Surprised at the Culprit

Doing a bit better by 3 PM. After several hours of intense heating-pad application, drinking small amounts of very hot tea, and a lot of cramps and painful gurgling down below, jpouch finally began dumping the offending substance: coconut macaroons.

I had narrowed my guessing down to this culprit mainly because everything else I ate in the past 48 hours was familiar safe stuff. It's surprising to find out that my jpouch absolutely could not deal with the macaroons. I know I ate them last year without problem. Is it just due to a different brand? The high fat content? I can't imagine either of these being the cause -- how different could these be? And although I generally avoid huge portions of fat, these were no worse than some other things I eat safely (cheese, occasional potato chips, etc.) I didn't even eat very many! It's a mystery.

My view on shredded coconut has just done a 180: as of Friday coconut was nothing I'd worry about, it seemed perfectly innocuous. As of today I will not be touching it with a 10-foot pole, no matter if it's the only non-chocolate dessert in evidence for the whole of Passover! (Which starts tomorrow night and lasts for eight days.)

Meanwhile, I've lost a whole night and day. I had a million tasks and chores to get done today, in these final intense hours before the holiday begins. I'm too weak and tired to accomplish much of my To-Do list. I hate when this happens!

I guess I should just be grateful that it's been FIVE MONTHS since the last time this happened. And I've succeeded in eluding the ER and its dreaded NG-tube yet again.

More immediately, I'm grateful that the excruciating pain has mostly subsided. I'm now dealing with extreme dehydration instead. As long as I drink a few gallons of liquid over the next few hours I think I'll probably be okay.

Gut Attack - always inconvenient

Good news on the knee front overshadowed today, unfortunately, by major gut attack. A really bad bowel-blockage situation, excruciating. Have been suffering since about 8 PM last night. If heating pad doesn't solve it by 5 PM or so, I agree to let ER try to help. Not what I'd planned for the last 36 hours before Passover!

Listening to One's Body: Knee Pain vs. Extra Firewood

We all know it's "important to listen to your body."  I think I'm so accustomed to various pains in my left leg over the past eight years -- most of them caused these days by swelling, and a few caused by RSD -- that I've been failing to pay attention to additional pain from this knee thing.

While filling up the wheelbarrow with the second (!) load of firewood this evening and fighting the temptation to go back for a third load (!!), my knee started to hurt.  Or maybe started to hurt even more than before, I don't know.  But I caught myself ignoring it, pushing it out of my consciousness, saying instead, "Wow, this well seasoned firewood is so much lighter than the heavy wet green stuff, it's great!  I might as well go grab another load." 

No.  Stop.  Listen to your body.  My knee hurts.  I already got two loads of wood.  I don't need any more wood tonight.  My knee hurts.  My knee needs to rest and have ice on it.  My leg needs to rest.  I should probably stick it in the leg machine (to reduce swelling) for my daily 1.5 hours.  No more wood.  Take care of the knee.  Listen to your body.

Thawing Out the Hametz

AKA sitting here with a bag of frozen edamame on my knee.  I learned a big lesson yesterday about how much I ought to be icing my knee: Way more than I was doing before!

Today I'm mostly taking things easy, in recovery mode from yesterday. 

I sit in my Comfy Chair, put an ice pack (of some kind) on my knee, set my watch alarm for ten minutes, and ice away.

Am experimenting with shorter, more frequent blog updates.  If you're reading this at all, let me know which way works better for you.

Steri-strips, swelling, stick-shift, soaking

The steri-strips are still attached to my knee, covering the two arthroscopic incisions, even though tomorrow it will be three weeks since my knee surgery!  This is unusual: typically they fall off within a few days.  Mine are curling up at all the corners for sure, but still firmly stuck in place.  I'm told not to peel (yank, tear, rip) them off, by the surgical assistant who put them on when removing the stitches, and also by the physical therapists I've seen four times in the past two weeks.  I'm curious to see how things look under there, and even Becky the PT was surprised today.  But okay.

Today my leg is very swollen, so badly that  Becky had me do fewer exercises and a lot more lying around with an ice pack on my knee.  The swelling has multiple probable causes:

1. carrying heavy bags (garbage, recycling) to my car this morning from the house, and then from the car to the various bins at the Lincoln Transfer Station;
2. the weather: higher humidity --> more swelling;
3. my original leg injury (Nervy) causes my leg to swell every day anyway;
4. carrying many loads of firewood into the house yesterday afternoon (temperature going down to 41 tonight and 36 on Friday night = wood-stove season is not yet over)
5. carrying heavy bag of books to car for last night's Hebrew class, and from the car back into the house after class.
6. the major DVT (blood clot) I suffered in 2004 wreaked havoc on circulation in the leg, which is not helping my knee any. 
7. not icing knee enough after challenging it with all the heavy lifting.  Icing is a habit I have yet to develop.  Going to get it out of the freezer right now!

