Knee surgery saga update.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Okay, so I'll try to explain all that's gone on.

I went for the anesthesia consult. He told me all was good assuming the results of the follow up x-Ray of my chest post pneumonia where okay. He also said my lungs sounded clear.

Got the x-ray.

I then got a call from my nurse saying the radiologist recommends a chest cat scan because I have fluid in my lungs or it could be near the heart or it could just be scar tissue from the fungus I had while in the Persian gulf.

The cat scan was scheduled after my pre surgical consult which of course wouldn't allow the anesthesia guy to approve me before the surgeon saw me, so, they wanted to cancel the pre surgery consult and after the cat scan results where in start the process all over.

I called the radiology department and sweet talked them into an earlier cat scan and everything appeared to be back on track.

While purchasing the new ultra, I get a call from my nurse saying the cat scan revealed that my lap band (a weight loss tool) was too tight and was causing fluid to be "held" above the band in the esophagus. And that until the band was loosened, no surgery.

I called the lap band doc and got an appointment to loosen the band on 2/12/18. His feeling is that while I had pneumonia, the coughing caused the area around the band on my stomach to become inflamed and swell, causing the band to become tight. The plan is to loosen the band and allow the stomach to "calm down" then readjust it to a little less tight than it was before the pneumonia.

The good news is that the lap band is adjustable by simply injecting saline solution into or out of a port that is just above the band under the skin. This is a five minute procedure and doesn't hurt, but, is kind funky when they do it. The real good news is that it is nothing serious and easily fixed.

So what does all this mean? Basically after the band is loosened, it takes a couple weeks of "modified diet", basically clear warm liquids to get the stomach to calm down. Then the band can be readjusted.

Until that happens all plans for the left knee replacement are on hold. I could possibly get the knee done in July, after I open all the swimming pools, but, this would seriously cut into the riding season, and put my business in a bad place. If a customer had an issue while I was recovering, they would have to take their business somewhere else and I'd loose them. I'm not sure I'm willing to do that just yet.

Since the left knee is in far better shape than the right was, I think I will opt to move a little slower, let the lap band issues work themselves out and enjoy the summer, then start this process over shooting for a late October or Early November left knee replacement.

Fun getting to know Alan and his medical issues huh? LOL.

[1dn5up]

Okay, so I'll try to explain all that's gone on.

I went for the anesthesia consult. He told me all was good assuming the results of the follow up x-Ray of my chest post pneumonia where okay. He also said my lungs sounded clear.

Got the x-ray.

I then got a call from my nurse saying the radiologist recommends a chest cat scan because I have fluid in my lungs or it could be near the heart or it could just be scar tissue from the fungus I had while in the Persian gulf.

The cat scan was scheduled after my pre surgical consult which of course wouldn't allow the anesthesia guy to approve me before the surgeon saw me, so, they wanted to cancel the pre surgery consult and after the cat scan results where in start the process all over.

I called the radiology department and sweet talked them into an earlier cat scan and everything appeared to be back on track.

While purchasing the new ultra, I get a call from my nurse saying the cat scan revealed that my lap band (a weight loss tool) was too tight and was causing fluid to be "held" above the band in the esophagus. And that until the band was loosened, no surgery.

I called the lap band doc and got an appointment to loosen the band on 2/12/18. His feeling is that while I had pneumonia, the coughing caused the area around the band on my stomach to become inflamed and swell, causing the band to become tight. The plan is to loosen the band and allow the stomach to "calm down" then readjust it to a little less tight than it was before the pneumonia.

The good news is that the lap band is adjustable by simply injecting saline solution into or out of a port that is just above the band under the skin. This is a five minute procedure and doesn't hurt, but, is kind funky when they do it. The real good news is that it is nothing serious and easily fixed.

So what does all this mean? Basically after the band is loosened, it takes a couple weeks of "modified diet", basically clear warm liquids to get the stomach to calm down. Then the band can be readjusted.

Until that happens all plans for the left knee replacement are on hold. I could possibly get the knee done in July, after I open all the swimming pools, but, this would seriously cut into the riding season, and put my business in a bad place. If a customer had an issue while I was recovering, they would have to take their business somewhere else and I'd loose them. I'm not sure I'm willing to do that just yet.

Since the left knee is in far better shape than the right was, I think I will opt to move a little slower, let the lap band issues work themselves out and enjoy the summer, then start this process over shooting for a late October or Early November left knee replacement.

Fun getting to know Alan and his medical issues huh? LOL.

OK — ​Sounds like a plan to me.

[Capt.Bob]

I am wondering, why are you not on your trike most of the time for the foreseeable future

Sorry to hear about all the medical complications. Unfortunately, there is no free lunch with gastric surgery (pun intended) and I would suspect that possible past weight wasn't too kind to your knees. Sorry about the possible lingering after-effects of what appears to be service related medical problems and if this is the case, very big time thanks for your service!

Hang in there. I have seen lots of people go through rough patches and a year or two later are really flying high. Hope that happens for you. Bob

[paws]

Oh good grief, Charlie Brown!

The bright side is you are going to have a high-flying spring and summer with the 2-wheeler and the pool business then once again you’ll have something to work on next winter through the cabin-fever months. Sounds like a win-win deal to me.

[TGCarol]

Sorry about the delay of your surgery Alan. Sounds like you’ll have a fun Summer though

[FuzzyWuzHe]

I am wondering, why are you not on your trike most of the time for the foreseeable future

Sorry to hear about all the medical complications. Unfortunately, there is no free lunch with gastric surgery (pun intended) and I would suspect that possible past weight wasn't too kind to your knees. Sorry about the possible lingering after-effects of what appears to be service related medical problems and if this is the case, very big time thanks for your service!

