Lorikeet's TTT, lateral release and arthroscopy 4/4/2012

[Brambledog]

Hi Lori,

No words can express the loss of a friend....lots of hugs for Firday though. It will be a tough day, but as you say, just something you must get through. Hope things go as well as can be on the day.

I'm a big fan of PT exercises done regularly, but I admit to having several patches where I've done no exercises at all for several days - but it's usually because I've been busy, which is always a good thing because it means you are getting a life back! If you're sat around bored on a sofa then the exercises help to break the time down a bit and give you something to focus on. All good. Plus sometimes after a break, you try an exercise again and something just clicks into place (not literally!) and something you were struggling with just happens....that's lovely when it happens, lol.

The time to worry about it is if you are sitting about a lot AND not doing the PT exercises.....

I've just joined a gym as I finally feel as though I've got to a point where I can do something a bit tougher, and also get in the pool. I've found even swimming very hard, shows me how much fitness I've lost over this last 18 months!

Don't panic. Just keep moving in one way or another, and do the exercises as much as you can. Oh, and don't eat loads of chocolate and cake and pastries, etc! Adding the pounds is a grim business, and my main motivation now to get them back off...

Take care of yourself these next few days. Be thinking of you.

Brams 

[yc_angel]

Gosh Lori I'm so sorry to hear about your friend...my condolences...
I hope your knee is feeling better despite the lack of PT wich is completly understandeble...

I hope you feel a bit better soon although the loss of a friend never goes a way, it does get better with time and knowing her memories are still with you will comfort you in the difficult times.

Xx

Angel

[Tiggs1986]

Sorry to hear about your loss Lorikeet. Sending online hugs your way! 
Hoping your knee gets better, I know how you feel about having your good leg underneath the bad when lifting it. Mine fell a couple of times so that even though I haven't "dropped" my bad leg in a few weeks I'm still afraid it'll happen and keep my good leg a little below the bad one, just in case  .
  You can make through, it's real hard to do but you've already proven your tough!

[Lorikeet]

Thanks for all the kind words from my KG friends. I know it will start to get better with time...in many ways it's such a relief for her suffering to be over, as you would expect. Had an outing tonight that I was supposed to attend with my friend. Wasn't a terrible night thanks to the care and support of another friend but there were times when I was missing my friend terribly.

My knee wasn't terribly happy with me as a lot of walking was involved getting from car to event and back again. I wore the compression bandage and that worked out well enough at first but after the first hour of sitting, the top of it had rolled and was really getting into my leg so I pulled it off during an intermission. Then my knee really started to feel things so I kind of wished I'd stuck with it. After getting through tomorrow I plan to come home and just put my feet up and stay that way for a day or so...except for the physio appointment on Saturday morning.

Anyway, just going to take some naproxen and maybe a painkiller and get myself to bed now.

[Lorikeet]

Got through the funeral today and glad that's now done. Did a lot more standing than walking and I wore my compression bandage until I got home. I think that made it a lot easier.

After the funeral, my husband and I went to get an ice cream at an Indian restaurant we ate at with family a few weeks ago. On that occasion, I managed to get into place without too much trouble  and only had a problem just before reaching the elevator when my knee buckled twice. Well it was kind of funny and weird that my knee buckled when I was in almost the same spot tonight. Only once though. And we only got ice cream because when we ate there before we had no room for a big dessert...And to clarify, they weren't Indian ice creams...just some regular, fancy ice cream sundaes.

I went to the car after that while my husband went off to buy something for his mum for Mother's day. Since I had nothing else to do, I decided to see if I could get in on the driver's side and it went quite well. I think maybe it was easier to get in on that side than the passenger side for some reason. I didn't drive but I might give it a go in a day or two when I'm more rested up.

