Been reading, and have a TON to read still. First off, my name is Roger. I live in Tooele, UT. And *I* used to have a bad left knee.
Before I retired from the Navy in 2001, I was already on waivers from physical testing due to left knee pain. But with NSAIDs and mild pain relievers I was pretty much OK. I just knew running wasn't a good idea. in 2004, my daughter wanted to try running, so I ran some with her. At first I thought I was going to be OK. But after a month, I knew I should stop. Consulted my PA (Physician's Assistant) and just went back on Motrin for a while.
Fast forward to late 2008, going up and down stairs was starting be painful. And noisy. I had moved from California to Utah and had a new PA. She was concerned, but again started at stretching and Motrin 800s. At first, got better. But then it decayed after a few more months. Finally in the summer of 2009, I decided I needed an orthopedic doc. I asked a bunch of folks for a good ortho, and one name kept coming up. Guess who I saw? Well, I didn't get the actual Surgeon till later, but dealt with his PAs. On my first appointment had an Xray. When the Xray was ready, the PA came in and right off the bat, asked, "When do you want to schedule that replacement?" I'll tell you, that hurt. And made me feel pretty defeated. We talked more about options. Not many at that point as I had less than 1.5mm left to the Meniscus. That visit wrapped up with a cortisone injection. That helped a lot, and lasted about 4 months.
Next up, in November of 2009 I got my first round of gel injections. After the third injection I felt really really good. But in April of 2010, it was pretty worn off. So, another round of gel. The first injection was good, the second was OK. The third was so-so. No real improvement. By the end of June I was in real pain. Back to the doc, and a new Xray. NOT good...
I was bone on bone and wearing grooves. Well then, I guess its tiem to discuss that replacement you mentioned a year ago! So we discussed which knee and why. Because of my size and weight, and that I desired to become far more active than I'd been, the Stryker Triathlon was the knee of choice. They would have scheduled me right away, but I had just changed jobs and needed to build up some vacation and sick time. They gave me a 1/2 shot of cortisone and off I went.
Long story shortened, on 8 November, 2010 I had my left knee replaced. I remember the next morning being made to get up and walk. I was still groggy that day. But I was up at least twice. And I met the CPM machine. I was drugged up and it didn't bother me... The next more of the same, but remember more, and again walking was encouraged. They were also quite mean, removing my pain pump and catheter at the same time. MAKING me get up and move around. On the 11th, I went home. I THOUGHT my truck had legroom... HA! I never really realized what a pain my multilevel home could be.
So I have a close friend that does outpatient physical therapy. I was able to use her. And I KNEW she wasn't going to be easy on me. I didn't do as well as I should have, but well enough to satisfy my doc. When my friend suggested an outpatient therapist, Thats where I went. The Monday after Thanksgiving was the beginning of the real torture. It was not much fun. But I applied myself and we found that my body was healing and responding very well to therapy. I had some trouble reaching 0* extension. I hated that man... And couldn't wait to get back for the next therapy session.
Now I KNOW my results aren't normal. In fact seriously above average. My therapist hasn't had these results before me. I was discharged from therapy in January after I got to 141* three visits. I'm a good sized guy. I'm 6'3" and currently about 280 pounds. I have a lot of muscle in my legs from running and cycling years ago. And with swelling, I couldn't go any further. And my regular knee was only measured at 144...
I'm back on a bike again. I'm way out of shape. But have dropped 20 pounds since November. I've also been on the elliptical machine, but hate it because I can't get a good stride. I'm on the treadmill too. I tried jogging back in January but it felt really weird. But mid March my wife and I started playing racquetball again. She has had her own health issues so its good for her to be moving as well. And, I'm jogging a bit in spurts on the treadmill. I just took my first run outside today. 1.27 mile loop and I ran better than a quarter of that.
So it has been 24 weeks and I feel like I have my life back. I know I have more recovery ahead, but mostly just waiting for the swelling to go down. I did a lot of pre-surgery stretching and exercises. I went in as prepared as I could. I busted my tail in therapy. And did everything at home my therapist and doctor wanted me to do. A week ago, I had a follow up with my doc, and he was happy to hear me playing racquetball, and happy to hear I was running. Didn't bat an eye. And he measured me without letting me warm up or stretch. I hadn't been measured since January. So I was very happy to get 138*.
Questions? Comments? I'll answer what I can.
Roger
United States
