Sigh. Today is the 9th anniversary of the fall on my knee. There is not much change at all. I keep a record everyday of how I’m doing in a variety of areas. Every day I check off “knee pain” but I also have levels 1-10. I don’t think it ever goes below 5.
Some nights I wake up with throbbing and move to the sofa. I think maybe tossing and turning in bed makes my knee worse – I can’t do that on the sofa.
SalonPas is still my friend. And braces and Tylenol.
This year, I hope to get that gel injection. I’m a bit hesitant because it may make things even worse for a while and it takes 3 weeks to complete the series. My schedule is already pretty tight and I don’t know how to work in 3 more appointments.
Our trip to Alaska (mentioned below) worked out well. I travelled with the aforementioned SalonPas etc. and carried all in my backpack on various excursions.
Due to COVID we had to be tested before we went and show our vaccination cards several times before boarding.
I have the CovidWise app on my phone. when we got home, I found that we had been exposed before the cruise while we were in Seattle. I didn’t find this out until after the cruise because I had my phone turned off at sea. It’s just as well that I didn’t know before/during. I’m not sure what I would have done.
This year we have been to New York a few times to see our grandson. We’ve started walking from the hotel to their home. It hurts but it’s useful. It’s also faster to walk than take an Uber, thanks to one-way streets in NYC.
Our Tattoo that was cancelled last year has been rescheduled for August. I was surprised that we got a credit for this year. I’d figured that it was a donation to the Tattoo fund. So, we will get to walk around Scotland in August.
In September we have another cruise coming up – I will have to schedule that gel injection (hyaluronan (ORTHOVISC) 30 MG/2ML injection 30 mg), probably in July to make it work for August and September.
This is a continuation of an ongoing knee issue. It started in 2013 with Icy Days and Mondays and Bee’s Knees I’m hoping to end my knee pain in the very near future.
Here is is July and we have a second trip to see our grandson this coming weekend and the rescheduled/rescheduled cruise in August. That cruise started out as going to Norway a couple years ago. That was canceled so we decided on Alaska with the train to Denali in June. That was cancelled and Canada isn’t allowing people in, so we’re sailing out of Seattle, past Canada and on to Alaska. We’ve seen some of the ports already but I just wanted to go somewhere, anywhere.
I’ve been having pain, bigger again and I hate to have that in NYC – or on a cruise. It’s one thing to be kept awake with pain here at home and another entirely when you want to do things.
I had trusted that the doctor cleared that gel injection (hyaluronan (ORTHOVISC) 30 MG/2ML injection 30 mg) with my insurance company but it was a new doctor (the 5th one for my knee issues) today. The last doctor had put the paperwork in but it never went anywhere.
Today was too soon for another cortisone shot. I could have paid $380 for the gel and hoped that insurance would pay – but that was the first of 3 weekly injections and the doctor didn’t think it would start to help by this weekend, anyway.
He mentioned physical therapy again and/or possible surgery. He did send me for another x-ray, which was promising. By some fluke, his office takes my insurance but the attached radiology department doesn’t – so we went to the next-door hospital for that.
My results:
There is moderate to marked degenerative arthritis in the left
knee with joint space narrowing and osteophyte formation which is most
prominent in the medial compartment. A minimal joint effusion is
present. There is no evidence of a fracture.
After I left the doctor, a nurse called and said that I might be allergic to the Voltaren that a previous doctor had prescribed but I haven’t tried yet. I’m supposed to try that and let them know.
I guess I’ll be taking my SalonPas, knee brace and lots of Tylenol to NYC.
“Quick kneecap recap” below from April 7, 2021:
First of all, came this article. I’d already decided to get only one – max 2 – injections a year, with one of them being a week before a cruise. Our cruise scheduled for June most likely will not happen – neither will our trip to see the Edinburgh Tattoo again in August.
I had been keeping up with water aerobics and the hot tub until both of those were canceled due to COVID-19. So, my knee pain gradually started getting worse again. Luckily, I’m not walking around so much and we don’t have stairs at home. About 8 months or so ago, the pool opened up for water walking and lap swimming – with lots of rules, of course, but I manage to go about 3 times a week. Often DH goes with me. Unfortunately, the hot tub isn’t open
I’m still having lots of meetings on Zoom as well as piano teaching. For those meetings, I’ve been using an iPad on a music stand. To be able to see well while sitting on the sofa, the stand and iPad need to be almost vertical.
My last steroid injection was in September 2019. Thanks to COVID, I haven’t been hardly anywhere so no real (k)need.
However!, New York City has lifted it’s quarantine restrictions, so we’re going to go meet our new grandson…and I need an injection before we go.
Monday, April 5, I got that injection – and a lot of hope, finally. For my fourth injection, I had a fourth different doctor. This one had other options for me that no one else had every suggested. A long-lasting gel injection, a saline/dextrose solution (I said it sounded like salty sugar water!)
On Monday, he actually used Ultrasound to guide the needle in. He went about 2 inches above the knee from the outside to get the the inner part. The others didn’t do that – they just went directly into the knee, just guessing where to send the steroids.
It was so cool watching him do this. I told him my last injections had lasted maybe a couple weeks and he said they should be much longer than that, which is why he wants to try the gel injection (hyaluronan (ORTHOVISC) 30 MG/2ML injection 30 mg) in the summer. Apparently, it takes several months to get insurance approval – and he already started the paperwork!
I had the usual extra pain on Monday night (took 3 Tylenol), and normal pain on Tuesday, Wednesday, I was feeling pretty good but had to skip the pool because you can’t go in for 48 hours after a knee injection.
I am just so happy to see other alternatives to steroids – or surgery.
This is a continuation of an ongoing knee issue. It started in 2013 with Icy Days and Mondays and Bee’s Knees I’m hoping to end my knee pain in the very near future.
Here is is July and we have a second trip to see our grandson this coming weekend and the rescheduled/rescheduled cruise in August. That cruise started out as going to Norway a couple years ago. That was canceled so we decided on Alaska with the train to Denali in June. That was cancelled and Canada isn’t allowing people in, so we’re sailing out of Seattle, past Canada and on to Alaska. We’ve seen some of the ports already but I just wanted to go somewhere, anywhere.
I’ve been having pain, bigger again and I hate to have that in NYC – or on a cruise. It’s one thing to be kept awake with pain here at home and another entirely when you want to do things.
I had trusted that the doctor cleared that gel injection (hyaluronan (ORTHOVISC) 30 MG/2ML injection 30 mg) with my insurance company but it was a new doctor (the 5th one for my knee issues) today. The last doctor had put the paperwork in but it never went anywhere.
Today was too soon for another cortisone shot. I could have paid $380 for the gel and hoped that insurance would pay – but that was the first of 3 weekly injections and the doctor didn’t think it would start to help by this weekend, anyway.
He mentioned physical therapy again and/or possible surgery. He did send me for another x-ray, which was promising. By some fluke, his office takes my insurance but the attached radiology department doesn’t – so we went to the next-door hospital for that.
My results:
There is moderate to marked degenerative arthritis in the left
knee with joint space narrowing and osteophyte formation which is most
prominent in the medial compartment. A minimal joint effusion is
present. There is no evidence of a fracture.
After I left the doctor, a nurse called and said that I might be allergic to the Voltaren that a previous doctor had prescribed but I haven’t tried yet. I’m supposed to try that and let them know.
I guess I’ll be taking my SalonPas, knee brace and lots of Tylenol to NYC.
“Quick kneecap recap” below from April 7, 2021:
First of all, came this article. I’d already decided to get only one – max 2 – injections a year, with one of them being a week before a cruise. Our cruise scheduled for June most likely will not happen – neither will our trip to see the Edinburgh Tattoo again in August.
I had been keeping up with water aerobics and the hot tub until both of those were canceled due to COVID-19. So, my knee pain gradually started getting worse again. Luckily, I’m not walking around so much and we don’t have stairs at home. About 8 months or so ago, the pool opened up for water walking and lap swimming – with lots of rules, of course, but I manage to go about 3 times a week. Often DH goes with me. Unfortunately, the hot tub isn’t open
I’m still having lots of meetings on Zoom as well as piano teaching. For those meetings, I’ve been using an iPad on a music stand. To be able to see well while sitting on the sofa, the stand and iPad need to be almost vertical.
My last steroid injection was in September 2019. Thanks to COVID, I haven’t been hardly anywhere so no real (k)need.
However!, New York City has lifted it’s quarantine restrictions, so we’re going to go meet our new grandson…and I need an injection before we go.
Monday, April 5, I got that injection – and a lot of hope, finally. For my fourth injection, I had a fourth different doctor. This one had other options for me that no one else had every suggested. A long-lasting gel injection, a saline/dextrose solution (I said it sounded like salty sugar water!)
On Monday, he actually used Ultrasound to guide the needle in. He went about 2 inches above the knee from the outside to get the the inner part. The others didn’t do that – they just went directly into the knee, just guessing where to send the steroids.
It was so cool watching him do this. I told him my last injections had lasted maybe a couple weeks and he said they should be much longer than that, which is why he wants to try the gel injection (hyaluronan (ORTHOVISC) 30 MG/2ML injection 30 mg) in the summer. Apparently, it takes several months to get insurance approval – and he already started the paperwork!
I had the usual extra pain on Monday night (took 3 Tylenol), and normal pain on Tuesday, Wednesday, I was feeling pretty good but had to skip the pool because you can’t go in for 48 hours after a knee injection.
I am just so happy to see other alternatives to steroids – or surgery.
This is a continuation of an ongoing knee issue. It started in 2013 with Icy Days and Mondays and Bee’s Knees I’m hoping to end my knee pain in the very near future.
What’s happened since the “quick kneecap recap” below:
First of all, came this article. I’d already decided to get only one – max 2 – injections a year, with one of them being a week before a cruise. Our cruise scheduled for June most likely will not happen – neither will our trip to see the Edinburgh Tattoo again in August.
I had been keeping up with water aerobics and the hot tub until both of those were canceled due to COVID-19. So, my knee pain gradually started getting worse again. Luckily, I’m not walking around so much and we don’t have stairs at home. About 8 months or so ago, the pool opened up for water walking and lap swimming – with lots of rules, of course, but I manage to go about 3 times a week. Often DH goes with me. Unfortunately, the hot tub isn’t open
I’m still having lots of meetings on Zoom as well as piano teaching. For those meetings, I’ve been using an iPad on a music stand. To be able to see well while sitting on the sofa, the stand and iPad need to be almost vertical.
My last steroid injection was in September 2019. Thanks to COVID, I haven’t been hardly anywhere so no real (k)need.
However!, New York City has lifted it’s quarantine restrictions, so we’re going to go meet our new grandson…and I need an injection before we go.
Monday, April 5, I got that injection – and a lot of hope, finally. For my fourth injection, I had a fourth different doctor. This one had other options for me that no one else had every suggested. A long-lasting gel injection, a saline/dextrose solution (I said it sounded like salty sugar water!)
On Monday, he actually used Ultrasound to guide the needle in. He went about 2 inches above the knee from the outside to get the the inner part. The others didn’t do that – they just went directly into the knee, just guessing where to send the steroids.
It was so cool watching him do this. I told him my last injections had lasted maybe a couple weeks and he said they should be much longer than that, which is why he wants to try the gel injection (hyaluronan (ORTHOVISC) 30 MG/2ML injection 30 mg) in the summer. Apparently, it takes several months to get insurance approval – and he already started the paperwork!
I had the usual extra pain on Monday night (took 3 Tylenol), and normal pain on Tuesday, Wednesday, I was feeling pretty good but had to skip the pool because you can’t go in for 48 hours after a knee injection.
I am just so happy to see other alternatives to steroids – or surgery.
I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice. Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cellphone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself.
I fell in the bathroom in the middle of the night and hit my left knee on the tub. I used a brace for a few days and it seemed better.
Around January 27-28, 2016, I was in Walmart and had to get a produce bag that was way over my head. I had to stand on tiptoe…and my knee felt like something ripped. Thankfully, I had a cart available to use as a temporary crutch.
Got home, used the brace, took Tylenol but the pain got worse.
Thursday, I drove home from choir at church. My car is a manual so the act of using the clutch, extending my foot that way, made everything worse again.
Friday, we went to the Limp-In Clinic in Greenbriar. That doctor was going to prescribe Cortef or NSAIDs but I couldn’t take either due to my history of Cushing’s (Cortef) and kidney cancer (NSAIDs). He prescribed Vicodin and sent me for an x-ray.
January 31, 2016, I got very itchy, presumably from Vicodin so I stopped that and started taking Benadryl for the itchiness.
February 2, 2016, I went back to the clinic for the results of x-rays and I mentioned the itchiness. Since I have very limited meds available to me, he recommended an Orthopedist. I called him when I got home and he didn’t take my insurance. I tried another doctor who supposedly took my insurance but they didn’t.
February 7, 2016, I really needed the sleep so I took half a Vicodin. No pain and no itching. HOORAY!
February 8, 2016, I saw my regular doctor. She thinks it’s a possible “lateral collateral ligament vs meniscus tear”.
I was surprised that she thought my knee was swollen but one of my therapists showed me later that it was.
She referred me to Physical Therapy (PT) and prescribed Ultram. As of this writing, I haven’t used that yet.
February 11, 2016, 8:30 am My first appointment with PT. Since my blood pressure was high, we mostly did assessments. I had a main therapist and a student. They had to use 3 types of BP machine to do this.
I bent my knee and they took measurements with a caliper. I lay on my front and they manipulated my knee to see what happened. They also concluded that it was a lateral collateral ligament.
A suggestion – to rest my foot on the walker without the brace and see if gravity helps my knee straighten out.
After this, there was more pain than before but I know this is the right thing to do.
February 13, 2016. My leg feels a bit better. I had the brace off last night and almost straightened my knee out.
Somewhere in this period, I learned how to manually move my kneecap (patella) around. I saw my day 1 therapist again and he said my knee was angry. Swollen, angry, whatever. I just want a normal non-hurting knee!
One of the therapists had me doing a stretching exercise and my hip was out of kilter (everything is attached!) since I’ve been walking with my knee bent. So she manipulated that back into alignment.
February 22, 2016, A new-to-me therapist had me do an exercise with a basketball under my knee, pointing my toe to the left. I didn’t remember doing that before but she said I had. Hmmm…
That hurt too much so we moved to a foam roll under my knee. It was still uncomfortable but I did it, a bit too much, apparently.
Turns out this exercise hurt my “VMO”, which is short for Vastus Medialis Oblique.
“This is the most important quad muscle and arguably the most responsible muscle for knee stability. The VMO’s main function is to control knee extension…”
February 25, 2016, My VMO pain still hurt. I told my regular therapist about it and she worked on it some. She concurred that my knee was swollen.
February 26, 2016, I went all day with no brace at all!! A bit of pain but manageable.
February 28, 2016, and I haven’t worn the brace since the 27th. I still need assistance to get up from sitting but I can see huge improvement.
