TKR My Journey as of 12/16/13 - Over 1 Year and Still Trying

[DogLoverx3]

Thanks Karringtyn & Jamie, yes, I need to weigh my options in cocktails vs pain meds and not mix. I plan on parking my tush by the pool with a view of the ocean each day to read, relax, tan and unwind We will be going out at night, but i've got my crutches with me just in case ;) I hope you both have great weekends! xoxo

(p.s. Karringtyn - I worry about me too) ​

 

[Ellejay]

Oh dear @DogLoverx3, I'm sorry to hear of your 'lack of meds' episode, it must have been really horrible for you. Never mind, put it all behind you and have a fantastic trip. Just relax and rest, you sooo deserve it. Whenever I read your posts I just want to come over there to support you, you are working so hard and it's just not fair, your poor knee doesn't like it but you don't have a choice. Have a wonderful trip xxx

 

[Nana moon 27]

Hi @DogLoverx3. My daughter is going to my house every day opening the mail and checking the phone fir the appointment. Nothing as yet for that OS appointment. I hope you're ok and packing ready for a well earned rest and break my friend. Please take care love Nana moon 27 xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

 

[Nana moon 27]

Oh Ellen the pain MEDS OMG. I would've panicked XOXOX poor you x x x x

 

[susanne]

Enjoy your trip to margarita land. Drinks in Mexico or anywhere for that matter sounds wonderful
It seems that everyone has great plans for the weekend. Let's just not think knee and kick some butt and enjoy every minute.
While you are all away I'm trying to devise a plan to sleep. Getting over a flu like something so have been sleeping all day and if course can't fall asleep til 4 am. I decided no more iPad then I won't shop on whims. Packages keep arriving and I have no idea what anything is. The bf went away last week , to see his fam in Kentucky. So I'm home alone just me and kitty and so happy. Actually love ME time. Had cleaning service come had hair dyed and cut and now going out to dinner with the girls.
Enjoy everybody. Can't wait to hear all about your trips. Oh and I love the pictures. I feel like I found a new family
susanne


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®

 

[susanne]

Enjoy your trip to margarita land. Drinks in Mexico or anywhere for that matter sounds wonderful
It seems that everyone has great plans for the weekend. Let's just not think knee and kick some butt and enjoy every minute.
While you are all away I'm trying to devise a plan to sleep. Getting over a flu like something so have been sleeping all day and if course can't fall asleep til 4 am. I decided no more iPad then I won't shop on whims. Packages keep arriving and I have no idea what anything is. The bf went away last week , to see his fam in Kentucky. So I'm home alone just me and kitty and so happy. Actually love ME time. Had cleaning service come had hair dyed and cut and now going out to dinner with the girls.
Enjoy everybody. Can't wait to hear all about your trips. Oh and I love the pictures. I feel like I found a new family
susanne


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®

Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart

 

[susanne]

Hi everybody. Can't seem to find my thread so popping in to say hello. Had lunch with some old high school friends. We're talking 40 yrs of friendship and such stories. I guess I sat too much 4 hrs of chatting too much so paying for it now. Knee so tight and unbend able back on my Ice pack and wedge
Goodnight everybody.


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart

 

[Ellejay]

Hope your trip is going well and you are having lots of rest xxx

 

[TexasTee]

Hello Dogloverx3 – How are you? Hope your weekend of rest was all you had hoped. I am pre-op reading as many experiences of people in my general age as possible to see if I can get a realistic idea of what to expect. We have the added similarity to be tall and blonde ;) With an apparent affinity for both Mexico and adult beverages – I was just married in Playa del Carmen at the end of February – we were there for a week and I already feel the itch to plan another trip…
I wanted to thank you for your honestly and thoroughness of your account. I, too, would have defined “nothing” in a very similar way so it’s good to learn this far ahead what “nothing” means as far as the mantras are concerned! I would have also tried to get off meds as quickly as possible – well, jury is out that I won’t be stupid but the more I read of the good, the bad and the ugly, the more hope I have that I might be able to avoid some of the pitfalls that others have documented for me.
This is probably way out of bounds but feel that it must be said…shame on your friends! I cannot believe that all they think to do is bully you into happy hour starting at week 2! I have had two friends with major replacements – the first one stayed with my ex-husband and his girlfriend (good call – they are nurses!) but not cooks so I made weekly trips with more than enough food to feed all three of them all week each Sunday for a month.
The second one is probably the reason I least want to have this done – she was hit by a car when she was very young and as an adult has had…count them FOUR ankle replacements on the same ankle. She is going for number 5 in June. The last one was the worst as she has had so much degeneration of bone that they simple had to fuse her tibia and fibula and stuff in some cadaver bone so that she would have a solid base to attach the new ankle too. Said all that to say this – her family was not in a position to stay with her this round so I flew to Duke for the surgery – bullied the pain med bimbo who wouldn’t authorize the necessary level of meds, took copious notes from the surgeon and flew her back to Austin for a month, arranged her drug schedule so that she didn’t have to think at all, just take the next dose. I am not tooting my own home, I am simply saying that it wasn’t a question. Someone chops my best friends leg off screws it back together and I’m going to bring her home and cook for her. Really doesn’t seem like such a lot to ask, you know?

