RestAssured
alpha
Kelly, one of my good friends lives in Evanston! I enjoyed my trip to see her. I need to get back soon.
TKR My RTKR journey
- Thread starter Dulcimer Diva
- Start date
- Status
skigirl
Former BoneSmart staff member
- Joined
- May 5, 2009
- Messages
- 13,594
- Age
- 82
- Location
- Minneapolis, MN
- Gender
- Female
- Country
United States
Sonja, it is a neat little town. Most of all, in my opinion, at least, is that it has a great Indian restaurant!! K
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
Ah, Kelly, if you think Evanston's Indian restaurant is good, the ones along Devon Ave. (only a mile from me) are fantastic! People come from all over the country to eat and shop there. BTW, I live only about 2 mi. south of the Evanston city line. I really like Evanston: our son attended day school there (Roycemore, across from Northwestern U, from grades 1-12); I shop at one of their two Whole Foods branches, and my two favorite guitar stores (and the one where my son studies bass) are there. IMHO, they have the best Belgian chocolatier in the country. In summers when I'm mobile, it's their Fourth of July parade (in which we've marched) and fireworks display we watch. Their multiplex has a gourmet cafe and bar (would you like some champagne with your rom-com?); and we love some of their restaurants, especially Davis St. Fishmarket, Lucky Platter, Kuni Sushi & Pete Miller's Steakhouse. Had the Evanston A.C. provided transportation &/or parking, that's where I'd be doing my PT. I'm hoping I can delay my LTKR until my OS moves to Evanston Hospital. And when I'm ready to X-C ski again, my favorite trail is from Dempster St. Beach to the lighthouse at the Wilmette border. Only wish we could afford to live there: housing prices are as steep as in the pricier parts of Chicago and property taxes are sky-high.
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
Middle of week 7 post-op:
Outpatient PT is proceeding apace. Hit 130 degrees on purpose today, and am adding resistance on the upright exercycle (and warmng up by distance and heart rate rather than time). My own efforts on non-PT days have been paying off: my scar is relaxing, and I'm getting a bit less pain from my therapist's hamstring massage (except the pinpoint thumb stuff--my old childbirth breathing exercises are helping there). Sunday my husband and I walked to our neighborhood's street fair--5 bl. ea. way (albeit with seated dinner at the midpoint). Walking was tricky, because for a block, the sidewalk has been narrowed and diverted due to library construction--and it's slanted. Due to my leg length discrepancy it did a real number on my left hip flexor and I.T. band. I've driven twice to Whole Foods, the pharmacy and the coffee roastery (gotta have my decaf espresso beans). I only feel it when I get to the checkout counter and find the person in front of me has an overflowing cart to unload. I can now climb into the back seat of the clinic's transport van without a stepstool. Monday we started working on reawakening the nerves around my left iliotibial band--and despite the numbness of the skin, the underlying muscle feels really bruised. (Hallelujah for arnica gel). Today, after massage, stretching and more aggressive assisted heel slides, the eccentric contractions (3" step-downs with "good" foot) felt fine, as did the 6" unassisted step-ups with the TKR leg. Fri. we go to 4" step-downs and 6" step-ups. And the "crab walk" is getting easier to do without inadvertently shuffling. Then I will be 1/3 of the way through outpatient P.T. (with the suggestion that I join a gym afterward).
And the only Norco I'm taking now is that 1/2 a 10-mg. pill, plus a rapid-release 500 mg. acetaminophen, half an hour before PT. Otherwise, it's 2 Aleve and one extended release 650-mg acetaminophen BID. Did hit a bit of a snag, though--for some reason I got a few achy pangs in my tibia, but ice and elevation nipped it in the bud. (Bought a wavy leg-elevator pillow from FootSmart, but it doesn't seem to be high enough at the high end. Have to prop it the taller end up on another pillow. And I guess I should have gotten the larger one: despite being only 5'3", I have disproportionately long thighs).
I have to go back to my dentist (was able to climb the 2 flights of stairs to his office) to have my snore-guard mouthpiece adjusted: it's still irritating the bone spur on part of my gum; and each progressive morning when I take it off my TMJ hurts more and longer. (Couldn't chew for 10 hours yesterday....and ice cream is not the wisest dietary choice, albeit the most comforting). I think I'd rather snore--as long as my husband gets to bed first he can't hear me. ;) TMJ is still a little sore today even though I didn't wear the mouthpiece--had to massage it with a little arnica and Voltaren gel.
Finally, having some serious internet problems--my ISP's fiber-optic cable was cut "accidentally" by a competitor and my entire node (40 homes) has been down for a couple of days. Dreading how much my excess cell data will be due to having had to tether my iPhone to my laptop! So that explains why I've been absent from the board of late.
Outpatient PT is proceeding apace. Hit 130 degrees on purpose today, and am adding resistance on the upright exercycle (and warmng up by distance and heart rate rather than time). My own efforts on non-PT days have been paying off: my scar is relaxing, and I'm getting a bit less pain from my therapist's hamstring massage (except the pinpoint thumb stuff--my old childbirth breathing exercises are helping there). Sunday my husband and I walked to our neighborhood's street fair--5 bl. ea. way (albeit with seated dinner at the midpoint). Walking was tricky, because for a block, the sidewalk has been narrowed and diverted due to library construction--and it's slanted. Due to my leg length discrepancy it did a real number on my left hip flexor and I.T. band. I've driven twice to Whole Foods, the pharmacy and the coffee roastery (gotta have my decaf espresso beans). I only feel it when I get to the checkout counter and find the person in front of me has an overflowing cart to unload. I can now climb into the back seat of the clinic's transport van without a stepstool. Monday we started working on reawakening the nerves around my left iliotibial band--and despite the numbness of the skin, the underlying muscle feels really bruised. (Hallelujah for arnica gel). Today, after massage, stretching and more aggressive assisted heel slides, the eccentric contractions (3" step-downs with "good" foot) felt fine, as did the 6" unassisted step-ups with the TKR leg. Fri. we go to 4" step-downs and 6" step-ups. And the "crab walk" is getting easier to do without inadvertently shuffling. Then I will be 1/3 of the way through outpatient P.T. (with the suggestion that I join a gym afterward).
And the only Norco I'm taking now is that 1/2 a 10-mg. pill, plus a rapid-release 500 mg. acetaminophen, half an hour before PT. Otherwise, it's 2 Aleve and one extended release 650-mg acetaminophen BID. Did hit a bit of a snag, though--for some reason I got a few achy pangs in my tibia, but ice and elevation nipped it in the bud. (Bought a wavy leg-elevator pillow from FootSmart, but it doesn't seem to be high enough at the high end. Have to prop it the taller end up on another pillow. And I guess I should have gotten the larger one: despite being only 5'3", I have disproportionately long thighs).
I have to go back to my dentist (was able to climb the 2 flights of stairs to his office) to have my snore-guard mouthpiece adjusted: it's still irritating the bone spur on part of my gum; and each progressive morning when I take it off my TMJ hurts more and longer. (Couldn't chew for 10 hours yesterday....and ice cream is not the wisest dietary choice, albeit the most comforting). I think I'd rather snore--as long as my husband gets to bed first he can't hear me. ;) TMJ is still a little sore today even though I didn't wear the mouthpiece--had to massage it with a little arnica and Voltaren gel.
