Everything is scarey!

Bones, joints and muscles
1

Am now 25 weeks op new knee cap and metal trochlea and av been posting on this forum since my op on 24 March.

I'm due to return to work, on a phased return, on 2nd October but I'm scared to death. Not about work element, but how I'll get about in the town. It's uphill to get to town (which if fine) but downhill on way back.....which is not fine! I'm not too good coming downhill, down steps etc and have to take it very steadily.

I think this being scared of everything is is having a knock on effect on my mental health too, and this is coupled with me being severely menopausal (I've got appointment to see specialist about HRT, as I also suffer with migraines and GP won't prescribe HRT!).

I've continued with my exercices to strengthen muscle weakness in knee, which has been my main problem, but some days the muscles in both legs are so tight it makes me walk awkwardly! 

Is anyone else feeling like me.......utterly crap and very disheartened. This just isn't me at all......friends say they think everything in last 6 months has just overwhelmed me (so much so that my employer is currently paying for me to see a Counsellor). 

I know I'll get through this, but hope it's sooner rather than later. I feel like I've been moaning on this forum forever. As anyone else been off work as long as me, were you scared to "re-enter" your normal world.

 

2

It is only 8weeks and i am demented i just feel as if i can feel the knee pishing through the skin and i cant bend ot much i hope u get back to work soom thand every thing is ok for u xx

3

Going downhill is as scary as walking down stairs.  Tackle the stairs first, If you don't have any, find a place that does, even if its in a department store, keep thinking "I can do this"  If you have to use a cane, do so.  When you start work, make lots of stops, do not do the whole journey in one go.  If you have to, take a taxi.  Don't rush your healing, yes, you can push yourself, but perhaps in baby steps.  The first time you tackle that hill pat yourself on the back, whoop like a crazy woman, celebrate with a  glass of wine. Make a big deal of the success, even if it takes you ages.  Stop thinking "I can't do this". Imagine a toddler learning to walk for the first time, they take little stops, then start again.  Be brave, Your boss sounds really understanding, hope your colleagues are the same.  This is the start of a new you. Think of the positive.  Dont let the pain win (even if its with you all the time), you can overcome your fear xx

4

Hi Pam

You are not alone in all of this.

I think your GP is very wise not to give you  HRT.

I would avoid HRT like the plague. It caused deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli in me. Drs failed to diagnose this for eleven months. Now I am on warfarin for life. Pls google the side effects of warfarin. If you have tendonitis warfarin will add to your problems.

If you go to Health Unlocked and ACE you will read similar stories.

Regarding the stiffness of the muscles.

You really ned to find outthe cause of this. Have you taken any antibiotics at all either years ago or recently?

When did the muscle problem start?

What meds are you on now? Ae you taking any statins or meds for your high blood pressiure. Perhaps you are taking a beta blocker or pain killer. Maybe you take a PPI.

All of the above can damage muscle.

Please google all the meds if any that you are on or have taken to see the adverse effects.

Hav e you got any numbness, tingling, burning sensations in your legs or in any other parts of the body.

If you do not wish to answer my questions you could perhaps private message me.

I think you should get checked out for any auto immune diseases too.

The main point is please do not get alarmed. You need to get to the bottom of this and then you can relax and enjoy life again.

I would advise having an MRI scsn of your knee and also of your achilles tendons to rule out certain things such as meniscal tears, infection and tendonitis.

Main thing is to approach this step by step and analytically. If you exercise without guidance from a physio you may exacerbate your problems. You can always get a physio assessment done by self referral if you cn afford it.

Jean

 

5

Hi Pam

I was made redundant a month after my tkr so havent got the return to work to worry about....

BUT my daughter has just started a phased return after 6 months sickness absence due to a severe kidney infection and subsequent kidney surgery. She only went back 3 hours a day, 3 days (Mon, Weds and Fri) last week, and she was surprised how exhausted she felt when she got home. i think we may underestimte the long-term effects of surgery and rehab, it takes a heck of a long time to get back to full strength. Shes upping her hours to 4 hours, 4 days next week, and she already thinks it may be too much, going from 9 hours a week straight up to 16 hours.....

Has your Gp signed you as fit to work with adjustments made? My daughters gp has done this, and has also said that she can go to her at any time and she should NOT feel embarrased if it becomes too much for her. Our GP's are invaluable at times like this, I'm lucky to have an amazing gp who always knows how to help me.

Different situations and different surgeries, I know, but hopefully it'll help you understand that its ok to feel intimidated by the return....

AND I totally get what you say about feeling crap and disheartened, firstly the TKR, then being unable to rehab properly due to the other knee giving up, the OA in the other knee becoming unbearably painful, and now a 2nd TKR on 29th October, been put on medication for high blood pressure due to the stress of it all..... Im only 49 but feel 89 some days, limping and struggling round like an old woman....dont like to talk to my family about it, as theyve been listening to me moan for the past 6 months.....

Heres to you rejoining your colleagues, but please take care and dont push yourself too hard - its a long road, my friend, and we're still on it....xx

 

6

Have you sought an orthopaedic and or physio opinion about this?

Jean

7

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your reply to Pam!

I think we ALL need to print it out and post it on our fridge to read !