Driving my stick-shift car has suddenly become very painful in the last two days, a result of the swelling.  It was downright scary trying to figure out how to drive for 15 minutes at speed limits varying from 5 to 55 mph without shifting gears too much; I'm lucky I didn't have an accident.

Today I asked Becky what more I could do to speed up the healing process.  She says I'm doing all the right things (exercises, staying active), which is great.  However, I should try to lay off carrying all the heavy loads (seems obvious), and I need to rest more (no kidding).   But I don't know how else to get the firewood in here, and grocery shopping leaves me no choice. 

On a positive note, I'm allowed to go in the pool.  Hooray! (Hot tub still verboten.)  Even though it's just very gentle aqua-jogging in the exercise lane, and limited to 15 minutes, it still feels great to be in the water again and have a way of ambulating that doesn't hurt.  I moved my arms a lot, too, which helps keep me vertical in 4'6"-water and also gets my heart rate up at least a tiny bit.  I've had practically no safe method of getting aerobic exercise these last couple of months and I'm going crazy for the lack of it.

Maybe a little more soaking in the pool will get those steri-strips to come off...

Surgery went fine, follow-up was yesterday

Yesterday's follow-up with the surgeon went fine.  They took out my two stitches.  The arthroscopic incisions are indeed tiny.  Aside from some swelling, some residual ink marks, and a few SteriStrips, my knee doesn't look much different from before the surgery.

I went home with pictures taken inside my knee, showing meniscal crap (the surgeon's term) before debridement, several shots of normal stuff, and one unusual problem that might have been the main source of pain: a plica, which Dr. Troy removed.

I still have pain, but every day it's a little better.  I can walk using crutches, I can walk using just one crutch, I can even walk without crutches at all.  Mostly I'm resting, elevating the leg, and getting around using one crutch.

Prescription for physical therapy in hand, I've begun the hunt for PT that's nearby and covered by my insurance.

Knee Surgery Scheduled for March 24

No news was good news.

I slipped (indoors, avoiding slipping on ice) about six weeks ago.  Tore the meniscus in my left knee.  Arthroscopic surgery is commonly minor and associated with fast recovery, so I'm trying to stay optimistic.  But nothing that happens with my left leg seems common or quick to heal.  So although this seems neither Nervy nor Gutsy, the nerves and guts are sure to be affected.

Can you help me out during my first few days after surgery?  Please email me if you're available for any of the following times:

1. Wednesday, March 23: help with last-minute pre-op errands, chores, early supper --> ??
2. March 24 ride to Mount Auburn Hospital for surgery, 6:30 AM --> Brian S. has already volunteered.
3. March 24 ride home from surgery, noon --> Brian S. again!
4. Thursday afternoon, March 24 - help me get settled comfortably at home --> ??
5. Thursday evening, March 24, help with supper between 5 and 7 PM --> ??
6. Friday, March 25 --  morning/noon time, help with errands, cleaning, meals --> ??
7. Friday evening, March 25 -- help with Shabbat dinner, 5-7 PM --> ??
8. Saturday, March 26 -- help at home with meals --> ??
9. Sunday, March 27 -- help with errands, cleaning, meals --> ??
10. Monday, March 28 -- ride to Mount Auburn hospital for follow-up with surgeon, time TBD --> ??
11. Monday, March 28 -- ride home from Mount Auburn Hospital, time TBD --> ??

I'm still driving a manual-shift car; not sure when I'll be able to drive it again post-surgery.  This means I might need more help with rides and/or a short-term swap with someone who has an automatic.

On a positive note (b'li 'ayin ha-ra'), my diet has slowly been expanding to include things that would have landed me in the ER just a few months ago.  I still have to be careful to avoid a lot of fiber, and spicy things are completely out of the question (including onions and garlic), but at least there a few vegetables I can eat now, which should make helping me quite a bit easier.

As ever, I'd be happy to do my best to entertain you with discussions about articles in the New Yorker, silly jokes, and Hebrew tutoring at any level.  Musicians: I've been learning to play blues harmonica; maybe we can do a little jamming?

Meanwhile trying to remember at all times to Be Happy: It's Adar.

Natasha
Nataniela bat Zippora

P.S. For those who have yet to visit me at my digs in Lincoln, or who have only been here at night, let me remind you that the view of the woods from my house is gorgeous in any weather, through the sliding-glass doors and my rectangular, triangular, and circular windows.  Also through the ceiling full of skylights.  Springtime here is unbelievably beautiful, with the flora and fauna of acres and acres of protected wetlands right outside my door.