I still have 6 more PT sessions, finishing on March 16, but I’m really impressed with what they’ve done for me. I still have twinges of pain and I don’t plan on stepping on tiptoe anytime soon but I can tell I’m on the right track.
March 8, 2016 at 9:48 am
Physical Therapy is sapping what little energy I had
I can tell it’s working but I am even more exhausted all the time. I’m taking extra Cortef but it’s not enough…
My left knee is still bothering me, even after doing Physical Therapy since January. <sigh>
It seems to get better, then something happens and it’s back to pain again. When we were on a trip to New York a month ago, we walked a lot and climbed so many stairs, I had to buy a new brace.
Today is supposed to be my final PT but I don’t think I’m ready.
When this clinical trial came to my email, I just went through the whole survey for this but there was no doctor nearby:
Osteoarthritis Research Studies. Knee and hip arthritis studies enrolling now. No-cost medication. http://curec.lk/1VL5hu9
Fast forward to September 5, 2018
My knee has been bothering me off and on for a while. I’ve been taking water aerobics and was careful not to do anything that would hurt my knee. The hot tub afterward was a great place to aim hot water jets at my knee – that would numb any pain for a while.
I realized that the neoprene braces were making me itch so I actually found one with no neoprene – Hooray! “All BioSkin material is hypoallergenic. Latex-free and Neoprene free.” Hooray again!
This last week or so, the pain has been getting worse again so I decided to try a new doctor. This one seems like maybe – just maybe – he’ll fix things.
He said: “Your previous knee injuries made sense for pain but this spontaneous onset of medial knee pain is a bit strange. I can only do a limited examination due to the pain and difficulty bending, but it seems to be over the distal insertion of the VMO (quadriceps muscle) with possible inclusion of some joint line tenderness on that same side.
I’d like for you to use ice packs in your knee brace at least three times a day with the goal of calming down the inflammation.
My goal with getting you to sports medicine next week is to re-evaluate it, hopefully with better ability to examine and flex. It may need ultrasound evaluation and/or steroid injection. Since you cannot take NSAIDS, I suggest trying the Ultram that your previous doctor gave you so you can sleep.”
So, next Wednesday, I have an appointment with sports medicine – I might be moving forward. Or not.
September 12, 2018, I got my first cortisone shot (Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection). I did notice some sleep issues that first night, probably since I had the cortisone so late in the day
It was wonderful and got me through a cruise to Maine and Canada. In Bar Harbor, I overheard some women talking about their knees. One said that the cortisone didn’t work for her at all and she was going to have surgery <uhoh> and another said that they’d have to cut the nerves around her knee. I’ve asked a couple doctors and Dr. Google. No one seems familiar with that idea at all.
It also got me through our son’s wedding in October, including climbing stairs!
It also produced one of my only smiling photos, ever!
December 5, 2018, I saw my endo, Dr. Roberto Salvatori, and “confessed” that I’d had this injection. We’d talked about this before and how it might react with my daily Cortef and Omnitrope shots. He hadn’t thought I should get this. But, since it was a done deal, he said to monitor how I was feeling with the additional cortisone.
By then, the knee pain had returned, anyway, so no issues.
March 27, 2019, I found a new no-neoprene, no-latex brace on amazon. “Hinged Knee Brace: Shock Doctor Maximum Support Compression Knee Brace – For ACL/PCL Injuries, Patella Support, Sprains, Hypertension and More for Men and Women” This is very good – much stronger than the one I mentioned below on September 8, 2018. The only real issue I have with it is that it bent, so I have to bend my knee to put it on. The other one is completely straight and just wraps around.
The older, wrap-around does have a tendency to slip sometimes so I make it tighter than I probably should.
I do love that they’re making products for people with latex and neoprene allergies, though!
April 8, 2019, I was supposed to get my second cortisone shot in time for Easter but there were car issues at the last minute.
On the way to water aerobics, I was having trouble shifting my car. I’d have to actually turn the ignition off to do so.Not fun!
When I got home, Tom was sure he could do it…but he couldn’t either.He drove it into Advanced Automotive.
One of the Advanced Automotive mechanics test-drove the car and then found the bolts holding the brake master cylinder to the firewall had loosened.
Could have been even more serious!
They fixed that for free since they were the last people to work on the car and maybe(???) didn’t tighten the bolts completely the first time.
Car runs like new now 🙂
So, I missed my first appointment but got a “new” car.
April 10, 2019, I broke down and bought this leg pillow. I’d seen similar ones on TV but I got this on amazon (of course!). Aocome Knee Pillow for Side Sleepers Knee Pillow Ergonomically Designed for Back Pain, Sciatic Nerve Pain Relief, Leg Pain, Pregnancy, Hip and Joint Pain – Memory Foam Leg Pillow.
This is one of the better things I’ve gotten in my journey. It’s very nice, soft – and blue!
I’m of 2 opinions about the little strap – it makes it easy to keep it “attached” to my knee but I have to bend my knee to put it on in the first place.
I think over time, the elastic may stretch out, making it harder to keep on.
The whole is covered with a washable velour-like fabric. The price was reasonable enough that I could buy another one if/whey that strap expands too much.
I have a tendency to roll over in my sleep and found that I can use it as a little pillow to raise just my left leg instead of between both knees when sleeping on my side.
I also found that it’s sometimes better to sleep on the sofa. When I roll over, the pain from my knee often wakes me up again. Lying on the sofa makes it harder to roll over.
During this time, my pain was so bad that I was considering surgery – later.
April 22, 2019, I got my second cortisone shot (Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection). This time it was a new doctor (same practice), so I had to explain everything (knee history, Cushing’s history, kidney cancer history) to her.
I was unsure how often I could get his shot because I knew I’d want/need one before our cruise next September. These look like places I will want to walk!
She said that the cortisone stayed mostly in the knee area so I could get one every 3-4 months! I could have saved myself a lot of issues in early 2019 had I known that So, I’ll go in the early part of September for #3 and maybe go on a 4-month schedule.
For reasons known only to her, she did the injection in my inner knee-cap. Even with the lidocaine, it was a bit more painful there than I remember the other one – or maybe I just blacked that out.
She thought that the water aerobics I do 3 times a week (plus hot tub afterward) was a good thing.
Death Dreams. I don’t think I’ve posted about these before but I used to have them quite often. I hadn’t had any for a long time but I had 2 within 12 hours of getting the injection. The first was about 6:00 PM. I’d fallen asleep for a nap and DH was talking to me (in real life). I kept trying to ask him which Easter service (that had been the day before) was coming up next because I needed some kind of medication to get through the service. I know my words to him were confused and garbled but I was sure I was going to die if he didn’t help me.
The next was similar about 3:00am on 4/23/19. I dropped my Kindle on the floor, which sort of woke me up but I wasn’t sure what the noise was. I just knew I needed to take “something” to stay alive and wasn’t sure what that was. I looked through my phone for ideas and checked the meds by my bedside. Nothing. Finally, I woke up more completely and realized it had been another dream. I also picked up my Kindle and went back to sleep for another hour.
This morning (4/23) there’s still a bit of discomfort but I can deal with that. I also had a bit of trying to run to the bathroom a little quicker than usual. I also don’t remember that from before but I assume it will go away soon.
I hope this shot lasts nearly 3 months, too! That would take me to mid-July. 🙂
I also hope that my sleep gets better than my March-April records with only one 8-hour sleep (counting naps!).:
Starting September 2, 2019, if I get 4 shots a year they would be: September, December, March, June, September.
Starting September 2, 2019, if I get 3 shots a year they would be: September, January, May, September
After my April 22, 2019 injection, things were mostly better for a while.
May 12, I went to a Celebration of Life service where the chairs were so incredibly uncomfortable. They looked really nice but… I had trouble sitting. I’d have to bend part way, put my arms on the armrest and fall the rest of the way. While seated, it was a weird angle, so I didn’t like to sit but standing back up was very difficult. My knees were stiff and painful through the next week.
Things were okish for a while.
June 7, we went to NYC and did a lot of walking/stairs which always makes things a little worse. Around this time, my right leg started having an aching (bone?) pain. I’m hoping that it’s “just” sciatica.
June 18, it was time for another stupid accident. I got home from work, put my car in gear and the emergency brake on. I stepped out of my car with my left foot planted on the driveway. Somehow, the car rolled backward, twisting my knee. Three Tylenol and a brace. Of course, it was one of the braces I’m allergic to so I then had to take a Benadryl. I’ll find one of my non-allergenic braces a little later.
June 22 – back to “normal” knee pain. Rest, keeping my knee up, a non-allergenic brace and Tylenol all helped.
In mid-August, 2019 my knee started getting really uncomfortable again. The brace I’d bought for latex and neoprene allergies on March 27 was too hard to put on because I had to bend my knee to pull it up. so I bought a wraparound one from the same company.
September 2. I was sitting on the sofa and went to straighten out my leg to put on a footstool. Major owee. On went the brace and three Tylenol. I may be saving my one kidney by not taking other pain meds but I’m not sure what is going to happen to my liver 😊
September 4. Hooray! The next injection with yet another doctor. This one, I know, though. She’s my mother’s doctor and the reason I go to this practice in the first place. When my mom was in the nursing home last year, this is the doctor they sent. She saved my mother’s life. I had been complaining about my mom bleeding internally and the nursing home basically said “someone will check”. I got Dr. Vo in there and my mom immediately left for the hospital where they took care of the bleeding. Who knows, if I’d let her stay in the rehab/nursing.
I have no idea how she’ll do with knee injections, though
Actually, she did wonderfully well. We started with the traditional PA, Jack, who asked the traditional questions, did the weighing, blood pressure, temperature. He asked if I could have a medical student come in and I said oh yes. I’d definitely used to helping out with med students thanks to my many weeks at NIH.
David, the student, came in and asked similar traditional questions. Then, Dr. Vo did the same.
Then, all 3 of them were there along with DH and my knee. A little cramped but it worked. She did a really good workup, Apparently, my patella isn’t moving as well as it should. As always, they say my left knee is swollen but I can’t see that. According to my pain when she pressed various places, she thinks I have a small tear (Patellar tendon rupture) She was the first person to ever mention this possibility. Years ago, another doctor thought it was a possible “lateral collateral ligament vs meniscus tear”.
January 28, 2013, I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice.
I had fallen on black ice and had been wearing flannel-lined jeans. Still got banged up a bit!
Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cellphone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself. Luckily, I hadn’t let go of the dog’s leash.
I ended up sitting in a puddle of icy water for a long time, figuring out how to get up. I finally sort of crawled up the trash can that was sitting in the driveway.
The dog had an abbreviated walk, I changed my wet, cold clothes and headed to the hospital. I was showing DH my knee and one of the staff bandaged it up for me. I told him I hadn’t fallen at the hospital and wouldn’t sue but I guess he wanted to be sure.
(February 18, 2013, my knee still had a huge lump under the skin and hurts when I touch it, although I’m no longer limping, The bruise/pain from cellphone finally went away)
~~
Back to 2019: Risk factors for Patellar tendon rupture include patellar tendinitis, kidney failure (DUH!), diabetes, and steroid or fluoroquinolone use (DUH, again – taking daily steroids, Growth Hormone and 2 previous Kanalog 40 shots). There are two main types of ruptures partial and complete. In most cases, the patellar tendon tears at the point where it attaches to the knee cap.
After all that, she showed the PA and med student how to find a good “line” for the needle to go into. The injection includes lidocaine so it doesn’t hurt so much going in and kills pain fairly quickly in the knee.
She made a little circle with a marker (the others did this, too), the PA really went to town with the spay antiseptic, including my sandaled feel. She did quite well with the injection. Tom said she hit the circle exactly. There was a bit of discomfort when she hit/nudged something in there but it was fast.
As the first injection, this was on the lateral, outside, part of my kneecap. The second was on the inner part. I mentioned this to everyone, commenting that the second (medial) didn’t seem to work as well as the first. I’d told the second doctor my pain was more on the inner side, so maybe she was going by that. It’s my theory that the needle went right by the pain but what do I know?
More spray and a bandage. They told me to move my knee around a lot before I could leave. This was a first. I used my time to go to the ladies room. LOL
She gave me some exercises to do at home, some similar to what I do in Water Aerobics (Hooray!) which I have done for several years. Both she and past doctors have said that’s one of the best things I can do for this. However, I have to stay out of the water for a few days to be sure nothing gets into the injection site.
Dr. Vo also prescribed a tube of Voltaren 1 % topical gel to use as needed on our upcoming cruise. This cruise is one reason I wanted to get the injection now.
She’s recommending 3 times a year group for this injection – the last doctor said 3 to 4 times a year. I don’t want to get into the steroid-induced Cushing’s group so I’m trying for 3 (or less) times. Starting September 4, 2019, if I get 3 shots a year the next Could be January, May, September.
So far, the last 2 were September 12, 2018 (If it were not for the cruise, I could have held out a bit longer to make it more than a year since shot 1!)
Shot #2 was April 22, 2019.
Current #3 was September 5, 2019
The following list includes any diagnoses that were discussed at your visit.
1. Osteoarthritis
• arthritis: care instructions
• osteoarthritis: care instructions
• Voltaren 1 % topical gel
• Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection
• injection/aspiration large joint/bursa (PROC)
2. Tendonitis of left patellar tendon
Patient Instructions
Knee osteoarthritis – Discussed treatment with exercises. Continue water aerobics.
Knee injection done today.
Exercises given to strengthen patella tendon at home after pain improves.
Like 4/23/19, I also had an issue trying to run to the bathroom a little quicker than usual. Actually, twice.
September 5, 2019. I was sorry that I fell asleep quickly and didn’t get my watch off the charger but I know that I slept until 4:35am
Often, i’m tossing and turning to get my knee comfortable, even with the knee pillow from April 10, 2019. I broke down and bought this leg pillow. I’d seen similar ones on TV but I got this on amazon (of course!).
This is one of the better things I’ve gotten in my journey. It’s very nice, soft – and blue!
I have a tendency to roll over in my sleep and found that I can use it as a little pillow to raise just my left leg instead of between both knees when sleeping on my side.
I also found that it’s sometimes better to sleep on the sofa. When I roll over, the pain from my knee often wakes me up again. Lying on the sofa makes it harder to roll over.
When I woke up at 4:35, I did have to get to the bathroom quickly but it was ok. Later, about 6:00 it wasn’t so good 😊
Later in the day, I was still limping a bit, perhaps more from habit than anything else.
A bit of pain on the inside of my knee but nothing that required a brace OR Tylenol.
I ordered a new travel container for my growth hormone. The last “system” was kind of clunky. It worked fine but required too many components. This one looks like it will fit in the water bottle compartment of my backpack. I definitely don’t want another failure.
I fell asleep almost immediately, but woke up about 12:30 and never really got back to sleep. I think I’m obsessing about what to pack for the trip and getting all my work done that should be done before I go. Also, an ear work of a handbell piece we’re working on.
