Tuesday, March 10, 2009

I Want a Do-Over - March 10, Part 1

I'm kind of numb right now. I'm somewhere in between crying and being just plain mad. I was able to talk to Dr. Dye around 11:00 AM this morning. He asked about the pain I am experiencing in my knee and I explained a little further from the message I sent to him on Sunday. He asked which exercise I was doing that was now painful and I told him it was the straight-leg raise to back. He asked how heavy the weight was and I told him 5 lbs. Immediately, he said "That is too heavy." What??? I'm surprised Alex would assign a weight for me that is too heavy at this critical juncture in my recovery from surgery, especially since she is supposed to know Dr. Dye's requirements. I'm not blaming her completely of course. I did have that Saturday where I did too much and my knee hurt. I'm sure that did not help.

Dr. Dye said it sounds like there is an impingement of the synovium, exactly what we didn't want to happen. He said I did the right thing by stopping the exercise causing pain. That seemed obvious to me, but I guess some people choose to keep on through pain. He suggested I start taking Advil Liqui-Gels right away, two at breakfast and two at dinner each day. He mentioned this inflammation can happen and he's seen people recover just fine after experiencing this type of pain after surgery. To be honest, him saying that didn't make me feel better. I kind of don't believe him and am really distraught about this. I want a do-over. The impingement of my synovial lining has been the problem from the beginning. Whether it was my day of over-doing it or the PT exercises, I can't believe I let it happen less than a month after surgery. My plan was to be so careful and cautious and I feel like I blew it. Dr. Dye did say he wanted me to continue to do the exercises that do not hurt. It's important to keep moving and progressing my range of motion.

I have physical therapy on Thursday, then my follow-up in person with Dr. Dye on Monday. Dr. Dye told me to call him anytime with more questions.

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