PKR Ligament Sprain in GoodLeg

Got the redone crown and had the top filling redone for “my color.” So “happy face”. Had to take antibiotics and missed my pool walking, though, so “frown face”.

My smile looks normal again, but it took lots of insistence on my part. I believe the standards at this practice are closer to @luvcats description of sloppy glue work than to my perfection-oriented standards. So I will be
searching for a dentist that is as fussy as my OS.

Really missed the pool walking! Proof of how much it is helping my recoveries.
 
Considering how very different the 2 closings are, I'm pretty sure that my OS has someone else do the non technical closing. And either I got second string this time, or someone was hurrying beyond their skill level. Annoying, but not critical. I do plan to mention it in my appointment next week, just so someone will talk to whoever made the mess. What's done is done, but there can be no improvement if a problem is not recognized.

I'm glad your crown has been fixed to your satisfaction. Good luck finding a new dentist who is the right fit. I've had a lot of trouble with that.

Counting the days until I can go pool walking again. My body just aches for the lovely weightlessness of it.
 
Reading a lot about gait as I am trying to improve mine.

Thought of @winemama ’s mention of calf pain

Doing calf massages that I found (for recovering injured runners on health-med online) with a simple, short how to video. PM me if you cannot find it and want the link. If I like it after a week, I’ll PM it to Jamie to see if she likes it for BS.
 
Gait is my new project too. I've learned that my left leg doesn't stride forward, it just catches up. Forward with the right, even with the left. So as a first step, I am now learning to reverse limp.
 
@luvcats your cul de sac walks inspired me to venture out a bit further today.

Because I am steadily increasing my pool walking (time and pace), I have not done as much sidewalk walking. So today, I set off down the steep-ish driveway along the sidewalk to the corner, turned and went to the next corner and back. Stiff, right leg zombie at first, but then got better. I did standing calf stretches before and midway (used a concrete light post).

My route when solo keeps my left side to grass, so if I were to fall, I would not land on the recently repaired right shoulder. I used the “were subjunctive” because this is not going to happen (Hail Marys & Knock on Wood).

I am working on lengthening the stride. It is not a normal, smooth stride, but this was my longest solo street sidewalk trek since the ligament sprain. iPhone says 1,130 steps (.4 mile).

Progress.

Note: Next time I will do the new calf massage (see my last post above) and the hip flexor stretches before the walk.
 
You are definitely NOT going to fall. Absolutely not.

It's been such a very long time since I could do any walking outside. It makes me wish we lived on a flatter piece of neighborhood. We live at the top of a bit of hill, so walking a block or two just isn't practical yet. I'm not ready for that much hill with either leg. Are you enjoying it?

Yesterday at PT it was pretty much all gait training. For me, it's all about the hip. Nothing wrong with the joint, but the muscles and connectors are all on much too tight.
 
Re: Walking
Went to Lowe’s today (exciting actually) and walked leisurely through Halloween and Christmas decorations (LOL) and about half of the Garden area while my Beloved got what we went for. Not my natural strolling gait, but getting better.

Might have walked the rest but kept encountering women pushing large flatbed carts like it was a Formula One track. I’m a big advocate of the Harvard Systems Management theory of being ever mindful of “Who’s at Risk?”. So I took my healing body out of harm’s way.

The route to Lowe’s takes us past some pretty spots, so I got to see Wood Stork and horses.

You asked if I am enjoying the increased/added outdoor walking @luvcats . I like venturing out, but I’m so conscious of the effort to lengthen the stride, I do not enjoy it yet. I do enjoy the pool walking because the gait feels natural in the water until the end, when I tire.

Re: Pain & Stiffness
Decided to substitute Rx Naproxen (naprosyn) for the Celebrex for awhile. Cannot take them at the same time. I do this every now and then.

I find the Naproxen is sometimes better for faster pain relief, and the Celebrex always better for ongoing pain and stiffness from osteoarthritis (no stomach upset or blood thinning with this for me). When I switch, I take the N for 3-7 days, and usually my body suddenly feels stiff and I resume the Celebrex.

Thought I’d see if the right knee (post ligament sprain) liked this better. Will update.
 
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I like venturing out, but I’m so conscious of the effort to lengthen the stride, I do not enjoy it yet. I do enjoy the pool walking because the gait feels natural in the water until the end, when I tire.
I understand that. You'll get a few nice steps in and then you remember you aren't doing it correctly and have to go back to focusing on what your leg is doing rather than the world around you. sigh. We will get there, slow and steady.
women pushing large flatbed carts like it was a Formula One track.
Nice visualization. Really made me laugh.
What sort of writing do you do?
 
Mostly journals and poems for myself and Beloved now.
All my “careers” involved writing. University &grad school teaching, academic articles/presentations/admin stuff , Development /Fundraising (I do not ever want to “work the room” again), teaching others to write, including grants, Publicity, radio advertising copywriter, newspaper editor.
Published a few poems over the years.
And you @luvcats ?
 
The Naproxen seems like a good change for now. Slept better—less pain perhaps?

Adding what runners call “fartleks”(sic) to pool walking: Short interludes, ie a minute or two, at a faster pace, in the middle (when warmed up) of the walk at a regular pace. Progress. Also, most of the 45 minutes in the pool is now walking, with very short breaks for stretches and hip hanging. Stair practice at the end.
Progress.
 