September 8
I got 6 hours sleep last night! 7. 37 with a nap. WooHoo!
September 9
The big pains are mostly gone. Every now and then will be a little twinge. Yesterday, I felt a little unstable on my knee but nothing major.
I think I’m ready knee-wise for this cruise.
September 12
I had a new type Death Dream last night but I doubt that it’s related to the injection. In this one someone was coming at me with a knife. Hopefully, this was a one and done!
So, I’ll post this just before the cruise, then, the next update will be…later.
April 14, 2020
First of all, came this article. I’d already decided to get only one – max 2 – injections a year, with one of them being a week before a cruise. We currently have a cruise scheduled for August, but that may not happen.
I’d been keeping up with water aerobics and the hot tub until both of those were canceled due to COVID-19. So, my knee pain gradually started getting worse again. Luckily, I’m not walking around so much and we don’t have stairs at home.
I’m having lots of meetings on Zoom as well as piano teaching. For those meetings, I’ve been using an iPad on a music stand. To be able to see well while sitting on the sofa, the stand and iPad need to be almost verticle.
After one meeting a week ago, I moved the unit out of the way, the iPad slipped off the stand and the edge whacked the top of my kneecap. Major owee and a few bad words, Tylenol and a knee brace.
This is a continuation of an ongoing knee issue. It started in 2013 with Icy Days and Mondays and Bee’s Knees I’m hoping to end my knee pain in the very near future.
What’s happened since the “quick kneecap recap” below:
First of all, came this article. I’d already decided to get only one – max 2 – injections a year, with one of them being a week before a cruise. We currently have a cruise scheduled for August, but that may not happen.
I’d been keeping up with water aerobics and the hot tub until both of those were canceled due to COVID-19. So, my knee pain gradually started getting worse again. Luckily, I’m not walking around so much and we don’t have stairs at home.
I’m having lots of meetings on Zoom as well as piano teaching. For those meetings, I’ve been using an iPad on a music stand. To be able to see well while sitting on the sofa, the stand and iPad need to be almost verticle.
After one meeting a week ago, I moved the unit out of the way, the iPad slipped off the stand and the edge whacked the top of my kneecap. Major owee and a few bad words, Tylenol and a knee brace.
I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice. Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cellphone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself.
I fell in the bathroom in the middle of the night and hit my left knee on the tub. I used a brace for a few days and it seemed better.
Around January 27-28, 2016, I was in Walmart and had to get a produce bag that was way over my head. I had to stand on tiptoe…and my knee felt like something ripped. Thankfully, I had a cart available to use as a temporary crutch.
Got home, used the brace, took Tylenol but the pain got worse.
Thursday, I drove home from choir at church. My car is a manual so the act of using the clutch, extending my foot that way, made everything worse again.
Friday, we went to the Limp-In Clinic in Greenbriar. That doctor was going to prescribe Cortef or NSAIDs but I couldn’t take either due to my history of Cushing’s (Cortef) and kidney cancer (NSAIDs). He prescribed Vicodin and sent me for an x-ray.
January 31, 2016, I got very itchy, presumably from Vicodin so I stopped that and started taking Benadryl for the itchiness.
February 2, 2016, I went back to the clinic for the results of x-rays and I mentioned the itchiness. Since I have very limited meds available to me, he recommended an Orthopedist. I called him when I got home and he didn’t take my insurance. I tried another doctor who supposedly took my insurance but they didn’t.
February 7, 2016, I really needed the sleep so I took half a Vicodin. No pain and no itching. HOORAY!
February 8, 2016, I saw my regular doctor. She thinks it’s a possible “lateral collateral ligament vs meniscus tear”.
I was surprised that she thought my knee was swollen but one of my therapists showed me later that it was.
She referred me to Physical Therapy (PT) and prescribed Ultram. As of this writing, I haven’t used that yet.
February 11, 2016, 8:30 am My first appointment with PT. Since my blood pressure was high, we mostly did assessments. I had a main therapist and a student. They had to use 3 types of BP machine to do this.
I bent my knee and they took measurements with a caliper. I lay on my front and they manipulated my knee to see what happened. They also concluded that it was a lateral collateral ligament.
A suggestion – to rest my foot on the walker without the brace and see if gravity helps my knee straighten out.
After this, there was more pain than before but I know this is the right thing to do.
February 13, 2016. My leg feels a bit better. I had the brace off last night and almost straightened my knee out.
Somewhere in this period, I learned how to manually move my kneecap (patella) around. I saw my day 1 therapist again and he said my knee was angry. Swollen, angry, whatever. I just want a normal non-hurting knee!
One of the therapists had me doing a stretching exercise and my hip was out of kilter (everything is attached!) since I’ve been walking with my knee bent. So she manipulated that back into alignment.
February 22, 2016, A new-to-me therapist had me do an exercise with a basketball under my knee, pointing my toe to the left. I didn’t remember doing that before but she said I had. Hmmm…
That hurt too much so we moved to a foam roll under my knee. It was still uncomfortable but I did it, a bit too much, apparently.
Turns out this exercise hurt my “VMO”, which is short for Vastus Medialis Oblique.
“This is the most important quad muscle and arguably the most responsible muscle for knee stability. The VMO’s main function is to control knee extension…”
February 25, 2016, My VMO pain still hurt. I told my regular therapist about it and she worked on it some. She concurred that my knee was swollen.
February 26, 2016, I went all day with no brace at all!! A bit of pain but manageable.
February 28, 2016, and I haven’t worn the brace since the 27th. I still need assistance to get up from sitting but I can see huge improvement.
I still have 6 more PT sessions, finishing on March 16, but I’m really impressed with what they’ve done for me. I still have twinges of pain and I don’t plan on stepping on tiptoe anytime soon but I can tell I’m on the right track.
March 8, 2016 at 9:48 am
Physical Therapy is sapping what little energy I had
I can tell it’s working but I am even more exhausted all the time. I’m taking extra Cortef but it’s not enough…
My left knee is still bothering me, even after doing Physical Therapy since January. <sigh>
It seems to get better, then something happens and it’s back to pain again. When we were on a trip to New York a month ago, we walked a lot and climbed so many stairs, I had to buy a new brace.
Today is supposed to be my final PT but I don’t think I’m ready.
When this clinical trial came to my email, I just went through the whole survey for this but there was no doctor nearby:
Osteoarthritis Research Studies. Knee and hip arthritis studies enrolling now. No-cost medication. http://curec.lk/1VL5hu9
Fast forward to September 5, 2018
My knee has been bothering me off and on for a while. I’ve been taking water aerobics and was careful not to do anything that would hurt my knee. The hot tub afterward was a great place to aim hot water jets at my knee – that would numb any pain for a while.
I realized that the neoprene braces were making me itch so I actually found one with no neoprene – Hooray! “All BioSkin material is hypoallergenic. Latex-free and Neoprene free.” Hooray again!
This last week or so, the pain has been getting worse again so I decided to try a new doctor. This one seems like maybe – just maybe – he’ll fix things.
He said: “Your previous knee injuries made sense for pain but this spontaneous onset of medial knee pain is a bit strange. I can only do a limited examination due to the pain and difficulty bending, but it seems to be over the distal insertion of the VMO (quadriceps muscle) with possible inclusion of some joint line tenderness on that same side.
I’d like for you to use ice packs in your knee brace at least three times a day with the goal of calming down the inflammation.
My goal with getting you to sports medicine next week is to re-evaluate it, hopefully with better ability to examine and flex. It may need ultrasound evaluation and/or steroid injection. Since you cannot take NSAIDS, I suggest trying the Ultram that your previous doctor gave you so you can sleep.”
So, next Wednesday, I have an appointment with sports medicine – I might be moving forward. Or not.
September 12, 2018, I got my first cortisone shot (Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection). I did notice some sleep issues that first night, probably since I had the cortisone so late in the day
It was wonderful and got me through a cruise to Maine and Canada. In Bar Harbor, I overheard some women talking about their knees. One said that the cortisone didn’t work for her at all and she was going to have surgery <uhoh> and another said that they’d have to cut the nerves around her knee. I’ve asked a couple doctors and Dr. Google. No one seems familiar with that idea at all.
It also got me through our son’s wedding in October, including climbing stairs!
It also produced one of my only smiling photos, ever!
December 5, 2018, I saw my endo, Dr. Roberto Salvatori, and “confessed” that I’d had this injection. We’d talked about this before and how it might react with my daily Cortef and Omnitrope shots. He hadn’t thought I should get this. But, since it was a done deal, he said to monitor how I was feeling with the additional cortisone.
By then, the knee pain had returned, anyway, so no issues.
March 27, 2019, I found a new no-neoprene, no-latex brace on amazon. “Hinged Knee Brace: Shock Doctor Maximum Support Compression Knee Brace – For ACL/PCL Injuries, Patella Support, Sprains, Hypertension and More for Men and Women” This is very good – much stronger than the one I mentioned below on September 8, 2018. The only real issue I have with it is that it bent, so I have to bend my knee to put it on. The other one is completely straight and just wraps around.
The older, wrap-around does have a tendency to slip sometimes so I make it tighter than I probably should.
I do love that they’re making products for people with latex and neoprene allergies, though!
April 8, 2019, I was supposed to get my second cortisone shot in time for Easter but there were car issues at the last minute.
On the way to water aerobics, I was having trouble shifting my car. I’d have to actually turn the ignition off to do so.Not fun!
When I got home, Tom was sure he could do it…but he couldn’t either.He drove it into Advanced Automotive.
One of the Advanced Automotive mechanics test-drove the car and then found the bolts holding the brake master cylinder to the firewall had loosened.
Could have been even more serious!
They fixed that for free since they were the last people to work on the car and maybe(???) didn’t tighten the bolts completely the first time.
Car runs like new now 🙂
So, I missed my first appointment but got a “new” car.
April 10, 2019, I broke down and bought this leg pillow. I’d seen similar ones on TV but I got this on amazon (of course!). Aocome Knee Pillow for Side Sleepers Knee Pillow Ergonomically Designed for Back Pain, Sciatic Nerve Pain Relief, Leg Pain, Pregnancy, Hip and Joint Pain – Memory Foam Leg Pillow.
This is one of the better things I’ve gotten in my journey. It’s very nice, soft – and blue!
I’m of 2 opinions about the little strap – it makes it easy to keep it “attached” to my knee but I have to bend my knee to put it on in the first place.
I think over time, the elastic may stretch out, making it harder to keep on.
The whole is covered with a washable velour-like fabric. The price was reasonable enough that I could buy another one if/whey that strap expands too much.
I have a tendency to roll over in my sleep and found that I can use it as a little pillow to raise just my left leg instead of between both knees when sleeping on my side.
I also found that it’s sometimes better to sleep on the sofa. When I roll over, the pain from my knee often wakes me up again. Lying on the sofa makes it harder to roll over.
During this time, my pain was so bad that I was considering surgery – later.
April 22, 2019, I got my second cortisone shot (Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection). This time it was a new doctor (same practice), so I had to explain everything (knee history, Cushing’s history, kidney cancer history) to her.
I was unsure how often I could get his shot because I knew I’d want/need one before our cruise next September. These look like places I will want to walk!
She said that the cortisone stayed mostly in the knee area so I could get one every 3-4 months! I could have saved myself a lot of issues in early 2019 had I known that So, I’ll go in the early part of September for #3 and maybe go on a 4-month schedule.
For reasons known only to her, she did the injection in my inner knee-cap. Even with the lidocaine, it was a bit more painful there than I remember the other one – or maybe I just blacked that out.
She thought that the water aerobics I do 3 times a week (plus hot tub afterward) was a good thing.
Death Dreams. I don’t think I’ve posted about these before but I used to have them quite often. I hadn’t had any for a long time but I had 2 within 12 hours of getting the injection. The first was about 6:00 PM. I’d fallen asleep for a nap and DH was talking to me (in real life). I kept trying to ask him which Easter service (that had been the day before) was coming up next because I needed some kind of medication to get through the service. I know my words to him were confused and garbled but I was sure I was going to die if he didn’t help me.
The next was similar about 3:00am on 4/23/19. I dropped my Kindle on the floor, which sort of woke me up but I wasn’t sure what the noise was. I just knew I needed to take “something” to stay alive and wasn’t sure what that was. I looked through my phone for ideas and checked the meds by my bedside. Nothing. Finally, I woke up more completely and realized it had been another dream. I also picked up my Kindle and went back to sleep for another hour.
This morning (4/23) there’s still a bit of discomfort but I can deal with that. I also had a bit of trying to run to the bathroom a little quicker than usual. I also don’t remember that from before but I assume it will go away soon.
I hope this shot lasts nearly 3 months, too! That would take me to mid-July. 🙂
I also hope that my sleep gets better than my March-April records with only one 8-hour sleep (counting naps!).:
Starting September 2, 2019, if I get 4 shots a year they would be: September, December, March, June, September.
Starting September 2, 2019, if I get 3 shots a year they would be: September, January, May, September
After my April 22, 2019 injection, things were mostly better for a while.
May 12, I went to a Celebration of Life service where the chairs were so incredibly uncomfortable. They looked really nice but… I had trouble sitting. I’d have to bend part way, put my arms on the armrest and fall the rest of the way. While seated, it was a weird angle, so I didn’t like to sit but standing back up was very difficult. My knees were stiff and painful through the next week.
Things were okish for a while.
June 7, we went to NYC and did a lot of walking/stairs which always makes things a little worse. Around this time, my right leg started having an aching (bone?) pain. I’m hoping that it’s “just” sciatica.
June 18, it was time for another stupid accident. I got home from work, put my car in gear and the emergency brake on. I stepped out of my car with my left foot planted on the driveway. Somehow, the car rolled backward, twisting my knee. Three Tylenol and a brace. Of course, it was one of the braces I’m allergic to so I then had to take a Benadryl. I’ll find one of my non-allergenic braces a little later.
June 22 – back to “normal” knee pain. Rest, keeping my knee up, a non-allergenic brace and Tylenol all helped.
In mid-August, 2019 my knee started getting really uncomfortable again. The brace I’d bought for latex and neoprene allergies on March 27 was too hard to put on because I had to bend my knee to pull it up. so I bought a wraparound one from the same company.
September 2. I was sitting on the sofa and went to straighten out my leg to put on a footstool. Major owee. On went the brace and three Tylenol. I may be saving my one kidney by not taking other pain meds but I’m not sure what is going to happen to my liver 😊
September 4. Hooray! The next injection with yet another doctor. This one, I know, though. She’s my mother’s doctor and the reason I go to this practice in the first place. When my mom was in the nursing home last year, this is the doctor they sent. She saved my mother’s life. I had been complaining about my mom bleeding internally and the nursing home basically said “someone will check”. I got Dr. Vo in there and my mom immediately left for the hospital where they took care of the bleeding. Who knows, if I’d let her stay in the rehab/nursing.
