Where's Sobo??

[Flopsweat]

We can get a good deal on some butter-faces and just have them put on masks.

I know just the place!

 

[Siglvr]

If it's the right knee I already had it first. Screwed up my skiing big time. "Ripping" a Black Diamond just isn't the same. Oh, the right turns aren't too ugly, but those left turns where the weight goes onto the right knee are horrific.

Glad he's most likely on the path to doing OK, hopefully his fingers can still type and he'll be around in a bit.

 

[partsed]

We can get a good deal on some butter-faces and just have them put on masks.

Wonder if BooberEats delivers that far???

 

[1371JarHead]

I was able to get in touch with Sobo. I've got good and bad news.
Good news, he's alive!
Bad news, he had a knee surgery that had complications due to nerve damage. He's in a lot of pain, on strong meds and bedridden. It sounds horrible but hopefully he'll be back on his feet soon. I'm just glad he's still with us.

been there done that, unbelievable pain...

 

[SquirrelSlayer]

For he needs anything PM me, I'm in the Tri-Cities.

 

[Provincial]

I hope Sobo is following NWF during his recuperation. At least he can get some entertainment. We miss him.

 

[CountryGent]

I just received a PM response from him.

 

[BBQ Guy]

I got a message as well.
He is alive.

 

[sobo]

Should we be secretly happy that sobo is NOT posting while on hardcore pain meds?

Probably...

 

[OldTengu]

Probably...

Glad you're still kicking. Or maybe you're not. Knee surgery sucks.
Good to know you're still around.

 

[BrentN]

IT LIVES!!!!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Holy necro thread batman!

Glad to see you back buddy, we was all worried!

 

[sobo]

Greetings, all of you who I count as among my friends. First off, let me say that I am still alive... obviously.
I'd like to express my personal thanks to @Lilhigbee for starting this thread. Thank you, Brother!
And to @2Wheels4Ever for searching me out on the innerwebz. The Googlefu is strong in that one...

As to what happened... I injured my left knee 7+ years ago while deployed to AFG. The base doc gave me a bunch of corticosteroid shots back then that allowed me to carry on as if nothing had ever happened. Those shots lasted me for SIX years! Then, in November of 2019, I started to develop a hitch in my git-along in that leg and the pain started to come back. It steadily got worse, until on July 4 of 2020, I couldn't walk. I had to drag myself into the ER like Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein ("Walk this way. No, walk *this* way..."). I ended up seeing an orthopedic surgeon later that summer who offered more steroids, or arthroscopic surgery to fix it. Since by now I had become a prepper, I didn't want to be reliant upon drugs, injections, or medications should the S ever HTF. So I opted for the surgery. That happened on December 9, 2020...

The knee part of the surgery went swimmingly, but I immediately noticed an intense burning and piercing pain in my lower leg and foot. It got worse and worse, and the leg swelled up like a telephone pole. The docs kept telling me the swelling was normal, and they kept asking me how my knee felt. I kept insisting that my knee was perfectly fine (I even slapped it back and forth between my hands like Mike Tyson working a speed ball), and this was after only 3 or 4 days post-surgery. A week after the surgery, I was in the ER due to extreme swelling and everyone thought I was gonna die of a DVT. Now, having made many, many long flights to and from halfway around the world, my company had warned me about DVTs and what sitting still for too long on long flights would do. DVT, for those who aren't familiar with the term, is deep vein thrombosis - a blood clot that could break loose and block the artery at the heart and kill you. Turns out it wasn't that, but they still didn't know why my foot hurt so bad...

More MRIs and ultrasounds later, they were still perplexed, or at least they played the part that they were. In the mean time, having nothing better to do but lay on my back with my foot in the air and read Wikipedia all damn day and night, I decided to get my online medical degree from Wiki U. What I read started sounding an awful lot like a tibial nerve entrapment, tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS), or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Kudos to @Certaindeaf for landing upon CRPS first. They kept trying to say is was TTS, and that they were not responsible for it, and that I could be "anatomically predisposed to this complication". Much discussion ensued, but I still believe the surgery center is responsible for my current state. You shoulda seen their eyes fly open when I finally busted out the N-word. No, not that N-word, ya ninnies! The other one - nerve damage!

So I've seen about 6 doctors now, had several MRIs, at least 2 ultrasounds, and a Nerve Conduction Study. Oh, was that ever fun! Read up on what a NCS is all about. Think electroshock therapy... They've now upped my dosages of hydrocodone and gabapentin and ibuprofen to ungodly levels, and I spend most of my day sleeping now. That's actually good, since early on (that first 5 weeks or so from 12/9/20 to 1/18/21), the hospital refused to renew my oxycodone and hydrocodone prescriptions and just left me with nothing while I was writhing and screaming in pain at home alone. Turns out, the hospital's policy is to refuse patients any opioids after 14 days post-op so that people don't get addicted to them and then sue the hospital. WTF??? Some friends convinced me to try my PCP, but I didn't think I could ask him to prescribe me anything since he didn't perform the surgery or see me. Turns out I was wrong. My PCP, Dr. Jim, who has known me for 30+ years, came through with a new Rx for hydro that quite literally saved my life. That's twice for him (the first time was when he spotted my newly-hatched melanoma during an annual physical 10+ years ago)!