Finally, having some serious internet problems--my ISP's fiber-optic cable was cut "accidentally" by a competitor and my entire node (40 homes) has been down for a couple of days. Dreading how much my excess cell data will be due to having had to tether my iPhone to my laptop! So that explains why I've been absent from the board of late.
skigirl
Former BoneSmart staff member
- Joined
- May 5, 2009
- Messages
- 13,594
- Age
- 82
- Location
- Minneapolis, MN
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
Oh ugh, I hate Internet stuff. I did three art fairs this summer, had to take credit cards with my iPad and a square. My husband refuses to get iPhones (he is the real square!). So, then i had to buy a hotspot and pay for it!!! It is never ending, I love our connectedness but hate the cost!! K
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
Kelly, do I ever hear ya! Because I travel so much in small towns throughout the Midwest as well as wilderness areas in Appalachia, where just about every cell carrier has one huge coverage hole or another, I find myself using THREE carriers.Thank heaven it's a tax-deductible work-related expense. (I'd started with Sprint, but the smartphone I bought from them 18 months ago is a piece of you-know-what that charmingly reboots at the most inopportune moments--such as when I'm streaming an internet-only radio station--twice now in the middle of one of my songs being broadcast!--or using it as a GPS in my singing partner's older car). My recording engineer lives in an extremely remote area of southern IL; he has satellite internet in his own house but his router has the coverage radius the size of a Krispy Kreme. In the studio and adjacent guesthouse (or the more distant B&B he and his wife run), sometimes my AT&T iPhone can tether to my computer but only my Verizon hotspot works with any regularity (which is to say only marginally better). Because it's so far out in the boonies I end up digitally roaming and blowing through an entire month's data cap w/in 2-1/2 days. I went with Verizon for my iPad simply to be able to double my data capacity. Right now, I'm tethering to my iPhone and the hotspot is breathing hard letting my husband & son get online. (Fortunately, here in Chicago we get 4G LTE a bit more easily, so it'll take me a full week to use up a month's data cap...on the iPad and hotspot combined). Everyone in my family (I as an indie musician sending mp3s to radio and to colleagues and trying to book gigs and update my site, my husband having to do online CME and medical market-research surveys, and my son sending & receiving script drafts for his improv troupes) depends on the Internet for our livelihoods. Remember when computers were supposed to make life easier????
bottomshollow
Former BoneSmart staff member
Computers in the work place have never made life easier---they just created more work as far as I could tell when I was working. When the work was done by hand, there was never down time. Then with computers, suddenly HUD wanted all kinds of reports---trouble was nobody had programmed the computers to do most of the reports, so they had to be done by hand which took hours! So much for easier.
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
7 weeks post-op:
Completed my second week of outpatient PT. The scar massage is getting easier, with easier extension; my R hamstring is significantly looser but that massage still feels like trigger points. Left leg along the IT band is waking up. I can actually feel my nails brush against the outer thigh. Have increased all my sets to 30 reps, with tougher bridges, crabwalks, wall slides, and stepdowns. This week we'll be introducing balance on the rubber half-dome. What is frustrating is that unless I am sitting normally or lying flat for sleep (on back or side) my R leg still hurts, especially where my tibial hardware is and behind the knee when elevated. No redness, swelling has gone down; but I get that dull squeezy feeling around my lower tibia and ankle. And today I have been getting some brief pangs on the knee joint itself (either side of the scar). I'd been warned that as more and more nerves reawaken I'd be feeling occasional brief jolts like electric shocks, but this is more like brief garden-variety pains. And as warned, my hardware is definitely a predictor of a low pressure front coming through--even before my sinuses (my previous barometer) can signal it.
Milestones: besides being able to drive, I can now climb into the back seat of either a van or SUV. As long as there's a railing, I don't need my cane to climb stairs (though for my front entry stairs the rail stops before the porch, so I need the cane to get from the porch to the next step and vice versa); but I carry it with me whenever I leave home--you never can tell. I may have to install higher banisters for the basement stairs--haven't been down there since June.
And though I know we're not supposed to be stubbornly stoic about pain management, I really feel at 7 weeks I want to save the Norco just for physical therapy sessions. But the aforementioned aches and pangs aren't really responding to the OTC or topical (Rx or homeopathic) stuff, and there's no swelling to ice. Any suggestions? I think I'm too far post-op, and too close to fully resuming my normal life, to revert to using opioids or anything else habit-forming except to enable me to do my best at P.T.
I see my OS this Thursday--questions to ask besides the pain management (I know I'll get the reply "you tell me") are when I ought to schedule the LTKR (I'm out of non-surgical options), and if/when/where to get new orthotics. PT tells me that my RTKR implant may "settle" a bit further (could be why I'm getting those pangs) and we may not know whether the LTKR may make that leg longer. The length discrepancy is TWO INCHES! (We're not just talking about the scoliosis-influenced high right hip). If the OS tells me that late Feb. is a less than optimal time to do surgery in Chicago because I'd be doing outpatient stuff in March when there may still be wintry street conditions, it might be worth biting the bullet and paying the extra couple of Benjamins for interim new orthotics so that I can do all those European city-walking tours on our river cruise next month with less pain. (OMG--next MONTH???? Where'd the time go)?
Completed my second week of outpatient PT. The scar massage is getting easier, with easier extension; my R hamstring is significantly looser but that massage still feels like trigger points. Left leg along the IT band is waking up. I can actually feel my nails brush against the outer thigh. Have increased all my sets to 30 reps, with tougher bridges, crabwalks, wall slides, and stepdowns. This week we'll be introducing balance on the rubber half-dome. What is frustrating is that unless I am sitting normally or lying flat for sleep (on back or side) my R leg still hurts, especially where my tibial hardware is and behind the knee when elevated. No redness, swelling has gone down; but I get that dull squeezy feeling around my lower tibia and ankle. And today I have been getting some brief pangs on the knee joint itself (either side of the scar). I'd been warned that as more and more nerves reawaken I'd be feeling occasional brief jolts like electric shocks, but this is more like brief garden-variety pains. And as warned, my hardware is definitely a predictor of a low pressure front coming through--even before my sinuses (my previous barometer) can signal it.
Milestones: besides being able to drive, I can now climb into the back seat of either a van or SUV. As long as there's a railing, I don't need my cane to climb stairs (though for my front entry stairs the rail stops before the porch, so I need the cane to get from the porch to the next step and vice versa); but I carry it with me whenever I leave home--you never can tell. I may have to install higher banisters for the basement stairs--haven't been down there since June.
And though I know we're not supposed to be stubbornly stoic about pain management, I really feel at 7 weeks I want to save the Norco just for physical therapy sessions. But the aforementioned aches and pangs aren't really responding to the OTC or topical (Rx or homeopathic) stuff, and there's no swelling to ice. Any suggestions? I think I'm too far post-op, and too close to fully resuming my normal life, to revert to using opioids or anything else habit-forming except to enable me to do my best at P.T.
I see my OS this Thursday--questions to ask besides the pain management (I know I'll get the reply "you tell me") are when I ought to schedule the LTKR (I'm out of non-surgical options), and if/when/where to get new orthotics. PT tells me that my RTKR implant may "settle" a bit further (could be why I'm getting those pangs) and we may not know whether the LTKR may make that leg longer. The length discrepancy is TWO INCHES! (We're not just talking about the scoliosis-influenced high right hip). If the OS tells me that late Feb. is a less than optimal time to do surgery in Chicago because I'd be doing outpatient stuff in March when there may still be wintry street conditions, it might be worth biting the bullet and paying the extra couple of Benjamins for interim new orthotics so that I can do all those European city-walking tours on our river cruise next month with less pain. (OMG--next MONTH???? Where'd the time go)?
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
8 weeks post-op (well, tomorrow'll be 8 weeks).
Tomorrow morning I will be halfway through my prescribed outpatient PT, but I will most likely take an additional five sessions of therapy between the end of my sixth week and my trip to Europe. I am buying a travel exercise kit (inflatable ball, thera-bands, leg-leash, elastic ankle cuffs) because the ship lacks a gym, and upon my return may resume PT indefinitely at the same clinic (or join my local gym). I have graduated to the wobble-board, rubber half-dome, calf-and-hamstring stretches (the latter using the dancers' barre), wall-squats, rubber-ball-between-knee-and-wall, full lunges (which are rougher on my L knee because of the deep bend) and leg press (90 lbs yesterday, progressing to 110 tomorrow).
Today was my followup with my OS, who is delighted with my progress. I am at 130 degrees passive (using the "leash" to pull back the last few inches) and 120 degrees active (just heel-sliding and bending it back unaided) supine, and 130 seated upright with my foot on the floor. My left is at 140 all around--and that is my OS' goal for my right. I KNOW I can do it. I actually have better extension seated and standing on my R leg than my L--my OS in fact says it's now "normal." Scar release massage has been dramatically effective, and I've been Mederma-ing the heck out of it (and using sunscreen if outside in shorts or a knee-length dress). But my hamstrings are still pretty tight--and now I understand a little of what my friends with fibromyalgia go through when it comes to "trigger points." My L IT band has mostly awakened and carries the brunt of the stress when I walk, due to the leg length discrepancy. (My OS explained that I hadn't really noticed it before coming home because I only began to walk outdoors once I left rehab). My OS is a big fan of deep-tissue massage, and enthusiastically recommends I return to regular sessions with my naprapath once my PT is through with me.
