5 weeks out

Getting a bit tired of this...still having a good bit of pain, not necessarily in the new knee, but in the muscles in the thigh and the calf and the foot -- all bits are connected when it comes to the body!

But all I have to do is remember the days of these photos from the hospital stay...of course, then I had lots of drugs in me and I was pretty oblivious to how anything felt and what I was doing.

I'm ready for some quality of life improvements -- I'm thinking of Glucosamine and Ibuprofen. The G may help with the 'other' aches and pains of my body and the Ibu is better for muscle pain than the tylenol, IMHO.

Still on the 2x per week rehab and today I want to get some muscle massage for the leg - it has been keeping me up and waking me up at night. I have also scheduled a cranial sacral massage by someone I have not tried before. My friend Sue swears by her C-S massage therapist for helping her past her surgical experience.

Stay tuned. I think this story will improve soon!

2 of my angels

Many people have been like angels to me during this past 4 weeks of surgery, recovery and rehab. I call them angels because they have been sending me their caring thoughts whether or not they have been in direct contact with me.

Today I got to experience the hands-on caring of two kind and skillful women who lead me in yoga, Brooks Hall and Eileen Gormaly. I had missed Brooks Wed. morning class at Yoga Circle since before my surgery. It is a class in lengthening, strengthening, breathing and alignment. About a dozen or so people take it regularly and Brooks is very adaptive to people and their limitations in this class. The other class of hers that I love is held at my health club at noon on Mondays and is attended by many young, energetic people on their lunch hours. Brooks paces this class to the audience.

Given that I am still limited in my mobility and flexibility, I knew her Wed. class would suit me. And it did -- completely, wholly and fully. During this class, Eileen always teaches one pose and then assists with form for all the poses. I feel like this is the first opportunity I have had in the four weeks to engage my full body in a form of exercise. Most exercise has been focused specifically on my left knee; bending, straightening, balancing on the left leg and strengthening the supporting muscles. This experience, although making allowances for the left knee, was holistic for my body while also focusing on my specific needs for the knee. I was able to pull out my back and shoulders in stretches, twist to the right and left, extend and breathe into abdomen and chest and breathe, breathe, breathe fully and completely. It felt so great and it paid off in increased energy. I knew at the end of class that I had felt the exertion and would be happy to have an afternoon at home. But I surprised myself by the energy I had on the walk home and a quick stop for supplies. I even found the wrist & ankle weights I was planning to look for.

These girls are my angels because through their work, they have been able to affect a positive change in me. That is of so much value, it is impossible to express in words. Thanks my friends!

out-patient physical therapy

Here is my daily routine...

• standing heel raises -- 15 per set / 3 sets
• sitting knee flexion - pull L heel toward buttock -- 10 per set
• prone knee extension - face down, legs hang from bed w/2# weight on L, hold 3-5 min. -- 3x
• standing knee stretch - L leg back heel down, lean into stretch, hold 30 sec. -- 2x / 5x day
• supine hamstring stretch, knee straight, hold 60 sec. -- 2x
• straight leg raise, hold 3 sec -- 10 per set / 3 sets
• side-lying hip abduction, knee straight -- 10 per set / 3 sets
• prone hip extension, knee straight -- 10 per set / 3 set
• bike 5-10 min
  

Doc says I'm 2 weeks ahead of schedule!

Xray taken today - L knee on right in picture showing new knee.

I think he was flattering me a bit but for 3 weeks out, I'm feeling good, getting around albeit slowly, and gaining independence daily.

Milestones include:

• last nursing visit & blood draw for cumadin levels yesterday.
• last home visit by PT tomorrow
• full backward revolution on stationary bike
• outside PT begins Thursday

Other notable points:

• at 6 weeks out I can get in the tub and/or the pool!! That'll be 3 weeks from today!
  
• I can go to yoga!! I'll start with Gabriel's "gentle class"
• I can go to the dentist at 6 weeks out, w/RX of antibiotic
• I can drink alcohol in another 5 days!! legally!!!
  

a surge of energy returns...

and it feels good!! Swept the entire apartment, wiped down counters, sorted laundry and started a load. whew!! I couldn't comprehend this kind of activity for the last few days. The only telltale sign is a slight queasiness in my stomach and that I am managing.

