PICS UPDATE! Going under the Knife tomorrow morning.

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RLMbassist	PICS UPDATE! Going under the Knife tomorrow morning.	Lead	[-]
Posts: 226 (11/11/09 03:34 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None I'm finally having surgery on my knee tomorrow. Been bothering me for a few years. Thought it was just the result of me having RA, but a recent MRI showed torn cartilage on the bottom of the femur. The doc says there is probably some other issues, but he won't be able to tell until he gets the scope in there. Recovery isn't supposed to be too bad; just don't like being "put under." Hopefully he uses a quality scope, not a cheapo BSA or NC Star or something........ Last Edited By: RLMbassist 11/14/09 09:32 PM. Edited 1 time.
Aubullet		#1	[-]
Posts: 1407 (11/11/09 03:56 PM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Good luck with that, and I hope the Doc is a real "straight shooter" no matter what scope he's using! It's never good having to be "put under" for a procedure, so I'll hold a good thought for you!!!
Mountain Doctor		#2	[-]
Posts: 3961 (11/11/09 04:34 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Trust me, being 'put under' is better than the alternitive. I've said my prayers for you for a quick recovery. I hear most orthopedists use Zeiss scopes, so you're good to go!
WVchuck		#3	[-]
Posts: 12650 (11/11/09 06:47 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've got a leather strop you can bite down on and a shot glass, two shots before (for the surgeon).....it was in the Time Life Home Surgery book set I picked up, no sedation needed, it's in chapter three of book 4, dealing with knee operations! I "acted now" and got the free companion set of home dentistry books too. (I threw that last bit in for Hoosierdaddy to make a joke with). In all seriousness, good luck and hoping all goes well for you.
beanstrung		#4	[-]
Posts: 5729 (11/11/09 07:59 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	RLMbassist, It's good that your going under the knife is of your own choosing (ask Mt. Doc!) Seriously though, my 77 year old father-in-law who is a USMC Korean-War Vet had a similar knee-surgery on Monday. He's back to his grouchy old self today! I'm sure you'll be fine, and enjoy the "pain pump" while they let you! (they'll take it away way sooner than you'll want!) Nevertheless, we will be praying for a complication-free procedure for you. Regards, -Bean --------------------------------------------------------------------------- What part of "shall not be infringed" don't you understand? Joel 3:9-10 Last Edited By: beanstrung 11/11/09 08:06 PM. Edited 2 times.
Ed Novak		#5	[-]
Posts: 2190 (11/11/09 08:38 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Good thoughts and best wishes for complete success. Hope you get some pampering too.. NRA Endowment member LECS #2
BobM14		#6	[-]
Posts: 734 (11/11/09 09:52 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	RLMbassist: Good luck. You should do well. Knee stuff is pretty routine nowadays. My advice would be to lay off the pain pump if it has a button for you to push. After my back surgery I woke up feeling alot better than I did before the surgery with no desire for pain meds, but the kid next to me had a similar surgery and he was tap dancin on that morphine button all morning. By noon he was "green" and sick as a dog. And make sure that scope has a knee-drop compensator on it or you might end up with stitches in yer fanny! Armed Infidel
RLMbassist		#7	[-]
Posts: 227 (11/11/09 10:18 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A Zeiss scope! This will be the closest I have ever been to one, and I won't even be awake for it! I am definitely glad the "bite the bullet" surgery days are long gone. Tomorrow won't be fun but it needs done. My daughter is 2 1/2 now and I have trouble bouncing a basketball with her without my knee giving way. This past week has been rough, as I had to go off some of my usual meds for RA in prep for the surgery. I've been a swollen up, sausage fingered, achy shouldered cripple, and I am not even 40 yet. RA is bad news. I have to keep my knee above my head/heart for 3 days, that should be fun, then I can start trying to do things. Thank goodness for DVR & laptops! Bean---I feel for the MT Doc, I was hit by a car while on my bicycle in 1986. The car was going 35, me about 5, the car won! I was in the hospital for a week with a bad head injury, shoulder, RT foot was totally black from bruising & I had road rash from my forehead to groin (knee torn up too, probably the start of what is getting fixed tomorrow.) I'm still young, but man I am high mileage!!! Trying to spool down for bed but it's hard. We have been getting all the things done that I will not be able to do while I am laid up. Ed--yep hopefully I can get some TLC from the wife, I'm thinking breakfast in bed?? The hardest part will be trying to keep the little one from running & plopping herself onto daddy's lap, that wont feel good for a while. Even worse, I won't be able to go downstairs to the gun/reloading room for a while! Seriously guys, thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers, much appreciated! This wouldn't be so bad if there were not so many other stressful things going on in our little family right now. I'll post again soon I hope~~~~~Randy Last Edited By: RLMbassist 11/11/09 10:51 PM. Edited 1 times.
Mountain Doctor		#8	[-]
Posts: 3964 (11/11/09 11:31 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hey. You have GOT to post pictures. It could be our new Parallax tradition!
Carl Gustav		#9	[-]
Posts: 3547 (11/12/09 09:36 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Bill, do we need a medical show and tell forum? Carl
Plain Old Bill	Cool.....	#10	[-]
Posts: 2185 (11/13/09 07:06 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	My docs took some really neat pictures during my recent spinal surgery...for strong stomachs only, but...they really show what human body "detail stripping" means! RLMBassist, relax and enjoy the process and the results. We'll say a prayer just for your comfort's sake- you'll be fine. Mountain Doc seems fine (what IS he typing with?) so I think he can slide a few spots on the prayer list.......