Key questions answered today:
1) When to do the LTKR? My OS likes to space TKRs no sooner than 3 months nor later than a year apart. Well, I saw my previous X-ray results online and read "mild to moderate tricompartmental OA L knee;" and was surprised as to how if it was only mild-to-moderate, how come it hurts so much (mostly medially) and crunches like a bowl of granola? My OS brought up this morning's films on the computer and said my L knee's OA was now moderate in the lateral, and severe in the patellar and media. He said that medically, I'd be ready and he'd be willing to do the LTKR upon my return from my cruise at the end of Sept. Unfortunately, dueling calendars rear their ugly heads again: I am chockablock with gigs, conferences, cases (!), festivals and the Bar Show clear up through mid-Dec. Right after that, he goes on a well-needed vacation till the end of Dec./beginning of Jan. But I have an international folk music conference in Toronto from Feb. 20-24, and driving would take two days on either side. If, however, I get the LTKR by early Jan., I will be cleared to drive after only 4 weeks and to fly by the time I need to go to Toronto. If I wait till I get back from the conference (late Feb./early Mar.) I may be running up against my OS' medical-convention-presentation season; if I wait till late Mar./early Apr., there goes my spring gig schedule. So we're gonna shoot for talking it over at the final cast party (end of second wk in Dec.) when he'll know his late Dec.,Jan & Feb. schedules more clearly. It will definitely be a much simpler surgery, unless I combine it with reconstructing an ACL from tendon or cadaver tissue (which I don't want to do since I've lived w/o a L ACL for 18 years) because there is no hardware to remove or fracturing or disintegrating bone in my L tib-fib or femur--and my bone density is excellent. He showed me that he used a longer stem and thicker tray in my R tibial implant to compensate for the amount of bone and hardware he had to remove. He also said that removing all the hardware, which some OSes like to do, was not an option because my spit-and-scotch-tape (OK, bone-graft chips & epoxy) tibia was, to use precise medical terminology, "pretty yucky." So, basically, the answer is whenever I'm ready and we can coordinate calendars.
2) What about new orthotics? He said that though he has both a podiatrist and two orthotists (foot and leg-bracing) in his group, getting new custom orthotics would be premature until not only my PT is over and my R implant has fully settled but the LTKR is fully settled in as well, since custom orthotics are expensive, rarely covered by insurance, and I'd need to have new ones done now, then after the R implant settles and again after the L one settles as well. He suggests in the meantime, I put my current 3-yr-old custom orthotics away and either use running-store (Superfeet) or Footsmart OTC ones, with layers of foam insole beneath to adjust my L hip height to where my IT band aches less (or not at all), or get the inexpensive "step-into-the-foam-box" mail-order ones in time for the cruise (they have a fast turnaround time) or wait till I'm released from PT. (Dr. Scholls' are not an option--I bought some and they're too short and the edge irritates my metatarsal).
3) What are those strange pangs and squeezing aches? Normal--mostly muscular. I ditched my Aleve this morning (no time for breakfast, and had a pedicure coming up and didn't want to bleed) in favor of Tylenol Arthritis and a blob of Voltaren gel over the knee. He assured me that there is so little swelling that there's about 1cm difference in circumference between the two knees. As to Norco, he said that a 5-mg one before PT is fine (better, in fact, than half a 10 plus a kids' Tylenol) and that half a fiver to get to sleep is okay too. And on days when I don't need to drive or cook (knives & fire, you know), if it's raw and humid and an oncoming storm makes me achy, there's no dishonor in taking one. And I am free to use all the Arnica or Bio-Freeze I want. Basically, he said as long as it's not a PT day, if I don't hurt I don't need to take anything, not even OTC; and if I do hurt a lot, not to be stoic for its own sake, as long as I don't make a habit of it. But I am still to take whatever painkiller (up to & including a 5-mg Norco) works 1/2 hr. before a workout--but refrain from driving until 4-6 hrs. have passed. And I am fully authorized to do everything in the Bar Show except impact choreography, pirouettes, or a full kneel. (Dang--there go the tap lessons. Just kidding).
I am encouraged to carry my cane but use it only when there is uneven terrain and stairs without a rail. I can now go fully foot-over-foot up and down stairs with one rail. I can now walk 1/4-1/2 mi. I am just fine driving; and I can stand and shop (using a cart) for an hour at a time. We may add water aerobics when I am released from PT (my clinic lacks a pool) and I join a gym. Went to an Obama fundraiser (not going into the details because we can't get political here--but he shook BOTH my hands) and was able afterwards to stand and wait for the bus to the subway train for 20 minutes. Tested my new seat-cane: the sling seat is comfy and supportive, and there's a Velcro strip to keep it folded when I use it as a cane. Only bummer is that as a cane the height's not adjustable, and it's a bit high (and feels sort of like a tri-tipped cane). It'll be fine for hanging around in lines at the airport (especially customs & passport control); I may pack my regular (or a folding) adjustable cane for the walking tours on the cruise.
My PT's goals for me are to improve my balance (as far as my decrepit semicircular canals will let me), strengthen and stretch to the point where I can walk a mile, sing & play two sets standing up without pain & stiffness, ascend a foot-high stage without a rail, climb a reasonable hill, climb 100 stairs (20 before resting), swim 2 laps, X-C ski and.....waltz with Bob on the cruise.
Incidentally, it turns out that the big-deal internationally-renowned teaching hospital where I had my surgery IS in-network--and I am out of pocket only about a grand. Not bad, not bad at all.
Tomorrow morning I will be halfway through my prescribed outpatient PT, but I will most likely take an additional five sessions of therapy between the end of my sixth week and my trip to Europe. I am buying a travel exercise kit (inflatable ball, thera-bands, leg-leash, elastic ankle cuffs) because the ship lacks a gym, and upon my return may resume PT indefinitely at the same clinic (or join my local gym). I have graduated to the wobble-board, rubber half-dome, calf-and-hamstring stretches (the latter using the dancers' barre), wall-squats, rubber-ball-between-knee-and-wall, full lunges (which are rougher on my L knee because of the deep bend) and leg press (90 lbs yesterday, progressing to 110 tomorrow).
Today was my followup with my OS, who is delighted with my progress. I am at 130 degrees passive (using the "leash" to pull back the last few inches) and 120 degrees active (just heel-sliding and bending it back unaided) supine, and 130 seated upright with my foot on the floor. My left is at 140 all around--and that is my OS' goal for my right. I KNOW I can do it. I actually have better extension seated and standing on my R leg than my L--my OS in fact says it's now "normal." Scar release massage has been dramatically effective, and I've been Mederma-ing the heck out of it (and using sunscreen if outside in shorts or a knee-length dress). But my hamstrings are still pretty tight--and now I understand a little of what my friends with fibromyalgia go through when it comes to "trigger points." My L IT band has mostly awakened and carries the brunt of the stress when I walk, due to the leg length discrepancy. (My OS explained that I hadn't really noticed it before coming home because I only began to walk outdoors once I left rehab). My OS is a big fan of deep-tissue massage, and enthusiastically recommends I return to regular sessions with my naprapath once my PT is through with me.