I have no idea how she’ll do with knee injections, though
Actually, she did wonderfully well. We started with the traditional PA, Jack, who asked the traditional questions, did the weighing, blood pressure, temperature. He asked if I could have a medical student come in and I said oh yes. I’d definitely used to helping out with med students thanks to my many weeks at NIH.
David, the student, came in and asked similar traditional questions. Then, Dr. Vo did the same.
Then, all 3 of them were there along with DH and my knee. A little cramped but it worked. She did a really good workup, Apparently, my patella isn’t moving as well as it should. As always, they say my left knee is swollen but I can’t see that. According to my pain when she pressed various places, she thinks I have a small tear (Patellar tendon rupture) She was the first person to ever mention this possibility. Years ago, another doctor thought it was a possible “lateral collateral ligament vs meniscus tear”.
January 28, 2013, I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice.
I had fallen on black ice and had been wearing flannel-lined jeans. Still got banged up a bit!
Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cellphone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself. Luckily, I hadn’t let go of the dog’s leash.
I ended up sitting in a puddle of icy water for a long time, figuring out how to get up. I finally sort of crawled up the trash can that was sitting in the driveway.
The dog had an abbreviated walk, I changed my wet, cold clothes and headed to the hospital. I was showing DH my knee and one of the staff bandaged it up for me. I told him I hadn’t fallen at the hospital and wouldn’t sue but I guess he wanted to be sure.
(February 18, 2013, my knee still had a huge lump under the skin and hurts when I touch it, although I’m no longer limping, The bruise/pain from cellphone finally went away)
~~
Back to 2019: Risk factors for Patellar tendon rupture include patellar tendinitis, kidney failure (DUH!), diabetes, and steroid or fluoroquinolone use (DUH, again – taking daily steroids, Growth Hormone and 2 previous Kanalog 40 shots). There are two main types of ruptures partial and complete. In most cases, the patellar tendon tears at the point where it attaches to the knee cap.
After all that, she showed the PA and med student how to find a good “line” for the needle to go into. The injection includes lidocaine so it doesn’t hurt so much going in and kills pain fairly quickly in the knee.
She made a little circle with a marker (the others did this, too), the PA really went to town with the spay antiseptic, including my sandaled feel. She did quite well with the injection. Tom said she hit the circle exactly. There was a bit of discomfort when she hit/nudged something in there but it was fast.
As the first injection, this was on the lateral, outside, part of my kneecap. The second was on the inner part. I mentioned this to everyone, commenting that the second (medial) didn’t seem to work as well as the first. I’d told the second doctor my pain was more on the inner side, so maybe she was going by that. It’s my theory that the needle went right by the pain but what do I know?
More spray and a bandage. They told me to move my knee around a lot before I could leave. This was a first. I used my time to go to the ladies room. LOL
She gave me some exercises to do at home, some similar to what I do in Water Aerobics (Hooray!) which I have done for several years. Both she and past doctors have said that’s one of the best things I can do for this. However, I have to stay out of the water for a few days to be sure nothing gets into the injection site.
Dr. Vo also prescribed a tube of Voltaren 1 % topical gel to use as needed on our upcoming cruise. This cruise is one reason I wanted to get the injection now.
She’s recommending 3 times a year group for this injection – the last doctor said 3 to 4 times a year. I don’t want to get into the steroid-induced Cushing’s group so I’m trying for 3 (or less) times. Starting September 4, 2019, if I get 3 shots a year the next Could be January, May, September.
So far, the last 2 were September 12, 2018 (If it were not for the cruise, I could have held out a bit longer to make it more than a year since shot 1!)
Shot #2 was April 22, 2019.
Current #3 was September 5, 2019
The following list includes any diagnoses that were discussed at your visit.
1. Osteoarthritis
• arthritis: care instructions
• osteoarthritis: care instructions
• Voltaren 1 % topical gel
• Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection
• injection/aspiration large joint/bursa (PROC)
2. Tendonitis of left patellar tendon
Patient Instructions
Knee osteoarthritis – Discussed treatment with exercises. Continue water aerobics.
Knee injection done today.
Exercises given to strengthen patella tendon at home after pain improves.
Like 4/23/19, I also had an issue trying to run to the bathroom a little quicker than usual. Actually, twice.
September 5, 2019. I was sorry that I fell asleep quickly and didn’t get my watch off the charger but I know that I slept until 4:35am
Often, i’m tossing and turning to get my knee comfortable, even with the knee pillow from April 10, 2019. I broke down and bought this leg pillow. I’d seen similar ones on TV but I got this on amazon (of course!).
This is one of the better things I’ve gotten in my journey. It’s very nice, soft – and blue!
I have a tendency to roll over in my sleep and found that I can use it as a little pillow to raise just my left leg instead of between both knees when sleeping on my side.
I also found that it’s sometimes better to sleep on the sofa. When I roll over, the pain from my knee often wakes me up again. Lying on the sofa makes it harder to roll over.
When I woke up at 4:35, I did have to get to the bathroom quickly but it was ok. Later, about 6:00 it wasn’t so good 😊
Later in the day, I was still limping a bit, perhaps more from habit than anything else.
A bit of pain on the inside of my knee but nothing that required a brace OR Tylenol.
I ordered a new travel container for my growth hormone. The last “system” was kind of clunky. It worked fine but required too many components. This one looks like it will fit in the water bottle compartment of my backpack. I definitely don’t want another failure.
I fell asleep almost immediately, but woke up about 12:30 and never really got back to sleep. I think I’m obsessing about what to pack for the trip and getting all my work done that should be done before I go. Also, an ear work of a handbell piece we’re working on.
September 8
I got 6 hours sleep last night! 7. 37 with a nap. WooHoo!
September 9
The big pains are mostly gone. Every now and then will be a little twinge. Yesterday, I felt a little unstable on my knee but nothing major.
I think I’m ready knee-wise for this cruise.
September 12
I had a new type Death Dream last night but I doubt that it’s related to the injection. In this one someone was coming at me with a knife. Hopefully, this was a one and done!
So, I’ll post this just before the cruise, then, the next update will be…later.
This is a continuation of an ongoing knee issue. It started in 2013 with Icy Days and Mondays and Bee’s Knees I’m hoping to end my knee pain in the very near future.
What’s happened since the “quick kneecap recap” below:
In mid-August, 2019 my knee started getting really uncomfortable again. The brace I’d bought for latex and neoprene allergies on March 27 was too hard to put on because I had to bend my knee to pull it up. so I bought a wraparound one from the same company.
September 2. I was sitting on the sofa and went to straighten out my leg to put on a footstool. Major owee. On went the brace and three Tylenol. I may be saving my one kidney by not taking other pain meds but I’m not sure what is going to happen to my liver 😊
September 4. Hooray! The next injection with yet another doctor. This one, I know, though. She’s my mother’s doctor and the reason I go to this practice in the first place. When my mom was in the nursing home last year, this is the doctor they sent. She saved my mother’s life. I had been complaining about my mom bleeding internally and the nursing home basically said “someone will check”. I got Dr. Vo in there and my mom immediately left for the hospital where they took care of the bleeding. Who knows, if I’d let her stay in the rehab/nursing.
I have no idea how she’ll do with knee injections, though
Actually, she did wonderfully well. We started with the traditional PA, Jack, who asked the traditional questions, did the weighing, blood pressure, temperature. He asked if I could have a medical student come in and I said oh yes. I’d definitely used to helping out with med students thanks to my many weeks at NIH.
David, the student, came in and asked similar traditional questions. Then, Dr. Vo did the same.
Then, all 3 of them were there along with DH and my knee. A little cramped but it worked. She did a really good workup, Apparently, my patella isn’t moving as well as it should. As always, they say my left knee is swollen but I can’t see that. According to my pain when she pressed various places, she thinks I have a small tear (Patellar tendon rupture) She was the first person to ever mention this possibility. Years ago, another doctor thought it was a possible “lateral collateral ligament vs meniscus tear”.
January 28, 2013, I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice.
I had fallen on black ice and had been wearing flannel-lined jeans. Still got banged up a bit!
Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cellphone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself. Luckily, I hadn’t let go of the dog’s leash.
I ended up sitting in a puddle of icy water for a long time, figuring out how to get up. I finally sort of crawled up the trash can that was sitting in the driveway.
The dog had an abbreviated walk, I changed my wet, cold clothes and headed to the hospital. I was showing DH my knee and one of the staff bandaged it up for me. I told him I hadn’t fallen at the hospital and wouldn’t sue but I guess he wanted to be sure.
(February 18, 2013, my knee still had a huge lump under the skin and hurts when I touch it, although I’m no longer limping, The bruise/pain from cellphone finally went away)
~~
Back to 2019: Risk factors for Patellar tendon rupture include patellar tendinitis, kidney failure (DUH!), diabetes, and steroid or fluoroquinolone use (DUH, again – taking daily steroids, Growth Hormone and 2 previous Kanalog 40 shots). There are two main types of ruptures partial and complete. In most cases, the patellar tendon tears at the point where it attaches to the knee cap.
After all that, she showed the PA and med student how to find a good “line” for the needle to go into. The injection includes lidocaine so it doesn’t hurt so much going in and kills pain fairly quickly in the knee.
She made a little circle with a marker (the others did this, too), the PA really went to town with the spay antiseptic, including my sandaled feel. She did quite well with the injection. Tom said she hit the circle exactly. There was a bit of discomfort when she hit/nudged something in there but it was fast.
As the first injection, this was on the lateral, outside, part of my kneecap. The second was on the inner part. I mentioned this to everyone, commenting that the second (medial) didn’t seem to work as well as the first. I’d told the second doctor my pain was more on the inner side, so maybe she was going by that. It’s my theory that the needle went right by the pain but what do I know?
More spray and a bandage. They told me to move my knee around a lot before I could leave. This was a first. I used my time to go to the ladies room. LOL
She gave me some exercises to do at home, some similar to what I do in Water Aerobics (Hooray!) which I have done for several years. Both she and past doctors have said that’s one of the best things I can do for this. However, I have to stay out of the water for a few days to be sure nothing gets into the injection site.
Dr. Vo also prescribed a tube of Voltaren 1 % topical gel to use as needed on our upcoming cruise. This cruise is one reason I wanted to get the injection now.
She’s recommending 3 times a year group for this injection – the last doctor said 3 to 4 times a year. I don’t want to get into the steroid-induced Cushing’s group so I’m trying for 3 (or less) times. Starting September 4, 2019, if I get 3 shots a year the next Could be January, May, September.
So far, the last 2 were September 12, 2018 (If it were not for the cruise, I could have held out a bit longer to make it more than a year since shot 1!)
Shot #2 was April 22, 2019.
Current #3 was September 5, 2019
The following list includes any diagnoses that were discussed at your visit.
1. Osteoarthritis
• arthritis: care instructions
• osteoarthritis: care instructions
• Voltaren 1 % topical gel
• Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection
• injection/aspiration large joint/bursa (PROC)
2. Tendonitis of left patellar tendon
Patient Instructions
Knee osteoarthritis – Discussed treatment with exercises. Continue water aerobics.
Knee injection done today.
Exercises given to strengthen patella tendon at home after pain improves.
Like 4/23/19, I also had an issue trying to run to the bathroom a little quicker than usual. Actually, twice.
September 5, 2019. I was sorry that I fell asleep quickly and didn’t get my watch off the charger but I know that I slept until 4:35am
Often, i’m tossing and turning to get my knee comfortable, even with the knee pillow from April 10, 2019. I broke down and bought this leg pillow. I’d seen similar ones on TV but I got this on amazon (of course!).
This is one of the better things I’ve gotten in my journey. It’s very nice, soft – and blue!
I have a tendency to roll over in my sleep and found that I can use it as a little pillow to raise just my left leg instead of between both knees when sleeping on my side.
I also found that it’s sometimes better to sleep on the sofa. When I roll over, the pain from my knee often wakes me up again. Lying on the sofa makes it harder to roll over.
When I woke up at 4:35, I did have to get to the bathroom quickly but it was ok. Later, about 6:00 it wasn’t so good 😊
Later in the day, I was still limping a bit, perhaps more from habit than anything else.
A bit of pain on the inside of my knee but nothing that required a brace OR Tylenol.
I ordered a new travel container for my growth hormone. The last “system” was kind of clunky. It worked fine but required too many components. This one looks like it will fit in the water bottle compartment of my backpack. I definitely don’t want another failure.
I fell asleep almost immediately, but woke up about 12:30 and never really got back to sleep. I think I’m obsessing about what to pack for the trip and getting all my work done that should be done before I go. Also, an ear work of a handbell piece we’re working on.
September 8
I got 6 hours sleep last night! 7. 37 with a nap. WooHoo!
September 9
The big pains are mostly gone. Every now and then will be a little twinge. Yesterday, I felt a little unstable on my knee but nothing major.
I think I’m ready knee-wise for this cruise.
September 12
I had a new type Death Dream last night but I doubt that it’s related to the injection. In this one someone was coming at me with a knife. Hopefully, this was a one and done!
So, I’ll post this just before the cruise, then, the next update will be…later.
I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice. Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cellphone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself.
I fell in the bathroom in the middle of the night and hit my left knee on the tub. I used a brace for a few days and it seemed better.
Around January 27-28, 2016, I was in Walmart and had to get a produce bag that was way over my head. I had to stand on tiptoe…and my knee felt like something ripped. Thankfully, I had a cart available to use as a temporary crutch.
Got home, used the brace, took Tylenol but the pain got worse.
Thursday, I drove home from choir at church. My car is a manual so the act of using the clutch, extending my foot that way, made everything worse again.
Friday, we went to the Limp-In Clinic in Greenbriar. That doctor was going to prescribe Cortef or NSAIDs but I couldn’t take either due to my history of Cushing’s (Cortef) and kidney cancer (NSAIDs). He prescribed Vicodin and sent me for an x-ray.
January 31, 2016, I got very itchy, presumably from Vicodin so I stopped that and started taking Benadryl for the itchiness.
February 2, 2016, I went back to the clinic for the results of x-rays and I mentioned the itchiness. Since I have very limited meds available to me, he recommended an Orthopedist. I called him when I got home and he didn’t take my insurance. I tried another doctor who supposedly took my insurance but they didn’t.
February 7, 2016, I really needed the sleep so I took half a Vicodin. No pain and no itching. HOORAY!
February 8, 2016, I saw my regular doctor. She thinks it’s a possible “lateral collateral ligament vs meniscus tear”.
I was surprised that she thought my knee was swollen but one of my therapists showed me later that it was.
She referred me to Physical Therapy (PT) and prescribed Ultram. As of this writing, I haven’t used that yet.
February 11, 2016, 8:30 am My first appointment with PT. Since my blood pressure was high, we mostly did assessments. I had a main therapist and a student. They had to use 3 types of BP machine to do this.
I bent my knee and they took measurements with a caliper. I lay on my front and they manipulated my knee to see what happened. They also concluded that it was a lateral collateral ligament.
A suggestion – to rest my foot on the walker without the brace and see if gravity helps my knee straighten out.