Thank you for the uplifting thoughts, GREAT suggestions, and the CARING that you have shared with Pam and with EVERYONE HERE!

Could not have said it better!

8

Still need to check the signs and symptoms out first before embarking on any exercise.

Jean

9

Yeah i go to pysio twice a week xx

10

Thanks Cheryl.

Patting our own backs is something we should all do, but for some reason, maybe pride, we do not.  If we don't do it, no-one else will.  Only we know what it is like, to try and explain it to others seems to make us sound complaining, moaning, depressing.  Someone once asked me why I was so happy considering the pain I am  in.  My reply was "Would you be my friend if I wasn't".  Her silence said it all, and her reply was "No".  Stay well, happy and upbeat x

11

Hi Pam, Ihad my op on 10 March and returned to work 6 weeks ago on phased return. Be prepared to feel knackered for a few days, in my case my 4 week phased return went very quickly and have now been back full time for two weeks. It is tiring and you will be sore by the evening but after a few weeks you will get used to the adjustments. I schedule in a few walks around the building every day to get a break from my desk as sitting for long periods is not good. I also use a mini skateboard under my desk to keep my knee mobile. Needs must I am afraid, mortgage to pay or else I would have happily stayed at home.

12

hi pam you poor love we do understand being menopausal is not easy with this and its why im still on hrt  i went on hrt at 52 i went on hrt because of migraines ,i couldnt sleep with the menopause i just could not get even a solid hour sleep and got migraines because of lack of sleep doctor put me on mild form of hrt (femston conti)  it did help as ive not had migraine since so again doctors differ  i should try to go off hrt but im still recovering after revision so ive put it off but understand how you feel  as for feeling down we all have been there i dont work anymore but i do understand the walking bit its just weakness in muscles i was like you and my physio sent me to join a gym to strenghten up and they put me on a rehab program the gym trainer really gave me great excersises to do and my leg strenght did improve and it helped me to walk quicker and i could stay on my legs longer and didnt have to keep looking for seats everywhere  i think you should go to your local gym and ask them about a rehab program

13

Hi Pam totally get what you're saying. .the hospital that i go to for my PT is on a bloody hill (who builds a hospital on a hill?)....slopes everywhere and no handrails...i guess they think everyone gets dropped at the door. In any event what has helped me a bit is a leg/knee brace which you can adjust for a bend or no bend...when i go down the incline back to yhe car park i put it at no bend which seems to help my weak quad in dealing with gravity going downhill. ...i also take small steps and am rputinely passed by everything and everyone. Do take pleasure in the small victories as Sue said...i reached 100 degrees yhe other day and esd able to do a revolution on the bike...i cried like an idiot but no one laughed. You GO girl xx

14

yes you can google these braces . I have been looking at them as well.

Jean

15

They called mine a rehabilitation brace which i think is a generic term and i paid about $250 Canadian dollars...not sure where you are...but it was the best money I've spent as it gives the confidence to do more things and go more places.

16

Very true!

Besides, I think when you redirect yourself, get busy, do something positive, laugh, act silly, you don't feel the pain as much.

I am reminded that so many others have much more to deal with than I do.

A positive attitude truly helps!

17

I do so agree with you.  But I used to think the same way about others being worse of than myself and got a right royal lecture from my GP.  She said yes, there are others in worse situations, but they deal with them their own way.  We can feel empathetic towards others; that is our humility, but your personal issues are as every bit as painful, hard to cope with.   Just because others cannot see your pain doesn't mean it is any less than someone who really is worse off than us.  After that lecture, I did feel better, does not give me the right to ignore others or put myself before them, but it does help with ones own coping mechanism.

There are some people who are visibly disabled (or their carers) who are so rude.  I have a blue badge (with photo) and the amount of times I am confronted about parking in disabled spaces; even when I have shown them the photo side. They think only they have the right to be disabled. Some times when they see my see stick, they mutter and "bugger" off, I have even been accused of having a fake one. That is what does tend to get to me. So you see, there are those that wear their disability like a mantle, that it seems to be their right to be disabled.  I know what I have just said sounds downright mean, but when you are trying to be positive, the most least likely people can knock you down.  I see them as my equals.  If I see some-one struggling, I will offer help and would like to think my daughters would do the same.  It is just plain old good manners. The real people who are worse off than us are the very poor, starving and homeless, but that is too political for this site.

Don't get me started on manners and disability ;-)

 

18

It is sad that there are those who behave like this. I observe people a lot and strike up conversations as I wait in line, sit waiting at PT, etc. I have met MANY interesting people! A lady in the booth behind me heard me talking about my surgery and came up to wish me well on my NEXT one coming up in a month. We held the door that same day for another lady and ended up talking to her nearly an hour in the parking lot! (Turns out SHE has been looking for family roots as WE have been AND she teaches at a community college as does my husband. )

I think there are all kinds of people, and if we can make the effort and THEY make the effort, life can be better for having connected with them!

I hope you will find some great people to cross YOUR path very soon!

19

It certainy is a small world, and you never know who you will meet on your own doordstep.  The "horrids" are few and far between thankfully.  I do see the best in all until they show their true colours.  Life is too short to worry about them, at the end of the day their misery will age them mentally.  Me, I'll just keep sailing on through and laugh.

20

Thanks Donna.

The pain is really bad today.