Key questions answered today:
1) When to do the LTKR? My OS likes to space TKRs no sooner than 3 months nor later than a year apart. Well, I saw my previous X-ray results online and read "mild to moderate tricompartmental OA L knee;" and was surprised as to how if it was only mild-to-moderate, how come it hurts so much (mostly medially) and crunches like a bowl of granola? My OS brought up this morning's films on the computer and said my L knee's OA was now moderate in the lateral, and severe in the patellar and media. He said that medically, I'd be ready and he'd be willing to do the LTKR upon my return from my cruise at the end of Sept. Unfortunately, dueling calendars rear their ugly heads again: I am chockablock with gigs, conferences, cases (!), festivals and the Bar Show clear up through mid-Dec. Right after that, he goes on a well-needed vacation till the end of Dec./beginning of Jan. But I have an international folk music conference in Toronto from Feb. 20-24, and driving would take two days on either side. If, however, I get the LTKR by early Jan., I will be cleared to drive after only 4 weeks and to fly by the time I need to go to Toronto. If I wait till I get back from the conference (late Feb./early Mar.) I may be running up against my OS' medical-convention-presentation season; if I wait till late Mar./early Apr., there goes my spring gig schedule. So we're gonna shoot for talking it over at the final cast party (end of second wk in Dec.) when he'll know his late Dec.,Jan & Feb. schedules more clearly. It will definitely be a much simpler surgery, unless I combine it with reconstructing an ACL from tendon or cadaver tissue (which I don't want to do since I've lived w/o a L ACL for 18 years) because there is no hardware to remove or fracturing or disintegrating bone in my L tib-fib or femur--and my bone density is excellent. He showed me that he used a longer stem and thicker tray in my R tibial implant to compensate for the amount of bone and hardware he had to remove. He also said that removing all the hardware, which some OSes like to do, was not an option because my spit-and-scotch-tape (OK, bone-graft chips & epoxy) tibia was, to use precise medical terminology, "pretty yucky." So, basically, the answer is whenever I'm ready and we can coordinate calendars.
2) What about new orthotics? He said that though he has both a podiatrist and two orthotists (foot and leg-bracing) in his group, getting new custom orthotics would be premature until not only my PT is over and my R implant has fully settled but the LTKR is fully settled in as well, since custom orthotics are expensive, rarely covered by insurance, and I'd need to have new ones done now, then after the R implant settles and again after the L one settles as well. He suggests in the meantime, I put my current 3-yr-old custom orthotics away and either use running-store (Superfeet) or Footsmart OTC ones, with layers of foam insole beneath to adjust my L hip height to where my IT band aches less (or not at all), or get the inexpensive "step-into-the-foam-box" mail-order ones in time for the cruise (they have a fast turnaround time) or wait till I'm released from PT. (Dr. Scholls' are not an option--I bought some and they're too short and the edge irritates my metatarsal).
3) What are those strange pangs and squeezing aches? Normal--mostly muscular. I ditched my Aleve this morning (no time for breakfast, and had a pedicure coming up and didn't want to bleed) in favor of Tylenol Arthritis and a blob of Voltaren gel over the knee. He assured me that there is so little swelling that there's about 1cm difference in circumference between the two knees. As to Norco, he said that a 5-mg one before PT is fine (better, in fact, than half a 10 plus a kids' Tylenol) and that half a fiver to get to sleep is okay too. And on days when I don't need to drive or cook (knives & fire, you know), if it's raw and humid and an oncoming storm makes me achy, there's no dishonor in taking one. And I am free to use all the Arnica or Bio-Freeze I want. Basically, he said as long as it's not a PT day, if I don't hurt I don't need to take anything, not even OTC; and if I do hurt a lot, not to be stoic for its own sake, as long as I don't make a habit of it. But I am still to take whatever painkiller (up to & including a 5-mg Norco) works 1/2 hr. before a workout--but refrain from driving until 4-6 hrs. have passed. And I am fully authorized to do everything in the Bar Show except impact choreography, pirouettes, or a full kneel. (Dang--there go the tap lessons. Just kidding).
I am encouraged to carry my cane but use it only when there is uneven terrain and stairs without a rail. I can now go fully foot-over-foot up and down stairs with one rail. I can now walk 1/4-1/2 mi. I am just fine driving; and I can stand and shop (using a cart) for an hour at a time. We may add water aerobics when I am released from PT (my clinic lacks a pool) and I join a gym. Went to an Obama fundraiser (not going into the details because we can't get political here--but he shook BOTH my hands) and was able afterwards to stand and wait for the bus to the subway train for 20 minutes. Tested my new seat-cane: the sling seat is comfy and supportive, and there's a Velcro strip to keep it folded when I use it as a cane. Only bummer is that as a cane the height's not adjustable, and it's a bit high (and feels sort of like a tri-tipped cane). It'll be fine for hanging around in lines at the airport (especially customs & passport control); I may pack my regular (or a folding) adjustable cane for the walking tours on the cruise.
My PT's goals for me are to improve my balance (as far as my decrepit semicircular canals will let me), strengthen and stretch to the point where I can walk a mile, sing & play two sets standing up without pain & stiffness, ascend a foot-high stage without a rail, climb a reasonable hill, climb 100 stairs (20 before resting), swim 2 laps, X-C ski and.....waltz with Bob on the cruise.
Incidentally, it turns out that the big-deal internationally-renowned teaching hospital where I had my surgery IS in-network--and I am out of pocket only about a grand. Not bad, not bad at all.
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
I had been considering today whether to take just my Aleve this morning before PT and skip the Norco, but I'm sure glad I thought better of it. Until I get to the PT center, I tend to forget PT isn't just exercise--it's also deep and vigorous tissue manipulation (at least at ATI, where I go--at the PT clinic inside my previous ortho group's office, I got no manipulation after my R lat. meniscectomy; and at the clinic that became Athletico, back in '97 when I was rehabbing my tibial plateau fx and in '94 after having repaired my L medial meniscus and debrided what remained of my L ACL, they did a little whirlpool but no manipulation whatsoever). That stuff is excruciating (several trigger points) even with Norco in my system--I can't imagine what it'd be like without it. So nobody should have to explain why they're still taking an opioid or tramadol "so long after surgery." Anyone who insists you should be off your prescription painkillers is, IMHO, cluelessly judgmental, especially if you are still doing PT.
ewhrn
new member
ewhrn I had bipkr 8/10 at Rush in chicago. I'm still on celebrex 200 dly with tyl/tramadol prn. Narcs just make me goofy. would suggest you contact MD's about pain control. shouldn't mix Nsaids.
ewhrn .... it isn't necessary to put your username at the beginning of your posts. In fact, it can be a bit confusing to people. Members can see who you are by looking at the blue profile block that appears to the left of each of your posts. Normally, when a username is placed at the beginning of a post. it is like the salutation in a letter....to address the person you are writing TO.
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
Two months (plus 5 days) post-op:
I got my OS' blessing to take Aleve by mouth BID and use topical Voltaren as needed. I use so little Norco (one 5-mg pill three times a week before a PT session and no Rx pain meds other than the Voltaren gel the rest of the time) that it doesn't make me goofy--and I probably would have switched to Tramadol if I had to drive to my PT sessions instead of using ATI's van service. ewhrn, when I broke my tibial plateau in 1996 and had my left knee scoped for a completely ruptured ACL in 1994 (I could not get it reconstructed, just debrided) and torn medial meniscus (sutured and healed), I did my outpatient PT at the W. Lincoln Park Athletico (then called Clybourn Physical Therapy). Midwest Ortho (now Illinois Bone & Joint)--at Rush for the tibia and Masonic for the left knee--preferred its chief PT Sally (whom I'd have nicknamed Nurse Ratched had she not been so nice). I hear she left when it became Athletico. Who was your surgeon at Rush? I salute you for weathering bilateral KRs--my surgeon at Northwestern felt that my age, deteriorating right tibial plateau, and allergies to the Big Three antibiotics were an open invitation to complications and infection were I to be "under and open" long enough for a bilateral.
I did notice a disturbing new symptom this weekend, after particularly vigorous (not painful, just challenging) exercise during last Friday's PT session: I began to feel some muscle tics and dull achy feeling on the distal side of my shin, where the remaining screws and plates from my 1996 open reduction/internal fixation of a tibial plateau fracture are. This morning, I noticed a distinct horizontal "crease" from the bottom distal edge of my patella around to the lateral side of my knee, as if I'd been wearing a pressure stocking with a restrictive band that hit just that part of my leg. The distal part of my shin, from crease to ankle, felt hard as a rock (though neither warm nor cold to the touch). I mentioned this to my substitute PT this morning when I headed to the massage table after the bike warmup, and she decided to concentrate most of the massage work today on my shin and ankle. I had thought that perhaps I was building muscle. But it's my old bugaboo "compartment syndrome" that turned me 34 years ago from a jogger into a walker: back then, after only a quarter-mile my calves would swell and feel like lobsters were pinching them. A noted running podiatrist gently suggested to me that not everyone is cut out to be a runner or even a jogger. This time, my calves are fine, as is my left shin, but it's half my right shin plus the ankle that are suffering. Moreover, the PT remarked (as I tried creative visualization and my old childbirth-class slow breathing to combat the incredibly intense trigger-pointy pain) that she could feel the fluid moving as she massaged. Oy vey--edema now too? Mind you, my knee joint itself is just fine.
