Become an Insider

MUA Ruby's Tuesday--July 11th, 2017<

First of all I want to wish a happy birthday to my birthday twin! Secondly I I had all of the same thoughts that Celle shared above. I know you are frustrated I can hear it through your words, but not doing all of the activity for just a couple of days or even a week is not going to give you the results that you are looking for. I had to give up all of that extra stuff for a good month or more before it made a difference. The swelling is not going to go away overnight or just in a couple of days as much as I know that you may want it to. I wish for your sake that it would because I can see that this is tearing you up.

I would strongly encourage you to follow the recommendations given here. I would hate to see you put yourself through another procedure if you didn't have to. Now I am neither you nor your doctor so I don't know if you really need an MUA but I would think it would be worth a shot to go very conservative for the next month or two and just give that poor knee and you some rest.

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers as I wish the best for you!
 
Oh, Ruby. Your frustration comes through the screen. :sad: Celle and FIre Wolf are right. You're trying so hard, and want to get better so quickly, that you are doing too much. There is no fast track for this recovery. There are lots of ways, though, to slow it down.

You already know you have to reduce the swelling in your knee if you are to get a better bend. Swelling is the body's natural response to inflammation. So you must reduce the inflammation inside and around your knee. For doing this, less is more:

* Less activity
* Less time on your feet (elevate whenever possible)
* No painful exercises
* Lots of rest and sleep and relaxation -- because the body does its best healing when least stressed

And there it is. Simple, and yet so hard for some to do because it feels like doing nothing at all. Yet it is doing something, it is you allowing your body to heal itself.

Whether to get an MUA or not, only you can decide. If you do, though, you will still need to allow your knee to heal all over again. It might be worth a try at resting your knees as Fire Wolf advised and see if that gives you results.
 
None of is here who hasn't examined you in person knows whether you need a MUA or not. It is entirely your decision. From looking at some other stories on here that I was shocked by the number of people who have been told by their doctors that they are not doing enough, it is all their fault only to find out later there was a serIous problem with the surgery and it took a MUA or even a revision to get it right. . Sometimes all the rest and icing in the world can't fix a surgery issue. Now obviously I have no idea if you simply need rest or if it is more serious. It's a tough call, but only you can decide what makes more sense for you. You might consider if you are making progress at all, how much progress is just the wound healing and how much progress is increased movement and ROM, if staying off it a week makes any difference at all, and your own gut feeling about what is wrong. Do you think staying off it a few weeks will help or do you think something else is wrong?
 
Oh Ruby I'm so sorry you are having such a tough and discouraging time. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Sending a hug.
 
Celle said:
Dear, sweet Ruby. You are trying too hard! All of this activity is what is holding you back from getting better ROM.

We've told you that time and time again. I'm going to ask @Josephine to advise you - perhaps when you see your exercise and activities listed, you will realise how much you have been overdoing things.

Until you stop all this over-activity, your poor knee simply won't increase its ROM. It needs a complete rest, with no PT, no exercises, no gardening, no housework, for at least 3 weeks, so your poor wounded, inflamed tissues can settle down.

Trying to work hard to get ROM just doesn't work. Doing that works against you. You cannot make your knee bend more by working hard at it.
TKR: work “smarter” and not “harder”
Knee recovery - Lose the Work Ethic!!
Life in the slow lane

If you decide to go ahead with having an MUA next week, please, please don't get trapped into this cycle of over-working your knee again. If you do, you could end up with chronic inflammation and swelling.


As for those nasty people, you must put your health first. Don't allow yourself to be intimidated by them. Instead, ask for their help, since you have had major surgery - or tell them to put their threats where the sun don't shine! :heehee:
Click to expand...

You all have told me time and again, so I'm embarrassed to even admit that I'm doing anything that remotely looks like exercise. But my medical "team" is also telling me time and time again to do the complete opposite, and I find myself not knowing which way to go. This is also embarrassing to me. I am a leader. I run a school for a living. I've raised two children on the autism spectrum, one is cognitively delayed, and I've had to be a fierce advocate for both of them. I've overcome some of the most atrocious obstacles in life, and despite it all, I've accomplished things that no one would have ever predicted. I am strong and smart, but I am stuck in this place, physically and emotionally dependent on others, and I hate it. It's been a very long time since I've felt this depressed and hopeless. The last time was in 2010 when I went through chemotherapy for breast cancer. Today is my birthday. I should be feeling a lot more lighthearted than this. My mother, who is 4,000 miles away, living in Barbados told me on the phone this morning that this might not be the happiest birthday I ever had,but at least I woke up to have a birthday. She's right. I understand that intellectually, but emotionally, I'm not there yet.


