Wednesday, November 14, 2007

back from the orthopedist

Three years ago, I was having terrible, sharp pain in my left knee that got me to the orthopedist.  We tried a few remedies that didn't work; then I had arthroscopic surgery in which the meniscus (a tendon) was trimmed, and that relieved my pain.  Mind you, my knees always hurt, and have for some time, since they are bone-on-bone with arthritis; but the surgery got rid of the sharp pain that wouldn't let me bend my leg or straighten it without wincing.

For the past month, my right knee has been giving me the same kind of fits, especially while riding the horse or the motorcycle; so last week, I visited Dr. Strong again.  An MRI was done of the knee, and today my suspicions were confirmed:  my right knee needs the same sort of trimming that my left one had; the meniscus is torn.

The doctor reminded me, again, that there's no guarantee this will help; but she agreed that if she were in my shoes, she'd give it a try before doing something more drastic.

The surgery was simple before, and recovery was virtually pain-free.  I didn't even use the crutches that had been provided.  The worst part of the whole episode is that I was grounded from riding Blue for awhile.

I sure hope things go as well this time as last.  I'll bet they will.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good thoughts being sent, sendin up a prayer for you too. Hoping all goes well, I know how much knees can mean to a person. {{{}}}God bless,
Sugar

Anonymous said...

oh I hope it helps - I know joint/partial joint replacements are getting more 21st century...but have a scope done is so much quicker and easier!  It will be tough, though, to have to stay off the horse.  i know how much you love that!

Anonymous said...

Yes it will go very well. And you will riding comfortably too.

Best Wishes

Brenda

Anonymous said...

It will be the best time of the year to have this done. It will soon be to cold to ride Blue or the Honda. I will send up a prayer for you. Helen

Anonymous said...

Good luck with surgery! I hope it helps!

Anonymous said...

I hope everything will go good with the surgery, and your recovery time will be short.  My Mom has a lot of problems with her knees.  She has bone to bone arthritis in hers too.  She suffers so much.  I hope you have a great evening.
Hugs,
Pat

Anonymous said...

Good luck and prayers with the surgery....Hugs...Ora

Anonymous said...

Donna when are you going to have this done?  I will keep you in my thoughts & prayers.  I'm sorry that you won't be able to ride Blue for awhile, but just think how much better you'll feel when you do get to ride again.  Keep us informed.

Hollie

Anonymous said...

I hope all goes well for you.
Pam

Anonymous said...

I do hope this knee behaves as well as the other.  Grounded won't be fun, but you'll be better off in the end.  Getting older isn't like it used to be.  Now we have help.  'On ya' - ma

Anonymous said...

Oh dear.  I hope that it doesn't turn out to be the same thing, but if it is, then I hope the surgery goes as well as the last one.  I'm sure it will, too.  Virtually pain-free recovery and little time away from riding Blue is what I hope for you!  Take care!
Lori

Anonymous said...

Here's hopin' it helps again!

Anonymous said...

When the pain is worse than the cure...thats when I go for the cure. You are tough and you will do fine. I hope it works and you get some relief from that pain. I am no stranger to knee pain, so I feel for you.

Anonymous said...

I have alot of pain in my knees too, I think I may need to go see the orthopedist soon too.  Hope you are feeling up to par soon!  Linda

Anonymous said...

Positive thinking will get you through!  Sorry you've got the same 'issue' but I guess as we age we're going to run into problems now and again.

Anonymous said...

I am a month behind in alerts, although I know I have read some of your more recent ones. I think we should be happy that current technology sure allows us a lot more choices than our parents and grandparents had!

xoxo