So now I need to ice and elevate the shin--but the PolarCare cuff is not shaped to fit my lower leg, just the "ring" of leg around my knee. Imagine me sitting in my recliner, leg propped up on the footrest at hip level, computer on my thighs--and then trying to put the contour leg-elevator pillow underneath it, with a "gel-peas" ice pack sheathed in a cloth napkin precariously balanced on my shin. Now imagine either the phone ringing a room away....and/or a 15-lb. fiercely purring kitty determined to comfort his Mama, paws-on. There is nothing else I can take to alleviate the swelling and soreness--the Voltaren gel or Ben-Gay are for the joint pain itself, and I'm already popping all the Aleve that is safe for my gut and nearly all the time-release acetaminophen that is safe for my kidneys. (Maybe some turmeric--I put some curry powder on my fish tonight; and perhaps some of that homeopathic arnica gel might bring the swelling down). It's weird--to the touch, it feels bruised. If I were able to get into and out of a bathtub (as I was when I was younger and thinner) instead of just a shower, I'd be drawing myself a nice soothing juniper-oil bath as we speak. Maybe a diluted juniper-bath-oil gentle massage????
Less than a week before the folk festival I'm playing Labor Day weekend: to be safe, I'm driving out there the day before, staying in a nearby hotel both nights, driving home only when it's over, so I needn't get up at dawn and drive two hours each way to & from both days, and letting the fest's golf carts haul me around whenever possible. And only a little more than two weeks before flying out for our European river cruise. I bought pressure stockings (plus-size comfort-top) for the latter. Should I be wearing them at home too? Last time I asked (when my staples were removed) my OS' PA said she didn't think TED or Jobst hose are all that effective and the cuff might even roll up and impair circulation. I'm taking no chances for the flights: booked seats in the extra-legroom Premier Economy separate cabin, bought an inflatable footrest, planning to do my ankle pumps and foot-rolls every hour in-flight and insisting on getting up to walk about the cabin as often as the flight attendants will allow. (And they allow it a lot more in Premier Economy than in steerage--uh, coach).
I'd message my OS, but he and his PA are in surgery tomorrow and then he's going on vacation for Labor Day. Sigh. I'll ask my husband if he thinks I should get a venous Doppler to rule out DVT.
I got my OS' blessing to take Aleve by mouth BID and use topical Voltaren as needed. I use so little Norco (one 5-mg pill three times a week before a PT session and no Rx pain meds other than the Voltaren gel the rest of the time) that it doesn't make me goofy--and I probably would have switched to Tramadol if I had to drive to my PT sessions instead of using ATI's van service. ewhrn, when I broke my tibial plateau in 1996 and had my left knee scoped for a completely ruptured ACL in 1994 (I could not get it reconstructed, just debrided) and torn medial meniscus (sutured and healed), I did my outpatient PT at the W. Lincoln Park Athletico (then called Clybourn Physical Therapy). Midwest Ortho (now Illinois Bone & Joint)--at Rush for the tibia and Masonic for the left knee--preferred its chief PT Sally (whom I'd have nicknamed Nurse Ratched had she not been so nice). I hear she left when it became Athletico. Who was your surgeon at Rush? I salute you for weathering bilateral KRs--my surgeon at Northwestern felt that my age, deteriorating right tibial plateau, and allergies to the Big Three antibiotics were an open invitation to complications and infection were I to be "under and open" long enough for a bilateral.
I did notice a disturbing new symptom this weekend, after particularly vigorous (not painful, just challenging) exercise during last Friday's PT session: I began to feel some muscle tics and dull achy feeling on the distal side of my shin, where the remaining screws and plates from my 1996 open reduction/internal fixation of a tibial plateau fracture are. This morning, I noticed a distinct horizontal "crease" from the bottom distal edge of my patella around to the lateral side of my knee, as if I'd been wearing a pressure stocking with a restrictive band that hit just that part of my leg. The distal part of my shin, from crease to ankle, felt hard as a rock (though neither warm nor cold to the touch). I mentioned this to my substitute PT this morning when I headed to the massage table after the bike warmup, and she decided to concentrate most of the massage work today on my shin and ankle. I had thought that perhaps I was building muscle. But it's my old bugaboo "compartment syndrome" that turned me 34 years ago from a jogger into a walker: back then, after only a quarter-mile my calves would swell and feel like lobsters were pinching them. A noted running podiatrist gently suggested to me that not everyone is cut out to be a runner or even a jogger. This time, my calves are fine, as is my left shin, but it's half my right shin plus the ankle that are suffering. Moreover, the PT remarked (as I tried creative visualization and my old childbirth-class slow breathing to combat the incredibly intense trigger-pointy pain) that she could feel the fluid moving as she massaged. Oy vey--edema now too? Mind you, my knee joint itself is just fine.
So now I need to ice and elevate the shin--but the PolarCare cuff is not shaped to fit my lower leg, just the "ring" of leg around my knee. Imagine me sitting in my recliner, leg propped up on the footrest at hip level, computer on my thighs--and then trying to put the contour leg-elevator pillow underneath it, with a "gel-peas" ice pack sheathed in a cloth napkin precariously balanced on my shin. Now imagine either the phone ringing a room away....and/or a 15-lb. fiercely purring kitty determined to comfort his Mama, paws-on. There is nothing else I can take to alleviate the swelling and soreness--the Voltaren gel or Ben-Gay are for the joint pain itself, and I'm already popping all the Aleve that is safe for my gut and nearly all the time-release acetaminophen that is safe for my kidneys. (Maybe some turmeric--I put some curry powder on my fish tonight; and perhaps some of that homeopathic arnica gel might bring the swelling down). It's weird--to the touch, it feels bruised. If I were able to get into and out of a bathtub (as I was when I was younger and thinner) instead of just a shower, I'd be drawing myself a nice soothing juniper-oil bath as we speak. Maybe a diluted juniper-bath-oil gentle massage????
Less than a week before the folk festival I'm playing Labor Day weekend: to be safe, I'm driving out there the day before, staying in a nearby hotel both nights, driving home only when it's over, so I needn't get up at dawn and drive two hours each way to & from both days, and letting the fest's golf carts haul me around whenever possible. And only a little more than two weeks before flying out for our European river cruise. I bought pressure stockings (plus-size comfort-top) for the latter. Should I be wearing them at home too? Last time I asked (when my staples were removed) my OS' PA said she didn't think TED or Jobst hose are all that effective and the cuff might even roll up and impair circulation. I'm taking no chances for the flights: booked seats in the extra-legroom Premier Economy separate cabin, bought an inflatable footrest, planning to do my ankle pumps and foot-rolls every hour in-flight and insisting on getting up to walk about the cabin as often as the flight attendants will allow. (And they allow it a lot more in Premier Economy than in steerage--uh, coach).
I'd message my OS, but he and his PA are in surgery tomorrow and then he's going on vacation for Labor Day. Sigh. I'll ask my husband if he thinks I should get a venous Doppler to rule out DVT.
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
Icing and elevation (which hurts my hamstring worse than the swelling hurts my shin) did not alleviate the weird swelling--when I got up this morning after a decent night's sleep I still had that bizarre half-crease on the distal side, along the margin of the tibial component of the implant. My husband says it's not DVT, because there is no redness or heat, and the swelling is hard (no pitting edema). The only thing that helps (temporarily) is applying Voltaren gel and massaging upward. I can't apply the gel more than 3-4 times a day, and the massage is quite uncomfortable. It seems more and more like compartment syndrome, and I can't bear the thought of having to wear compression hose (or enduring pain, swelling and a crease on my leg) the rest of my life. (My husband shrugged and said "it happens;" but to him it's relatively minor compared to needing a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator--or having severe bilateral leg edema, all of which happen to the congestive heart failure and coronary-artery disease patients he's used to seeing). Those hose cut off circulation at the cuff--even happens when I wear regular knee-highs that aren't "comfort-top."
