After reviewing my habits and reading not only the excellent Bonesmart article (thanks
@Jockette) but also some others online, I decided it was entirely likely that i had cut back my meds too far.
I think I went from excruciating to just really bad so quickly, my brain hasn't really kept up. I cut back to my tramadol extended release, and that has been almost all I need during the day. It hurts, but not badly and mostly I don't notice with my leg up. But at night, I think it's enough that my brain can't relax. Last night I took some oxycodone at bed time, and again 5 hours later when I woke up again, and I had a delicious night's sleep. I hope it will work again tonight. I can experiment with cutting back again in a few days.
I had a nice little break through yesterday, despite not enough sleep. I had PT and did very well. He watched me walk and we talked about my limping habit that I need to train myself out of. I did a standing balance exercise and that went very well. Next time I'm to bring my cane so he can see me walk with it and advise me if I should switch or if I should stick to the walker for a while for gait training. He's also going to have me use the little test steps they have to see how I do with them. That's my biggest goal. Left foot steps by September 4.
The breakthrough happened when we got home. Getting out of the car, I turned a bit in my seat and just pulled my knee up to get my foot around the door without even thinking about it!!! A tiny thing, but it feels like a HUGE victory. I haven't been able to do that in years.
I can also use my new knee to just lift my foot and step over the door-stop cat. No trouble at all.
All this trouble is SO worth it!