terrible awful no-good very bad knee

[aaa]

^ basically yes, it is pushing the kneecap over.  But, my patella didn't seem to translate all that far, so most surgeons said it was fine.

Moving the knee through flexion and putting lateral pressure on the kneecap can give a more accurate idea, the surgeons noted there wasn't really any tensioning of the medial retinaculum / MPFL through flexion.  The uninjured leg for me was better.  I also had a j-sign of +4 on the left injured leg, and I think maybe +1 on the right.

Furthermore, the MRI showed that the MPFL looked like an 'accordian' and also near the femoral attachment it was thinned out.  Most Doctors missed this, in hindsight when the MRI is read correctly it is easy to see.  I could see it myself, but only because the Surgeon showing me the imaging in front of me explained it.  I also had an opposite knee MRI which didn't have the same thing.

Some surgeons also do stress radiographs under anesthesia to see how far the patella tracks either medially or laterally.  Most patients are quite apprehensive about there kneecap being pushed away from its center.  Under anesthesia more accurate testing of the amount of tension in the ligament is possible, the patient is totally relaxed and they can push it with the knee bent at different angles such as through 20, 30, 40 degrees.

[mdk]

I know for damn sure *I'D* be apprehensive, lol....

Day two of Gabawhateverpropylinzineorsomething. Definitely not helping yet. But it's still early, I know.... patience, me, patience.... I don't feel all that stupid from it yet, although every now and then things look a little fuzzier than usual.

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

From what I know of the drug it can take a week or two to really kick in to it's full extent.  If there are not major side effects I say give it a good go and see if it helps.  Hope there is some relief there, if not at least it is one more item to check off the list.

Milly

[Lottiefox]

Most of the neuropathic pain meds take a few days to have an effect..what dose are you on? Sometimes getting the dose right is also trial and error. You should certainly feel some benefit after 7-10 days if it is at the right dose. If you don't, it doesn't mean the drug is wrong for you but it might need adjusting.

hang in there....

Lottie

[mdk]

I'm on 300mg three tiems a day. And yeah, this is what, day three? I'm not giving up anytime soon. Merely pointing out that GABA hasn't parted the red sea just yet.

Finally told my parents on the phone that I'm probably getting kicked out. Went a lot better than expected -- I mean like, usually I have to reassure them that I'm not gonna crawl into a corner and die, because they're way too concerned about everything (which I guess is a pretty good problem to have, all things considered, but it's still stressful). All that's left now is filling in the friends and roommates, most of which are on deployment and expecting me to be better when they come back in about a month.

[Brambledog]

Hi mdk,

Still early days matey, hang in there! Just to clarify, are you on 100mg three times a day...or 300mg three times a day (ie 900mg daily!!)? I'm on 300mg a day, which I think is fairly normal. It could take between 5 and 7 days to kick in, so will keep my fingers crossed for you...

Sorry you're having to go through the hard task of letting peope know you're braced for life to change significantly. It's a bummer. Glad your parents took it well, worry is probably a minimum given all you've been through!

Take care,

Brams 

[Lottiefox]

Gabapentin has different dosage levels compared to Pregabelin (Lyrica) I think  - they can't be compared directly in dosage forms. I think!

Lottie 

[Brambledog]

 

Whoops! Missed that one.....duh! (Thanks Lottie!)

Sorry mdk, ignore the stupid one here who didn't spot it 

Brams 

[mdk]

consider yourself ignored 

[Brambledog]

Fine by me....

 

[Lottiefox]

Did someone speak??? 

xx

[Brambledog]

 
 
 

[mdk]

Start of a new week, which means updates-as-it-were.

Been on "Yo Gabba Gabba" for five days now, still no improvement. Or rather, I guess I have some improvement in that right now it hurts slightly less than it did this time last week, but that's probably just because I haven't done *anything*. My new temp-job isn't ready yet -- they're in the process of moving the office to the front of the building, and even though I offered to help move crates and computers and whatnot, they have declined my help. So I go to work long enough to check my email, read a few pages on my Nook, and come home -- MUCH more conducive to "not hurting all the time." I can elevate all I want; and I'm guessing, that's the big contributor in feeling okay right now. Still, not gonna rule out the Gabba Gabba until it's been at least a couple of weeks, because this time, I'm allowed to be thorough.

I've been noticing a bit more corpse-foot lately -- strangely enough it only really shows up when I'm NOT wearing my brace. It gets all purple and gross, especially if I'm bending it or putting weight on it -- so I'm avoiding that. My elder dog has joined me in recovery; he got his Cyanide-based heartworm shots on Thursday and since then, he's had about as much get-up-and-go as I have (which is to say not an awful lot). The younger dog just got himself a tick bath -- he behaved wonderfully for the whole process, and then as soon as I let him out to dry, found the nearest dirt patch and commenced rolling around in it immediately. Oh well -- hopefully at least the bugs are dead.

I've told pretty much everybody in my "circles" where I'm at professionally, which again, less stress now that there's a direction and it's all out in the open. I suppose it's a good time to start planning for the future or whatever, but instead I'm gonna go watch the City-United game. Then again, there's probably a lot of watching sports in my future, so I'll take half-credit. Time to eat a pill and hit the couch!

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Upside is some less pain I suppose.  Love the new name of the meds though.  Cracked me up.  Poor old pup not feeling so good.  Our older dog would either run for the nearest dirt patch or the quilt on the bed right after a bath.  'Cause everyone knows we want our blankets to have the wet dog smell. Take care.

[mdk]

You know what I think might be helping with the right knee......

for the last two months or so I've been wearing combat boots, but now I'm wearing orthopedic running shoes I got a few years ago. Have been for the last several days..... I think I'm gonna keep this up.