Lounge Doctor

TKR Recovering & Getting Ready for #2

I suspect we can teach each other Sonja! Joe is now talking about a group hike in Spain next September. Training for that will be very serious!
 
Hello friends!! Let's hear it ... la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
"Happy 2nd birthday dear left knee, happy 2nd birthday, dear left knee"...
You get the idea. My knees are 2 years old!! (Righty is reminding me she is the elder sista - 2 years 7 weeks)!
We are all doing well. Left hip flared up 2 weeks ago while starting my training for the Camino de Santiago (Sept '15). I immediately assumed hip issue (even tho OS gave hips and knees clean bills of health 6 weeks earlier). Starting to think that given the sciatica throughout left leg and both - um - cheeks/butt constantly hurting, and every step painful and exhausting, that perhaps 'tis not thy left hip but the L3-4 and L5-S1 stenosis/ae rearing their lovely heads again. Appts set with OS and back doc for next week. Not accepting this setback!

Wishing each of you the most joyous of the holiday seasons and the ability to enjoy them sans pain!!!
 
@NightQuilter,

When I started training for the 1/2 marathon, I could have sworn that my sciatic nerve in my back was crushed again! Nope! It was the result of an ornery IT band, and stretching it out, plus keeping my foot turned straight is making a huge difference!:happydance:
 
Sorry to hear you have sciatica. Its so painful. I had one bout of it and will never forget it. Seems to run in my family. Both cousins have had it for months so far and nothing has helped them. I remember the butt cheeks hurting all the time. I hope you get over it soon and have a wonderful Christmas/holiday season.
 
Hey Lynn! Thanks for the update! Glad to hear that you're doing well and getting ready fro Camino Santiago. That should be amazing. I'm hoping the pain is just a little setback...just find some good stretches for those "cheeks" and legs. We get pretty tight. And good bodywork!
 
Appreciate all the feedback! And Sonja and Randy - the IT band is something I've not given enough thought to. No relief from nerve block/epidural/spinal cyst aspiration 1/9 and of course the facet joints in the neck are agitated again and so far those injections (1/15) are not yet responding. ugh. Hurts to even hold my head up, let alone walk, talk, and eat. (Maybe the last is a good thing!). Follow-up apt with ortho tomorrow to determine a Plan B. Has already suggested that if the combo of stenosis & spondylyothesis (sp??) at the L4-L5 is too unstable, we start to look at either a decompression or fusion. Not a happy camper about any of that. Trying to stay positive, but as we all know, constant pain seems to be a bit of a mood blocker!
 
Hi @NightQuilter Holy cow, hiking in other countries. I'm jealous.
I can only hike in countries that I can drive to. I hate flying so I got the cheap passport that does not allow you to fly. So if I get hurt they have to drag me back. :scaredycat:
My back surgery was between my L4 & L5. I have a curve & a twist in my spine. (Roto-Scoliosis)
The bones were bone on bone & smushing some nerves. That felt like Sciatica & like I had needles in my leg.
They just made a 2 inch cut next to my spine & cut bone out of the way. It was like instant relief with a pretty quick recovery. No hospital stay. On a 1 to 10 scale with my knee being about a 47 I would say the back surgery was about a 1 1/2. Almost nothing compared to the knee surgery. If they were all that easy. :spin:
I hope you get the easy fix . Take care & good luck.
 
@NightQuilter .... it's been a bit since we've heard from you. How are you doing? Have things improved for you?
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone:hugzz: It appears this will not be a quick fix. Been doing phys. therapy and acupuncture. Seems like it is 2 steps forward, 3 steps or so back. Both of those people and ortho think the IT band issue is certainly related. At least I can hold my head up and have a bit more energy. Sciatica issues and left leg not really relieved, neck is a bit better, but now the right shoulder/arm are acting up. :banghead: Tough when sleeping on the left side wakes you up because the whole side of the leg flares up and now no sleep on right because shoulder pain wakes you up! Can't sleep on back because post-nasal makes me snore which wakes up the Sainted Joe! And of course, sleeping on stomach hyper-extends back and hurts neck if I turn head to either side and I would prefer not to smother myself to death! sigh!! :groan:

So, going in for a consultation with the back surgeon. Ironman, so glad to hear your back issues were so readily resolved!!!:egypdance: I spoke to a friend recently who had the same back surgeon and had a decompression - said he feels better than he has in 30 years, tho the first 2 weeks were miserable. This surgeon also did the Sainted Joe's neck fusion a couple years ago, so I trust him entirely.

Will keep you posted. Thanks for looking out for me!:flwrysmile:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If it is not one thing is it something else, or so it seems. Wish there was a bubble we could climb into that protected us from all of this.
Hope the consultation goes well for you and you can move forward.
 
Hello @NightQuilter!

Remember I kept having problems with my IT band, and my back?

