Okay…. So last time he did the hip and the left knee. This time he really got after my left knee and then some on the right knee. To recap it, both knees sublex to the medial when I take a step or just put pressure on the joint. With slight pressure they will both just dislocate medially. (A light push with the index finger will cause it to go out and then when you release it will come back in with a loud thud.) Dr. Haman seemed somewhat mystified last week when I asked him if he thought it would work on my knee because it isn’t patently obvious that they are that bad. Like anything else, you learn to adapt, turn your feet slightly off, etc. So he had me lay down and then did the standard tendon tests and just looked rather bemused. He said the left one was definitely awful, so he put several shots in it. The shots weren’t too bad.
This week was a whole new ball game. I think the total in the left knee was 9, the right was 5. That’s just counting the holes that are easily identifiable. The Lidocaine patches are still doing a wonderful job eliminating the bruising. I showed Dr. Haman the one that I didn’t put a patch on and it, still a week later, is black/blue/purple. He said he’d never seen anything like it, I said I hadn’t either. I’ve never had anything that just stopped a bruise or got rid of one that had already started. So, he wrote me a script for a box of the patches to use. They were quite expensive, but worth it, I think. I hate walking around black and blue. I’ve actually had people ask me if things are “okay” with me, since I have bruises all the time. It’s a pain to explain that I have EDS, and what that is, and why we bruise, etc. Still it’s helpful because without them my knees would be black and blue today.
The shots in the knees where different feeling than the ones in the hip, I’m guessing because several of them he had to go really deep to get. I know he went way up close under the knee cap on both sides. It’s the first time I can honestly say that something hurt so bad I felt like I was going to throw up. (Not counting migraines, that’s a whole different ball game.) It was intense. Dr. Haman is so skilled at it that it was over in just a few minutes, but gees. Poor TDH was going white too because he could tell how much it hurt. Then you get the effect of the Lidocaine kicking in and numbing up nerves so it’s kind of fun trying to walk, cause you can’t exactly tell where your feet are going to end up. You can feel the feet, it’s just the knees that are kind of blank. So TDH helped me out to the car after we were done visiting with Dr Haman. It took a bit longer for me to quit bleeding this time, and it actually got away and ran down my leg onto my nice new white shoe…… I feel like such a “girl” but gees! They were new(er) and WHITE! Not anymore.
Dr. Haman is such a nice fellow. It’s rare to run across a doctor that will just have a seat and talk about things with you, answer questions without acting like you’re questioning their intelligence. I really like the fact that he doesn’t throw pills at you for everything. He did tell me I should be eating and/or taking Gelatin pills daily to help support the tendons and ligaments. So I did a little digging around and found several things that backed up his statement. I found Beef Gelatin pills at the local health food store, so I’ve started taking 4 of those a day. It actually calls for 4 pills 3 times a day, but that’s just not happening. We sat and chatted with him about the knees and what’s next. He said he’d like to look at my left shoulder next time, since it’s gotten to where it pops out all the time, but with the surgery coming up, he didn’t want to mess with it yet. I’m not going up next week, because I’m not supposed to travel for at least a week after the surgery. I’ll go back up the Monday after that.
So, I started writing this on Tues, and now it’s Wed…. had a little time for the knees to settle down a bit. They were very angry yesterday, with my lower legs and feet swelling up. I had to be sneaky and slip my shoes off under my desk because they were tight with the swelling. Today is much better! The swelling is pretty much all gone except the knee-shots area. The right knee doesn’t really hurt much at all, and the left one hurts more because of a reaction to the glue in the Lidocaine patches. Odd that the one knee developed a red rash, looks almost like a bad scrape, and the other knee you couldn’t even tell they were on. Who knows? I had them on the exact same amount of time. It did do the job on the bruises, there are only tiny ones right were the needles went in. The one on my hip that I didn’t use the patch on is still several inches long and several colors. Funny that I get no pain relief from the patches, but I get bruise relief instead, just proof that EDSers ARE weird. LOL… I can feel a difference in the left knee today. I don’t know if it’s just the swelling or not, so I’m withholding judgment on if it’s worked or not. I know, logically, since it worked so well on the hip it should work on the knees…. But since when do EDSers ever follow what logically should happen? Ah, rarely! So, withholding until more time has passed. Course having the next week off and pretty much told I’m to stay IN bed might actually be good for the process. Give the hip and both knees a chance to finish up healing.
Speaking of being off…. Tomorrow is the BIG or rather REDUCED day….. sorry, little breast reduction humor there…. I know, I’m the only one laughing…. But this morning I opened my drawer dedicated to bras and smiled. It’s the biggest drawer I have, and it isn’t the bra drawer because I have a lot of bras, it’s the bra drawer because my bras are so BIG. After tomorrow…. No more bra drawer! Okay… I’ll probably still have it, but it will be because I have lots and lots of bras. Pretty ones, plain ones, white ones, nude ones, lacy ones, sports ones….Oh….gosh…. I’ll actually be able to wear a sports bra…. What an odd concept! And those little tank thingies with the built in bras! Ohhhhh, I can wear those?? COOL! Wow…. This is going to be rather odd getting used to. I think I’d probably feel completely naked in one of those tank thingies. Oh, oh… and next spring I get to go swim suit shopping! And! And! And actually fuss about them making my gut look big instead of not being able to find one big enough to hold my boobs! Yes, I deliberately said GUT…. For those of you who don’t know me on sight… I inherited from my mother a serious case of no-ass-at-all…… You know, some women balance out because the booty sticks out as much as the boobs, but not me….. I just looked like if you smacked the back of my head I’d fall over from shear gravity.
Okay, so this long day is over and I’m at home on the couch. The bag is packed, the Advanced Directive signed and copies in the right places. Every thing is squared away and set to go. David will be dropping me off in the morning, Mom and Dad will meet me at the hospital. I have to check in at 9, surgery is supposed to start at 11 and be over by 2:30. After that it’s a 23 hour hold, so I’ll be at the hospital until at least 3 on Friday. I had lymphatic draining yesterday, scheduled to do so again shortly after surgery. Should help promote healing, and am going to spend a little time tonight trying to meditate. Anyone who knows me knows that’s really, really hard because I just have a horrible time trying to bring my mind to a stand still, but I shall try tonight.
Love you all! t
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