PKR I'm Here.... PKR left lateral complete!

[1ELISEA]

@mcirish
Taken out by a 26 month, 35 lb little girl. Do you really want to admit you were worried about that?


I had a friend who was so embarrassed she broke her leg going up some stairs (long story), and people didn't believe that was possible, that she finally told people she was doing acrobatic skiing, hit a mogul wrong, came down twisted and that's how she broke it. She got soooo much sympathy.

Maybe next time change a few details, perhaps you were lifting a car off someone and were bracing yourself with your knee, or trying to save a puppy from a storm drain as it swept down the road after all the snow and rain, well, you know, something creative.

 

[mcirish]

@1ELISEA the puppy storm drain car thing was soooo last week. I was actually teaching my little one some WWE moves and she came off the ropes a little hot and hit my knee while executing the "flying triad of death" move I learned from Hulk or as I call him "Hulkster" or sometimes I just call him "H"... not the actual letter, but just the "huh" sound. He likes that. Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, flying triad of death. Well, as I said my little girl came off the ropes a little bit hot and I thought she was coming in high and she came in low and we'll, there you have it. She actually knocked the implant, whacked it so hard it popped out through the skin. Fortunately we had some extra bone cement I picked up at the Home Depot (on sale of course) and I... well we... my toddler of terror and of course "H" slapped that implant back up in my knee and sealed up the hole with duct tape. Then I got a ride on "H"'s tank riding on top of the turret Patton style all the while icing and elevating. That's my story and I'm sticking to it

 

[jeano]

Get the dart gun, Jim, it's a big one!

 

[mcirish]

@jeano Hey, if I am going to make up a "big fish story" might as well be a WHOPPER! lol

 

[1ELISEA]

Hi there @mcirish
Time for an update to your thread.
How are you doing today?

 

[mcirish]

Hi there @mcirish
Time for an update to your thread.
How are you doing today?

Doing okay. At 8 weeks post op last Friday. Getting better little by little everyday, trying to deal with the grind. The physical therapist was trying to put more fear in me last Friday. I took a week off from PT and I definitely regressed as far as leg strength, although the joint itself improved as the swelling in the tissue seems to be decreasing dramatically. There is still a good amount of fluid swelling , but nothing alarming. But the PT seems to be more concerned with the quads not coming back. He's telling me that because the medial quad muscles are still not strong enough causing my kneecap to track laterally, which is putting more weight on the lateral compartment and causing increased swelling and pain. I do not have a lot of pain, really just general, intermittent soreness where the surgery was performed.

I am not too concerned, but it would be nice if I could get my left quads to look as bulky as my right ones and see if it gets me over the hump as far as getting complete normal function back or close to it. I can already ascend stairs without much of a problem and I am starting work on descending, which is trickier of course, but I can tell that I am maybe 2-3 weeks out from mastering that as well.

All in all I am pleased with the progress. It is really mostly mental at this point just trying to keep all the negativity and self-defeating thoughts out of my head (can't do it, why does it always hurt when I do that, oh why is it so swollen, why did I try and teach my toddler wrestling moves etc., etc.) as I grind through the healing process.

Not afraid to admit I also did go through a very brief narcotic withdrawal episode over the weekend as I had been mixing in small dosages of Norco with my Tylenol and Advil for the full 2 months after surgery. That was the longest period of time I have ever been taking an opiate. Even in a very small dosage (half-tab 3x daily, when I stopped taking it I had bad stomach cramps and insomnia last night. Bad nightmares too. Must be twice as bad for people taking Oxi, especially if they had taken it for a prolonged period of time.

All things considered, things are going well, just need to get over this minor hurdle with my quad strength.

 

[icep707]

You bought back memories of when I was a kid at the "cow palace" in San Francisco. The original big time wrestlers !! It would air every weekend on channel 44. My dad would mumble under his breath that it was fake, to a 10 year old that blasphemy. Any way its great to hear you are progressing well. 8 weeks already. That flew by. I really havent done any research at all on the anatomy of the knee or parts. Got to give you credit , you sure have . Any word on red riders surgery date ?? He is very well informed too. Well keep up the great work, be patient and your quad will get most of its strengh back.. sleep for me is rare so im on this tablet all day . PEACE !!

