Dealing with the degeneration of my knees

Well to put it mildly i was pissed when i found out i wan.t able.to do sport any more (i.m 49)... that i.m supposed to be ok with not dancing.or running or playing football any more. But the reality is the meniscus in my left knee is shot and if i wanna push that knee replacement down the road i have to act now. 

It was early April and i had been busy, my knee had been niggling, so i had done what i always did, ignored it. By the Friday i was immobile but still insisted on  walking to a medical supply shop to buy crutches. When i got home, i collapsed. My knee was done. It was 3 times it.s normal size and those emergency painkillers couldn.t touch it. It had become septic. Usually i would say my doctor here in Germany is fantastic. But his junior was rude and lazy. Writing it off as a PsA flare up, without even examining it and treated it predictably with mtx, no vit D, no folic acid, no dosage guideline and the madatory course of cortisone. He basically suggested i should find another doctor, as i am no longer as local to the practice as i was. (finding a new doctor is easier said than done) 

Anyway..it was the advice of my sister (a physio) and her husband (an orthspedic surgeon... alas both in Australia) to recognise that something was truly wrong and i went to independent private doctor who confirmed both the PsA aspect and the suspected osteo (bone on bone) aspect too. It was at this point it became clear i would not be returning to my normal routine any time soon. And that sucked a lot. I was angry and just a bit defeated, it was tough.

I am not one to feel sorry for myself for too long so by June i got a rediculously expensive knee brace (a single-compartment, medial, unloading brace) which radically changed my life. 

So with my new-found manoeuverability i decided to started looking at what WAS possible, rather than what i was restricted from doing. My path lead me back to martial arts training and yoga. Sadly, cycling was out due to my lower back PsA and a history of damaged discs. Swimming, however, became one of my most regular activities. And as my knee slowly stabilised it absolutely improved my mood and kept me much more active than i had been. 

I admit i am still somewhat dependant on crutches. I have good days and bad days. I also still struggle in busier groups or crowds and i don.t really go out any more (i had already quit the booze several years ago for my PsA, recently i also had to add gluten to the list)

I try to do yoga every day and when i can.t sit cross legged i.ll sit on a chair, no sweat. Mostly it is stretches, but downdog and bridge are essential extras. 

I swim about once a week. It is expensive here, but necesssry. 

Walking has been my summer workout, bit by bit and with  small improvements and impirtantly not pushing.it. Sometime i do it on crutches but mostly just the brace. I will continue to push myself steadily. i have realised that even if it is a long road and one knee doesn.t work  it doesn.t mean i have to act as a crippled, broken soul. The rest of me, including my head, needs to be at 100% (or as close as i can muster) to support the issue that is hindering me...and as PsA sufferers know, this is often a moving target. 

I won.t give up and i will continue to strengthen my system, tweak my diet, and augment through devices, braces and crutches where necessary.

PsA won.t beat me! No yet anyway...