Monday, Sept 30, 2019 Rx Orthotics Redo Update:

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My foot MD sent my Rx orthotics back for a major redo after seeing my foot MRI.
Here’s the redo:
-The arch is still firm, but
-There is an additional layer of thicker, cushy foam over the arch, under the top layer, and
-There is a different, cushier layer of foam over the whole foot, and
-The additional hard heel has been removed, and
-The whole forefoot is now soft cushion and it bends at a better place for the mechanics of my feet.

Directions:
- I am to do a much more gradual break-in period for three weeks before returning to see him:
-One hour a day (not exercising) for Week One;
-One hour one day alternating with two hours (or >1, but <2) the next day for Week Two;
-Either repeat Week Two or increase the time on some days for Week 3.
Caveats: Go slowly. Decrease time if needed. Do not rush.

If before the next visit or by then, I feel like the heels are still too hard, then he will send them back and have gel foam spot cushions inserted into the heel.

Today, I wore them for the hour as directed in the new Asics shoes and they felt pretty good. Much better.
I am not to wear them for exercise walking the first week, maybe two, but even just for normal walking and standing in the house and on the patio, my legs and feet feel straighter and more aligned, so I think these will help the gait eventually.

Note: All adjustments are at no additional cost.
 
I hope the orthotics work out. I need to buy new sneakers before I need them. They weren't that old, but everything about how I walk is now different, so I need new so I can break them in a bit before Disney. At the moment I'm just wearing crocs when I leave the house, but I'll want something better when I can start hitting the rec center again.

I started out as a technical writer and editor for a group that did big education symposia. Then more technical writing for a really awful group. Currently I have a freelance business ghostwriting business non-fiction, and children's stories, of all things. Except that I'm on hiatus because I'm not nearly smart enough to do anything creative right now. I also write poetry and I'm working on a book, with maybe a few more in mind. I have very high hopes for my energy levels once I don't hurt and I'm off all pain meds. Which will be a while. I've been on tramadol for pain management for several years thinking replacement wasn't an option for me, so I'll have to do a managed step down. It will all work out. Anyway, I have high hopes for my writing once I have my full brain power available.
 
Interesting career paths (I do not think we have just one). Your posts show your writing talent. Always clear, succinct, and with just the right mix of comic relief.

My switch to Naproxen was short-lived. Went back to Celebrex last night. Even added a half of a 50 tramadol in the afternoon. My knee ached the night before, and just stayed vocal all day. Even just that tiny dose of tramadol made me less focused. So I think your plan to wean off is sound.
 
Your posts show your writing talent. Always clear, succinct, and with just the right mix of comic relief.
That's kind of you to say. Thank you!
I just can't keep my natural snark out of my written voice. lol
 
I think I overdid on Sunday (steep driveway with increased speed, longer time in pool, adding Fartkeks (Swedish term used by runners for adding short increases in speed), tout ca. No worries about me turning into goo or chrysalis as @luvcats so wittily phrased it!

Ached Monday and yesterday. Better after the return to Celebrex, but ....

Feel better today. Added easy sitting or supine hamstrings and glutes stretches to my “return to normal gait” quest. Feel better.

Doing the ultra conservative break in of the revised Rx orthotics. So far so good. I think the altered mechanics of my foot/feet do contribute to the aggravation in the right knee because with the new orthotics in, both feet and both legs feel straighter.
 
Doing the ultra conservative break in of the revised Rx orthotics. So far so good. I think the altered mechanics of my foot/feet do contribute to the aggravation in the right knee because with the new orthotics in, both feet and both legs feel straighter.
As soon as I can drive again, I need to make a podiatrist appointment. I have flat feet. The last time I saw him, I was told that insurance only covers orthotics of I had diabetes. But the rules may be different post TKR. No harm in checking.
 
I was told that insurance only covers orthotics of I had diabetes
Insurance did not cover mine. High 400’s. Gasp. Includes all redos and followup visits; anticipated orthotics lifespan is 5 years. I was spending so much money on trial and error OTC’s that I decided to do the custom RXs again.
Based on how straight/upright my feet, ankles, and knees felt in my break-in period yesterday, I added my 3/4 hard arch OTC Spencos to my watershoes. I put the watershoe liner over it. I think that as I do most of my walking in the pool, this is probably wise. They felt okay in the pool.

Did better yesterday overall. I did not overdo.
 
Thank you @Izabel!
033FB1FC-4182-4657-8652-E67EFB3B1197.jpeg

My two epiphanies today:
1) Knee:
Used moist heat at bedtime last night for 15 minutes on the front, inside (medial) knee bursa, which I suspected was aggravated by the now-healed medial ligament sprain. Again, this am, before getting up.
Much better in the night and this morning!

2) Increased the humidity on my CPAP/nowAPAP sleep apnea device to 5 adaptive. Formerly, static 3 & then adaptive 3; then a few days ago, adaptive 4, which was a little better.
Much improved sleep! And AHI.
 
I'm glad you found something that helps your poor strained leg. Whatever works, right?

Have you been on your machine long? I think I recall you just got shifted from CPAP to APAP. I'm thankful I don't have sleep apnea. Beloved has it really severely, and it probably contributed to his needing cardiac bypass. Our whole marriage, he had trouble falling asleep, needed 9 hours a night, and woke up slowly and groggy. Once he got the CPAP adjusted, he falls asleep almost instantly, almost never wakes up at night, and only needs 7 hours. It's very weird for me. lol
 

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