Brams, this definitely wasn't a do nothing week where I sat around all the time...so I guess that's a tick in my favor. But as I've been pretty busy this week I'm taking the day off once I get home from physio tomorrow. And hopefully my diet tomorrow will be a bit more rounded than today...just couldn't eat earlier on so the ice cream was my first food intake of the day. I'm amazed my blood sugars didn't take a massive drop but maybe my body just did what it had to to get through the tough part of the day. At least I'd like to think so.

Probably should be off to bed now. My neck is again hurting a lot and sitting at the computer seems to make it worse...and I need the rest as I am quite exhausted.

[Lorikeet]

5 weeks, 3 days

I had my physio appointment this morning and despite the drop in my PT this week, I'm still doing okay. I'm walking better than last week and just have to keep at it. Physio has given me totally different exercises for the next fortnight.
1-Bridging exercises where you lie on the floor and bring your feet up close to your bottom and lift your body up and down. 3 sets of 10, 3x a day
2-theraband leg extension where the theraband is tied around the foot and I have to lift it up and in a 45 degree angle. 3 sets of 10, 3x a day
3)Seated vmo-This was the first exercise I had when i started physio months ago. but now I do 2 sets of 15, twice a day

The second and third one I'm supposed to do on both legs.

Also 5-10 minutes, twice a day on the stationery bike.
And as much walking as I can tolerate.

Physio said the swelling was looking a lot better this week and I tend to agree. I still notice it at times but it doesn't seem to be as bad...One of those things that seem to be getting gradually better. Last week she said I probably would be walking properly enough to take dogs for a walk by week eight but I don't feel so confident that I'll be there that soon. Will be interesting to see how I progress in the next 2.5 weeks though.

I also talked to physio about my neck pain and she seems to think at least some of it is stress-related. She's given me an exercise to do to help with that but said to come back next week if it gets worse or doesn't improve. I've tried doing that exercise when I start feeling the soreness come on and it seems to help keep it from getting too bad. But right now it's starting to feel worse...maybe due to sitting at my computer for a while...even though I think I've got decent posture at the moment.

Had a good start back into regular PT practice today. Two sessions on bike went well although second one wasn't as good as the first. Managed to get up to 20kph this time without discomfort. Last weekend I was good to reach 11-12kph. VMO exercise hurts quite a bit so had to take it slowly. Theraband was fine except it kept coming untied.

I drove for the first time today. I'm sure I could have done it before but felt more confident today. Only drove for about six minutes up to some local shops. By the time we finished shopping, I was feeling tired and a bit light-headed (possibly from hunger) so hubby drove back. So didn't stay home all day quite like I expected but did get a lot more rest today and didn't get too overtired.

One more thing to note is I seem to be able to sit properly for well over an hour now without too much trouble. And also, the blood pooling/ bruising on the back of leg has almost completely disappeared now. There's just a very tiny area left. And also, my incision scabs are starting to fall off and it's hardly noticeable now if you aren't looking for it.

I think that should cover it for now. 

[Tiggs1986]

Congrats on driving. I too just gave it a go a few days ago, actually went and bought groceries for a month I was so excited.    It's crazy how PT and OS protocols are so different and how we all are at such different levels! The only bike I'm allowed to be on is the recumbent bike at the PT office and we are working on sliding it closer and closer, but for now my knee refuses to go past 90 degrees, and I'm not doing any of the exercises you've got. My newest ones are mini squats and calf raises, nothing with any resistance on it just yet.
  I'm glad the rough week you had didn't set you back and that your leg is looking much better! It's a wonderful thing to discover you can sit properly for more than a few minutes (I'm at about an hour and a half) you can work on so many more things!
  Hopefully your neck feels better, you should try a massage! It'll help the muscle pain and the stress. Just decided to treat myself to one yesterday and wow my body feels so much better! Good luck with your new exercises!

[mrschandrad]

I'm sorry to hear about you loss that is never an easy thing to go through and I assume it would be much worse when also dealing with the emotional side of surgery.

Congrats on the driving! I can't wait to get to that point...it seems like it is so far away. :/
Have you tried a heating pad on your neck? That will probably help so relieve some of the discomfort...or maybe an icepack.