So where am I at now? The pain management physiatrist who did the NCS says the results are leaning toward CPRS. She is not affiliated with the hospital or the surgery center. The surgery center is leaning towards TTS, since they (obviously) want to stay away from any sort of responsibility for nerve damage (IMHO). So, the surgery center injected my ankle and tarsal tunnel area with more corticosteroid on the 9th of this month. They said I should start to feel better in about two weeks. Two weeks was this past Tuesday, and I'm not feeling any better in my foot, which isn't good, and makes me think it's a case of CRPS. My pain mgm't doc, the woman who did the NCS, still thinks it's CRPS, in contradiction to the surgery center. She has upped my meds significantly from when I first started. The surgery center upped them twice since this all started, and now my pain mgm't doc has upped them twice more again. I'm getting near to the top of the scale with what I'm taking.

So, the corticosteroid isn't doing what the surgery center thought it would do, and my pain doc is topping me out on the opioids and nerve-quieting drugs. I hate to say it, but it's looking more and more to me that it's CRPS. If it is, then this is going to be pretty debilitating. I've already been out of work on short-term disability for 16 weeks, and have only 10 more weeks before major things start to happen at work. I can barely walk, use a cane in the house, crutches outside, and a wheelchair if I'm going any distance or have to remain upright for any length of time. I can't stand or even sit for more than about 5-10 minutes at a time before the leg swells up again and the real serious pain (the pain that the drugs can't combat) comes back. Then I have to lie down for hours to let the swelling go back down before I can sit or stand up again.

It's tough to fix meals, but I have a couple of friends that have come to my rescue in that regard, bringing me prepared meals and shopping for my basic necessities. My co-workers got together and got me $350 worth of DoorDash bucks, so that's also been quite a blessing. Looking ahead, if this doesn't get a lot better, I'm going to lose the ability to do a lot of the things that make Sobo Sobo. That would mean no more running, climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, hiking, skiing, kayaking, shooting (I should still be able to shoot paper from a bench, but no more running around a USPSA/IDPA course ), and a host of other fun stuff.

So, I'm s'posed to see the foot doc again on March 9th and discuss the (failure of) corticosteroids and what happens next, and the pain mgm't doc on the 22nd of March. If I can gut it out, I'll be back on this thread with an update, if'n any of y'all are interested. Right now, I gotta go lie down for about 3 or 4 hours...

Adios, Friends! Thanks for the well wishes; they're much appreciated.

 

[mrblond]

hang in there

 

[Flopsweat]

Greetings, all of you who I count as among my friends. First off, let me say that I am still alive... obviously.
I'd like to express my personal thanks to @Lilhigbee for starting this thread. Thank you, Brother!
And to @2Wheels4Ever for searching me out on the innerwebz. The Googlefu is strong in that one...

As to what happened... I injured my left knee 7+ years ago while deployed to AFG. The base doc gave me a bunch of corticosteroid shots back then that allowed me to carry on as if nothing had ever happened. Those shots lasted me for SIX years! Then, in November of 2019, I started to develop a hitch in my git-along in that leg and the pain started to come back. It steadily got worse, until on July 4 of 2020, I couldn't walk. I had to drag myself into the ER like Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein ("Walk this way. No, walk *this* way..."). I ended up seeing an orthopedic surgeon later that summer who offered more steroids, or arthroscopic surgery to fix it. Since by now I had become a prepper, I didn't want to be reliant upon drugs, injections, or medications should the S ever HTF. So I opted for the surgery. That happened on December 9, 2020...

The knee part of the surgery went swimmingly, but I immediately noticed an intense burning and piercing pain in my lower leg and foot. It got worse and worse, and the leg swelled up like a telephone pole. The docs kept telling me the swelling was normal, and they kept asking me how my knee felt. I kept insisting that my knee was perfectly fine (I even slapped it back and forth between my hands like Mike Tyson working a speed ball), and this was after only 3 or 4 days post-surgery. A week after the surgery, I was in the ER due to extreme swelling and everyone thought I was gonna die of a DVT. Now, having made many, many long flights to and from halfway around the world, my company had warned me about DVTs and what sitting still for too long on long flights would do. DVT, for those who aren't familiar with the term, is deep vein thrombosis - a blood clot that could break loose and block the artery at the heart and kill you. Turns out it wasn't that, but they still didn't know why my foot hurt so bad...

More MRIs and ultrasounds later, they were still perplexed, or at least they played the part that they were. In the mean time, having nothing better to do but lay on my back with my foot in the air and read Wikipedia all damn day and night, I decided to get my online medical degree from Wiki U. What I read started sounding an awful lot like a tibial nerve entrapment, tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS), or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Kudos to @Certaindeaf for landing upon CRPS first. They kept trying to say is was TTS, and that they were not responsible for it, and that I could be "anatomically predisposed to this complication". Much discussion ensued, but I still believe the surgery center is responsible for my current state. You shoulda seen their eyes fly open when I finally busted out the N-word. No, not that N-word, ya ninnies! The other one - nerve damage!