No answer from my OS' office. On top of that I'm buried in paperwork & negotiations for a case I took on because it was simple and my recovery was going well at the time--but now it's even more complicated than my leg. I'm scared I'll have to cancel my trip. (We took out cancellation insurance but it's an incredible pain to try to recover what we've paid).
No answer from my OS' office. On top of that I'm buried in paperwork & negotiations for a case I took on because it was simple and my recovery was going well at the time--but now it's even more complicated than my leg. I'm scared I'll have to cancel my trip. (We took out cancellation insurance but it's an incredible pain to try to recover what we've paid).
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
Tried various fixes that seem to be working--wore (ugh) compression hose with a long summer dress & not-too-strappy sandals yesterday; massaged the Voltaren gel upwards last night instead of just rubbing it in; and have switched to the Bonesmart cocktail for daytime (for the pre-PT dose, subbed out one Norco 5/325 for one 500mg. acetaminophen), saving the Aleve and arthritis-formula acetaminophen for bedtime). My regular PT was in today, and she remarked that my leg looked a bit better than the sub's notes had indicated. We also did the edema, scar & deep-tissue massage first (there was a traffic jam waiting for the bikes) and then the warmup on the bike. She said that one way to prevent or relieve the edema is to go back to doing the easy non-weightbearing exercises from the early post-op days: ankle pumps, foot rolls, seated full and supine partial leg raises, bridges, supine side-to-sides--getting the blood flowing without the stress of vertical weightbearing making it pool lower down in the legs and ankles. One thing is for sure: the TKR leg (right) is now the stronger one: it is better able to lead with the step-ups than is the left, not-yet-operated leg. We switched to medium-tension (red) ankle cuffs for the crab-walk, but mercifully only had to do one 50-meter lap instead of the four using the extra-light (yellow) ones. My balance was not as good today--must be my sinuses with all this pollen & mold in the air.
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
10 weeks post-op:
Messed up and thought that my PT session was 11 am, so that I'd need to be ready by 10:30. Got up at 9:45, after barely 5 hrs. of sleep. (Had planned to go to bed at 1 am but my husband's e-mail address was hacked and I had to deal with that--from my computer as he was convinced he had a virus; I tried to scan his computer but it wouldn't boot completely and his recently renewed anti-virus software wouldn't load. Had to change a slew of passwords). Had breakfast in order not to exercise on an empty stomach.Took my Norco & Advil at 10. 11 am came and went--was about to phone the clinic but looked at my printed schedule---it was 2 pm! Of course, I couldn't nap, because I began getting e-mails again I had to answer about the closing. (They interrupted my vocal therapy Skype session yesterday too). Got picked up by the therapy clinic van at 1:55, just after I popped another Norco. The place was a ghost town: one substitute PT and no other patients for almost another hour. But the Norco & Advil did make the deep muscle therapy a bit more bearable (well, not the PT's elbow-to-the-popliteal tendon massage...yeeow)! I was able to take the leg press up to 117 lbs.; was able to do 6" bilateral step-ups without holding on to the rail for either leg; so Tues. we move up to 8". But the step-downs are still murder on my tibial hardware.
So I got home--good news is that the closing deal is progressing. Bad news is that I have another assignment for the festival: to accompany someone on Cajun frottoir, which I've played only once before, and sing backup. And there was a note from my son: "Dad called and wants you to take his computer into the shop." Oh, great. Fortunately, the repair shop was open late enough for the Norco to have worn off so I could drive there. As I suspected, it wasn't worth repairing--the shop couldn't say with absolute certainty that it wasn't infected and agreed with me that the hacker had spoofed the address from another computer, but suggested it was time to go buy a new one since it was >5 yrs. old, running Vista and woefully underpowered besides being on its last legs. So off I drove to the computer superstore--and spent time on my feet shopping for a new laptop, printer, accessories, & software. And had to wait while anti-virus was installed on the old & new machines. Finally got home at 10pm and ran a scan on the old one. As I suspected, no viruses or malware. An entire evening I could have been practicing for the festival this weekend, but wasted instead on shopping.
And of course my knee is deeply aching (and shin swollen after all that time on my feet). I don't dare take more Norco lest I get used to it, so it's back to the Aleve & time-releas acetaminophen. Tomorrow I wake up & hit the ground running (well, limping fast): pack, practice, install new printer, get the old and new computers to the shop for data transfer (I'm not risking screwing it up myself), shop for refreshments for the fest and drive out there......in the rain. Goody.
Messed up and thought that my PT session was 11 am, so that I'd need to be ready by 10:30. Got up at 9:45, after barely 5 hrs. of sleep. (Had planned to go to bed at 1 am but my husband's e-mail address was hacked and I had to deal with that--from my computer as he was convinced he had a virus; I tried to scan his computer but it wouldn't boot completely and his recently renewed anti-virus software wouldn't load. Had to change a slew of passwords). Had breakfast in order not to exercise on an empty stomach.Took my Norco & Advil at 10. 11 am came and went--was about to phone the clinic but looked at my printed schedule---it was 2 pm! Of course, I couldn't nap, because I began getting e-mails again I had to answer about the closing. (They interrupted my vocal therapy Skype session yesterday too). Got picked up by the therapy clinic van at 1:55, just after I popped another Norco. The place was a ghost town: one substitute PT and no other patients for almost another hour. But the Norco & Advil did make the deep muscle therapy a bit more bearable (well, not the PT's elbow-to-the-popliteal tendon massage...yeeow)! I was able to take the leg press up to 117 lbs.; was able to do 6" bilateral step-ups without holding on to the rail for either leg; so Tues. we move up to 8". But the step-downs are still murder on my tibial hardware.
So I got home--good news is that the closing deal is progressing. Bad news is that I have another assignment for the festival: to accompany someone on Cajun frottoir, which I've played only once before, and sing backup. And there was a note from my son: "Dad called and wants you to take his computer into the shop." Oh, great. Fortunately, the repair shop was open late enough for the Norco to have worn off so I could drive there. As I suspected, it wasn't worth repairing--the shop couldn't say with absolute certainty that it wasn't infected and agreed with me that the hacker had spoofed the address from another computer, but suggested it was time to go buy a new one since it was >5 yrs. old, running Vista and woefully underpowered besides being on its last legs. So off I drove to the computer superstore--and spent time on my feet shopping for a new laptop, printer, accessories, & software. And had to wait while anti-virus was installed on the old & new machines. Finally got home at 10pm and ran a scan on the old one. As I suspected, no viruses or malware. An entire evening I could have been practicing for the festival this weekend, but wasted instead on shopping.
And of course my knee is deeply aching (and shin swollen after all that time on my feet). I don't dare take more Norco lest I get used to it, so it's back to the Aleve & time-releas acetaminophen. Tomorrow I wake up & hit the ground running (well, limping fast): pack, practice, install new printer, get the old and new computers to the shop for data transfer (I'm not risking screwing it up myself), shop for refreshments for the fest and drive out there......in the rain. Goody.
KayeKaye
graduate
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2012
- Messages
- 548
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
Hi, haven't followed you but will work on catching up on this thread. (have been in a lot of pain to concentrate) But I noticed your comment on LC and wanted to see how it is going for you. I've been on it for about a year now, lost 56 pounds lost cravings but now have stalled. I sure hope I don't get cravings back after my TKR. that would be awful.
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
Hi, KayeKaye,
Right now LC's in sort of a holding pattern (more like controlled-carb) until after my European river cruise is over. With what we're forking over (no pun intended), sampling the local food and drink--both ashore and onboard the ship of a line whose chefs are renowned for their expertise at preparing local specialties--is part of the package. The thought of nothing but steak, salmon and salad for two weeks is distressing. But meanwhile, I'm limiting my carbs even though I'm chewing rather than eschewing them.
The Fox Valley Folk Festival was great--no rain! I used the golf-cart service only for the ride from the parking lot atop the hill down to check-in (had a lot of stuff to haul). All the stages were set up for performing while seated. And I was able to make it from the north to the south stage on Mon. on foot, in time to set up for my Dulcimer Society set. I needed the cane only for walking on undulating grassy ground, not on the paved path. Did a bit too much sitting (w/o elevating) while manning our songwriters' collective table, but did get up to stand and stretch when greeting folks I hadn't seen for awhile. Needless to say, I was very grateful for my hotel's ice machine and a supply of plastic bags. Even was able to drive 51 miles nonstop from Geneva to my home (idling while my husband & son got in) to a downtown steakhouse. Oh, my, did I ever need that red meat! (And I managed to avoid the funnel cakes and frozen custard).