 

[mcirish]

@icep707 You mistake my copying and pasting ability for intelligence! Seriously though, it is just hard to figure out what's been going on with my knee. (Mama Josephine would say, "that's easy, you just had a PKR silly!" lol)....Docs are to busy and the PTs, God bless em', it's so cute when they try to talk medically with you, but are really not too helpful. Have to find things out for myself sometimes.

The Cow Palace. I went to a concert there once and also to a supercross race. Memories are a little hazy, but probably had a good time.

@icep707 Also, no word on RR. I mean, the guy lives in one of the most wonderful areas on Earth and with the weather we've been having I am sure he is enjoying life when he is not working. Man, with how complicated of a surgery he's looking at, I would probably consider just doing a full, unless there is some benefit down the road with an easier revision to a full. That's one of the main reasons I did a partial instead of a full on my first go around. Even if my PKR exceeds expectations and lasts 15-20 years, I will probably still need to go to a TKR. We will see what the future holds.

 

[kneeper]

I've learned that the muscles around the knee are important so wanting to have those built back makes sense. But stressing them too much would seem to invite more pain and struggles. Hopefully you can find the right balance.

 

[mcirish]

@kneeper that's the rub. Too much and the knee hurts and swells (sometimes does that anyway), too little and the legs withers.....on with the grind!

 

[DogLoverx3]

When you find that perfect recipe for balance McIrish, please share! I think you're doing great. Like you, I'm still muddling my way through PT and can't quite get the balance between too much & too little right. Sorry to hear about your withdrawal over the weekend, but at least it was short lived. Keep up the great work. You're getting there, just not as fast as you'd like!

Oh, and yes, when my PT tried to talk 'medically' with me, he kinda gets flustered and talks in circles.....or just tells me that everything is 'fine'.

 

[1ELISEA]

All things considered, things are going well

Great to hear mcirish.
Soon you'll be teaching that little one the flying squirrel wrestling move with all of its flips.

 

[RedRider]

Look at all you "other-siders" over here yapping like its fanstasy football draft day, is this what it's like being on the other side?
@mcirish, getting back into the gym will be great. Once you get your heart rate up and that blood flowing, it'll be a rejuvenating experience. @icep707 is the gym rat, maybe he has some knee-friendly workouts.

...time for some rain indeed!!

 

[icep707]

@RedRider , I wish I had knee friendly knee work outs. My knee has been toast for years. My upperbody is that of a greek god but my legs are that of my skinny 12 year niece. Had PT today, for the first time ive been challenged, sweat ran down my lip, and I starting reeking, hygiene has been secondary thus far. Congratulations on the wedding! Mcirish mentioned you live in Paradise, where abouts in san diego ? I used to stay at Newport beach every summer. Right on PCH. Im in sonoma county, so condusive to healing. The nature and beauty is inspiring. Keep us posted on further developments. @mcirish , Hey mate ! Got some rain today , not much ,but every drop counts. I start OPT next week. Now im looking forward to it. Hey ,How long till you were driving ? I cant believe im only taking 1 celebrex a day with 50 mg tramodal every 5 hours with tylenol before night time. If u would of said that pre op I would of strangled myself, It is what it is! I have a boatload of oxy just sitting there. I had some trippy dreams, too. Well all is good,

 

[mcirish]

When you find that perfect recipe for balance McIrish, please share! I think you're doing great. Like you, I'm still muddling my way through PT and can't quite get the balance between too much & too little right. Sorry to hear about your withdrawal over the weekend, but at least it was short lived. Keep up the great work. You're getting there, just not as fast as you'd like!

Oh, and yes, when my PT tried to talk 'medically' with me, he kinda gets flustered and talks in circles.....or just tells me that everything is 'fine'.

