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April 11, 2008
Not the greatest of days
Since the arm biking and light lifting seemed to go okay yesterday, I decided to walk down to the gym near me this morning and do a repeat performance. However, when I got to the corner of the gym where they keep the UBB and tried to start a "program," I discovered it would not turn on. I asked one of the trainers and he thought it was the outlet but it wasn't. So, being me, I just put on my headphones and cranked away for about 30 minutes even though I couldn't change the level or anything. It was, to say the least, not very stimulating and I did not work up a sweat like yesterday. At least I know that the gym near work has a good machine, but it will be inconvenient for the weekends. After the "biking," I did all of the lifting I could do without stressing my knee.
Even though I had an earlyish appointment to see the doctor this morning, he was already running an hour behind when I got there. I should have known and called to check. At least my iPhone was working, since it usually doesn't in there. He and the resident finally came in and took my stitches out. I also mentioned that my (other) calf has been sore and although I'm pretty sure it's from walking funny, I was worried about a blood clot. He said it was probably nothing to worry about, but wrote me an order for an ultrasound to rule it out. (Two hours of waiting in Radiology later, it was ruled out, but I was worried the whole time and it wasn't too pleasant.)
Anyway, we did talk about my knee. I saw disgusting before and after pictures of my ripped up cartilage (Grade 2 damage, I think he said), which he is sure is just from overuse and not a trauma (my fall last year). Awesome. He showed me how they "stabilized" the area where there was the most damage, but let me tell you, you never want to see a photo of a part of your knee with what looks like a bald spot. I'm still reeling. So while there's no way to predict the future, it does make sense that previous wear will lead to more wear. However, it's not clear that running will make it worse...but either way, there's no way to get it back.
I did express my desire to have running in my life, not necessarily run the way I used to--high mileage, little rest, etc.--and I'm fairly okay with not being competitive/racing. And he said that I will definitely feel better this summer and be able to run, but I need to think about the long term because I may start to damage my tibia (I don't understand this part, and I'm not ready to). In his view, one of my best long term options is cartilage implantation (an autologous transplant). Major caveat: my doctor is a rep for Carticel, the only cartilage implantation technology available. It is a major surgery with an arduous recovery that includes several MONTHS on crutches and 6-9 months before a return to running. He has a runner he is working with who he said "is doing great" and started running after 4 months. Considering I could barely last a week without working out and I had trouble mentally preparing for a twenty-minute surgical procedure, I don't think I'm as "ideal" a candidate as he thinks I am. In any case, I don't need to decide now but he said that I will only be eligible for the procedure while I still have usable cartilage.
After laying all that on me, he did say that I might feel okay running for a few years and assume all is fine and then I will be done in 5 years. There's just no way to tell. But as for short-term prognosis, he expects me to be able to try running in about 4 weeks. (I see him again on May 9 so probably right around there.) I asked if I could bike now and he said to give it a few more days to a week because I still have swelling. He said I'm not going to do damage to what he did but trying to progress too fast will just set me back because it will swell. I think I will be able to tell when I am ready to bike and I will just have to bear a few more days of lifting and UBB-ing, as unappealing as it sounds right now. Once I have biked for a week with no ill effects I can progress to the elliptical and so on.
So what did I learn today? I'm not sure, but I've been feeling really down all day. I am going to do some beautification now (nails, etc.) because I think I deserve it, although it is in the 80s and we all know what I'd rather be doing. One day at a time...I just gotta keep remembering that.
Happy weekend to all!
Posted by becky at April 11, 2008 5:02 PM