Thanks again and hope that you are coming back well on your way to healed and happy.

 

[icep707]

Hey Ellen , Hope your mini vacation goes well, you deserve it more than anyone. It will pre occupy your mind. I hope you dont over do it. I dont think you will, sounds like you will be flopped out on the beach for the majority of the time. Not much going on with me. Ill be 8 weeks on the 10th and have to be ready for work in 4 more works. Talk about getting thrown into the fire. Business will be booming and summer is around the corner. Im taking advantage of my time off. Im literally just resting alot with a daily trip to a gym. I lost some overall strength from the surgery. Well im not sure how long you will be in Mexico. Let us know how it went , im sure the theme will be "happy hour". O k. Best wishes !! Iceman

 

[DogLoverx3]

I'm Back! Had a great time in Mexico. Lots of laying on the beach, cocktails (won out over pain meds) and plenty of laughs. There was a group of about 12 of us. I only knew 2 going in, but have made 9 new friends. Everyone just got along and it was great. Sadly, the pool wasn't heated, so the water was a bit too cold still, so no exercises for me aside from getting on and off of bar stools and beach chairs. We walked around The Malecon and did a bit of shopping, a bit of eating at wonderful hole in the walls and a bit of bar hopping. My knee did 'okay'. It certainly does not like walking in sand yet though. I was slower than molasses, but everyone was very sweet. Until the last night when one of the guys made a stupid comment about this all being in my head and I almost launched myself over the table at him... aside from that, I did okay. Lots of tossing and turning at night because my knee hurt, but the pain was worth it. I needed the time away and the 'unplugging'.

Got back home late yesterday and had a ton of work e-mails to hop on a am booked pretty solid the next couple of weeks. *sigh*

Had my follow-up with my OS today. No infection. I asked him lots of questions regarding the stinging pains, the knee cap pain, the swelling, the this and the that and he basically said that I was fine and to start 'enjoying my knee'. Uhm, I'd love to, but it would be much more enjoyable without the pain or swelling. He said to keep taking the Diclofenac and that he'd see me in December for my 1 year check up and x-rays. No clue what to think. I took a friend with me and she's stumped too. I mean, are there actual answers to my questions? I don't know. He said both the amount of fluid and the color were both 'normal' and that he could probably draw just as much fluid out of my 'good' knee. You'll all be proud of me in that I didn't yell BS at him. ;-)

@icep707 , I think you're smart to rest up as much as possible. There is time to build back muscle, but once you start back to work, rest will be at a premium, so stock up now! I think you're doing great. Thanks for checking in on me!

@Ellejay , @susanne , @Nana moon 27 ~ thanks for checking in! Mexico was very much needed! Sadly, it seems like long ago already. I am going to try not and worry so much about my knee and just try to go with the flow. I will be uber busy with work, moving and everything else thru the end of the month, so I guess it's time to really see what my knee can do. If I feel I'm not progressing in another 4 weeks, then I'll seek a 2nd opinion. Maybe I'm just a really really slow healer. Who knows? :-(

@TexasTee , WELCOME! I'm so glad you found this site prior to your surgery. I sure wish I would have. I may have had time to make new friends. You sound like a wonderful friend to have and I hope that everyone repays your kindness to them 10 times over during your recovery. I do hope you learn from my penchant for overdoing and take heed that NOTHING is worth making your knee worse than it needs to be. Let everyone dote on you and enjoy your down time. You didn't say when your surgery is? We'll have to compare notes on Mexico! I've traveled all over the world, but Mexico remains one of my all time favorite countries.

Here's a pic of me and one of my friends at a great place called Boo Bar

 

[Chihuahuan]

@DogLoverx3 So glad you had a wonderful time and your friends were supportive Hope you had some choice words for the "idiot".
I'm thrilled that there is no infection -- that is great news .
Taking grand-kids to see farm animals tomorrow morning. It will be 90 F on Thursday -- too early in the year to be that high
Have a really good week.

 

[TexasTee]

First - you look SO much like a friend of mine! and that Bar looks just like the beach bar at Live Aqua in Cancun. I love Mexico! For views I like Cabo best but for sheer experience I'd have to go with Playa - well, at least the Excellence, best food/drinks/entertainment of any resort I've been too. I haven't quite made it all over the world but it's on the life plan!

Please tell me the guy that's sure it's "all in your head" promptly had a face full of whatever was in your hand? It's a highly effective mechanism for idiots to understand you take objection to their "thoughts" and it provides a visceral satisfaction that nothing else can deliver. Before I sound like a complete schmuck I've only done it twice in 44 years but not. one. single. regret.

I am still working on my surgery date. I want to be able to take 6-8 weeks at home so I need to work with my boss as to when this will not make everyone else miserable. Looking like either August or next March.

 

[Jamie]

I am going to try not and worry so much about my knee and just try to go with the flow. I will be uber busy with work, moving and everything else thru the end of the month, so I guess it's time to really see what my knee can do. If I feel I'm not progressing in another 4 weeks, then I'll seek a 2nd opinion. Maybe I'm just a really really slow healer.

