MPFL reconstruction April 4th 2012

[Tiggs1986]

Angel- yes the nurse bit her tongue when my reply to "and where do you work?" was "surgical floor, upstairs." 
     Week 3 Post-op
Lifting my leg onto and off of furniture is definetly easier than even a week ago. My hives are as bad as ever and the one by my lower incision is oozing-I hope it's the rash doing that and not the incision, yikes! My OS does not want my to put anything on my hives (to help them clear) or incisions (to help reduce scarring) until the hives are gone. I'm hoping they clear up soon for my sanity's sake. I'm taking antihistamine at night so the itching doesn't keep me up all night (and actually the antihistamine and pain meds combined make for a pretty decent night's rest  )  I'm also icing like crazy since that seems to help with the itching. My 1st PT session since my SLR breakthrough is tomorrow and I'm hoping I can deliver and prove I can do them so we can move forward to perhaps some tredmill?!  I really only take pain meds at night (the pain seems to decide to become noticable at night) and before my PT appointments.   Below is a pic of my incisions and lovely reaction to the steri-strip adhesive.

[yc_angel]

Lol i bet she's sorry now about how she threathed you ...hehe

Your insicions dont look that bad judging from the picture....though i don't understand why the OS won't prescribe you something for the hives...i bet with some cream that would clear up in a matter of days....
Also your insicions look smaller than mine and also different.....I'll post a photo of mine later..

I hope the itching goes down....i know what its like to be allergic to some adhisve tapes....I have that and also an allergy to the stuff they use to disinfect you in surgery...isobetadine....so i only get the pink stuff haha..

You said somehting about being jealoss about my brace cuz its looks zo nice...and though it is most of the time its just a pain in my behind and uncomfertable...lol...though it is soft and the adjustable straps are nice...

Post a picture of yours....cuz I find it interesting how everyone gets different ones...If i had a choice i think I'd like a rom brace which would help me with the bending and keeping everything in place....right now moving without the brace is scary in my mind so i dont plan on doing that untill the PT gives me the ok to go ahead and do that..

Xx

Angel

 

[Tiggs1986]

Angel- Mine is a ROM brace, but I'm not allowed to unlock it for any reason. And from the way my PA and PT  have been talking it sounds like when I'm ok to have it unlocked, it'll be fully open, I guess we'll see.   I had an immobilizer brace similar to yours for 3 weeks prior to surgery and it was WAY easier to sleep in than my current one. I was given the ok from my OS to sleep without it now and I've tried it twice, it takes me HOURS to get comfy then repositioning is a pain. My PT told me today that I need to continue to sleep with it on so IDK I guess I'll try it without ony my "better" days and sleep with it on, on my "worse" days. The pic also doesn't really show how red and shiny the dermatitis is, but today it's made a big improvement (still itchy but not as red or draining as much)
       
        My PT was happy to discover that I could do SLR's on my own, but they're not quite up to par yet. I guess I end up with 4-5degrees of flexion and I need 0 before I can unlock my brace. SO CLOSE! I got 3 more exercises to add to my regimen (pretty soon all I'll be doing is therapy!), I even got to stand on my leg sans brace today for the 1st time in 6weeks! I was kinda apprehensive when I was told to stand but was given a crutch to ease my mind. It didn't go too bad,  I didn't feel quite stable enough to put all my weight on it but it's a start. I was so tired after therapy today! Most of my new exercises I'm to do until the point of fatique. My PT told me it's "crunch time" since technically speaking I should be unlocking the brace next week but right now he's not comfortable with my control (though he did admit the 3weeks I was immobilized prior to surgery hasn't help matters) so I'll be doing my exercises double time and hopefully REALLY impress him next week! Tonight I couldn't help but laugh. I've mentioned that my cat is my "therapy helper" and tonight I was doing my PT and she crawled on my good foot and stretched her legs across so I couldn't fully lower my surgical leg and had no choice but to keep the muscle engaged throughout the whole exercise.    Anyways I've noticed my control is getting better and better each day! Here's to hoping next post is that I get to unlock it (or at least can achieve 0 degree extenstion).

[yc_angel]

Holy crap...i can see why your jealoss of mine hehe ...I've seen some other rom braces with fewer straps so i was thinking you got something fancy like that...not the torture device i'm seeing on the photo...Ow dear i truly see your point in having trouble sleeping with that thing....

