Week 5.......I know I keep saying this but WOW.........I cannot believe I have made it 5 weeks.
This week I started physical therapy and while it was exciting to get out of the house......I think I have an anxiety attack every time I start therapy. I am scared to death at how much it will hurt.....and of course it did hurt pretty bad! The dr. gave me a new pain killer prescription, but its a new type and my insurance wont cover it. I survived therapy with just ibuprofen but during my next dr appt Im going to get something else. The therapist was pretty gently on day 1.....Im pretty sure Im going to need pain killers for the next couple weeks. For whatever reason I always develop a lot of scar tissue and this time appears no different.
In regards to exercise I am now able to ride the exercise bike at zero resistance. I rode in therapy the other day then rode at home on my own yesterday. I rode for over an hour and a little more than a mile. Funny, I used to ride 18 mile an hour and now Im riding 1 mile an hour......a lot of work to do to get back to my pre-surgery shape! We also discussed shifting my weight while Im standing on my crutches to get the muscles in my leg firing.......this of course hurts more than you would think.....but Ive been practicing. The therapist also told me to really work on straightening my leg as much as possible and doing straight leg raises. I was blown away, I could not even do 1 straight leg raise. I had to keep leaning back and enlarging the angle before I could even lift my leg.....crazy.
Also, after working on the CPM for 5 weeks it was picked up this morning....I was sad to see it go! lol!
The first day of therapy I could get my leg to 5% straight and 90% flexed on my own. Didnt sound too bad considering how much work had been done!!
Have a good thanksgiving......looking forward to week 6!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
I Keep Forgetting to Mention........
Hi All
There is one important piece of information I keep forgetting to mention. The information I received from Carticel described the surgery and recovery. The last couple post-op visits the dr has let me know that the information from Carticel was necessary for the procedure to be FDA approved. Basically, things move a little quicker than the information suggests. Since the procedure is nearing 10 years old or so, recovery is faster than initially expected.
I was thinking I'd be out of commission for 12-18 months where the actual will probably be 8-12 months. Overall, I thought this was pretty good news!! :)
There is one important piece of information I keep forgetting to mention. The information I received from Carticel described the surgery and recovery. The last couple post-op visits the dr has let me know that the information from Carticel was necessary for the procedure to be FDA approved. Basically, things move a little quicker than the information suggests. Since the procedure is nearing 10 years old or so, recovery is faster than initially expected.
I was thinking I'd be out of commission for 12-18 months where the actual will probably be 8-12 months. Overall, I thought this was pretty good news!! :)
Monday, November 14, 2011
ACI Recovery......Week 3 and 4
WOW.......I simply cant believe its been 4 weeks since the day of surgery. I didnt post last week because there wasnt too much to report. I just had my 4 week doctors appointment and they think Im doing pretty well.
I am not able to start trying to walk on my crutches putting 50% pressure on my foot/knee. Any idea how hard it is to judge 50% pressure? lol! Anyway, I am making attempts today and it is pretty scary. Of course, I'll keep after it but not being able to walk for 4 weeks does a number on you!
I have been at 90 degrees on the CPM for a week now and the doctor recommended I keep it for another 10 to 14 days. I explained that I feel it helps to keep my knee from getting so stiff and he understood and agreed. He said to keep increasing and I can go all the way up to 125 degrees. He also suggested I keep working on pushing my knee straight.....interesting because you begin to feel that the flexion is the most important until the dr tells you that you will have to have another surgery if you dont work on keeping it straight......I got that point today!
Also, more good news.... the dr recommended I start PT this week. Yes, I realize how utterly painful therapy is however I am concerned about the amount of muscle I have lost and getting out of the house can only make me feel better. The last visit the dr gave me a new pain killer perscription (for people who get sick on all the others) and suggested this morning that I make sure to get that filled because I will need it to survive PT.......ugh......a little nervous!! :)
The bad news for the week......I have felt so good moving around the house that I thought I would be able to go to the grocery store with my husband over the weekend. Seriously, I dont know who I was kidding but that was a painful experience. My shoulders and hands were so sore the next day. My foot was incredibly swollen, in fact was still swollen the next day. Ive learned my lesson and the dr said something this morning about not trying to go 0 to 100 all at once.......lol....was quite the learning experience! :)
I will make sure to post again in week 5 to update how PT starts!!
