TKR Second TKR - First had Arthrofibrosis

[Dhare63]

Hi Martha!

Sorry to hear you are still struggling, and now with more to challenge you, no fun in that. I hope you find relief with the injections and don't need additional surgery. How has the ultra cold weather we have been having effect your joints? -11 here this morning, thank god for heated seats!

My knee is okay, but the hips are a problem. My left especially. Going up stairs is hard on the hips and sometimes the pain will awaken me at night. I have an appointment for my annual physical next Friday and will discuss with her then. I also notice my hands starting to ache which is troubling.

My big unknown is how much is my thyroid responsible for in how I feel. It was removed now almost 2 years ago, and I thought I was at a therapeutic levels with meds, but I don't feel quite right. Depression has set in and work is just overwhelming. I have to get a grip on all of this and soon. I simply feel exhausted all the time and I so much hate that.

I have been trying to change my routines and diet some to see if that will help, and I do have hope for the future. I want to start feeling better as we all do!

I hope all of you ladies tagged here know I think of you often and fondly, even though I haven't been as active on the boards. Please take good care!

Dawn

 

[kneeper]

Hopefully you just need your thyroid meds adjusted and that will help you feel better overall. I know my sister periodically needs hers adjusted up or down.

 

[skigirl]

I also found that when I added Cytomel---T4, I began to feel better.

 

[Dhare63]

I sure hope you are all correct, time will tell!

 

[skigirl]

Martha, I was able to add two docs from HSS and one from Boston to my list---hope this helps

Dr. Colin Eakin, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, California

Dr. Steadman, Steadman-Hawkins Clinic, Vail, Colorado

Dr. Peter Millet, Steadman Hawkins, Vail (as of 10/1/05)

Dr. Lonnie Paulos, Texas

Dr. Frank Noyes, Cincinnati Sports Clinic, Ohio

Dr. Wojitys, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Dr. Folk in South Carolina

Dr. Mike Terry, University of Chicago

Dr. Shelbourne, Indianapolis, IN

Dr. Flandry, Hughston Clinic, Columbus, Georgia

Dr. Gill Boston

Dr. Tomas Sculo HSS

Dr. Answorth Allen HSS

Dr. Paulos Pensacola

 

[hhilltop]

@skigirl, did you find the hospital in Chicago that did the blood analysis for metal allergies? Since I am allergic to nickel, perhaps I am also allergic to titanium.

 

[hhilltop]

I did have the prolozone injection in my shoulder a week ago. It is doing somewhat better, but I still have a long ways to go. I decided not to pursue the fat stem cell/PRP injection at this time. It was left to me to decide, but I didn't feel there was enough testimonials on line that showed that shoulders with significant tears like mine, responded well. There is no insurance covering this either. My doctors concurred - the studies don't exist. For the record, I did find two. One that seems solidly legit. Another that seemed like it might easily have been a staged for the camera recovery - injection Friday, playing tennis on Monday.

 

[skigirl]

there are two blood tests---one is called Melisa is is one of 2 Lymphocyte Transformation Tests (LTT). The other one is from Orthopedic Analysis in Chicago. I am sure you can google them.

 

[skigirl]

I looked on line and Orthoepdic Analysis has a website, a Melisa lab in the US is Pharmasan Labs 373 280th ST., Osceola, WI. I think you would need to go to your rhumatologist and ask for help getting these lab tests.

 

[hhilltop]

I've forwarded your information to my doctor. I see him in a couple of weeks. I'll let you know what ensues.

I have been going to the pool and putting a noodle around my ankle and then pulling on the tips so I can really get a strong bend on my knee and easily back off when I've had enough. I've been positioning my leg to be in a tight bend when I'm using cruise control or sitting in a chair I can get my leg underneath. I can do this with a rope pulling on it while it dangles off the side of the bed, too. All of this is trying to stretch and get those adhesions to loosen up. I've been getting graston and ionto, too. It's a slow process, but I think I'm seeing some improvement. Not enough to do stairs, though.

