Busted Knee, on meds - watch out for strange posts...

[Joe13]

Well, I am once again proven I have a massive phobia about needles...

I completely wussed out and had to have my wife do the injection (who hates blood and cuts etc but being a mom has helped with a lot of that).

And the needle was about 2x the length I expected so I had thought I had prepared to do it myself but my fear overrode my resolve, especially since she had offered in the first place so I had an out.

I'd like to think I could do it if she couldn't and I'm sure I'd get thru it but the injection was not painless nor did it go away quickly - I relocated my ice pack to my belly where I was recommended as a good injection site for the least amount of discomfort.


It's funny, I'll take a 3" pocket knife and dig out a bad splinter with no qualms at all - just not needles.

 

[BFR45/70]

Hope you get better soon Joe sorry to hear about your knee , I know about the pain lol lost 6 discs broke my pelvis and fractured my L1,and L2. that was when I was 25 pushing 50 and paying for it now with chronic pain and loss of feeling in my legs ,But I still hunt and fish nothing but the grave will keep me from that lol put off cancer surgery 8 years ago so I could go elk hunting first, then elbow surgery 4 years ago because they wanted to do it during deer season. guess I am old and stubborn .

 

[Joe13]

Hope you get better soon Joe sorry to hear about your knee , I know about the pain lol lost 6 discs broke my pelvis and fractured my L1,and L2. that was when I was 25 pushing 50 and paying for it now with chronic pain and loss of feeling in my legs ,But I still hunt and fish nothing but the grave will keep me from that lol put off cancer surgery 8 years ago so I could go elk hunting first, then elbow surgery 4 years ago because they wanted to do it during deer season. guess I am old and stubborn .

You like to do what you want to do, nothing wrong with that!

I just couldn't go back to work with a bum knee so I had to get it done ASAP. If I knew how bad it wa going to be, I might have put it off till I couldn't walk anymore.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Gosh Joe, that's some scary doo doo! Prayer's incoming!
Endure with patience and grace, grasshopper!

Oh, and.

Quit being a big baby! I give myself two shots in the stomach per day! Morn and night!
Only hurts if you hit or are near a nerve! I told you to get better so do it!

 

[Joe13]

Gosh Joe, that's some scary doo doo! Prayer's incoming!
Endure with patience and grace, grasshopper!

Oh, and.

Quit being a big baby! I give myself two shots in the stomach per day! Morn and night!
Only hurts if you hit or are near a nerve! I told you to get better so do it!

I'm trying Sarge!!!

I've not experienced the fear I feel around injection needles with anything else in all my life (and know darn well it is all in my head and very irrational). Though the whole blood clot stroke thing is making me a little nervous.

It has taken me all of my life to be able to endure a flue shot for example, and I have to look away and avoid looking at them if at all possible.




The only thing I can think of is that we moved overseas when I was 4 and remember the event of going to the doc and getting shot after shot of immunization drugs.

Either that or soon after we got overseas my younger sister had to have 4 people hold her down for a shot and she was so tense that she bent the needle the first time they tried.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Hey Joe, I have one of those, too! When I was in basic, I, with many others, volunteered to give blood for our troops in the RVN. I got this crusty, old, Major (head nurse) and she took that gigantic, dull, old needle and stuffed it completely through the vein and scraped it along the bone for a while! Then, she called me a p and ridiculed me when I yelped! Only time I ever dropped an fbomb on an officer! She wasn't impressed, probably because of all the whimpering that came out with it!

 

[Medic!]

Sorry to hear about the DVT. Tuff break.
Keep an eye out for symptoms consistent with a pulmonary embolism. Bad Ju-Ju!
Know the symptoms.

Good luck Joe.

 

[etrain16]

Glad they found that clot - they can be life-threatening if not treated! And yes, painful. My wife had a bad 'high ankle sprain' about 6 years ago that ended up developing a clot because the therapist she was assigned to failed to get her as mobile as she should have been Ended up on thinners for months as well. Everything worked out in the end, but damn, it was scary for a while. Thankfully there are treatments for these things.