Good luck on the new exercises! I had my first PT appointment today and I am getting ready to climb the SLR hill as many before me have.

[Lorikeet]

6 weeks, 2 days post op

I'm kind of stretching the two days but it is just after midnight.  Not a whole lot to report since my last update although I might think of more if I keep writing, especially as it's late at night.

Driving is going fine and I took one one of my teens off to an appointment over half an hour away today with no troubles. Worse problem was climbing the hill at the destination...grassy and all uphill...then lots of steps too. The bonus at the top was the lovely ocean view that can be seen from the door of the office. The downside was getting down those steps afterwards. I used my son's shoulder for support but he is much taller than me so it wasn't quite as useful as I'd have liked.

Which leads me to my current hurdle of trying to negotiate steps right now. I won't see my physio for another week but I'd hoped to handle the stairs a bit better at this point...it's much slower than walking as I have to figure out which leg is going to keep me balanced the best while I move the other one down. Not always the good leg going first either. Weird.

I still haven't got around to doing another photo of my knee. Was just looking at it and the scab from the drain is now gone so just the scope wound left to fall off. The skin is really dry in that area and I keep meaning to use some sort of skin cream...probably will use some vitamin E cream as that has worked well for some other areas.

Exercises are going okay. I'm finding the bridge one makes my legs ache but makes my back feel much better. I've been doing the other ones on my right knee as well and it's kind of weird...usually easier but now I notice that knee is subluxating almost every time. Maybe this was happening before but I didn't notice it because it was my left leg that was hurting..or hurting more. I suppose it makes sense as my right knee was technically worse than my left.  Stationery bike is going well enough..often my knee is quite stiff when I start but then I am able to keep increasing my speed with no effort. Now up to about 25 kph when I'm cycling on the lowest tension.

Don't think I mentioned this earlier but I am now able to get into and out of the tub for showers without help or a spotter.

mrschandrad, thank you for your kind words. As for the driving, I think I would have been okay for it about a week or so earlier but wasn't quite confident so didn't rush it. It does feel good to have that independence back.
My neck is not causing as much trouble as it was. I'm pretty sure it's been stress related...but have been doing the exercise the physio gave me and that seems to break up the tension a bit and keeps it from getting painful like it was.

Tiggs1986, I'm just thinking right now that a massage would be pretty nice at this point. Might have to arrange for one soon.

I went off to a tai chi class tonight with my husband for the first time since surgery. I didn't take part but sat and watched and did some of the warm up exercises (which were good stretches) tonight. When i start back up I will be a level behind so hope I can remember everything when I go back. And hope that some of the moves are easier without a painful knee...but have to assume it's not going to happen straight away as the knee won't be fully healed at that point either.

And that's about all I can think of for now.

[Lorikeet]

Seven weeks , one day post-op

Hard to believe how far along I am since surgery..and yet I feel I have such a long way to go at times. My knee is pretty much fine for the most part. Wounds are pretty much healed now and are fading. Incision is the most visible but even that isn't that obvious now. Still haven't taken another photo of it...won't be anything to see by the time I get to it.

I'm still getting a fair bit of swelling most days but it's less than a few weeks ago. Mostly caused trouble when I'm walking as I don't bend very naturally. But then other times I am walking and I feel like I'm walking close to normal again and don't feel everything so much. I think it's a matter of taking it slowly but steadily at this point.

Physio is going okay but haven't kept up as well this week as last week. I think my motivation is just down this week...also I seem to have a lot more distractions so keep forgetting to get going on some of them. Hopefully that means I'm at least staying active.

I'm finding my knee has a lot more aches and pains now than it's had for a few weeks. Not enough to take anything for it most of the time but some of them are quite sharp when I feel them. I'm starting to think about whether the surgery has been a success or not but really can't tell as yet since my activity is still a long way from the old normal.