After this, there was more pain than before but I know this is the right thing to do.
February 13, 2016. My leg feels a bit better. I had the brace off last night and almost straightened my knee out.
Somewhere in this period, I learned how to manually move my kneecap (patella) around. I saw my day 1 therapist again and he said my knee was angry. Swollen, angry, whatever. I just want a normal non-hurting knee!
One of the therapists had me doing a stretching exercise and my hip was out of kilter (everything is attached!) since I’ve been walking with my knee bent. So she manipulated that back into alignment.
February 22, 2016, A new-to-me therapist had me do an exercise with a basketball under my knee, pointing my toe to the left. I didn’t remember doing that before but she said I had. Hmmm…
That hurt too much so we moved to a foam roll under my knee. It was still uncomfortable but I did it, a bit too much, apparently.
Turns out this exercise hurt my “VMO”, which is short for Vastus Medialis Oblique.
“This is the most important quad muscle and arguably the most responsible muscle for knee stability. The VMO’s main function is to control knee extension…”
February 25, 2016, My VMO pain still hurt. I told my regular therapist about it and she worked on it some. She concurred that my knee was swollen.
February 26, 2016, I went all day with no brace at all!! A bit of pain but manageable.
February 28, 2016, and I haven’t worn the brace since the 27th. I still need assistance to get up from sitting but I can see huge improvement.
I still have 6 more PT sessions, finishing on March 16, but I’m really impressed with what they’ve done for me. I still have twinges of pain and I don’t plan on stepping on tiptoe anytime soon but I can tell I’m on the right track.
March 8, 2016 at 9:48 am
Physical Therapy is sapping what little energy I had
I can tell it’s working but I am even more exhausted all the time. I’m taking extra Cortef but it’s not enough…
My left knee is still bothering me, even after doing Physical Therapy since January. <sigh>
It seems to get better, then something happens and it’s back to pain again. When we were on a trip to New York a month ago, we walked a lot and climbed so many stairs, I had to buy a new brace.
Today is supposed to be my final PT but I don’t think I’m ready.
When this clinical trial came to my email, I just went through the whole survey for this but there was no doctor nearby:
Osteoarthritis Research Studies. Knee and hip arthritis studies enrolling now. No-cost medication. http://curec.lk/1VL5hu9
Fast forward to September 5, 2018
My knee has been bothering me off and on for a while. I’ve been taking water aerobics and was careful not to do anything that would hurt my knee. The hot tub afterward was a great place to aim hot water jets at my knee – that would numb any pain for a while.
I realized that the neoprene braces were making me itch so I actually found one with no neoprene – Hooray! “All BioSkin material is hypoallergenic. Latex-free and Neoprene free.” Hooray again!
This last week or so, the pain has been getting worse again so I decided to try a new doctor. This one seems like maybe – just maybe – he’ll fix things.
He said: “Your previous knee injuries made sense for pain but this spontaneous onset of medial knee pain is a bit strange. I can only do a limited examination due to the pain and difficulty bending, but it seems to be over the distal insertion of the VMO (quadriceps muscle) with possible inclusion of some joint line tenderness on that same side.
I’d like for you to use ice packs in your knee brace at least three times a day with the goal of calming down the inflammation.
My goal with getting you to sports medicine next week is to re-evaluate it, hopefully with better ability to examine and flex. It may need ultrasound evaluation and/or steroid injection. Since you cannot take NSAIDS, I suggest trying the Ultram that your previous doctor gave you so you can sleep.”
So, next Wednesday, I have an appointment with sports medicine – I might be moving forward. Or not.
September 12, 2018, I got my first cortisone shot (Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection). I did notice some sleep issues that first night, probably since I had the cortisone so late in the day
It was wonderful and got me through a cruise to Maine and Canada. In Bar Harbor, I overheard some women talking about their knees. One said that the cortisone didn’t work for her at all and she was going to have surgery <uhoh> and another said that they’d have to cut the nerves around her knee. I’ve asked a couple doctors and Dr. Google. No one seems familiar with that idea at all.
It also got me through our son’s wedding in October, including climbing stairs!
It also produced one of my only smiling photos, ever!
December 5, 2018, I saw my endo, Dr. Roberto Salvatori, and “confessed” that I’d had this injection. We’d talked about this before and how it might react with my daily Cortef and Omnitrope shots. He hadn’t thought I should get this. But, since it was a done deal, he said to monitor how I was feeling with the additional cortisone.
By then, the knee pain had returned, anyway, so no issues.
March 27, 2019, I found a new no-neoprene, no-latex brace on amazon. “Hinged Knee Brace: Shock Doctor Maximum Support Compression Knee Brace – For ACL/PCL Injuries, Patella Support, Sprains, Hypertension and More for Men and Women” This is very good – much stronger than the one I mentioned below on September 8, 2018. The only real issue I have with it is that it bent, so I have to bend my knee to put it on. The other one is completely straight and just wraps around.
The older, wrap-around does have a tendency to slip sometimes so I make it tighter than I probably should.
I do love that they’re making products for people with latex and neoprene allergies, though!
April 8, 2019, I was supposed to get my second cortisone shot in time for Easter but there were car issues at the last minute.
On the way to water aerobics, I was having trouble shifting my car. I’d have to actually turn the ignition off to do so.Not fun!
When I got home, Tom was sure he could do it…but he couldn’t either.He drove it into Advanced Automotive.
One of the Advanced Automotive mechanics test-drove the car and then found the bolts holding the brake master cylinder to the firewall had loosened.
Could have been even more serious!
They fixed that for free since they were the last people to work on the car and maybe(???) didn’t tighten the bolts completely the first time.
Car runs like new now 🙂
So, I missed my first appointment but got a “new” car.
April 10, 2019, I broke down and bought this leg pillow. I’d seen similar ones on TV but I got this on amazon (of course!). Aocome Knee Pillow for Side Sleepers Knee Pillow Ergonomically Designed for Back Pain, Sciatic Nerve Pain Relief, Leg Pain, Pregnancy, Hip and Joint Pain – Memory Foam Leg Pillow.
This is one of the better things I’ve gotten in my journey. It’s very nice, soft – and blue!
I’m of 2 opinions about the little strap – it makes it easy to keep it “attached” to my knee but I have to bend my knee to put it on in the first place.
I think over time, the elastic may stretch out, making it harder to keep on.
The whole is covered with a washable velour-like fabric. The price was reasonable enough that I could buy another one if/whey that strap expands too much.
I have a tendency to roll over in my sleep and found that I can use it as a little pillow to raise just my left leg instead of between both knees when sleeping on my side.
I also found that it’s sometimes better to sleep on the sofa. When I roll over, the pain from my knee often wakes me up again. Lying on the sofa makes it harder to roll over.
During this time, my pain was so bad that I was considering surgery – later.
April 22, 2019, I got my second cortisone shot (Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection). This time it was a new doctor (same practice), so I had to explain everything (knee history, Cushing’s history, kidney cancer history) to her.
I was unsure how often I could get his shot because I knew I’d want/need one before our cruise next September. These look like places I will want to walk!
She said that the cortisone stayed mostly in the knee area so I could get one every 3-4 months! I could have saved myself a lot of issues in early 2019 had I known that So, I’ll go in the early part of September for #3 and maybe go on a 4-month schedule.
For reasons known only to her, she did the injection in my inner knee-cap. Even with the lidocaine, it was a bit more painful there than I remember the other one – or maybe I just blacked that out.
She thought that the water aerobics I do 3 times a week (plus hot tub afterward) was a good thing.
Death Dreams. I don’t think I’ve posted about these before but I used to have them quite often. I hadn’t had any for a long time but I had 2 within 12 hours of getting the injection. The first was about 6:00 PM. I’d fallen asleep for a nap and DH was talking to me (in real life). I kept trying to ask him which Easter service (that had been the day before) was coming up next because I needed some kind of medication to get through the service. I know my words to him were confused and garbled but I was sure I was going to die if he didn’t help me.
The next was similar about 3:00am on 4/23/19. I dropped my Kindle on the floor, which sort of woke me up but I wasn’t sure what the noise was. I just knew I needed to take “something” to stay alive and wasn’t sure what that was. I looked through my phone for ideas and checked the meds by my bedside. Nothing. Finally, I woke up more completely and realized it had been another dream. I also picked up my Kindle and went back to sleep for another hour.
This morning (4/23) there’s still a bit of discomfort but I can deal with that. I also had a bit of trying to run to the bathroom a little quicker than usual. I also don’t remember that from before but I assume it will go away soon.
I hope this shot lasts nearly 3 months, too! That would take me to mid-July. 🙂
I also hope that my sleep gets better than my March-April records with only one 8-hour sleep (counting naps!).:
Starting September 2, 2019, if I get 4 shots a year they would be: September, December, March, June, September.
Starting September 2, 2019, if I get 3 shots a year they would be: September, January, May, September
After my April 22, 2019 injection, things were mostly better for a while.
May 12, I went to a Celebration of Life service where the chairs were so incredibly uncomfortable. They looked really nice but… I had trouble sitting. I’d have to bend part way, put my arms on the armrest and fall the rest of the way. While seated, it was a weird angle, so I didn’t like to sit but standing back up was very difficult. My knees were stiff and painful through the next week.
Things were okish for a while.
June 7, we went to NYC and did a lot of walking/stairs which always makes things a little worse. Around this time, my right leg started having an aching (bone?) pain. I’m hoping that it’s “just” sciatica.
June 18, it was time for another stupid accident. I got home from work, put my car in gear and the emergency brake on. I stepped out of my car with my left foot planted on the driveway. Somehow, the car rolled backward, twisting my knee. Three Tylenol and a brace. Of course, it was one of the braces I’m allergic to so I then had to take a Benadryl. I’ll find one of my non-allergenic braces a little later.
June 22 – back to “normal” knee pain. Rest, keeping my knee up, a non-allergenic brace and Tylenol all helped.
This is a continuation of an ongoing knee issue. It started in 2013 with Icy Days and Mondays and Bee’s Knees I’m hoping to end my knee pain in the very near future.
What’s happened since the “quick kneecap recap” below:
After my April 22 injection, things were mostly better for a while.
May 12, I went to a Celebration of Life service where the chairs were so incredibly uncomfortable. They looked really nice but… I had trouble sitting. I’d have to bend part way, put my arms on the armrest and fall the rest of the way. While seated, it was a weird angle, so I didn’t like to sit but standing back up was very difficult. My knees were stiff and a pain through the next week.
Things were okish for a while. June 7, we went to NYC and did a lot of walking/stairs which always makes things a little worse. Around this time, my right leg started having an aching (bone?) pain. I’m hoping that it’s “just” sciatica.
June 18, it was time for another stupid accident. I got home from work, put my car in gear and the emergency brake on. I stepped out of my car with my left foot planted on the driveway. Somehow, the car rolled backward, twisting my knee. Three Tylenol and a brace. Of course, it was one of the braces I’m allergic to so I then had to take a Benadryl. I’ll find one of my non-allergenic braces a little later.
June 22 – back to “normal” knee pain. Rest, keeping my knee up, a non-allergenic brace and Tylenol all helped.
I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice. Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cellphone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself.
I fell in the bathroom in the middle of the night and hit my left knee on the tub. I used a brace for a few days and it seemed better.
Around January 27-28, 2016, I was in Walmart and had to get a produce bag that was way over my head. I had to stand on tiptoe…and my knee felt like something ripped. Thankfully, I had a cart available to use as a temporary crutch.
Got home, used the brace, took Tylenol but the pain got worse.
Thursday, I drove home from choir at church. My car is a manual so the act of using the clutch, extending my foot that way, made everything worse again.
Friday, we went to the Limp-In Clinic in Greenbriar. That doctor was going to prescribe Cortef or NSAIDs but I couldn’t take either due to my history of Cushing’s (Cortef) and kidney cancer (NSAIDs). He prescribed Vicodin and sent me for an x-ray.
January 31, 2016, I got very itchy, presumably from Vicodin so I stopped that and started taking Benadryl for the itchiness.
February 2, 2016, I went back to the clinic for the results of x-rays and I mentioned the itchiness. Since I have very limited meds available to me, he recommended an Orthopedist. I called him when I got home and he didn’t take my insurance. I tried another doctor who supposedly took my insurance but they didn’t.
February 7, 2016, I really needed the sleep so I took half a Vicodin. No pain and no itching. HOORAY!
February 8, 2016, I saw my regular doctor. She thinks it’s a possible “lateral collateral ligament vs meniscus tear”.
I was surprised that she thought my knee was swollen but one of my therapists showed me later that it was.
She referred me to Physical Therapy (PT) and prescribed Ultram. As of this writing, I haven’t used that yet.
February 11, 2016, 8:30 am My first appointment with PT. Since my blood pressure was high, we mostly did assessments. I had a main therapist and a student. They had to use 3 types of BP machine to do this.
I bent my knee and they took measurements with a caliper. I lay on my front and they manipulated my knee to see what happened. They also concluded that it was a lateral collateral ligament.
A suggestion – to rest my foot on the walker without the brace and see if gravity helps my knee straighten out.
After this, there was more pain than before but I know this is the right thing to do.
February 13, 2016. My leg feels a bit better. I had the brace off last night and almost straightened my knee out.
Somewhere in this period, I learned how to manually move my kneecap (patella) around. I saw my day 1 therapist again and he said my knee was angry. Swollen, angry, whatever. I just want a normal non-hurting knee!
One of the therapists had me doing a stretching exercise and my hip was out of kilter (everything is attached!) since I’ve been walking with my knee bent. So she manipulated that back into alignment.
February 22, 2016, A new-to-me therapist had me do an exercise with a basketball under my knee, pointing my toe to the left. I didn’t remember doing that before but she said I had. Hmmm…
That hurt too much so we moved to a foam roll under my knee. It was still uncomfortable but I did it, a bit too much, apparently.
Turns out this exercise hurt my “VMO”, which is short for Vastus Medialis Oblique.
“This is the most important quad muscle and arguably the most responsible muscle for knee stability. The VMO’s main function is to control knee extension…”
February 25, 2016, My VMO pain still hurt. I told my regular therapist about it and she worked on it some. She concurred that my knee was swollen.
February 26, 2016, I went all day with no brace at all!! A bit of pain but manageable.
February 28, 2016, and I haven’t worn the brace since the 27th. I still need assistance to get up from sitting but I can see huge improvement.
I still have 6 more PT sessions, finishing on March 16, but I’m really impressed with what they’ve done for me. I still have twinges of pain and I don’t plan on stepping on tiptoe anytime soon but I can tell I’m on the right track.
March 8, 2016 at 9:48 am
Physical Therapy is sapping what little energy I had
I can tell it’s working but I am even more exhausted all the time. I’m taking extra Cortef but it’s not enough…
My left knee is still bothering me, even after doing Physical Therapy since January. <sigh>
It seems to get better, then something happens and it’s back to pain again. When we were on a trip to New York a month ago, we walked a lot and climbed so many stairs, I had to buy a new brace.