As for the shots, when I found out I was diabetic (type 1) and had to start taking insulin injections, I remember sitting there with the nurse, needle in my hand, for probably 30 straight minutes, just waiting to inject. She finally told me to basically 'man up' and do it. Since then, I've given myself thousands of injections, it's old hat to me now, but it took time to get there. I've also learned how to 'feel' around myself for a spot that likely won't hurt much - sometimes I barely feel the needle going in. I'm on an insulin pump now, so I only have to push in a needle every 3 days or so.

One suggestion I'll give, if it's an option for you (may not be depending on the type of injection), I find my thighs, especially upper thigh, on the sides, just below the hip bone, even toward the glutes, to be some of the least sensitive areas. Stomach area can be fine, but ding the wrong spot, and you definitely feel it.

 

[Joe13]

Sorry to hear about the DVT. Tuff break.
Keep an eye out for symptoms consistent with a pulmonary embolism. Bad Ju-Ju!
Know the symptoms.

Good luck Joe.

Thanks and yessir!

Doc didn't give me much in the way of what to look out for my wife is friends with the lead tech at a pharmacy and we all three are on meds for different things so after 10+ years the main people know is by sight and name so the pharmacist gave my wife the run down of possibilities and she hammered them into my thick skull about what to watch for when she got home.

Glad they found that clot - they can be life-threatening if not treated! And yes, painful. My wife had a bad 'high ankle sprain' about 6 years ago that ended up developing a clot because the therapist she was assigned to failed to get her as mobile as she should have been Ended up on thinners for months as well. Everything worked out in the end, but damn, it was scary for a while. Thankfully there are treatments for these things.

As for the shots, when I found out I was diabetic (type 1) and had to start taking insulin injections, I remember sitting there with the nurse, needle in my hand, for probably 30 straight minutes, just waiting to inject. She finally told me to basically 'man up' and do it. Since then, I've given myself thousands of injections, it's old hat to me now, but it took time to get there. I've also learned how to 'feel' around myself for a spot that likely won't hurt much - sometimes I barely feel the needle going in. I'm on an insulin pump now, so I only have to push in a needle every 3 days or so.

One suggestion I'll give, if it's an option for you (may not be depending on the type of injection), I find my thighs, especially upper thigh, on the sides, just below the hip bone, even toward the glutes, to be some of the least sensitive areas. Stomach area can be fine, but ding the wrong spot, and you definitely feel it.

I know I'm a total invalid with shots and my wife did my 4th of hopefully only 10 this morning and I barely felt it but the meds still sting a bit for 20-30 min but ice packs help pretty well with that. She was told by the pharmacist to make a circle of shots 2" around my belly button and I'm on my back constantly so the belly seems like the best place because nothing touches that area except for a shirt.

So I just turned some of my shirts into mid drift shirts so my gut sticks out I don't but that would be funny to see people's reaction in a store hahaha



My chronic IBS came in handy for maybe the first time. I'm not supposed to eat dark green veggies or drink cranberry or orange type drinks and those are all on my no eat list anyway.

No diet changes at least and Ive lost at least 5-8 lbs since the first so that could be good for my knee.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

That's good, Joe! Lighter is so much better for rehabbing knees!

 

[Joe13]

Good news on a few fronts:

Blood levels are where they want them so no more shots (wife got great at them though so they were not terrible) & no more daily blood checks - upgraded to once a week now. So I think I'm out of the danger zone for blood clot catastrophes.


Physical Therapist was suprised at the amount of progress I'd made just over the weekend so I'll keep focusing on the excersises she gives me and try to hold off the muscle atrophy in the quad and calf muscles as best I can without over doing it (still high risk for re injury so I'm listening to her advice and what my body is telling me and not my mind).


First day without narcotics 24/7. Only made it 4 hours without any pain meds. Then dealt with Tylenol for 4 more hours before the Tylenol just wasn't enough enough, but only took a 5mg codeine to get some sleep.

