I Have the Day off from Both Jobs Today, but I do Work Midnight later
By Marsha
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
Midland, Michigan
September 2, 2016 10:24am CST
Although I have the day off today from both jobs, I'm hoping not to be mylotting all the day long and instead try to get some major cleaning done. Plus, when my husband gets out of work I'm heading in so we can do a bit of shopping together for a few groceries. I usually shop alone and then he wants things I didn't purchase.
My knee has been bad again this summer. It began when the weather was so hot and humid, but now that it's much cooler the knee is still under the weather. I wore a knee immobilizer last night which helped immensely. I will probably wear that at night for a bit to see if it helps my knee and muscles heal faster. I hoped to wear it during the day too, but I can't type at my desk with it on. Well, I can, but it's quite uncomfortable.
I'm thinking of cleaning my dinette which is where my computer now resides and move it to the window in back of me. That way my left knee could stay in the room, possibly, and I wouldn't need to have it underneath the keyboard. Course, it could twist in that position too, and that wouldn't be any better.
A gal that I work with at night and will see when I work the midnight shift at eleven pm, is bringing me a contraption she's used on her shoulder. It runs by battery and sends short electrical currents to the muscles to help them relax. I also may take time later and do some leg exercises on the bed since I can't get up and down from the floor very well.
I have an appointment with the specialist in October and was hoping for a knee replacement in February, which is when we're slowest at the retail job and with windows too. It may need to be before that, though, if or insurance will change. Not sure yet if the surgeries are already scheduled to the end of the year.
13 people like this
11 responses
@LadyDuck (471459)
• Switzerland
4 Sep 16
@MarshaMusselman I decided not to have surgery on my right shoulder. It took a lot of time, but now I do not feel pain anymore and I move my arm and shoulder very well. I am glad I decided to wait.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
5 Sep 16
@LadyDuck If I could take off a week or two from both jobs, I'm sure my knee would improve a lot. I do get the next three days off from cashiering and will only be working a portion of Tues and Wed with windows if it doesn't rain, so maybe that will give it time to heal a bit more.
It seems like I run into this problem with them every few years. This time, it's much worse than ever before, though. It's taking me a little longer to go between either standing or sitting. I've been walking stiff-legged, so takes a bit to bend my knee when I'm ready to sit down, and then when I get up again, it takes a bit to adjust to and put weight on my leg for standing and walking. But, it's not constantly awful, just periodically, so we'll see how it goes.
I'm going to do my best to exercise my left leg throughout my days. I was told holding my leg up as high as I can is the best way to build more muscle to support my knee joints.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
3 Sep 16
I might be able to postpone the surgery if I continue to wear the immobilizer. It does wonders when I wear it at night, but depending on what I do during the day determines whether it stays good and for how long. I got some exercises to do that will help the muscles support the knee better too. I just need to be more faithful in doing them daily even after the knee improves.
I'm sure I'll need the surgery eventually, and if that is the case, then I should get it while I'm still working since the insurance would pay for a large portion of it. If I wait until I retire, I might have to pay more out of pocket. I guess there is a possibility that I won't need the surgery at all, but I won't know until I see the specialist/surgeon.
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@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
2 Sep 16
bless yer heart 'n knee. such can be quite tryin', i hope that'cher able to get some relief. i'd personally not be'n a big hurry fer surgery, particularly if'n yer lookin' 't joint replacement.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
2 Sep 16
@MarshaMusselman those tens units can work wonders if'n that'd be yer troubles. 'round these parts the surgeons hold off'n those knee replacements 's long 's possible. they say they're only 'good' fer 'bout 10 years. i've known some who've they've actually started disintegatin' 'n caused massive infections. not to put'cha off, jest somethin' to consider. i know what'cha mean 'but the funds part though.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
3 Sep 16
@crazyhorseladycx I do know a few people that had complications related to their knee replacements. It may be possible that I don't qualify for one anyway or that something else is going on inside. Maybe wearing the immobilizer will help enough to let my knees without having the surgery. I know that my knees have been worse than this in the past, but after taking a week off from both jobs and wearing the immobilizer it healed enough so that it was as if I never had the problem in the first place.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
2 Sep 16
It will depend on how it goes with this immobilizer and the thing my co-worker is bringing for me to try out. I will want to check into the surgery while I'm still working so they can cover the majority of it since when I retire I probably won't have the extra funds.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
3 Sep 16
No, I'm not wearing it doing either job. It keeps sliding down my leg anyway. When I got it a few years ago, I had to wear it non-stop because at that time I couldn't even stand on that one leg the muscles kept spasm-ing. At least this time it's not quite that bad and I'm hoping there's no yet to that either.
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
16 Sep 16
Have the muscles healed since then, Patsie? If they have then you might be able to exercise them in some way to help your knee joints hold up longer.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
3 Sep 16
I'm expecting that I will need one eventually, but maybe I won't need one just yet. Sometimes it feels like I have bone on bone and sometimes it's hard to stand on the knee and then once I am standing it's hard to bend the knee to sit down and then later there's no problem at all doing either.
When I had similar pain before, I couldn't even stand on the left leg for several days. My husband had to teach me how to walk around with his old-fashioned walker and using only my right leg to move. At that time, I wore the immobilizer almost around the clock and after a week my knee was much better and didn't have the pain any longer, or not the same. I was able to go back to both jobs.
At least, this time, I can stand on both legs, but when I'm cashiering for two hours standing in one place that's when it's hard to move again. Once I see the specialist I'll know whether I should be able to wait a few more years before having the surgery, or maybe even get by without having it at all. My goal is to exercise it daily, and continue even when the leg is doing better-but that's the difficult part.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
3 Sep 16
I got to do what I've got to do. Eventually, I'll be able to do less, but it's not right around the corner yet. My original goal was to retire from both jobs in six years when I'll be seventy, but I'm thinking of changing that to two years from now. It will depend on many factors. If my knee improves without surgery, then maybe I can make it till I'm seventy. I'm sure that one of these years I'll have to do less with one job or the other, but hopefully that won't happen until we have more paid off and caught up.
@vandana7 (100303)
• India
2 Sep 16
I am sorry you are suffering with knee pain.. I used to...but now I don't. God knows why...but last month or so..I am not suffering with any knee pain. May be walk or the change in calcium tablets. May be these tablets are more effective. Hugs..sorry...hope you can get that surgery at the earliest.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
2 Sep 16
The knee immobilizer did wonders last night. We'll see how I do at work tonight, and whether I get any exercises in today or not. I've had problems with my knees since I was in my forties, which is about twenty years. They are problematic off and on. Right now it's ongoing, but maybe it will recede again if I continue to wear the immobilizer at night. 
back to you, thanks.
back to you, thanks.1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
2 Sep 16
Good luck, I have similar pain so I can sympathize.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
2 Sep 16
Hope the contraption provides relief and the leg exercises help.Take care.
1 person likes this
