Mocha's Adoptiversary

Sunday was Mocha's adoptiversary!   We've been her parents for a whole year already. 

Here's how she spent her day:

 She got a new toy - and as you can see, chicken has been cast aside!

 Taking a break from chewing her new toy.

Focused and ready to go for a walk.

All in all, a good day for Mocha J!

I've been walking a lot - my knees are better, but I can tell that if I tried to run it would make them worse.  So walking it is. 

Bad News About Knees

On Monday the 14th, I got an excruciating pain in my right knee.  I had just been sitting on the floor with Mocha, and somehow my knee all of a sudden exploded with pain.  I couldn't put weight on my right leg, couldn't straighten my knee, and basically had to limp around in pain.

This continued to the next morning.  It was a little better, but still very painful.  I started taking some ibuprofen.  Days went by, and it continued to improve little by little.  At the same time, the left knee wasn't perfect either.  Needless to say, I didn't run, but somehow managed to take Mocha on her walks.

I decided to make an appointment with an orthopedic doctor to find out what my knees are up to these days.  I had been diagnosed with arthritis in 2007, and since then I've been able to manage pretty well.  I used to say that most days I didn't even know I had arthritis.  I attribute this to the 4000 mg of Omega 3 fish oils I've been taking every day.  But something snapped.

My doctor's appointment was yesterday, and the new X-rays showed that I do have arthritis in both knees (not news), my cartilage is very thin behind the kneecaps, and I have 2 bone spurs on each knee, one of which has broken off.

The doctor advised.....   no more running!  I was upset.  I don't want to make  my knees worse, though, and I don't want to have a joint replacement any sooner than necessary.  So I won't run.   I will walk, bike, lift weights (but no squats or lunges).  I will try to minimize further damage.

As for good news - the weather was really nice yesterday, and Mocha & I went for a short trail walk.

More good weather today - maybe we will go again.

Mocha's Vet Visit

Yesterday Mocha had her wellness check-up - it's been almost one year since we adopted her!  She weighs more (58.1 pounds), her skin is healthy, she doesn't have any worms, but she still tests positive for Lyme disease.  The vet says that is normal, and that maybe in another year she will test  negative for that.  We had her on a course of medicine when we first got her that was supposed to eradicate the Lyme.

Mocha saw three dogs at the vet - one very big one (Great Dane).  I think she was wondering how a dog can get so big!

When we were ready to come out of the exam room, there was a black dog in the waiting room that started barking at her.  She was going to give it right back, so we went back into the exam room and I shut the door.  We waited in there instead of out in the waiting room.

Next time we tried to leave, there was a little Puggle in the waiting room that started barking at her.  She didn't care about that one, so we paid our bill and left with no further uproar.

As far as running goes.....  not good.  My right knee acted up in a big way on Monday afternoon.  It was so painful that I couldn't even bear weight on it.  I've been icing and taking a few ibuprofen, and it is better, but not 100%.  I still can't straighten either knee completely.

So I made an appointment with an orthopedic dr. to find out exactly what is wrong - is it just the arthritis flaring up, or something else?  I will go next Wednesday to start that process.

Happy St. Patrick's Day (yesterday)!

A Better Run

Another cold morning, and a better run - my knee seems almost back to normal, but my pace has slowed.  I didn't have to take any walk breaks today, but my uphill pace was like a turtle's.  Anyway, I'm just glad to be back out there.  I hope my knee won't give me any more problems for a while.

Mocha wore her jacket on the walk this morning - it was only 27 degrees, and the wind made is feel like 20, according to Smashrun.com.  We saw Dexter and she did a growl at him, but was it a play growl?  Did she say, "Hey, Dexter, let's play!"?  Maybe...

It's Cold Again!

After a few nice days (spring tease), it is cold again.  And very windy - that makes it feel even colder.

Mocha & I  went to a different section of the trail today, and had a brisk walk in the cold wind.  When we got home she had lunch and found a sunny spot:

After that, she went back to her bed, and got thirsty.  She didn't want to get up, though...

As far as running goes, my knee is better - not 100%, but okay to run/walk.  I got out yesterday for an early morning run with Ann.  First time that early in over a month!  I was able to run more than I did on Sunday, but still took some walk breaks.  The declines were the hardest on my knee, so I walked down most of the hills.