I am not able to start trying to walk on my crutches putting 50% pressure on my foot/knee. Any idea how hard it is to judge 50% pressure? lol! Anyway, I am making attempts today and it is pretty scary. Of course, I'll keep after it but not being able to walk for 4 weeks does a number on you!
I have been at 90 degrees on the CPM for a week now and the doctor recommended I keep it for another 10 to 14 days. I explained that I feel it helps to keep my knee from getting so stiff and he understood and agreed. He said to keep increasing and I can go all the way up to 125 degrees. He also suggested I keep working on pushing my knee straight.....interesting because you begin to feel that the flexion is the most important until the dr tells you that you will have to have another surgery if you dont work on keeping it straight......I got that point today!
Also, more good news.... the dr recommended I start PT this week. Yes, I realize how utterly painful therapy is however I am concerned about the amount of muscle I have lost and getting out of the house can only make me feel better. The last visit the dr gave me a new pain killer perscription (for people who get sick on all the others) and suggested this morning that I make sure to get that filled because I will need it to survive PT.......ugh......a little nervous!! :)
The bad news for the week......I have felt so good moving around the house that I thought I would be able to go to the grocery store with my husband over the weekend. Seriously, I dont know who I was kidding but that was a painful experience. My shoulders and hands were so sore the next day. My foot was incredibly swollen, in fact was still swollen the next day. Ive learned my lesson and the dr said something this morning about not trying to go 0 to 100 all at once.......lol....was quite the learning experience! :)
I will make sure to post again in week 5 to update how PT starts!!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
ACI Recovery.......Week 2
Wow.......So I cant believe I have survived 2 weeks since surgery. Honestly, its been a couple rough weeks but I definitely feel Im on the upswing! :)
I had my first post op appointment where they removed about 25-30 stitches. It was a little traumatic but I was really happy to see they used the incision scar from my ACL surgery a couple years ago. This means I have only 1 gigantic scar down the front of my knee. They also told me that I had 4 defects, not the 2 they saw previously on the MRI's. They used all of the cells that had been sent and also took this opportunity to realign my knee cap and cleaned up the remaining pieces of cartilage that were still causing damage under there. I love my doctor by the way and as I was waking up from surgery said something along the lines of my knee isnt looking too young anymore. Oh well, as long as I can get back to walking and riding my bike (like I used to) I'll think Im doing pretty good. The doctor also told me I can touch my toe down (25%) to stabilize if I need to. My next appointment is in 2 weeks. At that point they'll release some of the angle on my brace and said I should be able to put my foot down about 50%. This would continue every 2 weeks until I am walking with crutches, then I will start physical therapy. The removal of the stitches allows me to shower (by myself) without my husband sitting outside the shower holding my braced leg straight out so it doesnt get wet......a little uncomfortable for all of us! The showers have made me feel much better and Im starting to get around the house better too. Im looking forward to the next appointment because I think I'll be able to drive after that.
Im still on the CPM machine and currently at 75% increasing 5% a day. I had quite a bit of trouble yesterday around the 70% mark and had to back it down quite a few times. Today, I was concerned moving towards 75% but the stretch happened pretty quickly and I didnt have as much trouble as I thought I would. I am definitely concerned with the amount of muscle mass Ive already lost in my leg; in my hamstring, quad, and calf. When the time comes, Im afraid walking is going to be pretty tough.
Overall, a pretty good week!
I had my first post op appointment where they removed about 25-30 stitches. It was a little traumatic but I was really happy to see they used the incision scar from my ACL surgery a couple years ago. This means I have only 1 gigantic scar down the front of my knee. They also told me that I had 4 defects, not the 2 they saw previously on the MRI's. They used all of the cells that had been sent and also took this opportunity to realign my knee cap and cleaned up the remaining pieces of cartilage that were still causing damage under there. I love my doctor by the way and as I was waking up from surgery said something along the lines of my knee isnt looking too young anymore. Oh well, as long as I can get back to walking and riding my bike (like I used to) I'll think Im doing pretty good. The doctor also told me I can touch my toe down (25%) to stabilize if I need to. My next appointment is in 2 weeks. At that point they'll release some of the angle on my brace and said I should be able to put my foot down about 50%. This would continue every 2 weeks until I am walking with crutches, then I will start physical therapy. The removal of the stitches allows me to shower (by myself) without my husband sitting outside the shower holding my braced leg straight out so it doesnt get wet......a little uncomfortable for all of us! The showers have made me feel much better and Im starting to get around the house better too. Im looking forward to the next appointment because I think I'll be able to drive after that.
