A (PRE-T-DAY) TURKEY

So, this is not how I planned to be spending the week of Thanksgiving, especially today. I have a long list of things to cook! But yesterday, I went to the doctor to see about my knee. Long story short, I got a cortisone shot, and am enjoying the backlash. ((That's the turkey referenced in the title).

My sprain happened four weeks ago, and I've never stopped limping or fearing re-injury; haven't been able to do much in the way of working out. So, I made an appointment to see cute Dr.  Hurt, the same doctor who operated on my wrist back in 2008. Diagnosis: arthritis in both knees, but not necessarily what caused my sprain; something may be torn but we won't know without an MRI. Given several options, I opted for a cortisone shot for the present; after about a week we'll see if that's helped significantly and if it hasn't, well, MRI.

A couple of years ago, when I dislocated my seisamoid bones, I got a cortisone shot for them and it really helped. It hurt more than anything that's ever happened to me except breaking my wrist, but when it was over, it was over, and I felt better almost immediately. There was some swelling, but it was over pretty quickly and I enjoyed a normal-feeling foot for many months after that.

Well. THIS has been a different experience. The shot in the knee didn't hurt nearly as much as the one in my foot, but when that needle goes through the capsule, IT HURTS. My head came off the table and I did make some sound, fortunately none of it cursing directed at the adorable Dr. Hurt (who is, by the way, like twelve. And brilliant). It was a shorter ordeal, and when the shot was over it was over and the pain didn't continue.

But about an hour and a half later, it was a different story. My knee swelled up, I couldn't get comfortable no matter how I lay or sat, and that sucker just HURT.  We had to get out my great aunt's old walker that for some reason I kept (SEE, WE NEEDED THAT!) and one of my grandpa's old canes I use as a prop for Spotlight on Opera, just for me to hobble into the house and get from the bed to the ... well, the necessary places.  It took me a long time to get to sleep.

Today it's still somewhat swollen and very stiff, though thankfully I no longer need a cane to get around. But it's going to make doing all the cooking hard. I'm just taking it easy, doing a little bit at a time, and letting my poor sweet husband play fetch and carry. A friend is coming over later this afternoon to help cook, so it'll all get done. I just hate being incapacitated! However, the whole point of having a cortisone shot is that it's supposed to make things radically better, so here's hoping that by tomorrow my knee will feel like a normal knee again.

I still have to wait awhile before doing any kind of impact exercise, and I may not be able to run anymore. That's the worst part. But we'll just see what happens. Hey, yesterday a friend of mine,  who is still recovering from a near-fatal car accident, had a biopsy and is spending HER Thanksgiving hoping the tumor is benign. I really have nothing to complain about.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

 

Comments

[Cindy]

Marta, thanks for your post! I'm doing better. The cortisone shot was not a cure-all, but I am no longer limping or swelling as much. There's still some pain, especially if I overdo. I just have to be careful. The biggest tragedy in all of this is NO HIGH HEELS. Sob. I love my high heels.

[Marta]

Just catching up with you knee injury and hope like hell that things have settled down for you since Wednesday. I've never had a cortisone shot and hope I never have to but for all the pain you're going through I sure as hell hope that you're feeling better by now and that you've found a comfortable position.

[Karen]

Okay, I totally had to look up the term seisamoid to find out what/where you were talking about. I learned something new today. X )

I had a cortisone shot for trigger finger in my right index. The shot hurt (though I'm sure nowhere near as much as one to the knee), and my finger looked like a bratwurst for about 18 hours and HURTYHURTHURT for at least the first 12, but I was able to muddle through the day with it, and after the 18-hour mark, it was like someone deflated my finger and voila - near full mobility restored.

I do hope your ouch-ness and hobbling will be replaced with relief and freedom of movement lickety-split.