Today is supposed to be my final PT but I don’t think I’m ready.
When this clinical trial came to my email, I just went through the whole survey for this but there was no doctor nearby:
Osteoarthritis Research Studies. Knee and hip arthritis studies enrolling now. No-cost medication. http://curec.lk/1VL5hu9
Fast forward to September 5, 2018
My knee has been bothering me off and on for a while. I’ve been taking water aerobics and was careful not to do anything that would hurt my knee. The hot tub afterward was a great place to aim hot water jets at my knee – that would numb any pain for a while.
I realized that the neoprene braces were making me itch so I actually found one with no neoprene – Hooray! “All BioSkin material is hypoallergenic. Latex-free and Neoprene free.” Hooray again!
This last week or so, the pain has been getting worse again so I decided to try a new doctor. This one seems like maybe – just maybe – he’ll fix things.
He said: “Your previous knee injuries made sense for pain but this spontaneous onset of medial knee pain is a bit strange. I can only do a limited examination due to the pain and difficulty bending, but it seems to be over the distal insertion of the VMO (quadriceps muscle) with possible inclusion of some joint line tenderness on that same side.
I’d like for you to use ice packs in your knee brace at least three times a day with the goal of calming down the inflammation.
My goal with getting you to sports medicine next week is to re-evaluate it, hopefully with better ability to examine and flex. It may need ultrasound evaluation and/or steroid injection. Since you cannot take NSAIDS, I suggest trying the Ultram that your previous doctor gave you so you can sleep.”
So, next Wednesday, I have an appointment with sports medicine – I might be moving forward. Or not.
September 12, 2018, I got my first cortisone shot (Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection). I did notice some sleep issues that first night, probably since I had the cortisone so late in the day
It was wonderful and got me through a cruise to Maine and Canada. In Bar Harbor, I overheard some women talking about their knees. One said that the cortisone didn’t work for her at all and she was going to have surgery <uhoh> and another said that they’d have to cut the nerves around her knee. I’ve asked a couple doctors and Dr. Google. No one seems familiar with that idea at all.
It also got me through our son’s wedding in October, including climbing stairs!
It also produced one of my only smiling photos, ever!
December 5, 2018, I saw my endo, Dr. Roberto Salvatori, and “confessed” that I’d had this injection. We’d talked about this before and how it might react with my daily Cortef and Omnitrope shots. He hadn’t thought I should get this. But, since it was a done deal, he said to monitor how I was feeling with the additional cortisone.
By then, the knee pain had returned, anyway, so no issues
March 27, 2019, I found a new no-neoprene, no-latex brace on amazon. “Hinged Knee Brace: Shock Doctor Maximum Support Compression Knee Brace – For ACL/PCL Injuries, Patella Support, Sprains, Hypertension and More for Men and Women” This is very good – much stronger than the one I mentioned below on September 8, 2018. The only real issue I have with it is that it bent, so I have to bend my knee to put it on. The other one is completely straight and just wraps around.
The older, wrap-around does have a tendency to slip sometimes so I make it tighter than I probably should.
I do love that they’re making products for people with latex and neoprene allergies, though!
April 8, 2019, I was supposed to get my second cortisone shot in time for Easter but there were car issues at the last minute.
On the way to water aerobics, I was having trouble shifting my car. I’d have to actually turn the ignition off to do so.Not fun!
When I got home, Tom was sure he could do it…but he couldn’t either.He drove it in to Advanced Automotive.
One of the Advanced Automotive mechanics test-drove the car and then found the bolts holding the brake master cylinder to the firewall had loosened.
Could have been even more serious!
They fixed that for free since they were the last people to work on the car and maybe(???) didn’t tighten the bolts completely the first time.
Car runs like new now 🙂
So, I missed my first appointment but got a “new” car.
April 10, 2019, I broke down and bought this leg pillow. I’d seen similar ones on TV but I got this on amazon (of course!). Aocome Knee Pillow for Side Sleepers Knee Pillow Ergonomically Designed for Back Pain, Sciatic Nerve Pain Relief, Leg Pain, Pregnancy, Hip and Joint Pain – Memory Foam Leg Pillow.
This is one of the better things I’ve gotten in my journey. It’s very nice, soft – and blue!
I’m of 2 opinions about the little strap – it makes it easy to keep it “attached” to my knee but I have to bend my knee to put it on in the first place.
I think over time, the elastic may stretch out, making it harder to keep on.
The whole is covered with a washable velour-like fabric. The price was reasonable enough that I could buy another one if/whey that strap expands too much.
I have a tendency to roll over in my sleep and found that I can use it as a little pillow to raise just my left leg instead of between both knees when sleeping on my side.
I also found that it’s sometimes better to sleep on the sofa. When I roll over, the pain from my knee often wakes me up again. Lying on the sofa makes it harder to roll over.
During this time, my pain was so bad that I was considering surgery – later. April 22, 2019, I got my second cortisone shot (Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection). This time it was a new doctor (same practice), so I had to explain everything (knee history, Cushing’s history, kidney cancer history) to her.
I was unsure how often I could get his shot because I knew I’d want/need one before our cruise next September. These look like places I will want to walk!
She said that the cortisone stayed mostly in the knee area so I could get one every 3-4 months! I could have saved myself a lot of issues in early 2019 had I known that So, I’ll go in the early part of September for #3 and maybe go on a 4-month schedule.
For reasons known only to her, she did the injection in my inner knee-cap. Even with the lidocaine, it was a bit more painful there than I remember the other one – or maybe I just blacked that out.
She thought that the water aerobics I do 3 times a week (plus hot tub afterward) was a good thing.
Death Dreams. I don’t think I’ve posted about these before but I used to have them quite often. I hadn’t had any for a long time but I had 2 within 12 hours of getting the injection. The first was about 6:00 PM. I’d fallen asleep for a nap and DH was talking to me (in real life). I kept trying to ask him which Easter service (that had been the day before) was coming up next because I needed some kind of medication to get through the service. I know my words to him were confused and garbled but I was sure I was going to die if he didn’t help me.
The next was similar about 3:00am on 4/23/19. I dropped my Kindle on the floor, which sort of woke me up but I wasn’t sure what the noise was. I just knew I needed to take “something” to stay alive and wasn’t sure what that was. I looked through my phone for ideas and checked the meds by my bedside. Nothing. Finally, I woke up more completely and realized it had been another dream. I also picked up my Kindle and went back to sleep for another hour.
This morning (4/23) there’s still a bit of discomfort but I can deal with that. I also had a bit of trying to run to the bathroom a little quicker than usual. I also don’t remember that from before but I assume it will go away soon.
I hope this shot lasts nearly 3 months, too! That would take me to mid-July. 🙂
I also hope that my sleep gets better than my March-April records with only one 8-hour sleep (counting naps!).:
Starting September 2, 2019, if I get 4 shots a year they would be: September, December, March, June, September.
Starting September 2, 2019, if I get 3 shots a year they would be: September, January, May, September
This is a continuation of an ongoing knee issue. It started with Bee’s Knees and went on to Bee’s Knees Continued. I’m hoping to end my knee pain in the very near future.
What’s happened since the “quick kneecap recap” below:
September 12, 2018, I got my first cortisone shot (Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection). I did notice some sleep issues that first night, probably since I had the cortisone so late in the day
It was wonderful and got me through a cruise to Maine and Canada. In Bar Harbor, I overheard some women talking about their knees. One said that the cortisone didn’t work for her at all and she was going to have surgery <uhoh> and another said that they’d have to cut the nerves around her knee. I’ve asked a couple doctors and Dr. Google. No one seems familiar with that idea at all.
It also got me through our son’s wedding in October, including climbing stairs!
It also produced one of my only smiling photos, ever!
December 5, 2018, I saw my endo, Dr. Roberto Salvatori, and “confessed” that I’d had this injection. We’d talked about this before and how it might react with my daily Cortef and Omnitrope shots. He hadn’t thought I should get this. But, since it was a done deal, he said to monitor how I was feeling with the additional cortisone.
By then, the knee pain had returned, anyway, so no issues
March 27, 2019, I found a new no-neoprene, no-latex brace on amazon. “Hinged Knee Brace: Shock Doctor Maximum Support Compression Knee Brace – For ACL/PCL Injuries, Patella Support, Sprains, Hypertension and More for Men and Women” This is very good – much stronger than the one I mentioned below on September 8, 2018. The only real issue I have with it is that it bent, so I have to bend my knee to put it on. The other one is completely straight and just wraps around.
The older, wrap-around does have a tendency to slip sometimes so I make it tighter than I probably should.
I do love that they’re making products for people with latex and neoprene allergies, though!
April 8, 2019, I was supposed to get my second cortisone shot in time for Easter but there were car issues at the last minute.
On the way to water aerobics, I was having trouble shifting my car. I’d have to actually turn the ignition off to do so.Not fun!
When I got home, Tom was sure he could do it…but he couldn’t either.He drove it in to Advanced Automotive.
One of the Advanced Automotive mechanics test-drove the car and then found the bolts holding the brake master cylinder to the firewall had loosened.
Could have been even more serious!
They fixed that for free since they were the last people to work on the car and maybe(???) didn’t tighten the bolts completely the first time.
Car runs like new now 🙂
So, I missed my first appointment but got a “new” car.
April 10, 2019, I broke down and bought this leg pillow. I’d seen similar ones on TV but I got this on amazon (of course!). Aocome Knee Pillow for Side Sleepers Knee Pillow Ergonomically Designed for Back Pain, Sciatic Nerve Pain Relief, Leg Pain, Pregnancy, Hip and Joint Pain – Memory Foam Leg Pillow.
This is one of the better things I’ve gotten in my journey. It’s very nice, soft – and blue!
I’m of 2 opinions about the little strap – it makes it easy to keep it “attached” to my knee but I have to bend my knee to put it on in the first place.
I think over time, the elastic may stretch out, making it harder to keep on.
The whole is covered with a washable velour-like fabric. The price was reasonable enough that I could buy another one if/whey that strap expands too much.
I have a tendency to roll over in my sleep and found that I can use it as a little pillow to raise just my left leg instead of between both knees when sleeping on my side.
I also found that it’s sometimes better to sleep on the sofa. When I roll over, the pain from my knee often wakes me up again. Lying on the sofa makes it harder to roll over.
During this time, my pain was so bad that I was considering surgery – later.
April 22, 2019, I got my second cortisone shot (Kenalog 40 mg/mL suspension for injection). This time it was a new doctor (same practice), so I had to explain everything (knee history, Cushing’s history, kidney cancer history) to her.
I was unsure how often I could get his shot because I knew I’d want/need one before our cruise next September. These look like places I will want to walk!
She said that the cortisone stayed mostly in the knee area so I could get one every 3-4 months! I could have saved myself a lot of issues in early 2019 had I known that So, I’ll go in the early part of September for #3 and maybe go on a 4-month schedule.
For reasons known only to her, she did the injection in my inner knee-cap. Even with the lidocaine, it was a bit more painful there than I remember the other one – or maybe I just blacked that out.
She thought that the water aerobics I do 3 times a week (plus hot tub afterward) was a good thing.
Death Dreams. I don’t think I’ve posted about these before but I used to have them quite often. I hadn’t had any for a long time but I had 2 within 12 hours of getting the injection. The first was about 6:00 PM. I’d fallen asleep for a nap and DH was talking to me (in real life). I kept trying to ask him which Easter service (that had been the day before) was coming up next because I needed some kind of medication to get through the service. I know my words to him were confused and garbled but I was sure I was going to die if he didn’t help me.
The next was similar about 3:00am on 4/23/19. I dropped my Kindle on the floor, which sort of woke me up but I wasn’t sure what the noise was. I just knew I needed to take “something” to stay alive and wasn’t sure what that was. I looked through my phone for ideas and checked the meds by my bedside. Nothing. Finally, I woke up more completely and realized it had been another dream. I also picked up my Kindle and went back to sleep for another hour.
This morning (4/23) there’s still a bit of discomfort but I can deal with that. I also had a bit of trying to run to the bathroom a little quicker than usual. I also don’t remember that from before but I assume it will go away soon.
I hope this shot lasts nearly 3 months, too! That would take me to mid-July. 🙂
I also hope that my sleep gets better than my March-April records with only one 8-hour sleep (counting naps!).:
Starting September 2, 2019, if I get 4 shots a year they would be: September, December, March, June, September.
Starting September 2, 2019, if I get 3 shots a year they would be: September, January, May, September
I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice. Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cellphone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself.
I fell in the bathroom in the middle of the night and hit my left knee on the tub. I used a brace for a few days and it seemed better.
Around January 27-28, 2016, I was in Walmart and had to get a produce bag that was way over my head. I had to stand on tiptoe…and my knee felt like something ripped. Thankfully, I had a cart available to use as a temporary crutch.
Got home, used the brace, took Tylenol but the pain got worse.
Thursday, I drove home from choir at church. My car is a manual so the act of using the clutch, extending my foot that way, made everything worse again.
Friday, we went to the Limp-In Clinic in Greenbriar. That doctor was going to prescribe Cortef or NSAIDs but I couldn’t take either due to my history of Cushing’s (Cortef) and kidney cancer (NSAIDs). He prescribed Vicodin and sent me for an x-ray.
January 31, 2016, I got very itchy, presumably from Vicodin so I stopped that and started taking Benadryl for the itchiness.
February 2, 2016, I went back to the clinic for the results of x-rays and I mentioned the itchiness. Since I have very limited meds available to me, he recommended an Orthopedist. I called him when I got home and he didn’t take my insurance. I tried another doctor who supposedly took my insurance but they didn’t.
February 7, 2016, I really needed the sleep so I took half a Vicodin. No pain and no itching. HOORAY!
February 8, 2016, I saw my regular doctor. She thinks it’s a possible “lateral collateral ligament vs meniscus tear”.
I was surprised that she thought my knee was swollen but one of my therapists showed me later that it was.
She referred me to Physical Therapy (PT) and prescribed Ultram. As of this writing, I haven’t used that yet.
February 11, 2016, 8:30 am My first appointment with PT. Since my blood pressure was high, we mostly did assessments. I had a main therapist and a student. They had to use 3 types of BP machine to do this.
I bent my knee and they took measurements with a caliper. I lay on my front and they manipulated my knee to see what happened. They also concluded that it was a lateral collateral ligament.
A suggestion – to rest my foot on the walker without the brace and see if gravity helps my knee straighten out.
After this, there was more pain than before but I know this is the right thing to do.
February 13, 2016. My leg feels a bit better. I had the brace off last night and almost straightened my knee out.
Somewhere in this period, I learned how to manually move my kneecap (patella) around. I saw my day 1 therapist again and he said my knee was angry. Swollen, angry, whatever. I just want a normal non-hurting knee!
One of the therapists had me doing a stretching exercise and my hip was out of kilter (everything is attached!) since I’ve been walking with my knee bent. So she manipulated that back into alignment.