So I've seen about 6 doctors now, had several MRIs, at least 2 ultrasounds, and a Nerve Conduction Study. Oh, was that ever fun! Read up on what a NCS is all about. Think electroshock therapy... They've now upped my dosages of hydrocodone and gabapentin and ibuprofen to ungodly levels, and I spend most of my day sleeping now. That's actually good, since early on (that first 5 weeks or so from 12/9/20 to 1/18/21), the hospital refused to renew my oxycodone and hydrocodone prescriptions and just left me with nothing while I was writhing and screaming in pain at home alone. Turns out, the hospital's policy is to refuse patients any opioids after 14 days post-op so that people don't get addicted to them and then sue the hospital. WTF??? Some friends convinced me to try my PCP, but I didn't think I could ask him to prescribe me anything since he didn't perform the surgery or see me. Turns out I was wrong. My PCP, Dr. Jim, who has known me for 30+ years, came through with a new Rx for hydro that quite literally saved my life. That's twice for him (the first time was when he spotted my newly-hatched melanoma during an annual physical 10+ years ago)!

So where am I at now? The pain management physiatrist who did the NCS says the results are leaning toward CPRS. She is not affiliated with the hospital or the surgery center. The surgery center is leaning towards TTS, since they (obviously) want to stay away from any sort of responsibility for nerve damage (IMHO). So, the surgery center injected my ankle and tarsal tunnel area with more corticosteroid on the 9th of this month. They said I should start to feel better in about two weeks. Two weeks was this past Tuesday, and I'm not feeling any better in my foot, which isn't good, and makes me think it's a case of CRPS. My pain mgm't doc, the woman who did the NCS, still thinks it's CRPS, in contradiction to the surgery center. She has upped my meds significantly from when I first started. The surgery center upped them twice since this all started, and now my pain mgm't doc has upped them twice more again. I'm getting near to the top of the scale with what I'm taking.

So, the corticosteroid isn't doing what the surgery center thought it would do, and my pain doc is topping me out on the opioids and nerve-quieting drugs. I hate to say it, but it's looking more and more to me that it's CRPS. If it is, then this is going to be pretty debilitating. I've already been out of work on short-term disability for 16 weeks, and have only 10 more weeks before major things start to happen at work. I can barely walk, use a cane in the house, crutches outside, and a wheelchair if I'm going any distance or have to remain upright for any length of time. I can't stand or even sit for more than about 5-10 minutes at a time before the leg swells up again and the real serious pain (the pain that the drugs can't combat) comes back. Then I have to lie down for hours to let the swelling go back down before I can sit or stand up again.

It's tough to fix meals, but I have a couple of friends that have come to my rescue in that regards, bringing me prepared meals and shopping for my basic necessities. My co-workers got together and got me $350 worth of DoorDash bucks, so that's also been quite a blessing. Looking ahead, if this doesn't get a lot better, I'm going to lose the ability to do a lot of the things that make Sobo Sobo. That would mean no more running, climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, hiking, skiing, kayaking, shooting (I'll should still be able to shoot from a bench at paper, but no more running around a USPSA/IDPA course ), and a host of other fun stuff.

So, I'm s'posed to see the foot doc again on March 9th and discuss the (failure of) corticosteroids and what happens next, and the pain mgm't doc on the 22nd of March. If I can gut it out, I'll be back on this thread with an update, if'n any of y'all are interested. Right now, I gotta go lie down for about 3 or 4 hours...

Adios, Friends! Thanks for the well wishes; they're much appreciated.

Great to have you back. I'm sure you know that a lot of us are ready to help any way we can. Just ask.

 

[Jasonanddeonna]

Sobo, prayers to the Almighty for pain elimination, miracle healing, good doctors, and maybe a great attorney. Is there anything we can do to help?

 

[BBQ Guy]

Holy sheet balls.

 

[sobo]

Sobo, prayers to the Almighty for pain elimination, miracle healing, good doctors, and maybe a great attorney. Is there anything we can do to help?

Thank you Jason and Deonna, but I'm making the best of it that I can. I've got a support network here that is helping me out.

But don't be expecting any BBQ pics any time soon. I have not fired up the grill since the night before the operation, over 11 weeks ago.
I was just able to make a pot of French-pressed coffee starting this past week. It'll take time...

 

[Flopsweat]

Thank you Jason and Donna, but I'm making the best of it that I can. I've got a support network here that is helping me out.

But don't be expecting any BBQ pics any time soon. I ahve not fired up the grill since the night before the operation, over 16 weeks ago. I was just able to make a pot of French-pressed coffee starting this past week. It'll take time...

Start small. Nuke some cocktail weenies.

 

[sobo]

Last thing tonight, before I take my next round of drugs and hit the rack...

My last haircut and shave was on November 2nd, the night before The Election.
Ever wonder what a sobo looks like that hasn't had a haircut/trim in 16+ weeks...???
Behold the "before", from last night...