[Fogie]

I am sorry to hear you are sore again & feeling less motivated today.  But I reckon the more active you get the more sore you maybe for awhile until things settle down & your knee gets use to it, although I am less experienced than you being two weeks behind.  The pain can get you down alright & you just wander will it ever end, hopefully it will and tomorrow is a new day & soon things will be back to normal.  Just wandering when does the swelling finally go?

[Tiggs1986]

Stairs are an issue for me as well. I've been taking them one at a time "up with the good, down with the bad", but now my PT wants me to learn and get confidence to take them foot over foot, so I've been practicing stepping down with my nonsurgical leg and stepping up with my surgical leg using a small curb outside my place (pretty sure my neighbors think I'm crazy for it though  ). I too still get pretty swollen if I've been up and around, AND have gotten an increase in aches and some sharp pains that I hadn't the last couple of weeks to where I need to break into my narcotics (maybe one  every other day?) I think it's just that I've been more active and am doing more aggressive exercises (balancing, and mini squats and lunges) and shaking things up again. Also doesn't help the weather here is being typical Minnesota weather and it nearly 90degrees F one day and raining and 50F the next, I swear I can feel where the holes were drilled everytime it changes like that! You'll haveta find something to motiviate you. Mine was the promise from a friend to go for sushi once I was able to tolerate walking on my own (I just cashed that in the other day and it was FABULOUS!-now it's to keep at it to return to work asap then to be able to snowboard this next season!) Hopefully your motiviation returns, I know there's been days where I realize I've forgotten to do half of my exercises    but also figure it's because I've was more active that day. Hopefully you motiviation returns, the PA spoke to me the other day while I was at PT and gave me a pep talk about how 50% of the success of the surgery comes from PT.

[yc_angel]

Hey Lori,

I hope everything is going alright and your up and running again with PT....it would be a shame to waiste all your progress eventhough it's hard to find the right motivation sometimes...Just think about functioning normal and walking normal and jogging at some point.....or about now constrantly having to worry if your knee is going to hurt....So basicly just about getting better could be a good motivator

Xx

Angel

[Lorikeet]

8 weeks post-op

I am doing okay this week, I think. I'm doing a bit better on the PT now but still find it hard to fit it all in. I saw the physio last Friday and she thinks I'm still limping quite a bit. That's been kind of up and down for me. I find I do limp quite a bit when I first get up but I think I get better once I've got going...at least for a little while. She wants me to walk just for the sake of walking for 5-10 minutes a day now. The times I've been out have been a bit mixed. First time I found I limped quite a lot for the first several minutes then settled into proper walking at the end. Today I ended up walking for 13 minutes and was okay so might try for 15 minutes next time and see how it goes.

She has also added mini squats to my routine, which I don't like but I think I'm doing those more regularly than most of the other exercises...perhaps in hopes of stopping them being so hard..lol. She's also given me a glute exercise where I stand next to a wall then lift my leg and press again the wall...something like that. It's supposed to work the glutes in the standing leg...I have to do them on both sides. She gave me a new theraband for higher resistance on the side leg lifts...I'd been using this but don't think I've been doing them right as they seemed too easy. Today I think I finally got it right and it was a lot tougher...enough to go back and use the easier one for a while and build back up to it. She also gave me the okay to increase resistance on the stationery bike as I'd kind of maxed out on speed and there was no where to go. So I've moved up to level 2 and it looks like I will soon be moving up to level 3 as I'm again nearly maxed out on the speed with almost no effort.

Won't see physio again until 15 June, a week after my OS appointment.

I think I had something else to mention but can't remember now. It's just after midnight and I'm surely coming down with a cold or allergies or something...hopefully not the flu...but definitely wanting to sleep so maybe I should listen to my body and rest. 

[lululocket]

Hey Lorikeet,

It sounds like you're doing really well! I'm in a similar 'state' as you (and it really does feel like a state some days), but I'm just shy of the 12 week mark, so be encouraged that you're doing really well!

Good luck with the walking, it's remarkable how much you have to think about every single step isn't it!

Lulu