Doglover......my friend.....the Margaritas have worked on your brain. You have forgotten that you are NOT healed yet and ready to go forth and work your new knee to bits. Please, don't do that! You are NOT a slow healer. Your experience is pretty normal considering the constant pushing you have had to do because of your work.

I think your plan not to worry is excellent. But, I do hope you pay attention to your knee and let it guide you in the amount of activity you do. You are only a scant 4 months out from surgery and have already worked your knee hard. That's part of why you are having pain. There are cases where a person pushes and keeps their knee so inflamed that they develop chronic pain. This is a whole different animal that is difficult to impossible to overcome. I say this not to scare you, but to hopefully encourage you to still try and be gentle on your knee for the next couple of months.

You've learned some tricks with work like delegating, sitting whenever possible, icing and keeping your knee up if you can. If you are going to be involved in a move, get friends to help or pay someone to do the work for you. I am hoping that you're not planning to pack boxes, lift and carry, trudge up and down stairs and do all the other stuff involved with a move plus your demanding work schedule....are you???? (she says putting her worry cap on)

 

[DogLoverx3]

@TexasTee , I remind most everyone of someone. I take it as a compliment. ;-) Subtract 25 lbs and that's what I 'usually' look like (pre-knee-sidelined). As for the dummy and the comment at dinner, I did not throw anything on or at him aside from one of my patented looks of death and a menacing 'you DON'T want to go there with me' warning. It worked. He shut up. Glad you're planning out a time when you can take time off. Please try to go for the 8 weeks +. Even that amount of time isn't enough I don't think, but I figure you're like me and not want to put everyone out any longer than you think is necessary. I'm hoping you're able to plan it sooner than later since you've already decided on having it.

Thank you @Chihuahuan ! Have a great time with the grand kids at the farm! Summer is here in full force already. 95 today and up to 98 by Friday.

@Jamie , I knew I could count on you to set me straight. To clarify, I had no intentions of running a marathon (but did manage to walk my dogs all the way around the block for the 1st time today!). I promise not to 'overdo' (much) and will take it easy when I can. Yes, I am making the supreme monetary sacrifice of hiring movers. I will be packing on my own though, but I only do a couple boxes a day. No carrying heavy things down the stairs (face planting would not be pretty). I will have a couple of friends available to help me the night before and the night of the move as well as a 3rd friend who is going to take the day off and help me with the movers. I will try to pre-plan as much as possible. I am terrified of having chronic pain, so although my friends and OS apparently think I'm ready to 'get back to it', I won't be. I'm only going to PT every couple of weeks to make sure I'm still on track and have no plans to go to the gym. I'd love to be able to drop all the weight I've gained during this lovely little adventure, but I guess that will need to wait a bit longer....

Oddly enough, I didn't have any margaritas in Mexico! I had Chi-Chis on the beach (pina coladas made with vodka instead of rum), tequilla shots & cervecas at night along with the random foofy drink (not a good idea to try to order a martini in Mexico - would taste like lighter fluid).

Oh, and be proud of me Jamie. I have a catering event on Thursday that I am having one of my servers work so that I can go to an art walk instead (or a drink wine while sitting while other walk).

 

[Nana moon 27]

Hi @DogLoverx3 WTG walking your dogs round the block. That's fabtastic, well done. I absolutely love your pic. You look so happy and relaxed. You deserved that holiday after all your hard work you've been doing and coping with surgery!and a blecky recovery! I totally agree with what you said to Texas Tee. Support network is crucial. I'm glad you're getting movers in it will help. Could you not get your friends kids to help you box up? Only a suggestion!

I'm glad to be back. We only had a couple of decent days weather. It rained most of the time, most of the days. Husbands van got stuck in the mud on the site when we left tonight. Nightmare!!! Lots of cussing and swearing and bad temper. At one point I was trying not to laugh because he reminded me of Donald Duck in a bad mood especially when I suggested I asked for help! He went mad and said he could manage so I left him to it at that point.

Congratulations for getting someone to cover for you...well done my friend I'm proud of you. I know how hard it is to let go the reins!

Catch up tomorrow properly. I'm really tired xoxoxoxox big hugs my friend

 

[yiayia3]

@DogLoverx3 Great news about your knee,so pleased for you, your photo looks fab sounds like it did you the world of good

 

[Ellejay]

@DogLoverx3 - welcome home- I'm glad you had such a good time and managed to rest, now build up on that and don't overdo things. Well done for letting one of your servers do a job instead of you, that's a good start.

 

[Jozilla]

So glad you had a wonderful time in Mexico! It sounds like you had a good break which I think we all need. Love your picture!


RTKR - 9th December, 2013

Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®

 

[dogwheels]

Hi @DogLoverx3 - I'm so pleased that you have enjoyed your break and have had a chance to relax and chill out. Just what you needed.
The photo looks great - and after your description I will now have to add Mexico to my list of 'places to go to that we have not yet visited'.
Great that there is no sign of infection - but do try not to overdo now, and let the benefit of those few lazy days work their way into that knee of yours!
X