I;m still waiting for my first PT apointment where i can so stuff...and thats next week wednesday.....I must say i already have started bending it a little bit to get used to the tight feeling i have and I'm even walking a bit on it with my crutches and doing SLR's with the brace on......i hope to be where you are in a few weeks  Good luck this weekend with your exercises and hopefully the will unlock your brace soon..

Your cat is awesome for helping you out haha..

Xx

Angel

[Lorikeet]

Your brace does look like a torture device of sorts. I hope your hard work pays off so you get get it totally unlocked next week. It makes me feel lucky to have the one I do and also not to have to sleep in it.

I imagine it won't take too long to do the SLR without brace once you are out of it...especially if you keep working on it while using your brace. Instead of five or six steps to getting there, you might only have a couple more to go. At least that was my perception of trying to get there without support. I thought I was really close but actually had a long way to go...kept getting closer and closer and finally got there this week.

Funny how different our OS can make our rehab too. I'm only starting PT tomorrow morning and you've been at it for ages. Of course, with me going it alone without brace or crutches, PT might have been a bit much earlier on.

[Tiggs1986]

Week 4
    So therapy today was AWESOME!!!! First off I walked on the tredmill sans brace (it was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L to FINALLY walk like an almost normal person. I've been peg-legged for nearly two months!). It was only 0.5mph for like 5min but it's a start! THEN my PT was impressed with my SLR's and even added some weight onto my ankle (though I don't know if it was a pound or 2? It felt like 20!) and I was STILL able to do it! I THEN suprised him (and myself) by doing my hip adducters and abducters with 7.5 pound weights wrapped around my thigh! THEN he said I can unlock my brace completely now when sitting AND it's unlocked to 30 degrees when I walk!!!! It's so weird, I have to focus in order to not accidently drag my foot or start walking with my knee locked(just cuz I've been doing that for so long!) The only downside is that I'm back to 2 crutches again, but I'll take it!   

[yc_angel]

Congratuations with your breaktrough..

How does the unlocking of the brace work?..Do you do it yourself? and how do you control how many degrees it needs to be to bend properly?..
Lol sorry i'm intrigued by how everything works...
I bet walking like a normal person would be awesome....i wish i could do that....and thats going to be a goal of mine.....just normal walking..ahh that would be lovely

Hows the pain with all these breaktroughs your going trough?

Xx

Angel

[Tiggs1986]

Angel- the brackets on either side of my brace have these button/slide devices  that I press and slide to the degree of flexion I want it to lock at (both of them have to be moved in order for it to work), so I can bend from 0-30degrees. It's kinda hard to describe but there's also a safety sliding lock that's harder to release  and was in use when I was locked in full extension in case I accidentally pushed and slid the ROM button/slide thing (which happened a lot when I was trying to sleep). It's so nice to try and walk like an almost normal person, though I'm a lot slower and need both crutches again. Pain is just fine I think I had to take 2 extra-strength acetaminophen a couple of days ago for a headache and a little aching in my knee when I was trying to sleep sans brace. But no prescription narcotics for a few days, it feels pretty good now and I can actually get a good nights sleep and don't take 3-4 hours to get comfy since I can sleep without the brace and with the slight ROM throughout that day it's not as stiff and tight when I go to bed. I love love love it (and am in such a better mood, I was becoming quite a bear from lack of sleep). Can't wait until I can unlock it further! Even the few minutes going 0.5mph on the tredmill is great (though my good leg wasn't pleased with going so slow-I typically am a speed walker, and my PT had to keep reminding me to stay focused and watch my feet (I was daydreaming about walking my sister's puppy on the bike trail to a local lake and playing fetch off the dock )

[Lorikeet]

Sleeping brace free has got to be the best feeling. That said, despite not having to wear one for sleep, I did find it really hard to get comfortable due to the vulnerability of my leg and knee early on...so I suppose it evens out in the end.

Hope the PT continues to go so well too.   

[allyd]

Sounds like you are doing great. That initial feeling of “remembering” to bend your knee when you walk after the brace is unlocked is definitely weird. But it’ll come, and you’ll be going in no time. During recovery – I always told everyone (and liked to show, haha) how I learned a new trick each week! It’s amazing how much progress your body can actually make in a week. Keep up the good work! 

