Surgery itself wasn't too bad. The pain wasn't either. What was bad was finding out the arthritis in my knee was worse than they thought. I found out immediately after the surgery that they had found a notch of cartilage worn off of my femur. Their answer to this was to drill holes into the bone to release bone marrow. For two weeks after the surgery I thought it went well and I'd be off the crutches and on my way back to my old self. When I went in for my first post-op check up I found out that I didn't have a torn meniscus after all and that it was my arthritis that was causing the pain in my knee. I was to be on crutches for another two weeks and preferably four more weeks. I could only take them another week. It was doing terrible things to the joints on the other side of my body. The side that had to carry all the weight for the knee I was told to protect. By drilling the holes in my bone and releasing the bone marrow, scar tissue was to form to help take the place of the missing cartilage. I found myself in a difficult spot, do I continue on the crutches to protect my knee even if I'm damaging the hip on my "good" side? Or, do I not use the crutches and continue to take life slower to give my knee more time to heal? I chose to give up the crutches and I think I've made the right decision. Time will tell obviously but for now I'm feeling much better most of the time.
When given the diagnosis of "Arthritis" for me it felt like a part of my youth has passed as in died. This has been life altering for me. I have never before this felt I was ready to move on to the stage of life where you feel you've crossed that bridge and can no longer do anything you want. What hasn't helped the situation is what the medical community I've talked to tell me, that there is nothing I can do about it. My joints will continue to wear away until I have to have some form of joint replacement surgery. Well, fortunately I'm not the kind of person who will sit back and do nothing but let my joints rot. It's made me mad that our medical community thinks this way about arthritis. Mad enough to dig in and research all I can about it and relieved to find that there is hope in "fixing" my problem. There are natural "cures" out there for arthritis and I intend to go down that path once I'm back from my trip to the UK. There wasn't time before the trip for me to dig in deep and I felt it would be best if I started after the trip so that I could be sure to stick to the protocols needed to overcome this devastating life sentence.
I have made some changes though, I am no longer drinking any sort of soda, no longer taking any prescription drugs or over the counter drugs, and I've started eating organic foods as much as I possibly can. There are some dietary supplements I take now but they are all as organic as possible. There will definitely be more to come and as I go through this journey of sorts I'm hoping to have the courage to write more about it here.
For now, I'm looking forward to my vacation in the UK.......I leave in just 3 short weeks!
When given the diagnosis of "Arthritis" for me it felt like a part of my youth has passed as in died. This has been life altering for me. I have never before this felt I was ready to move on to the stage of life where you feel you've crossed that bridge and can no longer do anything you want. What hasn't helped the situation is what the medical community I've talked to tell me, that there is nothing I can do about it. My joints will continue to wear away until I have to have some form of joint replacement surgery. Well, fortunately I'm not the kind of person who will sit back and do nothing but let my joints rot. It's made me mad that our medical community thinks this way about arthritis. Mad enough to dig in and research all I can about it and relieved to find that there is hope in "fixing" my problem. There are natural "cures" out there for arthritis and I intend to go down that path once I'm back from my trip to the UK. There wasn't time before the trip for me to dig in deep and I felt it would be best if I started after the trip so that I could be sure to stick to the protocols needed to overcome this devastating life sentence.
I have made some changes though, I am no longer drinking any sort of soda, no longer taking any prescription drugs or over the counter drugs, and I've started eating organic foods as much as I possibly can. There are some dietary supplements I take now but they are all as organic as possible. There will definitely be more to come and as I go through this journey of sorts I'm hoping to have the courage to write more about it here.
For now, I'm looking forward to my vacation in the UK.......I leave in just 3 short weeks!
Labels: Arthritis
I'm so glad to hear that you're feeling better. No doubt, you'll be DANCING at your daughter's wedding!
Is wine organic????? It sure helps MY arthritis!
;-)
OUCH!!!
Glad your doing better, sounds like your on the right life path. I was just reading about a very interesting cure for arthritis. I will double check when I get home, but I'm pretty sure its white raisins soaked in gin and take 9 a day. They were saying they don't know why it works but aparently it seems to work. If I had arthritis I would try it. I know your thinking oh yah Jane you just want the Gin, that is not the case I really don't even like Gin, and I doubt the raisins even soak up that much of the Gin.
Good luck
Jane
Sounds interesting! Let me know what you find. I'm not sure I like Gin either but I'd sure be willing to give it a try. I would think raisins would soak it right up. They would to back to looking like grapes after they soak for a while don't you think?
Kim,
Here is the recipe from the book Secret food cures.
The Amazing Gin-Soaked Raisin Remedy
1 lb. golden raisins
1 pint Gin
Glass bowl
Glass jar with Lid
Spread the golden raisins evenly on the bottom of the glass bowl and pour enough hin over the raisins to completely cover them. Let them stay that way until al the gin is absorbed. It takes about 5-7 days.occasionally stir the mixture. As soon as all the gin has been absorbed, put raisins in the jar and keep it closed. do NOT refrigerate. Each day, eat 9 raisins exactly and only 9 a day. Most people eat them in the morning with breakfast.
It should be interesting to see if this really works. It is suppose to take away the pain.
let me know if you try this. It would be interesting to see if it works.
Jane
Thanks Jane! I can't wait to give this a try. I'll let you know how it goes.....
Kim: have you tried any of the glucosamine and chondroitin supplements or the shark cartilege? I know a lot of people who swear by them. My younger sister used them a lot before she got her knee replacement. My understanding, though, is that you need to buy a good, reputable brand to get the best results. I even know of an orthopedic surgeon who recommends the glucosamine.
Hi Becca,
I just ordered a new supplement called ConquerHA Joint3. I was taking glucosamine/chondroitin but hated taking it because always no matter how I swallowed it, it tasted awful (huge horse pills too). This new supplement also has Hyluronic Acid in it for joint lubrication and it's a soft gel!
You may want to check into the Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org) for more info and research about it. Hope you're healing well!