Getting Older

[rahtotheames]

Haha, I really did not mean to make satire out of aging... But whoever said that aging is exponential basically described how life has felt for me so far. Every year passes faster than the last. And from what I'm hearing it only gets worse

[djkent01]

Honestly, I'm quite shocked at the relative youth of the posters on this site. Someone should do a survey that puts our ages in strata - I'm really curious.

As it stands, my kids are older than many of you, I ran my first marathon when I turned 40, I'm on my 10th job since college (now self-employed...), I've weighed as much as 230 and as little as 170 since college (now 190), and I enjoy dancing and laughing more now than I ever had in my life. Both my laugh and dancing are obnoxious, and I'm old enough that I don't really care. So laugh, dance, and be passionate. Just don't expect your golf game to be as good as it used to be...

[pulse]

You've been in a brace for a month? I guess I have some things to learn about this procudure. Did they repair your tear, or just trim the ragged edges?

That's exactly it, I had two tears! The one on the medial meniscus he just trimmed up.

When he went in with the scope, the longitudinal tear on the lateral meniscus was worse than he thought (MRI doesn't show enough). Since I'm an active person he decided to repair that tear. Repairing a tear is suppose to better in the long run, but it takes much longer to heal, because it has to do exactly that, heal. There are stitches holding it together so that has to heal first. If I just had the tear that he could trim off, I could have been off playing sports in a week from what I hear.

Instead I've been stuck at home not being to walk or drive. I went to the gym the few days ago to start rehab on the bike. I could hardly do one revolution when I started because the knee was so stiff and the muscles were gone after a month of little to no activity. After a couple of days I already notice a big difference in flexibility, so I am really ready to start moving forward.

I really, really hope they can just clip off your ragged edges. This should all be worth it in the long run though. I suffer now to be better later. I'm thinking I should at least be ready for fall sports leagues, late summer if everything goes well.

[sunset]

That's exactly it, I had two tears! The one on the medial meniscus he just trimmed up.

When he went in with the scope, the longitudinal tear on the lateral meniscus was worse than he thought (MRI doesn't show enough). Since I'm an active person he decided to repair that tear. Repairing a tear is suppose to better in the long run, but it takes much longer to heal, because it has to do exactly that, heal. There are stitches holding it together so that has to heal first. If I just had the tear that he could trim off, I could have been off playing sports in a week from what I hear.

Instead I've been stuck at home not being to walk or drive. I went to the gym the few days ago to start rehab on the bike. I could hardly do one revolution when I started because the knee was so stiff and the muscles were gone after a month of little to no activity. After a couple of days I already notice a big difference in flexibility, so I am really ready to start moving forward.

I really, really hope they can just clip off your ragged edges. This should all be worth it in the long run though. I suffer now to be better later. I'm thinking I should at least be ready for fall sports leagues, late summer if everything goes well.

Sounds like repairing was the way to go. I guess the big thing will be to make sure you do your rehab, that's where I need more discipline.

I just got the results of the MRI, medial meniscus as well, and I'm waiting for my Ortho appt. I'm still active even with the tear, it just limits bending beyong 90 degrees and swells up with activity. Funny piece of advice I received that makes a lot of sense; friend told me to wait until fall/winter if I have to go in for surgery as the new interns will have a few procedures under their belts by then.

[CyGuy33]

Sounds like repairing was the way to go. I guess the big thing will be to make sure you do your rehab, that's where I need more discipline.

I just got the results of the MRI, medial meniscus as well, and I'm waiting for my Ortho appt. I'm still active even with the tear, it just limits bending beyong 90 degrees and swells up with activity. Funny piece of advice I received that makes a lot of sense; friend told me to wait until fall/winter if I have to go in for surgery as the new interns will have a few procedures under their belts by then.

Medical Rotations start in the summer, July or August. Look out for those first year residences.

[pulse]

Absolutely, watch out for that! Write down on any consent form and tell the doctor (if these are your wishes) that you only want the attending physician to do the work. Let the scrubs learn on somebody else, its your leg your body and let the orthopedist with years of experience fix you up. Your ability to walk and run free of pain isn't something to not speak up about. My ortho has been a physician for NFL teams so I felt really good about it, that he's seen and fixed tears a zillion times. There's a guy who is doing a fellowship with him who has great bedside manner, but I didn't want him touching me during the operation. Nice guy, but learn on the next guy, not me.

[Cydar]

Absolutely, watch out for that! Write down on any consent form and tell the doctor (if these are your wishes) that you only want the attending physician to do the work. Let the scrubs learn on somebody else, its your leg your body and let the orthopedist with years of experience fix you up. Your ability to walk and run free of pain isn't something to not speak up about. My ortho has been a physician for NFL teams so I felt really good about it, that he's seen and fixed tears a zillion times. There's a guy who is doing a fellowship with him who has great bedside manner, but I didn't want him touching me during the operation. Nice guy, but learn on the next guy, not me.