11 Weeks Post-Op:
It's official: after consulting with my OS and reporting my progress, my PT declared that today was my "graduation day" from formal physical therapy. Not counting the immediate post-op in-hospital torture sessions, I've had 10 sessions in rehab (plus 10 of OT), 12 at home from a visiting PT, and 18 (!) at my local (Andersonville) branch of ATI. I'm on my own from here on: tonight is hill work (ramp at Wrigley Field if they won't let me use the elevators, which are normally for wheelchairs or the sky-box high rollers), and distance training (walking to and from the train if we can't catch a cab). I will be doing my exercises at home till we embark next Thurs--that day and Fri. should provide ample exercise walking through airport terminals and standing in passport control and baggage claim lines. On the ship, I am bringing my exercise bands so I can do my "crabwalks" the length of the deck and my exercises in the cabin; and the shore excursions will give me a chance to use all those step-ups, quad-sets and leg-presses for their intended purpose. On my return, I am rejoining the health club to which I once belonged, adjacent to and affiliated with our closest local hospital (the one where I had my meniscectomy). Its trainers are also PTs; I will be able to both warm up with heat packs and ice down afterwards; they have all the equipment I've been using at ATI plus recumbent ellipticals (easier on my tush than upright bikes)--Cybex and Nautilus rather than Magnum, but same principles. Not to mention being able to reward myself afterwards with a swim, a schvitz, a sauna and a soak. (Not so great for keeping my hair straight, but oh, well). Only downside is the possibility of running into my previous OS, who back in Dec. 2010 didn't think my right knee needed replacing. (Seeing as how he'd 'scoped its lateral meniscus I can see how he might have felt protective of his work).
Tonight will be a challenge, as we have Springsteen tickets. Now, I did a fair amount of ramp-walking and strolling at the Arlo Guthrie/Mary Chapin Carpenter concert at Ravinia three weeks ago; but we were able to drive there and park, the weather was perfect, once we sat we stayed seated (not an option at a rock show if one wants even the slightest glimpse at the Jumbotron screens), and that Sunday's excursion didn't come just hours after a vigorous workout. (Bless that Bonesmart cocktail). Tonight, thundershowers are predicted--I get to test our lovely ponchos in advance of our cruise (no umbrellas allowed). Sadly, I will be unable to take advantage of the better--field-box-level--seats tomorrow. When we bought the tickets, I was supposed to play at a Madison, WI nursing home this past Wed. But last week the management asked us to postpone our concert to this coming Sunday so that the patients' families (who visit on weekends) could attend. So if I wanted to attend both shows by The Boss, I'd have to rise & shine with the chickens on Sunday morning after very little sleep--Bruce is well-known for keeping his shows short & sweet....NOT!!! Not to mention the long queues for the train (and high likelihood of having to stand) and four-block walk home afterward; alternatively, having to mill about in a late-night bar/bistro till the crowds thin out enough for us to get a cab; or I'd have to hit the road in the wee hours of Sunday--not a good idea after an intense concert experience. Bob hasn't seen Springsteen since 1999, so I graciously ceded my seat to him. He & Gordy will have some good father-son bonding time as well.
I can't believe the cruise is less than a week away!!! Already making my packing list. We have an extra day to kill in Budapest, so if anyone here has any suggestions, please let me know.
Milestones: weight is back down to 210; the new smaller clothes I bought once I got home from rehab are getting loose; I carry my cane more than I use it; supine ROM is at 128 degrees of flex, seated at 132; and extension is -3. (The "control," or non-surgical left knee, is at 130/135/0, respectively). I am doing 8" step-ups without support, and beginning to do 6" step-downs. (In the real world, I am alternating feet both climbing and descending stairs and need only a banister). Leg-pressing 117 lbs. and toe-pressing 90. (Fellas, stop laughing--that's a lot for an old lady). I can once again bend my knees and not at my waist to pick the mail up off the floor or the herbs from my garden. I now feel more comfortable standing up to play & sing--vocal support is once again more important to me. I can ascend an 8" stage without assistance and a 10-incher with a helping hand or a pair of sturdy mic stands to grasp. I get startup pain in the right knee when standing up from a chair but it goes away before I even take a step. And my right (TKR) leg is now definitely the stronger & steadier one. Still quite a bit of point tenderness along my right IT band, hamstring, quad & popliteal tendon; but my balance is improving. I know how to nip my tibial edema in the bud; and my left IT numbness/burning is a bit less than before.
Incidentally, for those wishing to know how long it takes for numbness to go away, in 1984 for a post-C-Section endometrial infection (TMI, I know), I had to get an intramuscular injection of Gentamycin in my right thigh. A small patch of it is still numb. Nerves do what nerves do. Quirky little devils.
Right now LC's in sort of a holding pattern (more like controlled-carb) until after my European river cruise is over. With what we're forking over (no pun intended), sampling the local food and drink--both ashore and onboard the ship of a line whose chefs are renowned for their expertise at preparing local specialties--is part of the package. The thought of nothing but steak, salmon and salad for two weeks is distressing. But meanwhile, I'm limiting my carbs even though I'm chewing rather than eschewing them.
The Fox Valley Folk Festival was great--no rain! I used the golf-cart service only for the ride from the parking lot atop the hill down to check-in (had a lot of stuff to haul). All the stages were set up for performing while seated. And I was able to make it from the north to the south stage on Mon. on foot, in time to set up for my Dulcimer Society set. I needed the cane only for walking on undulating grassy ground, not on the paved path. Did a bit too much sitting (w/o elevating) while manning our songwriters' collective table, but did get up to stand and stretch when greeting folks I hadn't seen for awhile. Needless to say, I was very grateful for my hotel's ice machine and a supply of plastic bags. Even was able to drive 51 miles nonstop from Geneva to my home (idling while my husband & son got in) to a downtown steakhouse. Oh, my, did I ever need that red meat! (And I managed to avoid the funnel cakes and frozen custard).
11 Weeks Post-Op:
It's official: after consulting with my OS and reporting my progress, my PT declared that today was my "graduation day" from formal physical therapy. Not counting the immediate post-op in-hospital torture sessions, I've had 10 sessions in rehab (plus 10 of OT), 12 at home from a visiting PT, and 18 (!) at my local (Andersonville) branch of ATI. I'm on my own from here on: tonight is hill work (ramp at Wrigley Field if they won't let me use the elevators, which are normally for wheelchairs or the sky-box high rollers), and distance training (walking to and from the train if we can't catch a cab). I will be doing my exercises at home till we embark next Thurs--that day and Fri. should provide ample exercise walking through airport terminals and standing in passport control and baggage claim lines. On the ship, I am bringing my exercise bands so I can do my "crabwalks" the length of the deck and my exercises in the cabin; and the shore excursions will give me a chance to use all those step-ups, quad-sets and leg-presses for their intended purpose. On my return, I am rejoining the health club to which I once belonged, adjacent to and affiliated with our closest local hospital (the one where I had my meniscectomy). Its trainers are also PTs; I will be able to both warm up with heat packs and ice down afterwards; they have all the equipment I've been using at ATI plus recumbent ellipticals (easier on my tush than upright bikes)--Cybex and Nautilus rather than Magnum, but same principles. Not to mention being able to reward myself afterwards with a swim, a schvitz, a sauna and a soak. (Not so great for keeping my hair straight, but oh, well). Only downside is the possibility of running into my previous OS, who back in Dec. 2010 didn't think my right knee needed replacing. (Seeing as how he'd 'scoped its lateral meniscus I can see how he might have felt protective of his work).
