Thanks for the well-wishes. There have been days when the going has been tough - physically and emotionally. For the first three weeks, life was difficult with high degrees of pain. Physical therapy started right away and it really helped...painful, but helped!
Now, at the six week mark, pain is almost a post-mark in my personal history. Stopped all prescribed pain medication a week ago - glad to off that stuff. Was on oxycodone, but was switched by my GP to tramadol since oxycodone came with side effects.
Issues now: sleep deprivation. I am way off my normal sleep schedule and that stresses me out. I have also developed a strange thing in my impacted leg. I can get a "tingly" feeling in the knee area and then my entire leg muscles contract for about two second and then release. It's the strangest thing and very, very annoying and troublesome. The muscle contractions can continue with about fifteen seconds between "contracting times". They eventually stop. I think that icing my knee can also start the process...like I said - strange.
The only other thing is that I have developed what I call a nervous stomach which usually hits me at night. It amounts to strong "butterfly" feelings in my stomach area...makes you feel like you want to move. This sensation also passes, but can linger for an hour or so. I think it may be connected to the stress I feel (not much, mind you) about the interrupted sleep pattern I have had since the first week. I try to go to rest and sleep in my bed around 10:00 p.m., but only get about one - two hours of sleep. Usually I end up having moved my left in a way I should not have moved and the pain wakes me up...then it's game over for sleep. I end up in my recliner which, quite frankly, I am growing bored with, i.e., I am tired of just sitting in my recliner most of the day with my leg up. It has become harder to fall asleep in the recliner...but it does happen once I grow exhausted enough.
Good news - road my semi-recumbant bike on a local nature trail three times last week. I went for 8, 6, and 8 miles. It worked my leg, but never to the point of pain. I could just tell that my knee area was being stretched out a bit more than usual. Kind of like riding in one of those motion machines that they strap you into while in the hospital. The outside of my knee area did swell up a tiny bit after riding my bike
"Graduated" from therapy a week ago. I was proud of myself for really taking it seriously and tried me best to push myself all the way through the experience. I have been steadfast in my exercises at home from the beginning of therapy until this very day. I now make it a point to modify the exercises in order to push myself just a tad...nothing crazy.
That is about it. If you have ever heard of the things I describe above I would like to hear what you have to say. Those two issues, entire leg muscle contractions (from knee healing????), and the nervous stomach are the only things bugging me at this time. I have come to realize that this is going to take some time to get over. I think folks are right when they talk about six months to a year for proper healing to take place. At least I know what to expect when my right knee is taken care of later this year!
Really love the information and support that this website offers!
Thanks,
Roger
United States
