Challenges and Comparisons

Recovery has not been a smooth path. When I ask others who have been through knee surgery what it's been like, many of them say the same thing - lots of ups and downs. Some say it was smooth sailing all the way but I suspect they are lying. Maybe not, but either way it's just different for each of us.

Sleep is still a matter of many interruptions. Fewer of those interruptions are from restless leg syndrome, I am happy to report. The amount of sleep I am getting has increased dramatically, even on days when I wake often. Last night's report:

Sleep log for night of March 9-10, 2012

You can see it was a busy night. I was up a lot. Yet the in-betweens were meaningful. I did get sleep and perhaps enough of it. I have not taken any ropinarole since some time in January and my need for it has decreased significantly. I expect to refill my prescription soon (I have been out of it, which is why I stopped taking it) and then will use it judiciously and hoard it. 

I am hiking frequently now. Easy hikes, not much climbing. I still don't have a hiking stick, so some hikes are out of the question no matter what. Usually the lengths are from one to two miles, maybe a little longer. After I did a 2.2-mile hike, my physical therapist said that he was surprised I did well for that long on bent legs. My bent knees put a lot of stress on my legs and that tires them. Yesterday's hike, which was otherwise beautiful, was maybe a mile and a half and I felt tired and aching the entire time. I just couldn't wait to be done with it. Fortunately, this has not been my most common experience with hiking lately. 

I don't usually wake with strong pain in my knee and leg. When my leg is bothering me it is closer to restless leg than outright pain. I consider this an improvement. 

I asked a fellow bent-knee patient, who has finally got his legs straight, when they actually got there and how. He said they went straight on the table about a month ago, suddenly. Out of the blue, when Chuck pushed on them, the backs of his legs touched the table.  I want this for myself. It is taking much longer for me, though. But they are getting "softer" and Chuck can put considerably more pressure on them now.  I am closing in on one year since my first operation. What an eye-opener.