Tonight will be a challenge, as we have Springsteen tickets. Now, I did a fair amount of ramp-walking and strolling at the Arlo Guthrie/Mary Chapin Carpenter concert at Ravinia three weeks ago; but we were able to drive there and park, the weather was perfect, once we sat we stayed seated (not an option at a rock show if one wants even the slightest glimpse at the Jumbotron screens), and that Sunday's excursion didn't come just hours after a vigorous workout. (Bless that Bonesmart cocktail). Tonight, thundershowers are predicted--I get to test our lovely ponchos in advance of our cruise (no umbrellas allowed). Sadly, I will be unable to take advantage of the better--field-box-level--seats tomorrow. When we bought the tickets, I was supposed to play at a Madison, WI nursing home this past Wed. But last week the management asked us to postpone our concert to this coming Sunday so that the patients' families (who visit on weekends) could attend. So if I wanted to attend both shows by The Boss, I'd have to rise & shine with the chickens on Sunday morning after very little sleep--Bruce is well-known for keeping his shows short & sweet....NOT!!! Not to mention the long queues for the train (and high likelihood of having to stand) and four-block walk home afterward; alternatively, having to mill about in a late-night bar/bistro till the crowds thin out enough for us to get a cab; or I'd have to hit the road in the wee hours of Sunday--not a good idea after an intense concert experience. Bob hasn't seen Springsteen since 1999, so I graciously ceded my seat to him. He & Gordy will have some good father-son bonding time as well.
I can't believe the cruise is less than a week away!!! Already making my packing list. We have an extra day to kill in Budapest, so if anyone here has any suggestions, please let me know.
Milestones: weight is back down to 210; the new smaller clothes I bought once I got home from rehab are getting loose; I carry my cane more than I use it; supine ROM is at 128 degrees of flex, seated at 132; and extension is -3. (The "control," or non-surgical left knee, is at 130/135/0, respectively). I am doing 8" step-ups without support, and beginning to do 6" step-downs. (In the real world, I am alternating feet both climbing and descending stairs and need only a banister). Leg-pressing 117 lbs. and toe-pressing 90. (Fellas, stop laughing--that's a lot for an old lady). I can once again bend my knees and not at my waist to pick the mail up off the floor or the herbs from my garden. I now feel more comfortable standing up to play & sing--vocal support is once again more important to me. I can ascend an 8" stage without assistance and a 10-incher with a helping hand or a pair of sturdy mic stands to grasp. I get startup pain in the right knee when standing up from a chair but it goes away before I even take a step. And my right (TKR) leg is now definitely the stronger & steadier one. Still quite a bit of point tenderness along my right IT band, hamstring, quad & popliteal tendon; but my balance is improving. I know how to nip my tibial edema in the bud; and my left IT numbness/burning is a bit less than before.
Incidentally, for those wishing to know how long it takes for numbness to go away, in 1984 for a post-C-Section endometrial infection (TMI, I know), I had to get an intramuscular injection of Gentamycin in my right thigh. A small patch of it is still numb. Nerves do what nerves do. Quirky little devils.
OP
OP
Dulcimer Diva
graduate
So I went to the Springsteen concert last night, and the planets were in alignment: took a cab there, had to walk only 3 blocks from the barricades to the stadium, and it didn't rain at all! Our seats were below the overhang (sheltered from the wind too, so we didn't get chilled) and despite being at the 200 level had excellent sight lines. Elevator was at the other end of the stadium, and the ramps didn't start till the 200 level (going up to the nosebleed seats on the 500 level), so I took a deep breath and braved the stairs--one flight up to the landing between terrace & field boxes, and then another 23 steps, staggered, some 8", some 10". But I had my cane and also was able to use seatbacks for support as I climbed. My son went to the concession for a diet soda and a snack for me. Concert started 45 min. late (read: 45 min. sitting in a stadium seat). Of course, at a Springsteen show everyone stands for all except the quietest songs, so I was on my feet A LOT. Some of the time I could perch my tush on the seatback, but wouldn't you know that halfway through, in walked a young, drunk couple who insisted on being not just the only ones in their row to stand all the time, but to sway up & back so I couldn't even see the Jumbotrons on the sides of the stage. The woman next to me finally tapped one of them on the shoulder and pointed to my cane, and they sat down; whenever they stood up they nervously looked behind to see if I was sitting or standing. I did quite a bit of bouncing (gently). The only real pain I had was getting up from and back down to a fully seated position--no more than I used to have at previous pre-surgery rock concerts.
At show's end (11:45 pm--3 1/2 hrs. nonstop), once we were sure there'd be no encores, we found a regular stairwell, so I was able to hold on to the banister and descend two full flights (four half-flights) with no pain. The crowds were huge--the line to get on the train was easily 3/4 hr. long, and for the bus (that would have dropped us almost 1/2 mi. from home) half an hour--with no guarantee of a seat on either conveyance. The streets were closed to cars & taxis. So we walked 2 blocks to a local brewpub for a late dinner to wait for the post-show crowd to thin out so we could catch a cab.
Yeah, right--Friday night in Wrigleyville is a zoo even when there's nothing going on in the stadium itself. "Well-stoked" young folks crowded the streets and sidewalks and had picked off all the cabs for blocks around. We had to keep walking further and further to keep them from getting ahead of us and hailing the cabs before we could get to them. Plenty of pedicabs, but no one wanted to pedal the two of us four miles north. (I don't blame them). I began cussing in frustration--these were kids not only capable of walking to the train or standing on the bus but who also clearly could have used a little walk to, uh, detox themselves. Finally, we headed back toward the train, hoping to descend on a taxi disgorging passengers intent on bar-hopping. After an hour, we finally snagged one, as the last of its drunken young'uns piled out (conjuring up memories of circus clowns spilling out of VW bugs).
Woke up this morning and HOO BOY DO I HURT! Still do. But not my knees......my FEET! So that's a sure sign that recovery is proceeding well. Feeling more optimistic about those shore excursion walks on our cruise. Off to bed soon--long drive to Madison in the morning to play for the seniors. (Blessedly, we're playing unplugged--no sound system to haul, just one guitar and two dulcimers).
Tonight's Bob's turn to enjoy the concert with Gordy. Hope The Boss plays Bob's two favorite songs, which he didn't last night. And hope Bob found a decent place to park close to a CTA train station so he and Gordy don't have a rerun of our cab-hunt last night. (Fortunately Bob, who is a month younger than Springsteen, is an avid walker).
At show's end (11:45 pm--3 1/2 hrs. nonstop), once we were sure there'd be no encores, we found a regular stairwell, so I was able to hold on to the banister and descend two full flights (four half-flights) with no pain. The crowds were huge--the line to get on the train was easily 3/4 hr. long, and for the bus (that would have dropped us almost 1/2 mi. from home) half an hour--with no guarantee of a seat on either conveyance. The streets were closed to cars & taxis. So we walked 2 blocks to a local brewpub for a late dinner to wait for the post-show crowd to thin out so we could catch a cab.
Yeah, right--Friday night in Wrigleyville is a zoo even when there's nothing going on in the stadium itself. "Well-stoked" young folks crowded the streets and sidewalks and had picked off all the cabs for blocks around. We had to keep walking further and further to keep them from getting ahead of us and hailing the cabs before we could get to them. Plenty of pedicabs, but no one wanted to pedal the two of us four miles north. (I don't blame them). I began cussing in frustration--these were kids not only capable of walking to the train or standing on the bus but who also clearly could have used a little walk to, uh, detox themselves. Finally, we headed back toward the train, hoping to descend on a taxi disgorging passengers intent on bar-hopping. After an hour, we finally snagged one, as the last of its drunken young'uns piled out (conjuring up memories of circus clowns spilling out of VW bugs).
Woke up this morning and HOO BOY DO I HURT! Still do. But not my knees......my FEET! So that's a sure sign that recovery is proceeding well. Feeling more optimistic about those shore excursion walks on our cruise. Off to bed soon--long drive to Madison in the morning to play for the seniors. (Blessedly, we're playing unplugged--no sound system to haul, just one guitar and two dulcimers).
Tonight's Bob's turn to enjoy the concert with Gordy. Hope The Boss plays Bob's two favorite songs, which he didn't last night. And hope Bob found a decent place to park close to a CTA train station so he and Gordy don't have a rerun of our cab-hunt last night. (Fortunately Bob, who is a month younger than Springsteen, is an avid walker).
- Status
Staff online
-
EalingGranStaff member since January 23, 2024 -
LaylaStaff member since November 20, 2017