I had a good session with Jen, home health PT, yesterday. We went up to the gym and I got on the stationary bike for the 2nd time. This time I was able to spend about 5 minutes rotating forward and back without making a complete revolution. No cramps stopped the process this time. With each approach to the revolution, the knee is stretched and curled toward maximum extension and flexion. She measured me at 112 degrees of flexion without her help using my own muscle tone. I will go up this AM and see if I can make a full revolution.

Perhaps a slight mania has emerged...I interrupted this post to wipe down all the handles in the house with an antiseptic wipe. Motivated by the thought that this apartment has been like a sickroom to me as I've been confined and ailing here. Now I've purified it from the sick germs ;-)

...the bowels of hell and then-some...

maybe I am getting better...I'm starting to find this funny...

Into my third day of withdrawal symptoms from the sudden stopping of my oxycodone. Here is one report on a website citing the symptoms and the results...

Patient Betts describes her Oxycodone withdrawal as:
“…An indescribable torture that takes you to the bowels of hell and then-some. My body screamed for relief. The vomiting and diarrhea were inconsequential to how the body flails uncontrollably.”

She explains that just when she thought the withdrawal symptoms were subsiding, another wave came to wring her out and start all over again. Withdrawal from her addiction felt “like hell on earth had begun.” Her doctors, to her later dismay, only prescribed more painkillers for the symptoms and supposed ‘illness’!

My experience began with a deep pain in the pit of my stomach as I awoke on the day after taking the last of the RX. I felt listless and uncomfortable but did not really put it together with the drug withdrawal. Now into the third day of chills, headache, upset stomach, loss of appetite , all I am wondering is when will it end.

I am totally narc shy so even though I have a lesser pain pill with the norco, I am going to try to stick to the tylenol to get through the pain during physical therapy and avoid going anywhere near narcotics as long as I can.

2 weeks out

Many firsts have occurred in the last 5-7 days...

• walking inside without crutches or cane
• walking outside on the arm of another, working on gait mechanics
• shopping with a friend (Nordstrom's fashion and makeup extravaganza Saturday)
  
• stairs: one footed up and down
• stairs: forgetting to one foot it down (and feeling the pull/pain)
• staples come out, steri-strips go on (steri-strips are showerable)
  
• oxy for pain is done, tylenol picks up the slack

It's this last one that I am currently struggling with, really struggling. I ran out of the 10 day Oxy RX on Sunday morning. They were prescribed 2 per day for 10 days. I initially felt that I had a hard time getting used to taking it -- it clouded my concentration and memory -- in conjunction with the anesthesia that was leaving my body from the surgery. After a few days I seemed to get used to it and felt great getting up every morning, built up my endurance to be active all day, focused my brain on reading and crosswords. That felt great and felt very stable.

Figuring out the transition from narcotic to otc pain killer was not well specified. I was told to try to use tylenol (acetaminophen) for fill-in pain med. So in place of the evening oxy, I took 2 tylenol XS (650mg each). Sleep with the oxy, as I described to the nurse, was like a stone. The first night w/o oxy did not seem so different, perhaps not so sound. I woke up feeling a pain in my stomach and not very well. I took some breakfast to try to settle my stomach. I somehow got myself in the shower and dressed because I had two in-home appointments, nursing and PT, during the day. I felt on the verge of nausea and went back to bed with chills and weird sleep in and out. I emerged for my appointments but did not feel well. Rescheduled a phone appointment in which I wanted to be fresh.

Not through the transition yet. Hard to fall asleep with only the tylenol. Slept in several segments, got up once for an additional 650mg or tylenol. Woke still feeling sickish with headache.

Tylenol max. to protect the liver is 4000 mg/day. So now my pain med schedule is a math game. each XS (extended strength) tab is 650mg, each ES (extra strength) is 500mg, each norco contains 375mg acyt. The norco I will take an hour before I have physical therapy so that I can do the max range of motion.