is a significant step forwards. I'm spending less and less time laid up on the couch, as evidenced by my freshly-tidied house, the several loads of laundry I'm knocking out today, and the trip to the dog park yesterday. It was just as bad of an idea as it sounds, but my friend volunteered to be dog-enforcer and he managed to nearly keep the pups out of trouble. I say nearly because the adventure ended after about an hour when Blitz, the big white wolf-looking one, picked a fight with a pitbull by biting it in the tail, and my poor friend had to frantically jump into the fray and break it up. Other than that, though, good times. I'm very seriously considering dismantling my "Pillow Fort" of elevation, but that's a pretty big step and I think I'll hold off for another week or so, just to be safe.

Saw my PT doc again after a long absence, the same one who helped me out after my LR/meniscus deal. Apparently she had no idea I was getting another surgery. Now I'm doing home exercises -- boring ones like quad sets, SLR's with the brace on, ankle pumps, etc. It's a steep hill to climb -- the atrophy is, as pictured earlier, preeetty severe. But I'll get there. ROM is a little concerning, since at six weeks I should be able to do an awful lot better than 95 degrees -- but with the earlier warnings about incomplete bone healing, I don't think I'm gonna push it too terribly hard. Regular stretching and slow-but-steady progress, hopefully it works out in the end. Got a few appointments coming up and a pretty early follow-up after only two visits, I *think* because of the ROM issue.

The work environment was only slightly less understanding than anticipated -- my "half days" are 7:30-12:30, but I'm okay with that. Getting back into the daily grind is part of getting back to normal, so I don't mind a little abuse.

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Sounds like things are getting better for you.  Yeah stopping pain meds cold can give you a bit of insomnia, but that should pass soon.  I would keep going with the slow and steady with ROM.  As long as you are getting more each time, you should be ok.  Have the PT help with that if they can. You can ask about heel slides, there are a couple ways you can do them.  Sitting on the bed or lay on you back with your legs up the wall and slide your foot toward you and let gravity help you.  I think you can push it more once the OS says the bone is healed up.  Definately do not want to crack anything.

5 hours sounds like a long half day!  As long as you can ice and rest when needed.

The dog park sounds like it was exciting!  At least the puppies got some working out!

Hope things keep going in the right direction for you.

Milly

[mdk]

heh.... one of those days again. First day of PT went great -- a little on the ouchy side but nothing I couldn't really handle. Today was the second day of PT. Not so much.

On the bright side I think I'm almost done with this headcold I've had for the last week or so... a little lingering congestion is all that's left, and boy do I ever *not* need to be dealing with a cold right now. Nothing beats sneezing all over your hands in the middle of the hall with no tissues for miles..... ah, the conundrum. Do you wipe it on your pants? Shuffle awkwardly, trying not to smear it all over your crutches? Cry for help? Life's all about these big questions.

Anyway.... I'm choosing not to look too closely at the similarities between today and the last post-op. It's.... yeah, not gonna think too much more about it. Hopefully the next round goes better, let's just leave it at that.

[Brambledog]

Hey mdk,

I've been following your thread after being involved in your last thread where I know you went to hell and back. I have my fingers crossed for you on this one, especially if today is one of those days... Happen to be having one myself today, so I get how you're feeling. Just got to hope its not the same kind of crap. Stay positive and I'll be wishing you a speedy climb out of this.

Brams 

[mdk]

Not you too! Maybe it's just that kind of day everywhere.

[mdk]

Some choice words from the physical therapist yesterday:

Her: "So, is the military supposed to be like a career for you?"
Me: ".....uh, ideally?"
Her: ".......oh."

(during heel slides, following a couple of loud pops)
Her: "Is there anything that makes it do that consistently?"
Me: "Yeah, pretty much every time I'm doing this."
Her: *awkward silent stare*


And then my personal favorite, talking about how much longer I should expect to be on crutches:

"For you? All bets are off."



Wonderful, huh. Of course today had to be one of THOSE days to boot..... I'm in a good place.........

[Brambledog]

Mdk....that sucks. 

I am grrr-ing for you. Sometimes these people just don't get how BIG the lives of their patients are!!

Sensitivity....2/10
Awareness of actual human being in room.....1/10
Dry ironic humourless personality....8/10
Pithy one-liner delivery....0/10 (actually they were quite pithy, but I'm so cross I deducted all their points)

Joking aside  Do you have any choice of PT, or is it just the one or nothing? If there's any choice, I'd try another one. If not, I guess you'll have to put up with it. But don't give up mdk, you're a tough cookie and these medical folk get it wrong all the time with their predictions.

This crap ALWAYS happens on those days when you just don't think you can take one more bucket load of the stuff and stay sane. Life and it's boots giving you that little extra kick...

