Drat!

[sundial]

I had several great weeks of cycling and did high mileage stuff. Then I did hills one day and my left quad area went CUCKOO! I have MAJOR swelling above the knee joint and my range of motion is limited by the stiffness. It swells just from puttering around the house, doing light chores. Needless to say I'm not walking or riding and I'm keeping my knee elevated. I've taken so much ibuprofen that I'm sick of it. Man, I hope I'm not off the bike for the rest of the summer. :mad: Have an appt with the ortho tentatively next week. Looks like I have tendonitis of the VMO.

I was just getting into it really good too. :(

[Tuckervill]

Yikes. You have to rest that--it will pay off in the long run.

Karen, hunkered down against the storms...

[Zen]

That's a strange one, alright.
How did you come to that diagnosis?

I hate to be the messenger here but the only cure for tendonitis is not doing that activity :(

[sundial]

Karen, I hope you don't get storm damage or lose electricity. Dallas got hammered with those high winds and 200,000 people are without electricity. It's hot and very humid and I pray we all make it through this storm without the damage. Is it bad now?

Zen, everything I'm reading seems to indicate that. I hate to think I'd have to hang the bike up for quite a while. :( I'll be off the bike next week as well so hopefully that will help matters. If I have to be off for a month or so, at least I'll be indoors in the cool a/c. :D

[Selkie]

I hope Kali and Nicky are taking care of you. I can send you Margot the Holy Terror Puppy, if you need some entertainment. :p Eleven weeks is the best and worst of puppyhood!!

I wonder if you can swim with that sort of injury?

Also, my experience with tendonitis is that keeping blood moving through the injury helps it heal. Very gentle exercise, nothing strenuous.

Sending healing thoughts your way....

[sundial]

Thanks Mick and I had to chuckle thinking about Margot. LOL! I remember those days of terror when I had puppies running about. :D

[OakLeaf]

Aw, bummer. :( Sending healing vibes.

[sundial]

Thanks Oakleaf. :)

I'm beginning to rethink my compact double on the road bike. Perhaps it's better to have a triple since I already have bad knee(s).

[sundial]

Saw my ortho and got a real surprise. I have gout! I looked at my x-ray of my knees and hip and my joints have little sparklies--like a snow globe.

I can't seem to come back from this very fast even though the swelling is gone. I'm back in the saddle after being off the bike for a couple of weeks, taking anti-inflammatory RX, and taking it easy but it's not the same. :(

[shootingstar]

Wishing you a speedy recovery, sundial!

[Zen]

I told you to lay off the sauce ;)

On page 2 (http://www.medicinenet.com/gout/article.htm) it mentions dehydration.
Do you think that might have been a trigger? Did they take time to explain?

[sundial]

Zen, lol. Thank you for posting the article. :) Shootingstar, thanks for the well wishes. :)

I read it and I'm surprised to see that milk products may actually help reduce inflammation. Guess I'll be eating more yogurt.

I noticed the last several months that my knee was getting stiff and puffy, but not so that I couldn't do alot of things. Then it really flared up and I was on the couch for a couple of days. I thought it was from a fit issue or an injury from cycling. My ortho said that it could be the way my kidneys are functioning or other factors. He also stated that it was not uncommon for women to develop it in the knees. The cartilege gets crusty and then gets brittle and tears. I always thought gout started in the little joints, like the big toe, and then moved to other joints.

Since I'm in Meno land, I'm more susceptible to this according to the article. When I left the dr's office, I felt even more vulnerable. It's depressing when you are working to stay healthy and things go wrong anyway.

[Selkie]

At least it's good knowing what's ailing you. Hope you feel well soon.

My dad had occasional bouts of gout. He used to eat fresh cherries, claiming it helped.

[sundial]

I haven't eaten cherries but I do love eating a big bowl of blueberries. I think blueberries help reduce inflammation.