5 Months since the operation

Home recovery 5 months

Well it seems an age ago when I was in Lithuania and I watch with trepidation the expanding threats by Russia on the old soviet union countries like Lithuania. 

I have recently been in touch with Rūta about the expectations on my recovery as I have been convinced that it is not going as well as the last time; however I must accept that not only was it a bigger operation as it was a revision to a previous partial knee but I am of course 4 years older!  

Issues which I have noticed recently:

1. Pain below the operated knee when standing still and then moving. 

2. Continued failure to walk downstairs comfortably

3. A developing pain in my left glute 

4. Lower back pain

I had been suffering from significant pain just below the operated knee on the inside of the leg. This got worse if I stood for any length of time or walked too far. Shooting pains and very inhibiting. I wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything untoward happening. Anyway Rūta was extremely helpful and asked me to get two X-Rays redone and sent off to her. 

As usual it was a lengthy process to get the new X-Rays carried out and then to get the digital copies to send off. When she passed these to the consultant he was happy that everything was in order and I should not worry. I had also asked about some long term discoloration below where this pain appears to be located so it had worried me that there might be a link. Again I was told that this was quite normal and I should not worry; indeed my GP said it was likely to be a slight internal bleed following the operation and it would eventually disappear. 

Following on directly from the GP appointment I had a session with Steffi my Sports & Remedial Massage Therapist and she uses cupping. I discussed the issue of the discolouration and she used  cupping and drawing the cup up towards the lymph node at the knee.  After the session the discolouration disappeared so that is another relief. Since the last session with Steffi I have now been able to walk further, I am now working on the pain in my glute by sitting on a spiky ball and rolling it forwards and backwards and the pain below the knee is affecting my way less. The lower back pain is most noticeable when I wake in the mornings and try to get out of bed. With movement it becomes less noticeable. 

During the last month I have been doing a lot of work on my yacht which involves getting into small spaces, bending a lot and strengthening my core in sympathy with the rocking of the boat on the swinging mooring. I am sure that this is doing me good and getting me more flexible and fitter. However as I recover and get to move more my diabetes blood sugar measurements are becoming more erratic. I am now waiting to be put on the new freestyle libre patches to help me get my sugar levels more consistent again. 

All in all I am now quite a happy chap but still wish I was recovering even quicker. I am back to walking our dog again now twice a day but I have had to pull out of competing in the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association (ISORA) races for this year. I am looking forward to my first long cruise of this year to Portrush next Thursday where I will catch up with Williamd Mcantyre. Roll on 6 months since the operation!

3 months since the operation

Yesterday 24th April I received an email from Ruta at Nordorthopaedics asking me to get my 3 month X-Ray review to send off for the surgeon to check. 

For much of the last week I have had a dull pain around the lower section of the knee which moved from side to side, not in any way consistent, this has hampered my walking distances but I can now walk down stairs normally most of the time. 

Every now and then I still do too much and then suffer the consequences with having to rest up and use cream and ice. Today 26th is one of those days but with some maintenance issues to deal with on the other house I had to keep going. Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon and early evening doing awkward maintenance on the boat so I wasn't surprised that I was a bit on the stiff side today. 

A summary of my experience so far on this second Lithuanian knee. 

At 3 months I have noticed pain around the top of the tibia, or where I assume it to be. The pain is not constant and tends to move from one side to another. 

My brian is not yet convinced about walking downstairs normally and I have to work hard to make myself do that, just like when I am walking I have to concentrate so that I don't limp. The natural reaction to walking down a slope seems to be that you test up your upper back and shoulders which again takes a lot of effort to correct.

I am not sure if the lower back pain is a result of the L4-L5 spinal decompression surgery that I underwent back on October 1st 2021, or whether it is the result of too much sitting around and not moving regularly. Generally I have been very good at doing my physiotherapy exercises and getting up from the sitting position at regular intervals. However I still struggle on certain days to rotate the static bike pedals through a full circle. 

The other point which I have noticed this week is a sharp pain when I push or catch the top of the surgery incision scar. I note that this is not painful when the knee is flexed around 90 degrees but only when straightened. 

Additionally my right calf has always been tight ever since my carbon fibre achilles tendon repair. This is now very noticeable when doing my physiotherapy. 

Before the operation my leg was pointing inwards from the hip to the knee and outward from the knee to the ankle. My stance is now perfect and the temptation to swing the ankle out as I am walking has disappeared. 

I sent Ruta this photo taken of my first sail since the operation taken on 1st April. 

Last week John, one of the group who were with me in January, and his partner came to Anglesey for a weekend and we met up and compared notes on our recovery stories. His operation was a few days after mine and he didn't stay as long as I did in UPA and recently, after his return he had a head on road traffic accident in which he was quite badly shaken and didn't do his new knee much good. It was good to see he was doing OK now though.