Knee Update

I'd best get writing how things are going before I forget. Seems that's what happened to all the people Who had this done, they just plain forgot what they went through.
I'm in my 12th week of recovery. My out patient therapy lasted 7 weeks, 3 days a week for 2 hours each visit. I loved it, It was very motivating me to keep moving I would take a Norco 10 about 30 minutes before my appointments as recommended.
The first thing was to lay on a table legs propped on a huge pillow and electric patches put two on each side of my knee then heat packs laid on top of that they called it heat stim pacs, it wakes up my nerves and helps me to get through the exercises so 15 minutes with that on and it feels great!
 then I have standing, sitting and laying exercises to do the standing ones are hardest for me like marching, up and down stair, leg raises and tilt board. all each just 3 minutes which may as well have been 3 hours, My legs would feel so heavy that I couldn't pick them up and the timer would go off at three minutes, I'd be saying ~whew~ there are lots of ways to strengthen leg muscles so I learned. after a total of none stop 45 minutes, then the therapist would manipulate my leg while I did my best to relax it and let her move it for me,( 15 minutes) generally just a bit more than I could move it on my own.
Then a cold stim pack for 15 minutes to help with swelling. Yes my leg is still discolored and swollen. they tell me it's extra blood running to the leg, and a normal expected thing to happen.

Something I didn't know was there is a nerve that runs right across the knee cap that usually gets cut sometimes numbness remains for a life time on the outside of the knee, yes I am numb and can't feel the stimulation on that part of my knee but before surgery I already had neuropathy a bit in my feet because of my type 2 diabetes.
Now at 12 weeks post op I am numb from just above my knee to the tip of my toes. ( they tell me that is normal)
When I lay down I tend to want to lay on my side but it feels like my knee cap is pulling away and falling off. Ice packs all day long to try and keep the swelling down,it doesn't seem to help but it feels good.
About the pain I experience, well....it's horrifying, I am beside myself, I don't sleep at night and I cried daily for the first two months I was taking norco 10's 4 to 6 times a day, it really didn't help much, just made me sleepy and I would fall asleep for 2 hours then have to wait for time for the next pill, I had to start smoking weed which was the best help and relief I got so I'd recommend doing this highly, I'm not a pot smoker, well not since the 70's so this was a decision I needed to make and am very glad of my choice. I think i'd call anyone a fool for not at least trying it. I swear it has helped me immense. Besides, it's a million times safer than the norco's