Not sleeping obviously but I may be in more pain then I though but didn't expect getting off it after 3 weeks was going to be easy.

Tomorrow I'm shooting for 12 hours on Tylenol.

If I could get off the couch much (3 weeks to go..) then I'd like to get off the muscle relaxers (that I also avoided for 5 hours) as well but the only thing I can think of comparing it too is the difference between sleeping/ laying on pillows verses lumpy concrete.


Getting there one step at a time

 

[Camelfilter]

...Getting there one step at a time

Rite on rite on, keep up the good work!

-Bummer about the DVT, glad it was caught early on though. Pressure socks/leggings may be helpful going forwards, while you are still recovering from surg. Talk to your providers about it though.

 

[Joe13]

Rite on rite on, keep up the good work!

-Bummer about the DVT, glad it was caught early on though. Pressure socks/leggings may be helpful going forwards, while you are still recovering from surg. Talk to your providers about it though.

I have one ordered and one I took back, when I tried it on and it was ok till I got up to my knee and then I almost passed out from the pain - eyes rolled up into the back of my head and I couldn't get it off fast enough. The pain could not be over exaggerated.

The one on order is a larger size and my doc wants me to wear it all day long - just had to juggle some cash around, they are more expensive then I assumed, especially for extra strength stockings

 

[Camelfilter]

I have one ordered and one I took back, when I tried it on and it was ok till I got up to my knee and then I almost passed out from the pain - eyes rolled up into the back of my head and I couldn't get it off fast enough. The pain could not be over exaggerated.

The one on order is a larger size and my doc wants me to wear it all day long - just had to juggle some cash around, they are more expensive then I assumed, especially for extra strength stockings

Dang! ...upside is they'll help further reduce risk until your up & about again.

...remember this experience if you ever have to take a long drive or flight 10 or 20 years from now & get up/take a break every so often to walk around.

 

[Joe13]

My physical therapist wants me in shoes (well a shoe) instead of my combat tactical every day flip flop.

I told her I have those, 9" leather boots and 2 pair of dress shoes. She laughed a bit and said she could understand not wanting to wear dress shoes with gym shorts but that I'm playing with Fire wearing the flip flop because I might catch it on something and trip while on the crutches..

It was the sock or shoes so I went compression sock. I'm in flip flops unless I'm in boots.

Dang! ...upside is they'll help further reduce risk until your up & about again.

...remember this experience if you ever have to take a long drive or flight 10 or 20 years from now & get up/take a break every so often to walk around.

Spent 7 years overseas as a kid with 16 hour flights and remember my parents having us get up and walk around the plane - I always assumed it was to keep us occupied until recently.

I've not heard of these socks or DVT'S until now at almost 40

 

[Medic!]

Tennis shoes can fix and prevent a lot of injuries.

Especially if you wear the souls off a pair every six months.

 

[Joe13]

Tennis shoes can fix and prevent a lot of injuries.

Especially if you wear the souls off a pair every six months.

Yea

Figured I'd need a pair when I'm able to start walking every day. I'm a few weeks away from that at least though and money's a week by week thing right now.

This knee surgury and complications were never expected, and the recovery time is way past what I had planned on.

I was happily simi-retired until my wife went into the social services field.

 

[Medic!]

We all need a pair of exercise shoes.......... 10 years ago.

 

[WAYNO]

Joe13...Now that I'm feeling a tad better, I gotta say how sympathetic I am to your situation. I know all too well that spending weeks, or even months off your feet, and on multiple cocktails of the latest pharmaceuticals do take a toll on so many fronts.

It's my turn to say that someday this will all be just a memory, and you'll be so glad it's behind you. There were times I truly thought I might not survive intact. But I'm here to say I did.

Continue to do what they want you to do, and continue to question the quacks when you think their judgement might require some scrutiny. After my knee replacement, I do believe the Physical Therapists did more damage than therapy.

Take care.

WAYNO.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Tennis shoes can fix and prevent a lot of injuries.

Especially if you wear the souls off a pair every six months.