New Knee @ Work

Well it had to happen sooner or later: I started back to work this week. As I am a software engineer at a large aerospace company I spend my time at work in front of a computer. I generally get plenty of mousing exercise but not much in the way of other exercise at work. Theron lies a problem. My knee has behaved wonderfully while I stay active but it really does not like prolonged sitting! I got back from work feeling stiff and achy. I'm trying to figure out ways to fight that!

New Knee Status: Three Month Checkup

Two momentous things on the calendar today: I started back to work and I had my three month check with the surgeon.

Funnest part of the doctor visit was getting X-Rays. I am just geeky enough to enjoy getting to see the new hardware in my knee. I had actually thought that I still had the lower screw in (leftover from my ACL repair back in the day). As it turns out it was my upper screw that the doctor left in. I posted the after picture on my blog page and if you look at the line of the inner leg in the before and after picture you can see how bow legged I was in the before shot. The doctor was quite happy with everything he saw in the X-Ray. He reiterated his admonishment that this process was a 9 month process and I was not there yet. I still have numbness on the outside side of the knee and I still have stiffness and pain after sitting for any length of time. These are gradually getting better and it is rare that I have to take pain meds to manage discomfort.
Even though it was a very short work day because of doctor and physical therapy visits I was glad to get in and get into my computer and reset my long forgotten passwords! I brought the laptop home with me so I could attempt to catch up with work email.

New Knee: Week 7 - WWDC

Here I am down in San Francisco attending Apple's World Wide Developer Conference!

I signed up for the ticket lottery whIle recovering from surgery anesthetic and lucked out by getting in. At first I was afraid I would not be able to attend so soon after surgery and I even contacted the Apple Developers support team about the possibility of bowing out. They would have let me but luckily when I talked to my doctor he gave me the go ahead to fly down and attend. For me it is only a couple hours flight so not a huge issue. 

I talked to MrBikePT and he gave me a few pointers. I had already booked a slightly more expensive hotel because it was really close to the Conference center. He suggested I take an ace bandage to use for a little compression therapy at the end of day. Also told me to find the ice machine and if available I might want to use a whirlpool. 

As it turned out the week has not been too hard on the knee. The worst was day one when we spent hours in lines! By two thirds through that day I was ready to pack it in and found a seat where I could download the software I wanted and then headed back to the hotel. I had brought along a gallon ziplock bag which I filled up with ice for a bit of a lie down with feet up and ice on. 

Between Conference and a bit of sight-seeing I didn't take time out to workout in the gym.... Bad Linda! I did manage to get my leg up with ice on it every day (I needed it!) and I booked a massage where I had the masseuse  work on my legs mostly. I did have to skip out on several sessions as I was not able to sit for full days.

New Knee Status: Drugs

Everyone has different pain tolerance so it is hard to tell what you will need after surgery for pain control. Here are some of my thoughts on my own pain med use.

I was able to "mostly" get off the hard stuff prior to my first months doctor checkup. I occasionally use Tylenol and occasionally will grab an oxycodone when I feel sore enough to really disturb my sleep.

While the new knee has its aches and pains related to rehab and healing the rest of my joints have the same old aches and pains they had before surgery (duh). I went off daily NSAIDs before surgery and have not gone back on it yet  so I am starting to feel some of those other aches now. I may end up on some regular NSAIDs but for now the occasional use seems to be working for the rest of the joints.

One trick I use for judging my use of pain meds. I try to keep my pain levels controlled enough that I get decent sleep. I also want to get back to my normal level of  activity and keep up my physical therapy. Sometimes it takes a couple tylenol or even an oxy to get there.

New Knee: First Hike!

One of my hopes for the new knee is that I will be able to get back into hiking again. This weekend was a gorgeous northwest weekend so seemed to be the ideal time to drive out of the city and do a little hike. And yes I do mean little! I used the Washington Trails Association Hike search (http://www.wta.org) to look for hikes UNDER 3 miles in the central cascades. I came up with Lake Elizabeth on the way to Stevens Pass.

Becky, Beethoven and I headed off after a fortifying breakfast to find what turned out to be the elusive Lake Elizabeth and circumnavigate it on foot! The circumnavigation was 0.7 miles and involved a small amount of stepping up roots and over streams on rocks. I had my hiking poles which helped on the sketchier bits.
I wore my sturdy running shoes although I had my hiking boots in the car in case I though I would need them. The trail was just muddy enough to do a number on Becky's cute shoes....

New Knee Tips

Remember while you rehab to be aware of your body position and especially the position of both hips and legs. It is easy to cheat your gait and end up with sore joints.

New Knee Day 42

Mr. BikePT said I could get on the bike! Short FLAT rides with flat pedals instead of cleats but that's a start!