February 22, 2016, A new-to-me therapist had me do an exercise with a basketball under my knee, pointing my toe to the left. I didn’t remember doing that before but she said I had. Hmmm…
That hurt too much so we moved to a foam roll under my knee. It was still uncomfortable but I did it, a bit too much, apparently.
Turns out this exercise hurt my “VMO”, which is short for Vastus Medialis Oblique.
“This is the most important quad muscle and arguably the most responsible muscle for knee stability. The VMO’s main function is to control knee extension…”
February 25, 2016, My VMO pain still hurt. I told my regular therapist about it and she worked on it some. She concurred that my knee was swollen.
February 26, 2016, I went all day with no brace at all!! A bit of pain but manageable.
February 28, 2016, and I haven’t worn the brace since the 27th. I still need assistance to get up from sitting but I can see huge improvement.
I still have 6 more PT sessions, finishing on March 16, but I’m really impressed with what they’ve done for me. I still have twinges of pain and I don’t plan on stepping on tiptoe anytime soon but I can tell I’m on the right track.
March 8, 2016 at 9:48 am
Physical Therapy is sapping what little energy I had
I can tell it’s working but I am even more exhausted all the time. I’m taking extra Cortef but it’s not enough…
My left knee is still bothering me, even after doing Physical Therapy since January. <sigh>
It seems to get better, then something happens and it’s back to pain again. When we were on a trip to New York a month ago, we walked a lot and climbed so many stairs, I had to buy a new brace.
Today is supposed to be my final PT but I don’t think I’m ready.
When this clinical trial came to my email, I just went through the whole survey for this but there was no doctor nearby:
Osteoarthritis Research Studies. Knee and hip arthritis studies enrolling now. No-cost medication. http://curec.lk/1VL5hu9
Fast forward to September 5, 2018
My knee has been bothering me off and on for a while. I’ve been taking water aerobics and was careful not to do anything that would hurt my knee. The hot tub afterward was a great place to aim hot water jets at my knee – that would numb any pain for a while.
I realized that the neoprene braces were making me itch so I actually found one with no neoprene – Hooray! “All BioSkin material is hypoallergenic. Latex-free and Neoprene free.” Hooray again!
This last week or so, the pain has been getting worse again so I decided to try a new doctor. This one seems like maybe – just maybe – he’ll fix things.
He said: “Your previous knee injuries made sense for pain but this spontaneous onset of medial knee pain is a bit strange. I can only do a limited examination due to the pain and difficulty bending, but it seems to be over the distal insertion of the VMO (quadriceps muscle) with possible inclusion of some joint line tenderness on that same side.
I’d like for you to use ice packs in your knee brace at least three times a day with the goal of calming down the inflammation.
My goal with getting you to sports medicine next week is to re-evaluate it, hopefully with better ability to examine and flex. It may need ultrasound evaluation and/or steroid injection. Since you cannot take NSAIDS, I suggest trying the Ultram that your previous doctor gave you so you can sleep.”
So, next Wednesday, I have an appointment with sports medicine – I might be moving forward. Or not.
This is a continuation of an ongoing knee issue. It started with Bee’s Knees and went on to Bee’s Knees Continued. I’m hoping to end my knee pain in the very near future.
I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice. Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cellphone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself.
I fell in the bathroom in the middle of the night and hit my left knee on the tub. I used a brace for a few days and it seemed better.
Around January 27-28, 2016, I was in Walmart and had to get a produce bag that was way over my head. I had to stand on tiptoe…and my knee felt like something ripped. Thankfully, I had a cart available to use as a temporary crutch.
Got home, used the brace, took Tylenol but the pain got worse.
Thursday, I drove home from choir at church. My car is a manual so the act of using the clutch, extending my foot that way, made everything worse again.
Friday, we went to the Limp-In Clinic in Greenbriar. That doctor was going to prescribe Cortef or NSAIDs but I couldn’t take either due to my history of Cushing’s (Cortef) and kidney cancer (NSAIDs). He prescribed Vicodin and sent me for an x-ray.
January 31, 2016, I got very itchy, presumably from Vicodin so I stopped that and started taking Benadryl for the itchiness.
February 2, 2016, I went back to the clinic for the results of x-rays and I mentioned the itchiness. Since I have very limited meds available to me, he recommended an Orthopedist. I called him when I got home and he didn’t take my insurance. I tried another doctor who supposedly took my insurance but they didn’t.
February 7, 2016, I really needed the sleep so I took half a Vicodin. No pain and no itching. HOORAY!
February 8, 2016, I saw my regular doctor. She thinks it’s a possible “lateral collateral ligament vs meniscus tear”.
I was surprised that she thought my knee was swollen but one of my therapists showed me later that it was.
She referred me to Physical Therapy (PT) and prescribed Ultram. As of this writing, I haven’t used that yet.
February 11, 2016, 8:30 am My first appointment with PT. Since my blood pressure was high, we mostly did assessments. I had a main therapist and a student. They had to use 3 types of BP machine to do this.
I bent my knee and they took measurements with a caliper. I lay on my front and they manipulated my knee to see what happened. They also concluded that it was a lateral collateral ligament.
A suggestion – to rest my foot on the walker without the brace and see if gravity helps my knee straighten out.
After this, there was more pain than before but I know this is the right thing to do.
February 13, 2016. My leg feels a bit better. I had the brace off last night and almost straightened my knee out.
Somewhere in this period, I learned how to manually move my kneecap (patella) around. I saw my day 1 therapist again and he said my knee was angry. Swollen, angry, whatever. I just want a normal non-hurting knee!
One of the therapists had me doing a stretching exercise and my hip was out of kilter (everything is attached!) since I’ve been walking with my knee bent. So she manipulated that back into alignment.
February 22, 2016, A new-to-me therapist had me do an exercise with a basketball under my knee, pointing my toe to the left. I didn’t remember doing that before but she said I had. Hmmm…
That hurt too much so we moved to a foam roll under my knee. It was still uncomfortable but I did it, a bit too much, apparently.
Turns out this exercise hurt my “VMO”, which is short for Vastus Medialis Oblique.
“This is the most important quad muscle and arguably the most responsible muscle for knee stability. The VMO’s main function is to control knee extension…”
February 25, 2016, My VMO pain still hurt. I told my regular therapist about it and she worked on it some. She concurred that my knee was swollen.
February 26, 2016, I went all day with no brace at all!! A bit of pain but manageable.
February 28, 2016, and I haven’t worn the brace since the 27th. I still need assistance to get up from sitting but I can see huge improvement.
I still have 6 more PT sessions, finishing on March 16, but I’m really impressed with what they’ve done for me. I still have twinges of pain and I don’t plan on stepping on tiptoe anytime soon but I can tell I’m on the right track.
March 8, 2016 at 9:48 am
Physical Therapy is sapping what little energy I had
I can tell it’s working but I am even more exhausted all the time. I’m taking extra Cortef but it’s not enough…
My left knee is still bothering me, even after doing Physical Therapy since January. <sigh>
It seems to get better, then something happens and it’s back to pain again. When we were on a trip to New York a month ago, we walked a lot and climbed so many stairs, I had to buy a new brace.
Today is supposed to be my final PT but I don’t think I’m ready.
When this clinical trial came to my email, I just went through the whole survey for this but there was no doctor nearby:
Osteoarthritis Research Studies. Knee and hip arthritis studies enrolling now. No-cost medication. http://curec.lk/1VL5hu9
Fast forward to September 5, 2018
My knee has been bothering me off and on for a while. I’ve been taking water aerobics and was careful not to do anything that would hurt my knee. The hot tub afterward was a great place to aim hot water jets at my knee – that would numb any pain for a while.
I realized that the neoprene braces were making me itch so I actually found one with no neoprene – Hooray! “All BioSkin material is hypoallergenic. Latex free and Neoprene free.” Hooray again!
This last week or so, the pain has been getting worse again so I decided to try a new doctor. This one seems like maybe – just maybe – he’ll fix things.
He said: “Your previous knee injuries made sense for pain but this spontaneous onset of medial knee pain is a bit strange. I can only do a limited examination due to the pain and difficulty bending, but it seems to be over the distal insertion of the VMO (quadriceps muscle) with possible inclusion of some joint line tenderness on that same side.
I’d like for you to use ice packs in your knee brace at least three times a day with the goal of calming down the inflammation.
My goal with getting you to sports medicine next week is to re-evaluate it, hopefully with better ability to examine and flex. It may need ultrasound evaluation and/or steroid injection. Since you cannot take NSAIDS, I suggest trying the Ultram that your previous doctor gave you so you can sleep.”
So, next Wednesday, I have an appointment with sports medicine – I might be moving forward. Or not.
Today I am hugely thankful that the last major issue we had here was in 2013 when Tom had his heart attack. That event caused me to start this new blog to post about our experiences.
January 27, 2013 was our 40th anniversary. DH called me and said he was leaving a conference in Washington, DC and we’d go out to brunch when he got home.
The next thing I had heard was that he was in the ER with a suspected heart attack. I rushed to the ER and found him in his cubicle. He’d had 3 nitroglycerine pills by then and figured he could go home.
Wrong! They had him stay overnight at the hospital. January 28th, they decided to send him by ambulance to Fairfax Hospital for a cardiac catheterization and possible stent.
At the end of that, the surgeon came into my waiting room and said that he needed triple bypass NOW. Three of the arteries were 100% blocked. They got me calmed down to see him in the OR.
He was trying to get odds of not doing this surgery and just leaving then. Finally, I said that he would do this surgery, we weren’t going to fool with this.
I really lost it when they asked me if we had any children and I said 1 son in NYC. They called him at work in New York and had him get there as soon as possible. I’m sure he could hear the fear in my voice.
They wheeled DH off for surgery and I waited again. Luckily, 2 church friends came and sat with me and our pastor arrived about 8:00PM. Our son arrived about 8:30PM after taking the Acela and a taxi directly to the hospital.
The surgery was over about 9:00PM but when we saw Tom, he was still under anesthesia. They kept him that way until the next morning since he was too confused when they woke him up.
Long story short (too late!) – he got out of the hospital on the 31st and I played nurse 24/7. He couldn’t drive/go anywhere for 6 weeks, and then there were 12 weeks of cardiac rehab.
One of the things that came out or cardiac rehab was becoming friendly with 2 other couples (although one of them has since split up). We go out to dinner every couple months…and none of the surgeons would be happy about our choices.
I know I’m not supposed to “relive” events. I have done that too often with my Cushing’s and cancer adventures and I’m told that reliving causes nearly as much stress as the original event.
So, I plan to write down my memories here and try to let them go…
It all started on Sunday, January 27, 2013 – our 40th wedding anniversary. I picked up my mom and went to church so I could sing in the choir. DH went to a meeting of some sort on Benghazi.
After church, I stopped off in the church office for a goodie bag that the Staff Parish Committee had left.
Dropped my mom off at her house and went home. I put the goodie bag on the dining room table and logged onto the computer to do some work.
I got a couple text messages from DH:
I figured I’d take a nap until DH came home for that late brunch.
The next thing I hear was my phone ringing, a call from DH. He was in the ER at Fair Oaks with a heart attack. OMG!
I immediately leaped up and rushed out the door. I called one of my pastors and got to the ER in record time. When I arrived, he was in a bed, all hooked up to monitors, fluids and such. He was awake and feeling pretty well thanks to the nitroglycerine they had given him immediately after arrival.
When we had a chance to talk, it turned out that he had been in his conference and realized his chest was getting tight. He found the hotel’s store and bought aspirin – 3 for $11.00 which he thought was extravagant. He bought them and took them anyway – and probably saved his life.
On the way home, he was feeling pretty good so he stopped at the mall to buy an anniversary gift. The salesgirl in Zales didn’t know that ruby was the stone for the 40th anniversary and was kind of ribbing DH for waiting until the last minute to buy a gift. He walked out of there, felt more tightness and headed to the ER…where he called me.
DH was feeling pretty well thanks to the nitroglycerin and aspirin plus whatever else they had in the IV and wanted to go home. The staff said no way – he had to stay overnight so he could be monitored.
The “automatic clock” on the wall said it was Monday. Other rooms said Sunday. Hmmm
A trainee EMT came in to ask some questions as part of his learning process. Every time DH mentioned the word “Benghazi”, his blood pressure spiked about 40 points or so. That term became verboten ever after.
My pastor stopped by and we had some nice chats and prayers.
Time passed, tests were done, doctors and nurses stopped by. Finally, DH was moved to his room upstairs.
About 9 or so I went home and found our dog huddled by the front door – I had left so quickly I hadn’t left her any lights on. I imagine she was quite worried.
I can’t even remember what I had to eat for dinner but I really wanted something chocolate. On a whim, I looked in that goodie bag and there was a double-sized brownie. I think I ate that in record time and it really hit the spot.
Monday morning (for real!), I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice.
Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cell phone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself. Luckily, I hadn’t let go of the dog’s leash.
I ended up sitting in a puddle of icy water for a long time, figuring out how to get up. I finally sort of crawled up the trash can that was sitting in the driveway.
The dog had an abbreviated walk, I changed my wet, cold clothes and headed to the hospital. I was showing DH my knee and one of the staff bandaged it up for me. I told him I hadn’t fallen at the hospital and wouldn’t sue but I guess he wanted to be sure.
(Today, Monday February 18, my knee still has a huge lump under the skin and hurts when I touch it, although I’m no longer limping, The bruise/pain from cell phone finally went away)
The hospital staff decided DH should go to another hospital which is world renowned for its work with heart cases to have a heart catheterization and possible stent. DH was ready to walk out to my car to drive him to Fairfax Hospital. He wasn’t thrilled when he was strapped to a gurney and out to an ambulance instead.
I headed over in my car. They’d changed the entrances to the hospital since the last time I was there and I couldn’t find the “Grey Entrance”. Finally, after wandering around for a long time, I found it.
I saw DH in the prep room where they got him ready for the heart catheterization – then they rolled him away after explaining all the things that could go wrong.
I went out to the waiting room, got some coffee and a sandwich and hunkered down with my iPad.
Eventually, my beeper went off and I was called back to the room where DH had been prepped. The surgeon was there this time. She said that 3 arteries were nearly 100% blocked and they needed to do emergency triple bypass. They also needed me to convince DH of this since he was figuring he could tough it out.
I started crying but she said I had to get myself together and convince him NOW. I had to put on scrubs and off I went to the OR. I got there, DH was on the table trying to figure out the odds if he didn’t do this surgery. All the medical staff said that he had a very low chance of survival without the operation. He still wasn’t sure. He wasn’t afraid to die. Tough Guy, Yadda Yadda.
One of the nurses asked me if we had any kids. I said only one, in NYC. She said I should call him and get him here ASAP. She even dialed the number. I talked to DS at work and he agreed to come right away. He was pretty scared, too. He later revealed that he had been crying on the train ride.
I went back to the OR, told DH that DS was coming and that he was going to do the surgery like it or not. I signed the paperwork and sent him to a very scary surgery.
