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Hello Cathy and SBanner,
Thank you for responding to my post. Your experiences sound a lot like mine. I am entering my 4th month after surgery and it's been hell! I'm still in PT, 2x a week and my PT tells me to hang in there as it just takes time. Like you, my surgeon prescribed gabapentin but the drug has been so hard on me that I'm in the process of weaning off of it. While my flexion and extension are where they need to be, my gait/walk is totally off, unless I'm using a cane. I'm told this is due to my quad muscle being very weak and unable to support the knee. The exercises to strengthen the quad are so difficult, but I power through them. Therefore, the knee is always sore and swollen -- still feels like it's in a vice all day long. I exercise daily and by the end of the day, I'm so sore and swollen that I, too, just want to start sobbing (and of course, questioning what the hell did I do?) My surgeon has told me I fall into the 10% of patients who take a VERY long time to recover. I too have a small cyst that is present on the X-rays, which my PT noticed (surgeon said nothing about it). Not sure what can be done about it outside of healing on its own? I ice all day long, which does help the pain, but just causes more stiffness. It's a vicious circle!
I'm relieved to know I'm not the only one falling into that 10% but yikes, this is exhausting. Best wishes to you both,
Cheryl from Chicago
Replies to "Hello Cathy and SBanner, Thank you for responding to my post. Your experiences sound a lot..."
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Hi Cathy,
You aren’t alone with your healing. At four months, I was still icing my knee because of pain and swelling. Thankfully, I was off all medications by this time, because I was having a significant hair loss. I narrowed it down to Gabapentin.
My husband and I decided to be snow birds for three months this year. Even though it’s cool in FL, the weather allows me to take daily walks that help so much. Can’t do this in Chicago at this time of year. I’m up to 9000 steps now. Pre-knee problems, I walked all the time, so looking forward to walking without thinking about the replacement.
The first thing I have to do before I get out of bed each morning is stretch. The stretching really does help so much.
I was able to do my PT exercises one day in the pool. I was sore for the following two days, but really enjoyed doing them. I’m looking forward to the weather warming up so I can do this more frequently.
I see small improvements every month. My Bakers Cyst looks a little smaller this month, but maybe that’s just wishful thinking.
One of my mistakes, was comparing myself to others. One person told me she was fine after two weeks, another was golfing after three weeks and another lady was zip lining in Colorado at 6 1/2 weeks post op. I was crying and had hard time walking to the bathroom at 6 1/2 weeks.
I’m entering my 7th month post op, and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Three months ago, there was no way I could have walked through Midway Airport, but I was able to do it around 6 months post op, without a cane or wheelchair.
It’s a long healing process for me and look forward to feeling better every month. I’ll make my final evaluation of the surgery at one year post op.
Stay warm back home in Chicago.
Sue