Surgery!

[Chardok]

That's right! I let my knee go for so long that my ACL is COMPLETELY detached and I may very well have torn meniscal tissue and DEFINATELY cartilage damage! Hurray for me! I'm a moron! I now face a fairly big reconstructive operation and two weeks recovery, capped off with tens of hours of painful Rehab! What a fucking idiot I am! And no one to take care of me to boot! I will have to stay in the hospital for two days, then takes two weeks off work! (Fuck that, I'm going to work in two or three days.)

Mmmmh......morphine....

Probably happen on either the 12 of Feb. or the 4th of march, depending on if any cancellations, I'll try and snag my Grandfather's Digicam and get post op pictures for you sick, morbid bastards out there who want to see my knee the size of a grapefruit and fresh, oozing, bleeding wounds!

(See, Hyperion, that's how you talk about an injury, note the lack of mention of nerve damage and screwdrivers? )

[Dahak]

I will have to stay in the hospital for two days, then takes two weeks off work! (Fuck that, I'm going to work in two or three days.)

I wouldn't advise that.
You need some recovery after such an operation. Going to work definitely is not helping that...

My mum did that with a cold (ignoring the doctor, and going to work), and now she's got the mother of all bronchitis...

[Broomstick]

ONLY two weeks recovery?

Someone is being very optimistic....

[Howedar]

Yeah, a torn ACL is no bullshit. Maybe you'll make it to work in a few days in a wheelchair, but that's your only chance.

Chardok, you've already fucked around with your health, not giving your body what it needs. For God's sakes, don't turn around and do it again.

[Chardok]

DAMN YOU HOWEDAR!

You just spoke almost the exact words of my Mom, grandmother and sister (well, without the "fucked around" part.) I suppose you're all correct, too....I'm not 18, and indestructable anymore. I guess It really IS time to grow up.

[Howedar]

The day is mine!

[Rye]

DAMN YOU HOWEDAR!

You just spoke almost the exact words of my Mom, grandmother and sister (well, without the "fucked around" part.) I suppose you're all correct, too....I'm not 18, and indestructable anymore. I guess It really IS time to grow up.

Your parents call you Chardok? Seriously though, get well soon, man.

[TrailerParkJawa]

Hope everything goes okay man. You dont ski do you?

[Rogue 9]

DAMN YOU HOWEDAR!

You just spoke almost the exact words of my Mom, grandmother and sister (well, without the "fucked around" part.) I suppose you're all correct, too....I'm not 18, and indestructable anymore. I guess It really IS time to grow up.

Well, I'm 19 and my right knee is already going bad. Damn the baseball coach for losing the right catcher's shinguard that day at practice. Fastball in the knee while you're squatting will really mess you up.

[haas mark]

DAMN YOU HOWEDAR!

You just spoke almost the exact words of my Mom, grandmother and sister (well, without the "fucked around" part.) I suppose you're all correct, too....I'm not 18, and indestructable anymore. I guess It really IS time to grow up.

At some point, being a Toys R Us kid just ain't worth it anymore, dude. -impatiently waits for the first so his meds can be sent- yay for Naproxen...

~ver

[Straha]

How'd it happen?

[Grand Moff Yenchin]

Get well soon man.

[Faram]

Get well soon!

But I hate to tell you this.

There is no way that you will be getting a full recovery in two weeks.

I busted my knee and got all the ligaments and menisks torn and wrecked.

I was on sick leave for four months before I got to surgery and an additional six months in rehab after.

This is eight years ago and I still don't feel comfortable in running any longer distances. But bicycling is great exercise and speeds up the healing of knee injuries.

[salm]

i fucked up my back in 99. the knee cap wasn´t facing front anymore but facing left, it was pretty much rotated by 90°. anyway, it took 6 weeks recovery in casts and 4 more weeks to gain back muscels so i was able to walk again.
i´ll second that "Mmmmh......morphine...."

[Chardok]

How'd it happen?

Well, one night, last April, I thought it would be a great idea to get drunk (whee!) jump onto the bar (to the delight of the bar patrons) and do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight, as it were. Then, I performed a dismount mary lou retton would be proud of. *pop* Ouch! A couple weeks later, no more pain, per se, but it always pops and grinds, kinda. Then it just went away, and, while unstable, I thought I was just being slow to heal. Enter january, 2004, and the pain is back. I FINALLY decided I had enough and went to see the doctor.

Original MRI Report:

Injuries are consistent with at least a partial tear of the Anterior cruciate ligament.

Doctor yesterday:

I don't know why the report mentions a partial tear...

me: Really? That's goo, right! *Hopes up*

Doctor: Cause it's gone. See, there's supposed to be a BIG black line, here, *points* And, it's just...not there. So, Two ways we can do this. I can go to the bone bank. (Dead people donate ligaments! *urp*) or I can use a saw and take a piece of your kneecap and...

Me: Bone bank.

Doc: Thought so. Most business people choose that. less painful, quicker recovery, and all.

the operation sounds really neat, though. It's really, really amazing what they can do nowadays. Two two-inch incisions is all it will take. I had this horrific vision of having my knee splayed openwith my kneecap sitting on a table while the doc uses a saw to do his work.

I'm still quite nervous, though. I don't like needles, but the doctors says he'll make sure the anesthesiologist uses lots of verced. I won't remember a thing. They also put some kind of novacaine pump in my leg for three days, numbs it up real good, and you get this machine that you attach to your knee somehow that you plug in, and put water in, right? And it's a mini ice machine! It makes ice on your knee, and as it melts it recirculates that water, making more ice! Not that I'll care, anyway, I'm getting Tylox.