Well, the Orthopedic massage therapist has been correcting that! I will try to explain her terminology.
The leg and knee are connected to the hip which is connected to the IT band. The sciatic nerve gets a lot of blame
when it is an imbalance in the two legs and the way we walk. We have a muscle that can be found in the front of our bodies, in the crease where the leg joins the pelvis, and it wraps around the lumbar and thoracic vertebrae It is called the psoas muscle and it is the muscle in the body that connects the front to the back. When that gets tight, everything gets out of balance as well. Look it up on google and you will find some interesting articles!

Since my leg has been primed and loosened;:wink:
I could lend you my knee for a little while so I would keep myself out of trouble! I did yoga yesterday and the instructor had everyone going to the ground with their knees bent UNDER them but feet out so our rears would sit on the mat!
Well....... The I think I can, I think I can Sonja, thought "heck why not!" So I started sliding downwards, and the instructor rushed over with a bolster. Then Stephanie, who is my massage therapist, was also in the class, and came running with another bolster. A little too late as bolsters squish as you sit on them!:dubious: I found out that I was able to break up a heck of a lot of scar tissue in one fell swoop!

"Funny thing is neither Abby nor Stephanie thanked me for making their job easier!" LOL:rotfl:

I am sending a picture of my knee today. It is taped to minimize the swelling. All in all, even though I did play in the Odic club, it still did well!

I am including a picture of my "stylish" taping that was done today! If you get jealous, I bought some "pink cammo " when I have to retape! I will send you some!:heehee:
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    173.3 KB · Views: 258
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you, Thank you Sonja! Its been a while since I've been on but I always LOVE your perspective on life and all things related to our surgical journeys. (Plus I have been absolutely swamped for the past month.)

So here's the deal... after a couple of months of physical therapy and acupuncture with little response I am at the point of, what the Sainted Joe calls, I still can't put two even moderately good days together. So, today I had a surgical consult with one of LA's top back experts. In his words, some people just have bad mothers ... not so much to disparage my own "Ma Mack," but her (and my) gene pool.

The upshot, though he would not call it "an emergency," within the next few weeks or months, I will begin to "loose function" in my legs from my "very mobile" spondyliothesis (sp!) because there is no channel left. I need a fusion sooner than later at the L4-L5. @Josephine, do you have a BoneSmart for that?? I definitely don't have a year; he was surprised I hadn't had foot drops or numbness yet (must be my dad's genes there! :heehee:). I also need someone to go in and clean out all the stuff in my neck, though not a fusion. Over the past two weeks, I've developed a lot of right side shoulder pain, which has started to spread to elbow and wrist ... it nicely offsets the constant headaches. When you have to sleep on your sides because when you are on your back you snore and keep the Sainted Joe up all night, and now when you are on the left side and the back/IT/sciatica issues flare with pain and when you are on the right and the shoulder and arm shrieks ... well, ain't gettin' much [sleep], is the war cry!

OK - so that was all wonderfully disappointing news. The kicker was, I go on Medicare in June ... he doesn't do Medicare and I would have to go to someone else. And between now and June 21, I have a big meeting, a trip east for meetings and family, my daughter's graduation with her Masters, and a 2 week trip to Italy.... Something has to give. Sigh.
 
Night Quilter,
Sorry you are faced with more surgery, sounds like it will happen sooner rather than later. Glad you are not having any of the neurological symptoms he mentioned, then you would need it taken care of ASAP.
Even with Medicare you can still go to the same surgeon, you will have to pay the difference between the Medicare allowable and what the surgeon charges. His office may or may not bill Medicare, you can also look into if he is part of any Medicare Advantage plans.
Glad you are living in an area where there are many wonderful surgeons,
 
Well, I'm baaaccck! And with a newly fused back. I had my surgery on April 27th and they used an anterior approach which means they go in through the abdomen first to straighten out the spine and insert a larger graft on the anterior side of the spine, have the vascular surgeon put things back where they belong, stitch me up, then flip me over to insert the rod and screws to hold it all in place. Three new scars later.... The traditional approach is only through the back, which only allows them to insert two smaller grafts in the rear between the discs. Feeling really good now; did a 3 mile walk yesterday! Still need the back brace at times. My surgeon cleared me in the nick of time to fly, so I was able to spend 2 weeks in Tuscany with family and friends overlooking the Conca di Oro (golden shell) ... absolute paradise. Had to take it easy and am still nervous about being in crowds lest I get jostled or fall. Had some excitement in the hospital - gained 20 pounds in 4 days! Seems my blood pressure dropped to 79 over 37 the day after surgery and the solution was to pump me full of saline ... and more saline ... and more. All is well now. Fortunately, I had lost about 10 pounds before the surgery (surgeon suggested I try the paleo diet ... actually works!), have now taken the new 20 plus a few more off! My surgeon gets a lot of air time on The Doctors - has done some amazing work on some teens with incredibly twisted spines. Great confidence in him!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antibacterial

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

The Best Total Knee Replacement Blogs of 2020

Staff online

Members online

Total: 261 (members: 19, guests: 242)

Forum statistics

Threads
65,484
Messages
1,601,198
BoneSmarties
39,545
Latest member
rubyedith
Recent bookmarks
0

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom