Hi! I'm back from seeing the Dr............ let's start this out on a good note! Positive: Knee is able to bend to 70 degrees without great effort. Some, but not pushing it. Wish I had more, but sadly......nope.
After 4 weeks of trying my darnedest to get to 0 degrees, I am not able to get below 15 degrees without MAJOR effort. I can get to 10 degrees, but it takes me about 5 minutes and it's quite painful. The areas of pain that I have on the lateral side of my knee is due to the released tendons. I was not aware that he released a large tendon that runs along the side of my thigh and along the side of my knee. Sorry... don't know the name of this tendon, but I know it used to attach to the lateral side of the femoral head. Where it's not there any more, (????) there is no cushioning in that area. Thus, the intense, sharp pain I feel when I slightly touch that area. He said in time, that pain may go away, but with the RSD/CRPS being the main culprit with me, he just can't say.
So...that's the focus now. RSD/CRPS. No more surgery. He says there isn't anything left to fix/remove or repair. Whereas I am able to get to 70 degrees flexion, he is pretty sure he doesn't want to do an MUA. He is VERY concerned about making the RSD/CRPS worse than it is now. He did say that managing my pain after this last surgery was very complex... not like the one he did before. When I came out of anaesthesia, I was in a lot of pain, even with the Ketomine and the other pain drugs that were being infused. The day after surgery, when they tried to get me out of bed and I screamed and said they were being barbaric was the day he knew the RSD/CRPS was not in control, so he ordered more pain meds. I can remember I had (2) IV's with different pain meds going into each one. I'm glad he explained more about what went on after this last surgery, as I was really upset in the hospital and "out of it" most of the time. Now I understand what was going on and know that he did his best to handle the situation.
So.... the calf pain is due to me trying to walk with a bent leg... and overdoing it. There is nothing wrong with the knee replacement or the new "spacer". My knee is rock solid, as he says. My quad muscle may or may not return... in time. Again... we don't know how much "time" it may take. When I pressed for his thoughts, he said "if we are lucky... 2 years, and that's getting ½ of it back. We just have this roadblock called RSD that is in your way". I asked about spinal cord stimulators and all that other stuff, and we both agreed that it was a band-aid for a problem that I might have to learn to live with.
Plus..... I've really had enough evals and appts with specialists to last me a lifetime. I really, REALLY need a break, so I'm going to take one.
I see him again in 4 weeks and he is hoping that I can gain another 10 degrees of flexion and possibly get down to 10 degrees extension. I have GOT to pace myself and not do too much. He said "I can't stress that enough". Small gains followed by plateaus is what I need to focus on both physically and mentally. He knows that winters are very hard for me, as the cold wreaks havoc with the RSD.
I'm going to keep using the neoprene "Donjoy" brace with the hinges on both sides. I've got 45 degree stoppers in it now, and he wants me to get 75 degree stoppers and keep those in for 6 months. My BIGGEST fear is falling and having my knee bend further than it has in 2 years, and that would not be a good thing. First... it would really, really, REALLY hurt, and doing so would make the RSD soar! So... I'm going to be very careful not to bend my knee further than I can. Also any "strike" to the sensitive area beside my knee would not be good either.
So.... gotta keep my knee area warm, don't over-do it, pace myself and know that I cannot compare myself to another knee replacement patient as I am "special". Not the kind of "special" I want to be, but he promised me he's in this for the long-haul with me.
We ended the conversation with me asking "should I have had a fusion?".... to which he replied I would still have the same pain because of the RSD/CRPS and have a non-functioning knee. If patience is a virtue, I've got a lot of it!!!!!
United States