[Tsyroc]

I'm still quite nervous, though. I don't like needles, but the doctors says he'll make sure the anesthesiologist uses lots of verced. I won't remember a thing.

I always say that if I ever have to be a patient in the hospital where I work I want to be gorked out until I'm out the door. I don't need the memories of people I work with seeing me naked and other things.

They also put some kind of novacaine pump in my leg for three days, numbs it up real good, and you get this machine that you attach to your knee somehow that you plug in, and put water in, right? And it's a mini ice machine! It makes ice on your knee, and as it melts it recirculates that water, making more ice! Not that I'll care, anyway, I'm getting Tylox.

It's probably a bupivacaine or ropivacaine iv that will numb some nerves in your knee. They do stuff like that fairly regularlly on our ortho unit, especially for knee surgeries.

That unit is also one of the units that uses Tylox on a regular basis so it must be a semi-common drug to use on ortho patients.

TYLOX® Capsules(oxycodone and acetaminophen capsules USP) is a prescription product indicated for the relief of moderate to moderately severe pain. Each capsule of TYLOX contains 5 mg of oxycodone hydrochloride USP and 500 mg acetaminophen. The product was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1984.

[Chardok]

*sigh* It now appears worse than first thought. There's definately damage to the menisci, and I told the doctor about a situation that occurred after the initial injury, namely, one night I went outside to look at mars and, without thinking, squatted. A VERY loud *POP* Was heard from my injured knee along with a searing bolt of pain. Thinking it was somewhat like a knuckle cracking, I ignored it. the doctor told me that very well could have been the posterior cruciate ligament partially tearing away from the pressure of the full-weight squat coupled with the unnatural effusion (Swelling) which, he states, explains why my leg was so "Loose" (He was previously puzzled apparently at the lack of resistance to his tugging.) he postulates this will require, in the case of a prtial tear simply ligament shrinking with a "La-Ser" and this should correct the problem. Thing is, I can look forward to another 5-10 days recovery because of an extra incision or somesuch horseshit. *Sigh* My thoughts about reinlisting have suddenly evaporated. But, I talked on the phone with the Anesthesiologist today, and he asks, "So, how much of this do you want to remember?"

"NO-THING" Was my reply, eliciting a chuckle from him.

"Okay, looooooots of Verced. Got it. I'll see you on the 24th, Mr. Klix!"
I also have to give one pint of my own blood to be used in case of a "Problem" I fucking hate needles. I hate surgery. I hate doctors. I hate being a dumbass and jumping off a bar. I hate martians, communists, Ferrous materials, cups, ashtrays, stars, carbon, helium, most noble gasses, petroleum distillates of any kind, speakers, microwaves, concrete, paper, Afrin, CD's Tapes, Sol, Berman and Braga, CNN, the New England Patriots, lids, caps, frozen pizzas, toasters, bread and last but not least, spoons.

[Comosicus]

[joking]At least, try to see the good side of things: you'll have breakfast in bed, anesthesics are pretty damn good these days and they'll use a "La-ser" not a "Blaster" or a "Phaser" to fix your knee.[/joking]

Now, to cut the crap, I wish you to get well as soon as possible.

[Broomstick]

I'm still quite nervous, though. I don't like needles, but the doctors says he'll make sure the anesthesiologist uses lots of verced. I won't remember a thing.

I always say that if I ever have to be a patient in the hospital where I work I want to be gorked out until I'm out the door.

Not me! When I had to have surgery on my face a few years back I didn't want to be knocked out. I was awake the whole time. I now know what a scalpel slicing through human flesh sounds like. Ick.

Yeah, if I needed more surgery (I'm trying real hard to avoid that) I think I'd prefer to be awake, if possible. Personal preference.

[Howedar]

You're insane. If I have to get any major surgery, I want to wake up about when my kids graduate from college. No, make that my grandkids.



That's sorta hypocritical though since I went for local anesthetic on the wisdom teeth. I guess me cheapness outweighed my squeamishness on that one.

[Broomstick]

My main concern was that I feel no pain - and I didn't. No pain at all during the surgery, and very little sensation. (I think they peeled back a good part of my cheek then put it back, but it's not like they gave me a mirror to watch with.)

I hate feeling "doped up". I hate feeling out of control. I hate being at the mercy of strangers. I hate nausea/hangover (which general anesthesia can give you). And being asthmatic - even an extremely well-controlled asthmatic - puts me into a slightly higher risk category for complications from general anesthesia (or so I was told).

But I can understand why other folks want to opt for a knock-out.

[Tsyroc]

Yeah, if I needed more surgery (I'm trying real hard to avoid that) I think I'd prefer to be awake, if possible. Personal preference.

For me the main point is not remembering the stuff after the surgery. I don't want remember being naked and other stuff in front of the nurses I work with all the time.

[Lord Woodlouse]

Nothing to do with breasts then? *leaves, dejected*

[Knife]

Well, while I'm sorry as hell for you bub, I can sort of just see you doing such things. I mean, you won't even go get your ridalin your doctor percribed, why would anyone expect you to get a tune up done on your fucked up knee.

Seriously though, take the time it needs to heal and not the time YOU feel you need to heal. No need to have to deal with this when your sixty, just suck it up and deal with it now.