Hang in there. I have seen lots of people go through rough patches and a year or two later are really flying high. Hope that happens for you. Bob

Okay, so after the right knee replacement, I felt so good, that I traded my trike for a 2014 Ultra limited, Just yesterday as a matter of fact, LOL.

The left knee isn't in near the bad shape the right was, so waiting until the fall shouldn't be a big deal.

Your correct about the extreme weight I used to carry not being kind to my knees, but, most of the initial damage occurred in high school playing football and was subsequently aggravated by the 9 operations to repair. The replacement of the right was the tenth. So after 120# weight loss and one replacement, I'm walking pretty well and my pain level now is about 80-90% less than before the right was replaced.

[David357]

You have thought through the options very well. Alan, that sounds like a great plan.

Good luck.

[Gorilla]

Sounds like a very workable plan Fuzzy. Enjoy the summer and ride safe.

[Marc H]

Sucks that your initial plans got messed up but sounds like you have a great plan B.

[peteg59]

I was wondering to myself why you would go from a trike back to a 2 wheeler, after having recent knee surgery???

Your explanation above makes more sense, now.

Hoping for the best for you & yr knees in the upcoming riding season. Just don't "overdo" it. Perhaps start out with short/local rides, & see how things go.....

[Zammy]

Wow, looks like plan B will work out for you Fuzzy, best of luck.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Just don't "overdo" it. Perhaps start out with short/local rides, & see how things go.....

Doing local afternoon rides ... too cool in the am. As it warms up as time goes by I will increase the duration of the rides. Building up my knee strength for a three day ride in May .. .. should be ready by then.

Did 27 miles today. Went to the Harley dealer and made an appointment to have the make the passing lights stay on with the high beams and change the pin to something I know ... LOL. I also had him check the real history, all are done. He also saw where it had been service by a Harley dealer near Fort Collins where I bought it. the 1k, 5k, and 15K were all done. Nice to know the bike is current.

The rest of the miles where just running around town doing errands.

[Jack Klarich]

Wow what a story

You are strong and determined

Ride your bike as much as you can and are still able to hold it up

Yo will know when enuf fun is enuf

Good luck in your plans and happy trails on your new bike

[FuzzyWuzHe]

You are strong and determined

Lack of determination has never been an issue for me ... LOL ... quite the opposite actually. My ex used to say I was stubborn ... nah ... I used to tell her I was just dedicated to my plan, ya know, until my plan seemed to not be working, then, I'd have to revert to God's plan. Praise God for his mercy, cause I sure am not very good at the surrender thing. But, I'm forgiven and working on it.

Ya know, the older I get, the sooner I get to the realization that my plan isn't working out so well ... so that's something .

[ol' school]

Dang Fuzzy, quite the delemma. Sounds like Plan B will work out best for you. Enjoy that new ride!

[Jack Klarich]

Lack of determination has never been an issue for me ... LOL ... quite the opposite actually. My ex used to say I was stubborn ... nah ... I used to tell her I was just dedicated to my plan, ya know, until my plan seemed to not be working, then, I'd have to revert to God's plan. Praise God for his mercy, cause I sure am not very good at the surrender thing. But, I'm forgiven and working on it.

Ya know, the older I get, the sooner I get to the realization that my plan isn't working out so well ... so that's something .

By the Grace of God, you can do anything

[FuzzyWuzHe]

By the Grace of God, you can do anything

Amen

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Okay ... so the lap band has been adjusted.

My primary care doc has taken up the lead on the "issues" the anesthesia guy and radiologist have. they listed 8 different things that came from a CAT Scan on my lungs. Of the 8, the only thing that precludes me from surgery was the lap band being too tight and the issues from that. A followup X-ray done yesterday shows my lungs are normal now. Apparently, while sick, the coughing caused the band to move (just vibrate, not actually move) and the stomach got irritated and swelled causing the band to be really tight and fluid to back up. When I laid down, the fluid would flow into my lungs causing the fluid the X-ray showed. So that issue is over. I may have never had pneumonia, but, there was stiil fluid in the lungs which isn't good.

The other issues are:

A slightly enlarged aorta, probably normal for my age, but we will do a followup in 6 months_

Some gal stones (tiny and northing to worry about)

Some calcium deposits around the heart (probably outside the arteries as the EKG's show my heat is really strong) and we will do a stress test to verify that.

So, like Shakespeare would say, "Much Ado About Nothing." My primary care got a big kick out of the reaction to the radiology report. Her philosophy is, "Don't do a CAT scan, because it will always show Mole Hills that can be made into Mountains." She is scheduling a Nuclear Stress test (She doesn't think I'd do well with a thread mill test do to my left knee) which isn't done at the VA, and a follow up CAT scan in August. As a special bonus prize, she noticed it's been 10 years (almost to the day) since my last colonoscopy, so she'll be scheduling that too ... Yippee.

There is a silver lining to all this, I did learn about the lap band being too tight, I'll get to ride the new bike all spring and summer, and, I'll get a free colonoscopy!

My primary said to call in early September and she'd get the process started for a left knee replacement for late October or early November. Once again, my best laid plans didn't coincide with God's plan ... and as always He wins ... LOL ... which is always what's best for me ...

[paws]

Well Fuzzy...looks like things are on the right track for all accounts.

[bikerbillone]

Happy trails Fuzz, you've been through the wringer with all these health issues. Don't know why, thought you had a Spyder at one point, but I don't see it listed, guess it's just me and my 'fuzzy' memory.