@DogLoverx3 ....thought about it a lot. I do have the perfect recipe and it is all written and documented in our little community here. The time tested mantras and guidelines. Therein lies the path of least resistance to our recovery

 

[mcirish]

@icep707 ....gotta get back to my yob soon here. So much more pleasant chatting it up though. Rain starting to tease us here. We had some light sprinkles overnight. Heavy stuff should start this evening. I remember the first year I moved to SR (1990??) we had a 100 year rainy season. So much rain. Vineyards and fields were flooding and the Russian River overflowing and flooding parts of Guerneville. Being a medic, we were crazy busy, with car accidents and rescue assists. Good times! haha....driving....okay confession time. I was actually very, very bad and I started driving about 10 days post op, crutching around the supermarket and....I returned to work after 12 really days, not 14 days (I lied before)...talk about fatigue....I know, stupid, but again I kind of had to and I was also given a lot of flex in how my "workday" went....imagine that my office was basically turned into a hospital room! Good God, wish I could take 3 months off. I would probably try to write a book or some stupid thing.....or more likely just chill, post comments on our threads here and watch movies....much better plan. Take care my man.

 

[jeano]

@mcirish--maybe instead of doctors telling us we're too young for knee replacement they should tell us we'd be better off waiting until we have retired or can take an extended break from work to concentrate on recovery. I dont think I couldve done it while working a "real" job. (Meaning 40 hours on top of what I do here at the house, which is plenty but at least I can schedule my own breaks and the place wont fall apart if I goof off for a day or two.)

Rainy and chilly here in the overcast south, but I am tucked up next to a fire in the wood stove and listening to a spring-training baseball game so all is well. Also nursing a strained calf muscle --not a clue as to how I did that but icing and elevating once more.

 

[mcirish]

@jeano good to hear from you! I suspect the calf has to due with over-compensating for the knee. Used to happen to my left calf. My left calf was always sig. bigger than my right after I recovered from my initial injury way back when....yep, I wish the same. I was really pushing for mine to get done though. I don't think there was much anyone could do to scare me off.

Sounds pretty cozy & nice there. Love the wood burners! Great way to save on the gas bill too. The baseball would probably put me to sleep though....not actually a bad idea right?

 

[jeano]

Baseball is meditation. Creates deep relaxation.

Its the wretched left calf, same side as the pkr. Its a nuisance, never had such a thing before--ankles, knees, sciatic, never a calf or hammy pull, not even a thousand years ago when I was doing karate and literally kicking butt and taking names. Knock on wood, dont need a hamstring. I have been doing calf stretches some as well. I dont have a memory of an ouch or dangit moment--sorta snuck up on me. The indignities of age continue to pile on. Good news, I can evidently still use the elliptical, so I wont be as inert as I feared as this thing heals. I'll just curtail the walking to the bare minimum--walk to the barn to check on the equine, let the chickens out, bring in the firewood, do the grocery shopping, cooking, housework.....should only take a year or two to resolve.

 

[mcirish]

Baseball is meditation. Creates deep relaxation.

Its the wretched left calf, same side as the pkr. Its a nuisance, never had such a thing before--ankles, knees, sciatic, never a calf or hammy pull, not even a thousand years ago when I was doing karate and literally kicking butt and taking names. Knock on wood, dont need a hamstring. I have been doing calf stretches some as well. I dont have a memory of an ouch or dangit moment--sorta snuck up on me. The indignities of age continue to pile on. Good news, I can evidently still use the elliptical, so I wont be as inert as I feared as this thing heals. I'll just curtail the walking to the bare minimum--walk to the barn to check on the equine, let the chickens out, bring in the firewood, do the grocery shopping, cooking, housework.....should only take a year or two to resolve.

@jeano I want to laugh, but I know it's going to be reality, so I really can't. I have more pain in my knee now than I did the first few weeks after surgery. Granted I had the magical pain pills, but it's really a function of how hard I go at it in PT. I just now know that after any good workout, I am going to be sore the next day, not just the muscles, but everywhere the OS cut. I am starting to think the procedure(s) I had were more traumatic than a TKR. There is a guy I see in PT every time I go who had a TKR maybe 1 week before I had my surgery. He is already onto much more advanced exercises (wall squats, weight machines). Very humbling.....

Love the "baseball = meditation" mantra. Reminds me of one of my favorite sports movies of all-time "Bull Durham". Such a great movie. I would much rather see a minor league game than a major any day.