Sent from my iPad using broken link removed: https://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=75543

LTKR scheduled on July 11th, 2017 [emoji51]
 
I'm so sorry you're having such a down day, especially on your birthday. Yes, your mother is correct, but it probably didn't make you feel better to hear that from her, sometimes those who love us try to cheer us up by giving us the "pull up your big girl panties" speech. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it just depresses us more. If you do have to have an MUA, several on here have had really good results.
 
What a depressing way to spend your birthday. But, think ahead to next year's birthday. All of this will be behind you! Before your next OS appointment, why don't you just give the no exercising a try. That means all the extra stuff you've been doing, to stop that, too. Of course, it's only a week away that your MUA is scheduled. But, if you see improvement in your knee because of not overdoing it, then you'll know that a MUA won't be necessary. I think it'd be worth a try. Oh, and no PT, too! Nothing but rest and ADL! Good luck!

Happy Birthday!! :fingersx::) :-) (:
 
Ruby9297 said:
You all have told me time and again, so I'm embarrassed to even admit that I'm doing anything that remotely looks like exercise. But my medical "team" is also telling me time and time again to do the complete opposite, and I find myself not knowing which way to go.
Click to expand...
I completely understand how you're feeling pulled both ways, Ruby.

But think of this - you have been doing it the way your surgeon and PT tell you, and it has got you into this pickle. It hasn't increased your ROM. It hasn't worked for your knee.
You've heard the old definition of insanity, I'm sure - continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result.

There's no time limit on when an MUA can be done, so you have nothing to lose by trying a different approach.
Why not take a month to try the gentle BoneSmart way? If you find at the end of the month that it hasn't worked, you can still go ahead and have the MUA. It's not a "now or never" decision, no matter what your surgeon says.

If you decide to try the BoneSmart way for a month, tell your surgeon that you are feeling rushed and you want to postpone your decision for a month. Take your husband or a friend with you, to back you up.
 
Oh, Ruby. I can so relate to your thoughts about being a strong, tough woman who's handled a passel of other things that would have put many people under the table. Why does this have to be so hard?!? The push-pull between experts who are telling you one thing and your knee that's telling you another is really difficult. One thing that helped me pull the plug on all the exercising was to ask myself repeatedly, "But is this working?" And "Why am I doing something that clearly isn't working?"
 
Thank you all for your listening ears. And thank you to those of you who extended birthday wishes, especially my birthday twin' FireWolf. After much prayer and meditation, I have agreed to go ahead with the MUA. This will take place on Tuesday. It's usually day surgery, but my doctor agreed to have me admitted for 2 nights so I can get proper pain management for the first couple of days. I'm nervous, but I'm at peace with my decision. Yesterday, I attended synagogue services for the first time since I had surgery, to celebrate Rosh Hashanah , the Jewish new year. Here's to a year of healing, continued good health, and happiness to us all!


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
 
Ruby you have made the decision you feel is best for you so let your mind be at peace now. Good luck next week and let us know how you are doing once you are done. We will be here to cheer you on!
 
Happy birthday, and next year you and your new knee can celebrate together. Sometimes getting to the point where you make a decision is very stressful. Now that you have made your decision, relax, enjoy life, and do something fun. You deserve it.
 
My heart goes out to you. Just wanted to share that a friend of mine had a very positive MUA experience and I wish that for you! You've suffered so much. Going down this different path may bring some relief. Good luck!
 
Great to hear that you made a decision that you feel works for you and that you are comfortable and content with. Will keep sending positive thoughts and prayers your way!
 
I'm glad you've made a decision , Ruby. Now, relax.
I hope the MUA works for you. Don't allow yourself to be rushed into doing lots of exercises afterwards - your knee will be wounded again and it will need gentle treatment and just enough exercise to keep it moving gently.
 
Just stopping by to wish you luck for tomorrow! You will certainly be in my thoughts throughout the day!:flwrysmile:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Corganics CBD
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

Members online

Total: 3,321 (members: 4, guests: 3,317)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom