Saturday, May 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Monday, July 21, 2008
Off the Meds and Feeling Stiff
So now I am totally off the narcotis and feeling a lot better. I have no more of the hot and cold spells, headaches or other awful feelings. My only problem is that my toes are very sore, my knees are quite stiff and my feet vary in feelings - sometimes numb and tingly, sometimes pins and needles and sometimes fine.
I went to work today without my cane and felt quite stable and actually found myself walking straighter rather than limping. My right knee still has a kink in it on the right outer side. If I don't see improvement in the next 3 weeks, I will contact the surgeon. My right knee still has a tightness in the back of the knee which only bothers me when I go down stairs.
So only time will tell. I am getting somewhat impatient.
Tonight rather than taking my tylenol arthritis every 8 hours and waking up in the middle of the night needing more, I have pushed my 7:00 dose off to 9:30 and hopefully will get through the night and take two before work to get me through the day thus reducing it to twice daily rather than three times daily. I hope I can cope well with this.
As you can see I am really anxious to be totally mended and out of the woods, but I fear that when I am finally comfortable with my knees another site will cause enough discomfort to push me to another procedure. Today it is my toes and my right hip that are quite sore. I hope this is just because I am newly off the stronger meds. Only time will tell.
Until next time.
Marilyn
I went to work today without my cane and felt quite stable and actually found myself walking straighter rather than limping. My right knee still has a kink in it on the right outer side. If I don't see improvement in the next 3 weeks, I will contact the surgeon. My right knee still has a tightness in the back of the knee which only bothers me when I go down stairs.
So only time will tell. I am getting somewhat impatient.
Tonight rather than taking my tylenol arthritis every 8 hours and waking up in the middle of the night needing more, I have pushed my 7:00 dose off to 9:30 and hopefully will get through the night and take two before work to get me through the day thus reducing it to twice daily rather than three times daily. I hope I can cope well with this.
As you can see I am really anxious to be totally mended and out of the woods, but I fear that when I am finally comfortable with my knees another site will cause enough discomfort to push me to another procedure. Today it is my toes and my right hip that are quite sore. I hope this is just because I am newly off the stronger meds. Only time will tell.
Until next time.
Marilyn
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Getting off Pain Meds
It is certainly not easy. Everything seems to hurt. My toes, my hips, my fingers, my thumb joints, and of course my knees which actually hurt less than the other places, but just feel tight and give me sudden jolts of pain if I twist or move suddenly.
I hardly slept last night - maybe for 4 hours if that. I was either hot or cold, felt stuffed up like I had a cold or felt bloated and just plan could not find a comfortable position.
It is now 6:11. I think I will get up, shower, and prepare for work. Maybe I will drive to Finch to get an early start instead of waking Chris up so early. I have been going to and from work by subway and Chris has been my chauffeur. Twice a week he takes me to physio first thing in the morning, waits for me and then drops me off at the subway. I found that driving with the stop and go rush hour traffic, my right knee became more painful.
Right now, since I have been off the drugs and just taking tylenol, the right side of the front of my right knee is painful and the back of my left knee is painful. I really hope this improves and that it is not an indication that something is wrong.
I felt soooooo good on the drugs. I wish I could live on them. But I know that is not a viable option so I will continue to plug away. On Friday I will go to my GP and see what she suggests.
Until then,
Marilyn
I hardly slept last night - maybe for 4 hours if that. I was either hot or cold, felt stuffed up like I had a cold or felt bloated and just plan could not find a comfortable position.
It is now 6:11. I think I will get up, shower, and prepare for work. Maybe I will drive to Finch to get an early start instead of waking Chris up so early. I have been going to and from work by subway and Chris has been my chauffeur. Twice a week he takes me to physio first thing in the morning, waits for me and then drops me off at the subway. I found that driving with the stop and go rush hour traffic, my right knee became more painful.
Right now, since I have been off the drugs and just taking tylenol, the right side of the front of my right knee is painful and the back of my left knee is painful. I really hope this improves and that it is not an indication that something is wrong.
I felt soooooo good on the drugs. I wish I could live on them. But I know that is not a viable option so I will continue to plug away. On Friday I will go to my GP and see what she suggests.
Until then,
Marilyn
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Back to Reality
Hi Everyone,
We returned home from New York and New Jersey on Monday night and had a wonderful weekend with our friends Judy and Ted in Manhatten. Thanks so much for your hospitalityJudy and Ted, and for welcoming us into your 4th of July celebrations. Seeing the spectacular fireworks right from your living room window was something I will never forget. Getting to know your friends and family was lots of fun. The evening to the Jersey Boys and out for dinner was so much fun. We had a wonderful time. Onwards to the wedding in New Jersey. The rented car worked out just fine thanks to our GPS which got us there without a hitch 2 hours before the wedding allowing us ample to to relax, iron our clothing and get dolled up for the event. It was a beautiful wedding, more traditional than I had ever seen so a definately a learning experience. It was a lovely evening and the trip back to JFK and back to Buffalo and then back to Toronto worked out without a hitch. Jess took great care of our poochies and we got ready to get back to reality - laundry, tidying up and preparing for the week.
It was so nice to see all the children, staff and parents on my first day back to work. I am working 4 hours daily, early on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and after physio on Tuesday and Thursday. The driving is the worst part. I decided to drive to and fro rather than take the subway because I thought that the traffic would be less demanding on me as opposed to the walking, stairs and crowds in the subway. So far it is going fine, but I am going to bed early and trying to make sure to rest and do my excersizes each afternoon. I feel some pain in my right knee today so I will have to evaluate whether the stop and go traffic in the car is causing this. If so I may try the subway next week on some of the days.
I am still not ready to reduce my pain meds by very much. I am extending the time between doses from 6 to 7 hours. I have made an appt. at the doctor to see if there is a better way to get off them. But for now, this is the best I can do. I not only feel significantly more knee pain when I spread them out too much, but I also feel hot and cold, headachey and shivery and lose my appetite completely. I hope the doctor can help me find a better solution. I personally think it is just too early to get off the medication. Maybe I need another month or so. It is only 7 weeks today since my surgery and most people I have talked to who went through this surgery say 3 to 6 months of pain medication is not uncommon. I will see what the doctor says. I definately notice that I am not as mobile now that I am trying to get back to reality. I still need to go slowly and carefully and not over exert myself. I am feeling a little bit impatient at this time, but will take it day by day.
Until next time.
Marilyn
We returned home from New York and New Jersey on Monday night and had a wonderful weekend with our friends Judy and Ted in Manhatten. Thanks so much for your hospitalityJudy and Ted, and for welcoming us into your 4th of July celebrations. Seeing the spectacular fireworks right from your living room window was something I will never forget. Getting to know your friends and family was lots of fun. The evening to the Jersey Boys and out for dinner was so much fun. We had a wonderful time. Onwards to the wedding in New Jersey. The rented car worked out just fine thanks to our GPS which got us there without a hitch 2 hours before the wedding allowing us ample to to relax, iron our clothing and get dolled up for the event. It was a beautiful wedding, more traditional than I had ever seen so a definately a learning experience. It was a lovely evening and the trip back to JFK and back to Buffalo and then back to Toronto worked out without a hitch. Jess took great care of our poochies and we got ready to get back to reality - laundry, tidying up and preparing for the week.
It was so nice to see all the children, staff and parents on my first day back to work. I am working 4 hours daily, early on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and after physio on Tuesday and Thursday. The driving is the worst part. I decided to drive to and fro rather than take the subway because I thought that the traffic would be less demanding on me as opposed to the walking, stairs and crowds in the subway. So far it is going fine, but I am going to bed early and trying to make sure to rest and do my excersizes each afternoon. I feel some pain in my right knee today so I will have to evaluate whether the stop and go traffic in the car is causing this. If so I may try the subway next week on some of the days.
I am still not ready to reduce my pain meds by very much. I am extending the time between doses from 6 to 7 hours. I have made an appt. at the doctor to see if there is a better way to get off them. But for now, this is the best I can do. I not only feel significantly more knee pain when I spread them out too much, but I also feel hot and cold, headachey and shivery and lose my appetite completely. I hope the doctor can help me find a better solution. I personally think it is just too early to get off the medication. Maybe I need another month or so. It is only 7 weeks today since my surgery and most people I have talked to who went through this surgery say 3 to 6 months of pain medication is not uncommon. I will see what the doctor says. I definately notice that I am not as mobile now that I am trying to get back to reality. I still need to go slowly and carefully and not over exert myself. I am feeling a little bit impatient at this time, but will take it day by day.
Until next time.
Marilyn
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Back on Track
Hi Everyone,
Well yesterday was a very eventful day. I saw the surgeon for my 6 week check up and she was amazed at how well I am able to bend and stretch my knees. I guess all those excersizes really paid off. She measured zero degrees when I stretch my knees straight which is perfect and she measured 122 degrees on the left leg and 130 degrees on the right leg which she says is close to the maximum expected and after only 6 weeks she was quite amazed.
After discussing my typical work responsibilities she determined that I was ready to go back to work for 4 hours daily for the next 6 weeks and build it up if I feel well enough. She said that she wants me off those nasty pain meds so I should gradually wean off them until I am able to use only tylenol arthritis and hopefully eventually nothing. After talking to the pharmacist, who gave me a more specific way of getting off the pain meds, I feel more confident that this is possible.
Ice is my best friend so she said to continue excersizing and use ice often to help with pain management. No lifting anything over 20 lbs., walk carefully and slowly as during the next year I am more prone to falls, and take antibiotics for the next two years whenever I have dental work and lastly come back in 6 weeks to see how I am doing.
I am hoping that in 6 weeks I will be able to go down stairs with one leg after the other. Right now, my left leg does not like going down, so I am depending on my right leg. Going up is no problem, one leg after the other.
I think that is pretty good after only 6 weeks post surgery. She thinks I will get over the pain more quickly if I get back to my typical schedule.
So here I am writing in my blog at 7:20 in the morning. I haven't had my morphine since 7:00 last night and am feeling it. My knees are very tight but not too painful, but of course I haven't attempted walking, stairs, or excersize yet. I have been sleeping in until 9:00 so getting up early is another side affect of not being on the morphine and I am feeling a little shakey, hot and cold and slightly nauseated.
The pharmacist suggested that instead of taking the hyrdormorphone every six hours start reducing it to moring and night for one week and then only morning for the next week and then eliminate it and start elminating the tramacet from two pills every six yours to one pill every six hours and then one pill moring and night and then one pill mornings and then stop it or replace it with tylenol arthritis. I am determined to make this work.
So we now feel more confident to go off on a trip to New York and New Jersey. My cousin's son is getting married on Sunday in New Jersey and our good friends from Buffalo, Judy and Ted, invited us to their annual 4th of July bash at their Manhatten Apt. on Friday so we finalized our plans and off we go on Friday for a busy weekend. We will drive to Buffalo on Friday morning, hop a plane to JFK International Airport at 11:50 and be in Manhatten just after 1:00 p.m. Friday night should be lots of fun as their apt. overlooks Central Park so we will see all of the fireworks from their window. Thanks so much to Judy and Ted for the offer to stay with them and for bearing with us as we procrastinated on this decision. Saturday we will spend some time testing my walking abilities checking out the city and hopefully seeing a last minute broadway play and Sunday morning we will rent a car and drive to Somerset N.J. to the wedding which begins at 4:00 p.m. On Monday morning we will head off to JFK and back home. Hopefully I will manage this fine.
I am looking forward to getting back to normal and actually being able to walk without pain and put the past year behind me. I actually didn't realize how stressful living with constant pain really is. I didn't realize how handicapped I actually was. Everyone I see cannot believe how much better I am walking now and how much straighter I am standing. I actually feel like I am taller. Back to normal sounds really good.
I don't know how much longer this blog will continue. I think it is time to wind down so be prepared for a farewell blog coming up soon. I will keep you posted until I am weaned off the drugs and back on track.
Until then,
Marilyn
Well yesterday was a very eventful day. I saw the surgeon for my 6 week check up and she was amazed at how well I am able to bend and stretch my knees. I guess all those excersizes really paid off. She measured zero degrees when I stretch my knees straight which is perfect and she measured 122 degrees on the left leg and 130 degrees on the right leg which she says is close to the maximum expected and after only 6 weeks she was quite amazed.
After discussing my typical work responsibilities she determined that I was ready to go back to work for 4 hours daily for the next 6 weeks and build it up if I feel well enough. She said that she wants me off those nasty pain meds so I should gradually wean off them until I am able to use only tylenol arthritis and hopefully eventually nothing. After talking to the pharmacist, who gave me a more specific way of getting off the pain meds, I feel more confident that this is possible.
Ice is my best friend so she said to continue excersizing and use ice often to help with pain management. No lifting anything over 20 lbs., walk carefully and slowly as during the next year I am more prone to falls, and take antibiotics for the next two years whenever I have dental work and lastly come back in 6 weeks to see how I am doing.
I am hoping that in 6 weeks I will be able to go down stairs with one leg after the other. Right now, my left leg does not like going down, so I am depending on my right leg. Going up is no problem, one leg after the other.
I think that is pretty good after only 6 weeks post surgery. She thinks I will get over the pain more quickly if I get back to my typical schedule.
So here I am writing in my blog at 7:20 in the morning. I haven't had my morphine since 7:00 last night and am feeling it. My knees are very tight but not too painful, but of course I haven't attempted walking, stairs, or excersize yet. I have been sleeping in until 9:00 so getting up early is another side affect of not being on the morphine and I am feeling a little shakey, hot and cold and slightly nauseated.
The pharmacist suggested that instead of taking the hyrdormorphone every six hours start reducing it to moring and night for one week and then only morning for the next week and then eliminate it and start elminating the tramacet from two pills every six yours to one pill every six hours and then one pill moring and night and then one pill mornings and then stop it or replace it with tylenol arthritis. I am determined to make this work.
So we now feel more confident to go off on a trip to New York and New Jersey. My cousin's son is getting married on Sunday in New Jersey and our good friends from Buffalo, Judy and Ted, invited us to their annual 4th of July bash at their Manhatten Apt. on Friday so we finalized our plans and off we go on Friday for a busy weekend. We will drive to Buffalo on Friday morning, hop a plane to JFK International Airport at 11:50 and be in Manhatten just after 1:00 p.m. Friday night should be lots of fun as their apt. overlooks Central Park so we will see all of the fireworks from their window. Thanks so much to Judy and Ted for the offer to stay with them and for bearing with us as we procrastinated on this decision. Saturday we will spend some time testing my walking abilities checking out the city and hopefully seeing a last minute broadway play and Sunday morning we will rent a car and drive to Somerset N.J. to the wedding which begins at 4:00 p.m. On Monday morning we will head off to JFK and back home. Hopefully I will manage this fine.
I am looking forward to getting back to normal and actually being able to walk without pain and put the past year behind me. I actually didn't realize how stressful living with constant pain really is. I didn't realize how handicapped I actually was. Everyone I see cannot believe how much better I am walking now and how much straighter I am standing. I actually feel like I am taller. Back to normal sounds really good.
I don't know how much longer this blog will continue. I think it is time to wind down so be prepared for a farewell blog coming up soon. I will keep you posted until I am weaned off the drugs and back on track.
Until then,
Marilyn
Monday, June 30, 2008
An update of the weekend
Hello Everyone,
Well we were in Montreal for the weekend, firstly to assist my Dad in going to the notary to take care of the transfer of the house from my mom's name to his and then to go to St. Jean, Que. for my husband's high school reunion.
After going to the lawyer and notary, we met up with my Dad and son Brian to take a drive to see Brian's new apt. and new location of his new business. We then went out for dinner and got back to the house not too late.
Poor Chris had to do all the driving and we were quite tired, but we had promised Marlene and Charles that we would see them sometime during the weekend so off to La Belle Province for some much needed late night snacks of steamy hot dogs and fries. There is nothing like a Montreal steamy and of course the fries. I am sure they cannot be trans fat free, but we were good and shared two orders between the four of us. I was even better and passed on the hot dog and had a cup of tea. I don't want to ruin my recently new leaner look.
I don't even want to tell you how many years since Chris graduated from high school, but it was really amazing to see the bond between these people who lived in a small town and went to a very small school. Most of the students spent their elemenatary and high school years together. There were only 250 children in the entire school so compared to the school I went to which had 2500 students, it was a lot of fun to hear all the stories and memories of the past. Of course we ate too much but a good time was had by all.
On the way back to Toronto, Iro and Patrick invited us up for lamb kabobs and roasted vegetables. We couldn't resist, as if we were hungry, but as it was on our way we took a detour and enjoyed seeing them and catching up and were on the road home at 2:30. The ride home seemed long and tedious and we go hit my a rain storm around Kingston, but we made good time and arrived home at 8:00 p.m.
Our friend Michael had invited us for a BBQ and although we were quite tired by that time, we didn't want to disappoint him and went over there at 8:30. Thanks Michael, it was yummy and we enjoyed our visit.
I suppose you are all wondering how my knees are doing. Well, although I feel quite able to move around and manage quite fine with one cane, I am feeling a little impatient because I tried to wean off the pain meds again by reducing each medication by a half from Saturday night until this morning. I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to do my physio excersizes today, so in the middle of the night I upt the meds to the full dose again. I have joined a knee surgery forum on line and sent in a question to the other members asking them how long it takes to get off the meds and they replied between 4 and 6 months. That is really too bad. I guess I was anticipating the rehab to continue on a positive course as quickly as it did in the first few weeks. But I guess that is not a practical expectation. I am looking foreward to speaking to the surgeon on Wednesday. I have my six week appt. at 2:15 on Wednesday and am anxious to hear what she has to say about my progress and what I can expect in the future. I also have some numbness and tingling in my feet so I am concerned about this. I have an apt. with a neurologist to see what could be causing this problem. Fortunately it is not painful, but it is certainly annoying so I am anxious to get to the bottom of this.