Im still on the CPM machine and currently at 75% increasing 5% a day. I had quite a bit of trouble yesterday around the 70% mark and had to back it down quite a few times. Today, I was concerned moving towards 75% but the stretch happened pretty quickly and I didnt have as much trouble as I thought I would. I am definitely concerned with the amount of muscle mass Ive already lost in my leg; in my hamstring, quad, and calf. When the time comes, Im afraid walking is going to be pretty tough.
Overall, a pretty good week!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
ACI Recovery......Week 1
So, Ive survived my first week of recovering from ACI surgery. I have to say its been a pretty rough week but feel much better on day 7 than I thought possible! :)
Ive thought alot about my initial questions about the surgery and if theres anything I wish I would have asked ahead of time. The answer is no. My doctor is fabulous and thoroughly explained everything I would be dealing with. There not much he can do about my reactions to pain and anesthesia. I had 2 large defects implanted and the doctor took this opportunity to clean up all the misc debris and realigned my knee cap. So far, Im not sure what the incision looks like and to be honest Im pretty scared. I know vanity doesnt mean much at this stage of the game......but you know! I did have my husband take before pictures which I'll upload when I can get to his camera and once my bandages are removed.
The best of week 1: allowing the accompanying ankle surgery to wait until sometime next year (the pain would have been unbearable), making sure my sister was here to take care of me for the first 5 days, how great my husband and son have been through this whole ordeal.........thats about it! lol!
The worst of week 1: not allowing the doctor to prescribe the strongest pain killers possible (of course I was taking percoset until day 3 and then did not think I would make it), and trying to get past the whole dry shampoo thing.........cause your hair just looks like crap!! lol!
I began the CPM on day 3 and started at 30 degrees for 6 hours. I have increased 5 degrees every day and have my first post-op appointment in a couple days. Im anxious to get the ice machine off and take a look at the damage. I was really freaked out a couple days ago I accidentally touched my toe down. I was devastated and scared to death that I would have gone through such a rough week to undo the surgery. It took a while for my husband to calm me down and he finally convinced me that if that were a possibility they would have kept me in the hospital. I'll chat with the doctor on Thursday and find out for sure.....but it was pretty darn scary!!!
Ive thought alot about my initial questions about the surgery and if theres anything I wish I would have asked ahead of time. The answer is no. My doctor is fabulous and thoroughly explained everything I would be dealing with. There not much he can do about my reactions to pain and anesthesia. I had 2 large defects implanted and the doctor took this opportunity to clean up all the misc debris and realigned my knee cap. So far, Im not sure what the incision looks like and to be honest Im pretty scared. I know vanity doesnt mean much at this stage of the game......but you know! I did have my husband take before pictures which I'll upload when I can get to his camera and once my bandages are removed.
The best of week 1: allowing the accompanying ankle surgery to wait until sometime next year (the pain would have been unbearable), making sure my sister was here to take care of me for the first 5 days, how great my husband and son have been through this whole ordeal.........thats about it! lol!
The worst of week 1: not allowing the doctor to prescribe the strongest pain killers possible (of course I was taking percoset until day 3 and then did not think I would make it), and trying to get past the whole dry shampoo thing.........cause your hair just looks like crap!! lol!
I began the CPM on day 3 and started at 30 degrees for 6 hours. I have increased 5 degrees every day and have my first post-op appointment in a couple days. Im anxious to get the ice machine off and take a look at the damage. I was really freaked out a couple days ago I accidentally touched my toe down. I was devastated and scared to death that I would have gone through such a rough week to undo the surgery. It took a while for my husband to calm me down and he finally convinced me that if that were a possibility they would have kept me in the hospital. I'll chat with the doctor on Thursday and find out for sure.....but it was pretty darn scary!!!
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