Hopefully you’ll be like me and just skip the fully ‘unlocked’ phase of the brace. I was unlocked to 60-70 degrees, at my 1 month check-up with my OS, my PT and I figured she’d let me unlock it completely… nope, she looked at me and said “you don’t need that anymore.” I of course looked at her like she was crazy, since by then I had sorta become one with it. Haha. But you think walking feels great, wait until you get rid of that brace… new lease on life! Just something to look forward to in the near future.

[yc_angel]

Hey thanks for explaining , it seems complicated but with the picture i get it now...hehe
I had my first PT session today and i had to have my prescription med afterwards but i hope that within a few weeks i'll be off them...

I can hardly wait to walk normal again...hhahaha somehting many people percieve as normal is such a task for us with the bad knees...lol but i hope from now on i can consider my bad knee a good knee..

Xx

Angel

[Tiggs1986]

1 Month POST-OP WHOOO!
 
My scars are looking better and better each day. The hives are gonzo (finally!) all thats left are marks where the worst of it was. I'm putting Vitamin E oil on once a day to help with the scarring. Also I think my scars have formed under a couple of my subcutaneous disolvable stitches so a couple are sticking out(I'm hoping that's not gonna be a problem) either that or my OS decided to use fishing line in a couple of places.

I can sit for longer periods of time (nearly and hour!) with my foot flat on the ground and will be attempting to go see The Hunger Games this weekend! yay! (I'm hoping most people will be at the Avengers and everyone who really wanted to see Hunger Games has already!). My PT gave me his blessing yesterday when I asked if a movie was a possiblity.

Bending-wise I can get my knee to about 60 degrees within a minute but after that progress is slow. I don't think I get it past 70. Though at therapy I think I brought it down to almost 90 with some stretching/strengthening exercises. Speaking of which I now have 12 at home exercises to do TWICE a day, my original ones I complete with a bag of brown sugar strapped to my thigh to add extra weight (all except those SLR's) AND I even have a few that I do standing without the brace! It seems my PT senses everytime I get to doing my exercises in under on hour and adds 2 more on at my next visit!

I FINALLY became independent with getting in and out of the tub to shower on my own (double yay for privacy!) AND can finally fit in the front seat (yay for not getting car sick anymore!) Now I just need to get my knee to bend, and tolerate staying bent, enough to drive! I also got to lunch with a few of my coworkers yesterday, it was so nice to get out and talk to more than just my family and over the phone! Except that the waitress kept getting too close to the table and bumping into my leg over and over again but I suppose she's not used to something sticking out from under the table (even if it was just a little bit).

Here's a pick of my incision/scarring process! PS Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be with you! haha!

[Tiggs1986]

PT this morning was AWEFUL!
 I guess I am behind with rehab (I thought I was getting ahead quad strength-wise). I cannot bed my knee past 60 on it's own and can scoot it to about 70 degrees. I'm supposed to be at 90! My PT was pushing my leg back further this morning and holy God tears were brimming, I felt sick, and wanted to scream and cry and it STILL was only able bend to 83! ARRRGGGGGHHHHH!    I could do the recumbent bike after a few tries but only pedaling it backwards. AND I don't think he believed me when I told him I've been faithful with my exercises and allowing my knee to bend (I now have 12 exercises I haveta to (my throughout the day Quadsets, 2 exercises once, 4 twice, and 5 three times a day )*sigh* I guess I'll just havta work even harder the next couple of days so hopefully I can reach 90 on Thursday (even if it's with some assistance and I haveta medicate myself beforehand to do it).
BTW has anyone tried lavender oil for reduce scarring? My OS recommended Vitamin E but all the info I find is that researchers aren't entirely sure it even works and may even help grow bacteria and stuff. A friend suggested using lavender oil. Any recommendations out there?

[lisa424]

Your scars look pretty good. All vitamin e does is keep the scar moist. Ive tried just about everything out there. Ive used bio oil which has lavendar oil in it. Its probably better than vitamin e since its not greasy. Ive found that silicone gel works best for me.

[Lorikeet]

PT sounds like it's been pretty frustrating but try not to let it get to you too much. It seems there is no rushing these things. Maybe next time you will get a really good session and reach your goal of 90.

Can't help on the scar reducing stuff...just haven't used anything before...but I would think that lavender oil does have some healing properties and at the least shouldn't cause any problems with bacteria growth.