It was about 4:30 by then and I needed to take the dog out again. They said I could go home – surgery wouldn’t be over until about 8:00PM or so. Got home, took the dog, made sure that there were lights on, and headed back to the hospital. Another pastor from my church called. He said he’d be by the waiting room later.
Two friends from the church office texted me to say they were coming over to sit with me in the waiting room. They got there about 6:30 and we decided food might be a good thing. We headed out, following a variety of directions and signs and walked for a l-o-n-g time.
My knee was killing me. We got to the cafeteria and found out that it was closed. the 24-hour one was elsewhere. We finally found that, got some food and my cellphone rang. The surgeon would be coming out soon to talk to me.
We hustled back to the waiting room and the surgeon came out about 8:00 with good news. Successful surgery! DH wasn’t awake yet but we could see him about 9:00PM.
The pastor arrived about 8:30, then DS got there about 8:45. Finally, they said we could see DH although he still was asleep. My friends left, pastor and DS went in to see him in ICU, sleeping so peacefully with so many lines attached. The pastor prayed, then left. DS and I decided to stay to see DH awake.
About an hour later, the ICU tech said they were going to keep him asleep overnight so we went home.
Tuesday, January 29 – DS called the hospital fairly early and found that DH was still a bit agitated so they were keeping him under a bit. I took the dog out and we got ready to head back.
I got a call that he was waking up but agitated. He kept fighting with the nurses on the day of the week. He kept saying it was Monday, even though it was Tuesday. Surprise, surprise. The calendar on the wall hadn’t been changed. It still read Monday. No wonder that’s what he thought!
We stayed all day, though nurses, techs, doctor visits and such. He was in ICU so was monitored very well. DH was quite confused and repeated himself a lot. He wasn’t quite sure what had happened.
Wednesday, January 30. DH had been moved from ICU into a regular room and we had to follow visiting hours, even though we were family. We could visit at 11 and had to leave at 1, then back for 6-8. Actually, this worked out well since I was able to take my first nap since this whole ordeal began.
DH had called DS early in the morning and said he “needed” his cell phone to make some work calls. Luckily, DS talked him out of that, saying that he could say some wrong things, given his temporary memory issues. Thank goodness! I didn’t want him spending his days talking on the phone.
We got there about 10:45am and they still wouldn’t let us in due to “flu season”. I’m not sure how we could give him the flu in those 15 minutes before official visiting hours.
I glanced at the whiteboard on the wall where the nurses’ names, doctor’s name and such were written. Unfortunately, no one had changed this whiteboard since Monday, so that’s what it still said. <sigh>
We visited – DH got to eat a bit and had started having lines removed. He thought he might put his shorts on so went into the bathroom to do that. Unfortunately, he managed to pull the IV out of his hand and bled quite a bit. The nurse sent him back to bed and said no more of that!
A representative from the group Mended Hearts stopped by with information and a heart-shaped pillow. They have meetings the first Saturday of the month, so we might go to some of those.
The first pastor dropped by again and we made plans for Friday to pick up DH’s car which was still at the ER. No one else I know could get it – it’s a standard shift car.
Not much else – visiting, napping, improvements every day.
Finally, it’s not Monday! Nowhere, nohow. Just Thursday, January 31 after 4 days of Monday. Hooray!
DS had a headache so I went to the hospital alone. He was going to come for the nighttime visiting hours. As it happened, DH came home this day after lots of testing, last minute X-Ray, discharge notes, complaints about the night nurse…
We got home about 5:00PM. Yea!
Now the real work began – visiting nurses, medications, doctor visits, rehab.
Since it’s no longer Monday, this post is over 🙂
Whew! There was a lot more after the surgery – visiting nurses, cardiac rehab, so on and on.
I am hugely thankful for my pastors, friends, family, people who brought us dinners, all the doctors, nurses, surgeons, visiting nurses, rehab personal, Mended Hearts, ambulance folks, aspirin, nitroglycerin, insurance, Fair Oaks Hospital, Fairfax Hospital, everyone involved in any way with this escapade.
Today I am hugely thankful that the last major issue we had here was in 2013 when Tom had his heart attack. That event caused me to start a whole new blog to post about our experiences.
January 27, 2013 was our 40th anniversary. DH called me and said he was leaving a conference in Washington, DC and we’d go out to brunch when he got home.
The next thing I had heard was that he was in the ER with a suspected heart attack. I rushed to the ER and found him in his cubicle. He’d had 3 nitroglycerine pills by then and figured he could go home.
Wrong! They had him stay overnight at the hospital. January 28th, they decided to send him by ambulance to Fairfax Hospital for a cardiac catheterization and possible stent.
At the end of that, the surgeon came into my waiting room and said that he needed triple bypass NOW. Three of the arteries were 100% blocked. They got me calmed down to see him in the OR.
He was trying to get odds of not doing this surgery and just leaving then. Finally, I said that he would do this surgery, we weren’t going to fool with this.
I really lost it when they asked me if we had any children and I said 1 son in NYC. They called him at work in New York and had him get there as soon as possible. I’m sure he could hear the fear in my voice.
They wheeled DH off for surgery and I waited again. Luckily, 2 church friends came and sat with me and our pastor arrived about 8:00PM. Our son arrived about 8:30PM after taking the Acela and a taxi directly to the hospital.
The surgery was over about 9:00PM but when we saw Tom, he was still under anesthesia. They kept him that way until the next morning since he was too confused when they woke him up.
Long story short (too late!) – he got out of the hospital on the 31st and I played nurse 24/7. He couldn’t drive/go anywhere for 6 weeks, and then there were 12 weeks of cardiac rehab.
One of the things that came out or cardiac rehab was becoming friendly with 2 other couples (although one of them has since split up). We go out to dinner every couple months…and none of the surgeons would be happy about our choices.
I know I’m not supposed to “relive” events. I have done that too often with my Cushing’s and cancer adventures and I’m told that reliving causes nearly as much stress as the original event.
So, I plan to write down my memories here and try to let them go…
It all started on Sunday, January 27, 2013 – our 40th wedding anniversary. I picked up my mom and went to church so I could sing in the choir. DH went to a meeting of some sort on Benghazi.
After church, I stopped off in the church office for a goodie bag that the Staff Parish Committee had left.
Dropped my mom off at her house and went home. I put the goodie bag on the dining room table and logged onto the computer to do some work.
I got a couple text messages from DH:
I figured I’d take a nap until DH came home for that late brunch.
The next thing I hear was my phone ringing, a call from DH. He was in the ER at Fair Oaks with a heart attack. OMG!
I immediately leaped up and rushed out the door. I called one of my pastors and got to the ER in record time. When I arrived, he was in a bed, all hooked up to monitors, fluids and such. He was awake and feeling pretty well thanks to the nitroglycerine they had given him immediately after arrival.
When we had a chance to talk, it turned out that he had been in his conference and realized his chest was getting tight. He found the hotel’s store and bought aspirin – 3 for $11.00 which he thought was extravagant. He bought them and took them anyway – and probably saved his life.
On the way home, he was feeling pretty good so he stopped at the mall to buy an anniversary gift. The salesgirl in Zales didn’t know that ruby was the stone for the 40th anniversary and was kind of ribbing DH for waiting until the last minute to buy a gift. He walked out of there, felt more tightness and headed to the ER…where he called me.
DH was feeling pretty well thanks to the nitroglycerin and aspirin plus whatever else they had in the IV and wanted to go home. The staff said no way – he had to stay overnight so he could be monitored.
The “automatic clock” on the wall said it was Monday. Other rooms said Sunday. Hmmm
A trainee EMT came in to ask some questions as part of his learning process. Every time DH mentioned the word “Benghazi”, his blood pressure spiked about 40 points or so. That term became verboten ever after.
My pastor stopped by and we had some nice chats and prayers.
Time passed, tests were done, doctors and nurses stopped by. Finally, DH was moved to his room upstairs.
About 9 or so I went home and found our dog huddled by the front door – I had left so quickly I hadn’t left her any lights on. I imagine she was quite worried.
I can’t even remember what I had to eat for dinner but I really wanted something chocolate. On a whim, I looked in that goodie bag and there was a double-sized brownie. I think I ate that in record time and it really hit the spot.
Monday morning (for real!), I checked the weather and found that school was starting late because of icy conditions. I put on boots and took the dog out. It seemed to be raining – if it’s raining, it must be warm, right? So I didn’t really pay attention (and I had other things on my mind!) and completely missed seeing the black ice.
Next thing I knew, I had fallen on one knee, my cell phone in my pocket bruised my other thigh and my left arm hurt where I’d reached out to catch myself. Luckily, I hadn’t let go of the dog’s leash.
I ended up sitting in a puddle of icy water for a long time, figuring out how to get up. I finally sort of crawled up the trash can that was sitting in the driveway.
The dog had an abbreviated walk, I changed my wet, cold clothes and headed to the hospital. I was showing DH my knee and one of the staff bandaged it up for me. I told him I hadn’t fallen at the hospital and wouldn’t sue but I guess he wanted to be sure.
(Today, Monday February 18, my knee still has a huge lump under the skin and hurts when I touch it, although I’m no longer limping, The bruise/pain from cell phone finally went away)
The hospital staff decided DH should go to another hospital which is world renowned for its work with heart cases to have a heart catheterization and possible stent. DH was ready to walk out to my car to drive him to Fairfax Hospital. He wasn’t thrilled when he was strapped to a gurney and out to an ambulance instead.
I headed over in my car. They’d changed the entrances to the hospital since the last time I was there and I couldn’t find the “Grey Entrance”. Finally, after wandering around for a long time, I found it.
I saw DH in the prep room where they got him ready for the heart catheterization – then they rolled him away after explaining all the things that could go wrong.
I went out to the waiting room, got some coffee and a sandwich and hunkered down with my iPad.
Eventually, my beeper went off and I was called back to the room where DH had been prepped. The surgeon was there this time. She said that 3 arteries were nearly 100% blocked and they needed to do emergency triple bypass. They also needed me to convince DH of this since he was figuring he could tough it out.
I started crying but she said I had to get myself together and convince him NOW. I had to put on scrubs and off I went to the OR. I got there, DH was on the table trying to figure out the odds if he didn’t do this surgery. All the medical staff said that he had a very low chance of survival without the operation. He still wasn’t sure. He wasn’t afraid to die. Tough Guy, Yadda Yadda.
One of the nurses asked me if we had any kids. I said only one, in NYC. She said I should call him and get him here ASAP. She even dialed the number. I talked to DS at work and he agreed to come right away. He was pretty scared, too. He later revealed that he had been crying on the train ride.
I went back to the OR, told DH that DS was coming and that he was going to do the surgery like it or not. I signed the paperwork and sent him to a very scary surgery.
It was about 4:30 by then and I needed to take the dog out again. They said I could go home – surgery wouldn’t be over until about 8:00PM or so. Got home, took the dog, made sure that there were lights on, and headed back to the hospital. Another pastor from my church called. He said he’d be by the waiting room later.
Two friends from the church office texted me to say they were coming over to sit with me in the waiting room. They got there about 6:30 and we decided food might be a good thing. We headed out, following a variety of directions and signs and walked for a l-o-n-g time.
My knee was killing me. We got to the cafeteria and found out that it was closed. the 24-hour one was elsewhere. We finally found that, got some food and my cellphone rang. The surgeon would be coming out soon to talk to me.
We hustled back to the waiting room and the surgeon came out about 8:00 with good news. Successful surgery! DH wasn’t awake yet but we could see him about 9:00PM.
The pastor arrived about 8:30, then DS got there about 8:45. Finally, they said we could see DH although he still was asleep. My friends left, pastor and DS went in to see him in ICU, sleeping so peacefully with so many lines attached. The pastor prayed, then left. DS and I decided to stay to see DH awake.
About an hour later, the ICU tech said they were going to keep him asleep overnight so we went home.
Tuesday, January 29 – DS called the hospital fairly early and found that DH was still a bit agitated so they were keeping him under a bit. I took the dog out and we got ready to head back.
I got a call that he was waking up but agitated. He kept fighting with the nurses on the day of the week. He kept saying it was Monday, even though it was Tuesday. Surprise, surprise. The calendar on the wall hadn’t been changed. It still read Monday. No wonder that’s what he thought!
We stayed all day, though nurses, techs, doctor visits and such. He was in ICU so was monitored very well. DH was quite confused and repeated himself a lot. He wasn’t quite sure what had happened.
Wednesday, January 30. DH had been moved from ICU into a regular room and we had to follow visiting hours, even though we were family. We could visit at 11 and had to leave at 1, then back for 6-8. Actually, this worked out well since I was able to take my first nap since this whole ordeal began.
DH had called DS early in the morning and said he “needed” his cell phone to make some work calls. Luckily, DS talked him out of that, saying that he could say some wrong things, given his temporary memory issues. Thank goodness! I didn’t want him spending his days talking on the phone.
We got there about 10:45am and they still wouldn’t let us in due to “flu season”. I’m not sure how we could give him the flu in those 15 minutes before official visiting hours.
I glanced at the whiteboard on the wall where the nurses’ names, doctor’s name and such were written. Unfortunately, no one had changed this whiteboard since Monday, so that’s what it still said. <sigh>
We visited – DH got to eat a bit and had started having lines removed. He thought he might put his shorts on so went into the bathroom to do that. Unfortunately, he managed to pull the IV out of his hand and bled quite a bit. The nurse sent him back to bed and said no more of that!
A representative from the group Mended Hearts stopped by with information and a heart-shaped pillow. They have meetings the first Saturday of the month, so we might go to some of those.
The first pastor dropped by again and we made plans for Friday to pick up DH’s car which was still at the ER. No one else I know could get it – it’s a standard shift car.
Not much else – visiting, napping, improvements every day.
Finally, it’s not Monday! Nowhere, nohow. Just Thursday, January 31 after 4 days of Monday. Hooray!
DS had a headache so I went to the hospital alone. He was going to come for the nighttime visiting hours. As it happened, DH came home this day after lots of testing, last minute X-Ray, discharge notes, complaints about the night nurse…
We got home about 5:00PM. Yea!
Now the real work began – visiting nurses, medications, doctor visits, rehab.
Since it’s no longer Monday, this post is over 🙂
Whew! There was a lot more after the surgery – visiting nurses, cardiac rehab, so on and on.
I am hugely thankful for my pastors, friends, family, people who brought us dinners, all the doctors, nurses, surgeons, visiting nurses, rehab personal, Mended Hearts, ambulance folks, aspirin, nitroglycerin, insurance, Fair Oaks Hospital, Fairfax Hospital, everyone involved in any way with this escapade.
This is very good – much stronger than the one I mentioned below on September 8, 2018. The only real issue I have with it is that it bent, so I have to bend my knee to put it on. The other one is completely straight and just wraps around.
This is one of the better things I’ve gotten in my journey. It’s very nice, soft – and blue!
MaryO'Medical 