When I am on the full dose of pain meds, I think I get a false confidence that I am doing great, but when I reduce them, my knees get very tight and sore and I am an accident waiting to happen. Going up and down the stairs and standing from a sitting position becomes really painful and the pain changes from minute to minute. I realize that if I lie around and rest too much, it gets worse so I am trying to keep moving and keep active as much as possible. The pain killers also make me feel more tired and cause constipation so I was really hopeful that I could get off them as soon as possible. I will have to see what the doctor says. I think she will probably say that if I need the meds to do you excersizes and to move around safely, I should continue to take them. Getting full mobility is of utmost imporatance at this time so I am thinking that I will need to rely on the meds a little longer, hopefully not too long.
I will update again after my 6 week check up.
Until then.
Marilyn
Well we were in Montreal for the weekend, firstly to assist my Dad in going to the notary to take care of the transfer of the house from my mom's name to his and then to go to St. Jean, Que. for my husband's high school reunion.
After going to the lawyer and notary, we met up with my Dad and son Brian to take a drive to see Brian's new apt. and new location of his new business. We then went out for dinner and got back to the house not too late.
Poor Chris had to do all the driving and we were quite tired, but we had promised Marlene and Charles that we would see them sometime during the weekend so off to La Belle Province for some much needed late night snacks of steamy hot dogs and fries. There is nothing like a Montreal steamy and of course the fries. I am sure they cannot be trans fat free, but we were good and shared two orders between the four of us. I was even better and passed on the hot dog and had a cup of tea. I don't want to ruin my recently new leaner look.
I don't even want to tell you how many years since Chris graduated from high school, but it was really amazing to see the bond between these people who lived in a small town and went to a very small school. Most of the students spent their elemenatary and high school years together. There were only 250 children in the entire school so compared to the school I went to which had 2500 students, it was a lot of fun to hear all the stories and memories of the past. Of course we ate too much but a good time was had by all.
On the way back to Toronto, Iro and Patrick invited us up for lamb kabobs and roasted vegetables. We couldn't resist, as if we were hungry, but as it was on our way we took a detour and enjoyed seeing them and catching up and were on the road home at 2:30. The ride home seemed long and tedious and we go hit my a rain storm around Kingston, but we made good time and arrived home at 8:00 p.m.
Our friend Michael had invited us for a BBQ and although we were quite tired by that time, we didn't want to disappoint him and went over there at 8:30. Thanks Michael, it was yummy and we enjoyed our visit.
I suppose you are all wondering how my knees are doing. Well, although I feel quite able to move around and manage quite fine with one cane, I am feeling a little impatient because I tried to wean off the pain meds again by reducing each medication by a half from Saturday night until this morning. I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to do my physio excersizes today, so in the middle of the night I upt the meds to the full dose again. I have joined a knee surgery forum on line and sent in a question to the other members asking them how long it takes to get off the meds and they replied between 4 and 6 months. That is really too bad. I guess I was anticipating the rehab to continue on a positive course as quickly as it did in the first few weeks. But I guess that is not a practical expectation. I am looking foreward to speaking to the surgeon on Wednesday. I have my six week appt. at 2:15 on Wednesday and am anxious to hear what she has to say about my progress and what I can expect in the future. I also have some numbness and tingling in my feet so I am concerned about this. I have an apt. with a neurologist to see what could be causing this problem. Fortunately it is not painful, but it is certainly annoying so I am anxious to get to the bottom of this.
When I am on the full dose of pain meds, I think I get a false confidence that I am doing great, but when I reduce them, my knees get very tight and sore and I am an accident waiting to happen. Going up and down the stairs and standing from a sitting position becomes really painful and the pain changes from minute to minute. I realize that if I lie around and rest too much, it gets worse so I am trying to keep moving and keep active as much as possible. The pain killers also make me feel more tired and cause constipation so I was really hopeful that I could get off them as soon as possible. I will have to see what the doctor says. I think she will probably say that if I need the meds to do you excersizes and to move around safely, I should continue to take them. Getting full mobility is of utmost imporatance at this time so I am thinking that I will need to rely on the meds a little longer, hopefully not too long.
I will update again after my 6 week check up.
Until then.
Marilyn
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