Gonna get better from here...

[KeithB]

Just got home from outpatient arthroscopic knee surgery. Hairline stress fractures in end of tibia and torn meniscus (torn ACL and MCL). Problem started last October and got worse for a couple months, then better for a couple months as the stress fractures healed, then worse since February as scar tissue formed around torn meniscus. Haven't been able to drive for a couple months now as pain in knee made it almost impossible to move foot from gas to brake.

My doctor cut away some scar tissue and cleared out some "debris", says I don't have much if any arthritis so knee should heal OK and pain should end up mostly going away in a few days. Follow up w/Dr next week and a couple therapy sessions and I should be good as new in short while.

REALLY looking forward to being pain free. Hate taking pain meds, they mess me up in other ways. I've been able to do desk work and light shop work all along but it will be great to be able to do more in shop and get back into shooting. Seems like every time I recover from one surgery something else goes bad and I end up riding an office chair around the house (works better than a wheelchair for me.)

Anyway, I hope to get back into casting and shooting, and I hope to be able to contribute more to the site. I've been putting off cleaning/clearing out the shop until I feel better, but when I do I know I've got a lot of casting related hardware items stuck away; when I find anything useful I will offer it for free/swap/sale here first.

Gonna get better from here...

 

[RicinYakima]

KeithB, I feel your pain, literally. All the plumbing is good, but the mechanics have been problematic since I got busted up in a fire 20 years ago. A good positive attitude will help and working on shooting projects takes my mind off of the day to day issues. Good luck! Ric

 

[freebullet]

Sucks to get old but, it does beat the alternatives.

May wellness continue your way.

 

[RBHarter]

I had the left knee done almost 20yr ago . We went in to that expecting the worst . Turned out to be torn ligaments . They gave me a video of the surgery via the O scope camera . He mowed a sheep dog out of the inside of the joint . There were strands that could have been knotted together across the joint . I guess what would happen is they would wad up and push the slip ring out and jam the joint where I would fall through the failure to lock . I was young and strong then in 6 weeks I was as good as ever . In 3 weeks I was water skiing ......
Glad to hear you're getting it whipped !

 

[KeithB]

My knee surgery was the 8th surgery I've had since 2012, none on vital organs fortunately, but most pretty major. (neck surgery, femoral artery replacement, left foot amputation, groin hernia repair, partial and finally total toe amputation on right foot, and now knee surgery.) I've spent way more than half that time not walking and virtually housebound. In some cases one problem has caused the next. Hope I've broken that cycle. I quit smoking five years ago, eat a better diet now, monitor and control my blood sugar, take my blood pressure and blood thinner pills, and exercise as much as possible given mobility restrictions. Except for the short term antibiotics I have to take following this surgery, I am antibiotic free. (I've been prescribed and taken at least a dozen different antibiotics in pill and IV form in the last five years. I'm alive because of them but they all screw up my guts to some degree.)

Not trying to host a pity party, just wanting to share my improving good fortune with my online friends here.

 

[Brad]

Positive attitude is important in healing.
Not smoking and keeping blood sugar under control are very important.

Keep on keeping on Keith. I am very happy to hear that things are looking up for you.

 

[Ian]

Florastor while on the antis and PB-8 or better when not on them will fix a lot of problems. Many brain chemicals originate in the gut and don't get produced if the good flora isn't there. Toxic gut makes toxic brain. Healthy gut bacteria can sure make it easier to have a good outlook on life.

 

[KeithB]

What is Florastor and PB-8? Lots of Chobani yogurt has pretty much taken care of the gut flora problem and provided the calcium needed to heal stress fractures. Also take an old-guy multivitamin. Eating a lot more at home now, wife's a good cook of most things, she keeps us on a fairly low salt, low fat diet with lots of fresh fruits and veggies. (My tools are a CNC lathe and mill, her's is a commercial mixer and a slow cooker...) I like almost all foods and have no food allergies so it's no problem to eat well while eating healthy.

It's hard to heal on a bad diet.

 

[Brad]

Florastor is a probiotic supplement. Yogurt will help but ONLY if it has any drive cultures. Most yogurt is pastuerized after the bacteria do their thing so it doesn't help restore the normal flora. If it has active cultures it will say so on the label.

Lots of probiotics out there. I generally suggest active culture yogurt instead. Cheaper and just as effective.

 

[KeithB]

Got a vanilla blended Chobani yogurt in my hand right now. Last label line in ingredients says:

"CONTAINS LIVE AND ACTIVE CULTURES: S. THERMOPHILUS, L. BULGARICUS, L. ACIDOPHILUS, BIFIDUS, AND L CASEI"

I assume that's what you recommend. Active cultures is one of the three reasons I picked Chobani.

 

[Brad]

That is what you want. I like people who read labels and educate themselves. Well done Keith. Not bad for an engineer.....

 

[KeithB]

One of the best things I learned as an engineer is to think critically and seek the truth. I know the meds I have to take and what the proper dosage is, and when I'm in the hospital I ask a lot of questions and pay attention to what the Drs and nurses are putting in to me. I've caught several errors that could have had unpleasant outcomes that way. If I have a new medical issue, I go online to some reputable sites to try to find out the basics of the condition and it's treatment. I try to be an educated patient, it's in my own long term self interest. Rather than resent my questions or blow me off, most of the health care providers I've dealt with seem happy to answer my questions and seem to appreciate self awareness in a patient. Don't know how many times I've been told by health care providers about the ignorance many people have toward their own health issues and treatment. That's why they want you to bring all your meds in a bag to a Drs appointment, most people couldn't tell you what they are taking and why.

 

[gman]

Best of luck on a full recovery!

 

[Brad]

Why would anyone be more concerned with your health than you? Nobody else has as much skin in the game as the patient.
I too have a curiosity and desire to learn about situations I find myself in. Lots of info out there, just have to seek it.

 

[Ian]

We definitely have to be proactive in our own quests for health.

Florastor is a yeast-based pro-biotic which will survive an anti-biotic regimen, but doesn't maintain a colony for more than two days after you stop taking it. It will give you the benefits of healthy gut during the regimen when everything else is killed out, then you just switch to quality yogurt, guaranteed-potency pro-biotic capsules, or some of the fermented witch brews after you're finished with the anti-biotics.

 

[smokeywolf]

Mrs. smokeywolf makes our yogurt and our kefir. Kefir is a little sour for me so she adds a little raw honey or puts the kefir in a fruit smoothie.

 

[Ian]

kefir

That's the stuff I was thinking of, couldn't remember the name of it.

 

[popper]

Probiotics have to make it through the stomach to do any good. Most don't.

 

[RicinYakima]

I agree with popper. Probiotics fall into the same realm as vitamins, either you believe in them or not. Very little survives a 3 hour wash in HCl.

 

[smokeywolf]

Very little survives a 3 hour wash in HCl.

Rotavirus, Norovirus, Salmonella, E. Coli and quite a few others.