Surgery - day 1

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday!  Yesterday, I had a total knee replacement to my right knee.  I will be honest, it's been just under 24 hours and I've had some ups and downs but that is to be expected.

The pain can be quite strong at times but the doctors, nurses and staff have been great at helping with pain management and it's been helpful as long as I stay on top of it.

I've had PT once so far (Yesterday) but they are expected to be back sometime after breakfast this morning and I have had on my TED hose, used the compression machine (constantly) and I have used the CPM machine (aka torture machine), it's a machine that bends my knee for me. They set it to a 60 degree bend yesterday but it was a No Go..... It was just too much so they knocked it down to 50 degrees for me. It still hurts pretty bad but is more manageable.  At some point they will increase the angle so I will try not to complain right now.  Luckily, my morphine button (I've named it Capt' Morgan) is pretty helpful but I understand they are taking the Captain away at some point today.... I'm not looking forward to that.

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude because I know that I will feel so much better in the long run.

That's pretty mychball to report so far. I will update more later....

The countdown has begun....

This time next week, I’ll be getting my things ready to head to the hospital for yet another knee surgery.  I know when I had my meniscus surgery, I was in a rush to get better and get on with my goals and didn’t follow directions and rest and heal like I should have.  As a result,  I over did it and caused more pain for myself in the long run.  This time, I’m having a total knee replacement and I plan to follow all of the orders (or at least try). I know there is a long road ahead and because of my age, I will probably have to have another replacement in my lifetime but  I really want to be able to do the things that I was doing before my knee got to be as bad as it is now.  I miss doing things in the gym like squats and lunges and I look forward to doing them again.  I miss little things like walking and races.  I’m tired of the weight that I’ve put back on because I’ve not been able to keep up the cardio-pace that I would like.

But as I’ve said before…. This will be a time for recovery and for focusing on what I’m eating. 

I’ll be in the hospital for several days and recovery time (at least for work) will be about 8 weeks.  I know that full recovery can take up to a year though.

I had my pre-op on Friday and met with a list full of doctors to go over what I can expect.  If things go well, I might be able to gradually start back into the gym at about 4 weeks but I have to check with physical therapy on that once they are assigned to me.

I’m beginning to get a bit nervous but I know that this is the right decision and I’ll feel so much better (once I have healed). I have done a lot of research to learn about what to expect and I have a class to go to later this week to go over more in depth info, which is pretty awesome.

Another surgery looms around the corner...

After years of pain from my torn meniscus to my quick degenerating arthritis in my knee, the time is quickly approaching.  As you may (or may not) know, my better/healthier lifestyle began a few years ago.  I have literally busted my ass, bled, cried, became frustrated, got overwhelmed, dieted, lost a lot of weight and gained quite a bit back when I had to severely cut back on my workouts.

I have been to countless doctors, I had a scope surgery to repair my meniscus, I have been on daily pain killers for the past 2 years, I have had Steroid injecteions, Euflexxa injections and Stem Cell (PRP) injections and unfortunately.... none of them gave me relief for more than a week or two.  I've been tired of feeling this way.  Tired of not being able to do the things that I want to do to maintain the lifestyle that I have come to adopt and enjoy so much.

After much discussion, a lot of research and every other alternative, my doctor sent me to see another Orth Surgeon, one that literally designed a popular artificial knee.  I met with him earlier this week and it has been decided that I need a total knee replacement.  I am only 42 years old.  Some days that feels ancient... but doctors don't like to do joint replacements on patients this young because it will have to be done again at some point (20-25 years down the road).

As much as having the surgery scares me and really makes me nervous, I know that in the long run, it will help tremendously.  I know that once I have had time to heal and go through therapy (and I will not push myself too hard too fast like I did after my last surgery).... I will be back to my old self, back to my old self again.  Will I ever be 100%?  Who knows.... but I hope so.  I just know that anything is better than what I'm feeling now.

I'm also going to use this time to go back to the basics and focus on food.... I mean, it's not like I will be exercising and I don't want to gain any weight so I will cut back on my calories (because I won't need as much as I do now that I have lifting weights).  I want to do the best that I can and get back to really feeling proud of myself for my accomplishments.  With time, I will begin my therapy and reintroduce cardio, HIIT and weight lifting.  I might not ever leg press 500 lbs again but I'm ready to set some new goals!

My family and friends are amazing and the best support I can ask for and I plan to document my progress to help me more than anything. :)