KDMac44’s BodyBlog

Well I had my surgery on Friday at noon. I was home by 4:00 (an hour drive) and feeling fine. I didn’t have any pain in my elbow over the weekend it was just tender.

I went to the doctor yesterday to get the splint rewrapped because it was becoming really loose due to the reduction of swelling. After talking to the doctor, he felt that I didn’t need the splint on my arm any longer since I wasn’t in any pain and I didn’t need to take any pain meds. So he just put a large band-aid over the stiches and sent me on my way.

It’s still to early to REALLY tell if the surgery fixed my elbow but right now it seems as though it did. My elbow doesn’t have the same type of pain that it did before. Now it’s just tender and stiff. I see the doctor again next Monday for a check up on how my elbow is doing.

I’ll update more as it happens.

Well surgery is set for April 3rd. Hopefully this will take care of the constant pain in my elbow. After about 10 days the doctor is going to remove the brace and physical therapy will begin…at least that’s the plan right now.

Well I got the results back from the MRI on my elbow yesterday. The doctor told me that he saw a little bit of scar tissue built up in my elbow but couldn’t understand what was making it hurt all the time. The doctor told me that I had two options: that he injects my elbow with Cortizone (I’ve had this done 3 times already) or surgery. I told him that the Cortizone would only be a temporary solution to the problem as I was really "itching" to start lifting weights again. After hearing this, the doctor asked when I would like to schedule the surgery.

 The surgery is scheduled for April 3rd. All I have to say is it’s about time. 

Well I saw the doctor on Monday. He had me schedule a MRI for my elbow and explained how the surgery works, what is done and how long the entire process is. My MRI is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 16th and my followup meeting with the doctor to discuss my MRI and schedule the surgery is on February 23rd.

My March is really jammed right now with work commitments so I’m hoping to schedule the surgery for April 3rd. The doctor told me that some people can go back to work right away after the surgery and some take up to two weeks after the surgery. He also told me that I won’t be able to use my elbow for at least 12 weeks after the surgery. That’s sure going to suck!!! I’m going to tell him to put my entire arm in a cast so that I can’t use it at all (or be tempted to use it…it will be golf season after all) so that it can heal correctly and completely.

I go to the doctor to discuss surgery options for my right elbow on Monday, Feb. 9th. I haven’t been able to do any upperbody lifting because after each set my elbow hurts unbelievably. I hope that surgery will eventually help it. Right now it has a dull ache all the time.

Well I went and got my 3rd Cortizone shot in my elbow on Friday (August 1). He told me to let my elbow rest 4-6 weeks and if it hurts again to call a different doctor to discuss surgery. I should just schedule it and get it over with because I know that I am going to need it. I’m figuring that I will finally start lifting at the end of this month.

Well I went and saw a different doctor on July 3rd. This doctor gave me a shot of cortizone into my elbow. I’ll say this it made my elbow feel great about an hour later. But the doc warned me about this too. The next day it was pretty sore though. The doc told me to give it a couple of weeks before I try workingout again. When I do, try wrist curls or dumbell curls to see how my elbow holds up. If it doesn’t help I will need to go back and get another shot or two. I think I can get anywhere up to 5-7 shots total before the topic of surgery comes up. Well we will see how it goes. Today it’s a little sore but not too bad.

I haven’t been able to lift for the past 4 weeks. I have medial epicondylitis, or golfer’s elbow. When I was lifting in April and May, my elbow hurt so bad during and afterward that it sometimes work me up in the morning. It’s my belief that I’ve had this injury for quite some time from playing baseball or the years and now my elbow can’t handle the strain any longer. Rather than sitting around doing very little, I decide to focus my attention on leg lifting, cardio, ab work and diet. Since some of these are my weaker areas, focusing on them will pay dividends in the long term.