 

[hhilltop]

I posted a picturesque fall picture - Here's a collage I made after a recent snow storm. Come on up and enjoy the winter sports here in Vermont!

 

[Dhare63]

Hi Martha, great photo collection! I was up through the Bethel Mountain Road and then on 125 to Middlebury on Wednesday and it was gorgeous! I took a photo on the way into Ripton that looks like a couple of yours! I'll try to post it later. We are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful place!

Take care, Dawn

 

[skigirl]

Martha, it sounds like your work is paying off with additional flex. I will be interested in what your doc has to say when you see him. Kelly

 

[hhilltop]

Yes, it is a beautiful state. Cold for some warmbloods, but truly gorgeous scenery can be found all year round. Good to hear from you Dawn. You couldn't have been too far from me if you were on Bethel Mountain Rd. I live on Bethel Rd.

I have to wonder if flexing and stretching can get me through to flexing without the stretching pain. I want to be able to do stairs without the pain. Yes, I'll keep you posted. There is a measure of ignorable pain just walking, too.

 

[skigirl]

Martha, I have a stationery bike and try to bike about 30 mine per day. I can feel the stretching and it does seem to warm up my knee for the day ahead.

 

[hhilltop]

@skigirl, what was your recovery from open lysis of adhesions like - maybe it is on your thread somewhere and you can point me to what page I should look at.

I've been reviewing my thread from back in the early days - a couple of years back. It is a good review as I prepare to see my doctor this week, if my sore throat/cold doesn't make me have to cancel and reschedule. I've been checking back in with some of you that also have had tough times trying to master doing stairs. Little did I know I'd still be saying that 2 years after I came here. I do have the ROM. My PT's all say - 120 and with pushing 127 - you're good to go, but there's stuff in the knee joint that makes it painful. I'm still doing 1 step at a time. I've had second opinions that say - you need to work on strengthening, but my PT watched me pile on the resistance as I did the exercise bike. I've got the strength - I know there's still junk in there as it still constantly feels tight and hurts when I try to go downstairs. It has ignorable pain every step I take, but I've learned to ignore it, so I don't pay any attention to it.

@Campervan sorry, I should have invited you back to my thread. I see you are still a frequent visitor here - good for you! @bottomshallow, you too - I love your great graphic collection - How are both of you doing with your knees these days?

 

[hhilltop]

@A42K, @Ms.fixit, @nanners,@bottomshollow and others of you who have visited this thread in the past, I'd really love to hear from you again. Maybe you can point me to places in your threads where you talk about stairs being tough and what you did to conquer them. Bonnie, your 100+ page thread is too daunting to want to read through to find it.

I've had second opinions telling me, I'm too far down the road with my ROM that no surgeon will want to touch my knee's issues. Though I have the ROM and strength, it still hurts to do stairs. Once in awhile, I will have a good day, but those days are often 3 months or better apart.

So tell me - if you had lysis of adhesions or an arthrotomy what was the recovery like? (Is there a difference in these procedures?) Were you afraid that your body would respond with additional scar tissue? Were those fears warranted? What was done differently so that scar tissue didn't interfere again?

 

[hhilltop]

hmm - @ A42K, @ nanners didn't turn blue - I'll add @referee54, too.

 

[referee54]

where you talk about stairs being tough and what you did to conquer them.

There were a bunch of factors that entered into this---and, while I actually didn't do anything, per se, to conquer the stairs, it was a combination of quad strength and flexibility---the quads have to be strong enough and long enough to get the job done going down---and the hamstrings have to contribute, too. It was simply matter of time---it took time to get the leg muscles stretched and strong enough to go down the stairs---going up the stairs was done earlier.

 

[bottomshollow]

@hhilltop, I have never written much about doing stairs. It is still a little uncomfortable for me, but I have done nothing to make it better. I'm sure if I did the proper exercises regularly I could bound up and down with no trouble. But I have a ramp at my house and use that most of the time. I do not have much need to climb stairs often so I just don't worry about it.