Take care of yourself today (and tomorrow  ) and stick the proverbial two fingers up to the lot of them. We here at KGs, on the other hand, understand a bit, and feel for you. It'll improve...

Brams 

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Man so sorry to hear that.  Like Brams says I think the medicos get a bit lacking in the empathy department.  Sounds like the time I had to point out my LR failed.  As I am riding the bike watching my kneecap jump all over, "hey should it do this?"  PT says OMG no!  Um guess I should call the doc.  Ya think?  Anyway sorry for the terrible time.  Those types of PT sessions always seem to happen on crappy days in general.  Keep plugging away and things will improve.  Take every small bit forward and celebrate it.  I've had my old wooden crutches so long I decided I would try to make them fashionable and stained them blue.  Got a few nods on the color.  I've been off and on them so much I can do amazing tricks like carry full mugs of hot beverages and a plate with a sandwich at the same time!  Sad skill isn't it?

Take care and keep looking forward.

Milly

[mdk]

@ Milly -- Ah, the crutch-wiggle. An ancient and forbidden ninja technique practiced only by the least fortunate. I know it well. My record is a steaming bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup (with a spoon in it) and a glass of milk, although the uneventful trip was (predictably enough) just from the stove to the kitchen table. Still. I'm PROUD. Kind of.

@Brams -- Yeahp, this would be the one and only PT option. Historically this place has been a tacit ally in the war on poor medicine. I dunno what's more depressing -- the choice of words, or that she was trying her darndest to be positive. Or, third option, that she's right, all bets ARE off. Tried some weight-transfer exercises today and they went *horrible*, but then again you would expect as much on the first try. Still though. I have to keep reminding myself that eight weeks after "A" Fulkerson isn't the same thing as eight weeks after "MY" Fulkerson, based purely on the preop conditions. I decided that I'm not calling this a trend yet. Trends are bad. This is just an extended hiccup. But................ it *might* be time for me to start preparing for the worst. My uneducated guess was that if I wasn't fully good-to-go by May, I'd probably be "grounded" for good. There's pretty much no way I'll be fully good-to-go by May. Starting to think maybe it's time to say goodbye to my wings..... frowny face.

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Well darn!  I am thinking things are seeming so behind because the quads were so weak going in.  It may take some creative things on the PT side to get them firing properly.  I had to have e-stim and other special exercises to get my quads back after a LR.  They just plain cut out on me and were not working correctly.  This was 20ish years ago on the LR for the right knee.  My left was so weak after my PFJR (partial replacement) that it took a good two years for me to totally trust the leg again.  I hope things start moving forward more quickly for you.  8 weeks out is still early with a Fulkerson, it takes the bone about that long to heal.  Keep at it.

[mdk]

e-stim is out because they ran out of pads for the machine, lol. Your tax dollars at work -- we can afford $54 million for federal anti-smoking ads, but we can't afford e-stim pads.

[Brambledog]

You couldn't write it mdk....

All you can do is just plug away and hope, and yes, maybe you should start looking about for an alternative if your grounding ends up being permanent.....arse.

Can you buy the pads on the web yourself and offer them at a reasonable price?!  Or buy a pair of pads for your own use, take them with you for your treatment, then take them home again... with, of ourselves, a suitably timed eye-rolling at their inadequacies....

Brams 

[lululocket]

Oh mdk, do not worry yet, 8 weeks is NOTHING! I had a fulkerson on my left leg and didn't start any weight bearing until week 10, and was double crouching into week 12. Plus at the 5 month mark I got a new Physio who said my quads and glutes were almost the weakest he'd ever seen; lying on my stomach I could lift my leg barely a few inches, wobble and then collapse. I was terrible, i never even went for my 6 month checkup with my OS because i knew he'd just tell me I was miles behind.

I just kept at it. 18 months post-op I was at about 60% stength, ready to give up. I was being limited in exercises by my pre-op leg which just had spasms and no strength. So I had trigger point therapy massage to get that leg to play along, kept going, and at the 2yr mark (now) went into the second op with 80% strength. So I saw HUGE improvements in months 6-8, and in months 18-20, with slower climbs in between. There is no reason at all to mark May out as a target.

The best thing was my OS, who said I was very slow when my '6 month' appt eventually happened in month 20. But he said that's fine, you're still healing, and that is all that matters.

Mdk-remember the hare and the tortoise! Don't give up!

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

e-stim is out because they ran out of pads for the machine, lol. Your tax dollars at work -- we can afford $54 million for federal anti-smoking ads, but we can't afford e-stim pads.

Oh my!  I work in municipal goverenment and I so know this song and dance.  There is one you can purchase online and use at home.  It is pricey though.  http://www.neurotechgroup.com/us/products/kneehab-xp It is at least worth a look anyway.  Though of one, but other expenses got in front of it.

Hope the weekend is good.

Milly