This reminds me when a newbie tried to draw blood from me. First she had problems finding a vein to tap and when she finally chose one she had problems drawing blood. I could feel her shift the needle in my arm during her attempt. Finally her supervisor came over, gave it a try and then decided it would be better to use my other arm. She then got it on the first stick.

[CyGuy33]

Absolutely, watch out for that! Write down on any consent form and tell the doctor (if these are your wishes) that you only want the attending physician to do the work. Let the scrubs learn on somebody else, its your leg your body and let the orthopedist with years of experience fix you up. Your ability to walk and run free of pain isn't something to not speak up about. My ortho has been a physician for NFL teams so I felt really good about it, that he's seen and fixed tears a zillion times. There's a guy who is doing a fellowship with him who has great bedside manner, but I didn't want him touching me during the operation. Nice guy, but learn on the next guy, not me.

My wife just graduated from Medical school so I am obligated to stand up for students in hospitals. They don't let just anyone go scrapping away at your knee. Specialists are called so for a reason. But if they weren't allowed to learn by watching and doing we would run out of doctors quickly.

[sunset]

My wife just graduated from Medical school so I am obligated to stand up for students in hospitals. They don't let just anyone go scrapping away at your knee. Specialists are called so for a reason. But if they weren't allowed to learn by watching and doing we would run out of doctors quickly.

My wife is also a doctor so I too understand the role of learning hospitals. Having said that, I think I'll go the advice of not letting first year interns do the procedure. I hope to have a lot active years left and one little slip........

[pulse]

My wife just graduated from Medical school so I am obligated to stand up for students in hospitals. They don't let just anyone go scrapping away at your knee. Specialists are called so for a reason. But if they weren't allowed to learn by watching and doing we would run out of doctors quickly.

I understand and appreciate that. I thought I knew everything when I started working too... There are plenty of people who don't think of what I said, so there are plenty of opportunities to learn. I'm one of those "problem" patients.

On a slightly different subject, would you want a really nice doctor who is okay or good to operate on you, or some a-hole who is really excellent?

[CyGuy33]

I understand and appreciate that. I thought I knew everything when I started working too... There are plenty of people who don't think of what I said, so there are plenty of opportunities to learn. I'm one of those "problem" patients.

On a slightly different subject, would you want a really nice doctor who is okay or good to operate on you, or some a-hole who is really excellent?

You know what they call the Med School graduate with the lowest GPA?

Doctor.

[pulse]

You know what they call the Med School graduate with the lowest GPA?

Doctor.

I have a great friend who is one of the those!

Wouldn't let him operate on me either. I know he's pretty good at what he does, but still... give me the ******* every time.

[sunset]

You know what they call the Med School graduate with the lowest GPA?

Doctor.

Med school is like any other academic program, some people sneak through the system. I don't know what their med school GPAs were, but I met some really incompetent Drs while my wife was in residency. Some of my wife's stories were shocking.

As an aside, good luck as your wife heads to residency. Do you know what specialty she is shooting for? It will be a tough time, the best advice I have is to find a hobby you can do on your own.

[CloneIce]

A bunch of things you notice when you have left college for too long

Your potted plants stay alive..
Having sex in a twin-sized bed is absurd.
You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to sleep.
You hear your favorite song on the elevator at work.
You carry an umbrella.
You watch the Weather Channel.
Your friends marry and divorce instead of hookup and breakup.
You go from 130 days of vacation time to 7.
Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as 'dressed up'
Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonalds.
Sleeping on the couch is a no-no.
You no longer take naps from noon to 6 p.m.
Dinner and a movie - The whole date instead of the beginning of one.
MTV News is no longer your primary source for information.
You go to the drugstore for Ibuprofen and antacids, not condoms and pregnancy test kits.
A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer 'pretty good stuff'.
You actually eat breakfast foods at breakfast time.
Grocery lists are longer than macaroni & cheese, diet Pepsi & ho-ho's
I just can't drink the way I used to' replaces 'I'm never going to drink that much again'
Over 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
You don't get liquored up at home, to save money, before going to a bar.

That is simply awesome!

[CyGuy33]

Med school is like any other academic program, some people sneak through the system. I don't know what their med school GPAs were, but I met some really incompetent Drs while my wife was in residency. Some of my wife's stories were shocking.

As an aside, good luck as your wife heads to residency. Do you know what specialty she is shooting for? It will be a tough time, the best advice I have is to find a hobby you can do on your own.

She's going into Family Practice and will start at Broadlawns in July. Thanks for the advice I'm hoping to spend even more time on CF then I do now.