RLMbassist		#11	[-]
Posts: 228 (11/13/09 11:17 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well guys, I made it. I'm laying here in my bed "toes higher than nose" & iced to prevent swelling. Last night was rough. The surgery went well. The doc found the problem. Was a flap of torn cartilige that was catching & squishing when I walked. Thats why my knee has felt like a sponge lately. He cut it off and laser zapped the area to make it smooth again. Recovery is going to be a little tougher than I expected. Throat is really sore from the breathing apparatus they put in when I was under. Supposed to do 500 each of 2 different exercises daily; only did 150 yesterday. Its only just now 24hrs since being cut though. For Mt. Doc I have some pretty cool surgery pics to post, but that will have to wait till I get out of this Vicodin haze & remember how to use my scanner! Can't believe some people take this crap for fun. Just makes me feel cloudy and feel like puking. Does send the pain away, so I guess its an OK trade. Hope to be down to just advil tomorrow.
cujo		#12	[-]
Posts: 249 (11/13/09 11:35 AM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Glad to hear you are doing OK RLMbassist. My dad had a surgery like that a few years ago but it took him a few months to feel ok. I guess recovery time is different for everybody. Just take it easy and don't stress too much about it. You are in my prayers. Mike
ballcap57		#13	[-]
Posts: 438 (11/13/09 05:36 PM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Good luck with the recovery RLM, you will be back on your feet in no time.
high speed cruise		#14	[-]
Posts: 3252 (11/13/09 06:18 PM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I hope you recover soon. I've been "under" let's see: three times, not counting all the laughing gas (which is an awesome feeling BTW) for my crappy teeth as a child. hsc Last time was hernia repair: I was so gone I forgot stuff that happened even BEFORE the operation! Recovery consisted of my telling the nurse "What do you mean I can't have ice cream? I've been drunk before and I know ice cream is good for hangovers!" (I did get a popsicle but I got the color wrong when asked what flavor I had later).
Mountain Doctor		#15	[-]
Posts: 3971 (11/13/09 08:08 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Sounds like you are the road to a complete recovery! The problem was identified and addressed. You'll be good to go in no time! Take some stool softeners with the pain pills. Don't ask me how I know... Don't forget the pictures of your innards!
beanstrung		#16	[-]
Posts: 5748 (11/13/09 08:29 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Mountain Doctor wrote: Don't forget the pictures of your innards! Before or after the "stool softeners"...? Unidentified, large masses could just be "blobs" in the X-rays... ...or, they just may simply be members of Congress. (I'm told that the really BIG chunks generally float to the TOP...) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- What part of "shall not be infringed" don't you understand? Joel 3:9-10
RLMbassist		#17	[-]
Posts: 229 (11/14/09 12:04 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yep, I've dropped quite a few "Congressmen" in my day but not since before the surgery. Going to have to send the wife to the store! Been taking my pain meds every 6 hours as prescribed and was pain free & was down to 1 crutch, but I was sleeping all day. I took just Advil at pill time this evening. Bad choice, I'm back to 2 crutches and swolen/hurting. I am rushing it too much, but it was nice to think clear for 2 hours! I am getting my exercises done ahead of schedule though, but back to the hard pills, ick! Sick and tired of laying around. Have several dirty revolvers in the basement, tomorrow I'll have the wife go get them and the cleaning kit for me & try to secure "special permission" to clean guns upstairs! Bored out of my mind.
Mountain Doctor		#18	[-]
Posts: 3973 (11/14/09 12:32 AM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Buddy I can relate! I am INCAPABLE of resting, mentally or physically! Clean your revolvers, you'll feel better. And stay in touch with you buddies right here! I also know what a 'trick' the pain pills are. It's a tough call which is worse, the pain or the fuzziness. I don't know how people can get hooked on that stuff!
m1 talker		#19	[-]
Posts: 7084 (11/14/09 01:57 PM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I often thought the same way as Mt. Doctor said. But back in January of 1973 I had lumbar back surgery to remove three crushed discs or to trim them away from my spinal column. That was, indeed, a long and painful recovery from that surgery. I was given a different prescription for pain killers each time I saw the doctor and ended up getting hooked on Darvon and Demerol and one more that starts with a "P". For six months I was walking around in a stupor it seemed. Finally one day, I was really mad at myself for what I had become and took all the pain killers and dumped them down the toilet, and never looked back at all afterwards. When I had surgery for diverculites and they removed nine inches of my colon, the recovery went quite well. They had to go back in two weeks later because the staples holding my insides pulled out and I got a hernia from it. So that time they put in a piece of mesh and sewed me back up again. The doctor made a comment that it appeared that I had a very high pain threshold and was lucky to be that way, as most people would be very uncomfortable after back to back surgeries like that. I figure my high threshold for pain comes from having bad teeth ever since I was a teenager and had braces on my teeth. The teeth never did tighten up in the jaw bones after I got the braces off and for years, bacteria was getting in around the roots and causing low grade infections. I knew what was inevitable, so I started saving up my money and a year ago last September, I got them all pulled and fitted with false teeth. There was absolutely no pain involved with extracting the teeth, but some of them had to be surgically removed, as they broke off at gum level, so the roots had to be cut out. As a result I had seventeen stitches in my gums. The stitches came out in a couple weeks and I took only the antibiotics for about two weeks. But the constant 24/7 pain of toothaches is gone and I don't miss that one bit. Curt
RLMbassist		#20	[-]
Posts: 231 (11/14/09 05:11 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Was it Percocet M1? That's some hard stuff to kick. A friend of mine is trying to get off it. She has had so many major surgeries in a row & been on it so long it's hard to get off of.