Thanks for the drop-by's everyone. It's been a rough week.
UPDATE:
I went back to work on Tuesday, Aug 9, half shifts for the first two weeks. Well on Wednesday I slept through my alarm and woke up when I was supposed to be clocking in. So I hustled. And on Thursday, not long after clocking out for the day, my right (non-surgery) knee pretty much collapsed. Why it waited more than 24 hours is beyond me, but I'm pretty sure I did something with my hurrying
Sharp pain, unable to bear any weight at all. I got the walker back out and felt super sorry for myself, and fought hard not to feel sorry for myself...boy. a LOT of tears... Friday morning I got up and crept up the stairs (yes, my living space is downstairs, and my office is upstairs) On the final step up, my knee popped. I could feel it, and I could hear it. It just about threw me to the ground, it hurt so bad.
It feels like the same pain when I initially hurt my left knee, when I tore the meniscus. Incredible agony, not bearing weight. Well, the walker is so stinking awkward and feels so unstable. So we got some crutches from the dr office yesterday. Much better than the walker. Heh, the update seems to currently be a tale of forward one step, backward two steps. After several bouts with weeping and wishing I was dead, I stopped crying and thought about what is needed.
1-MOST IMPORTANT: keep up with the post-surgery exercises. Must get full extension and deep flexion.
for the newly injured knee:
2- get a more stable walking aid (crutches, not walker) ---- CHECK
3- refill the more potent anti-inflammatory meloxicam (I was down to two ibuprofen and one tylenol every four hours, but this requires stronger medication, so no more ibu.) ---- CHECK
4- Continue with the turmeric/golden tea morning and night for additional anti-inflammation support ---- CHECK
5- make a dr appt ---- MONDAY
6- get diagnosed
7 - get treatment
So yeah, I still cry a little bit when I have to get up and move around. It hurts! but no more self-pity. I'm not going to let anything stop or reverse the progress on the operative knee, and eventually we'll find out what exactly my "good knee" is doing and how to improve. I'm in my early 60's and the remainder of my life is NOT going to be like this.
Meanwhile, it's the weekend. I am not going to take the stairs for any reason, so it's back to Wylie fixing all my meals and my fake coffee, and my turmeric tea. He's also harvesting our honey today and I won't be able to help
or even go out and hang around with him while he works. Hopefully if I rest it thoroughly today and tomorrow, Monday morning I'll be capable of doing my half shift of work. Found out by experience that pedaling on my little device does not help, so that's out for now. poop. Maybe with time and the inflammation in my "good" knee goes down I'll pick it back up.
The surgery leg is doing pretty good. There's pain with the ROM exercises, but I found some really useful muscle relaxation maneuvers for the quad that help alleviate a lot of pain and enables me to get much better flexion with less agony. Same with the extension. There's some resistance stuff you can do to the thigh that enables that hamstring to relax, and I'm able to get it much flatter. As for walking, there's hardly any pain there. Just a bit of pressure and a clicking sensation which is unsettling.
Eating has been okay. There were some cheezit crackers in the house that I ate the other day and I put cheese in a bean burrito that I made for lunch one day. Having a piece of chocolate here and there. Comfort food/emotional eating. Today it's been a banana, some watermelon, and a bowl of muesli/grape nuts w. oat milk. I'll have rice and sweet potato stew and ??? for third meal. A samwich maybe? I have oil free hummus and tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. for a yummy vegetable sammy.
I'm thankful for a long history of eating this way. I'm sure it helps a lot to eat non-inflammation foods
when you're trying to reduce inflammation, right?
Oh! it was refreshing to work this past week. I never thought I'd be eager to be at the job, but it's a great deal better than all day lady cop shows and YouTube shorts. As long as I get good sleep, I'll be able to start doing full shifts at the two week mark. Haven't decided about the PT job. I've called in for that a LOT, but also did a couple of shifts last week. It's only three shifts of 3.5 hours per week, but...well, it's just more, you know? and a thoroughly boring, soul stifling job. I gotta find a new side-hustle. YouTuber!
Okay that's all I got. Trying to keep my spirits up and determined to get better.
) and fruit. When I got back downstairs on Sunday, I stayed there until I had to get up for work and right after work, the dr appt. Okay. I found out from the doc that it's okay to use my operation knee to go upstairs. He says it will strengthen the quad even more than my PT exercises. So I've been doing that. It's better than scooting up the stairs on my butt. 
But if needed, I can do it. 
