and MCL? Since, nothing can apparently go right these last two years in my life, I severely injured my knee last week and have surgery scheduled for tomorrow.
How was the surgery? More importantly, how long was the recovery? Any tips or hair pats would be great.
I had surgery for a torn meniscus last December. The surgery wasn't bad, mine was lapriscopic so only 2 small incisions that had a couple stitches. First day no big whoop - hung out in bed took pain meds as directed. Next day pain wasn't bad but I had a hard time walking - my H went & got me a cane and that worked for me. I only needed that for a few days.
The worst part was the pressure bandage - had to keep it on for 3 days and it was so tight that it was painful by day 2. It was digging in to my inner thigh so bad. It was sweet relief to take it off!
I was off work about a month but that was only because I had to wait until I had my follow up with the Dr to be cleared to go back to work. I honestly could have gone back sooner but I was TOTALLY fine with taking the time
I didn't have to do PT.
HOWEVER - I still have pain due to arthritis - it was an old injury that I re-injured & he tried to clean it out best he could. About a month ago I had a cortisone shot that helped for a couple of weeks. i go this Friday for a Synvisc injection that will hopefully provide longer relief. This hopefully won't be the case for you if it's not an old injury.
Post by hungrycaterpillar on May 3, 2016 12:38:00 GMT -5
General plan of care in my clinic is to start PT one week post op. Generally my patients who are going and healthy do well and discharge within 8 PT visits with full range, function, and strength at the knee.
Pain is generally manageable and by the end of 8 visits most of my patients state they have no pain or limitation in function.
My best advice is do the rehab even if you dont think you need it.
I just had ACL surgery in March. I'm currently icing it & still on one crutch the majority of the time. Recovery has been slow, but I just take it one day at a time. My understanding is that MCL/meniscus is a much different ballgame & recovery is much faster/easier.
Make sure you allow yourself time to heal and rest. Stay on top of the pain. Do PT (with a therapist & then do your exercises at home). Let housework and everything else slide until you're healed.
Good luck! I'm jealous that you're getting surgery so quickly! I had to wait a month from injury to surgery. My muscles atrophied so much in that time & I have to work harder to get them back now.
ETA: Most importantly, ACCEPT HELP! You know those people who say, "If you need anything, please let me know!"? Take them up on their offer. Either they genuinely mean it & will be happy to help, or they'll learn not to make empty offers! My friends have saved my sanity and helped my family SO much in the last 2 months. Watching kids, making meals, coming over and keeping us company, running errands (even grocery shopping!), you name it, they've been there! And I look forward to being able to return the favors when I'm up & running again!
I had surgery about 3 weeks ago. It was a lot easier than I thought. I was given crutches and told to use them as I needed them and to take the pain medication even before I felt pain to "stay ahead of it". Well I never actually needed the crutches, I was able to walk slowly right away. Crutches were more of a hassle than they were worth to me. I also took pain medicine one and after that didn't really have much pain. They did give me a CPM machine to use for 8 hours a day at home starting immediately after surgery. I don't know if that's what helped so much. I had surgery on a Wednesday, went in for PT consultation and follow up Friday of that same week. I had full range of motion, minimal swelling, no pain. Since surgery I have had very minimal pain and swelling and am completely back to normal. I don't know if I got lucky (I have never had surgery before) but I wish you the same good experience!
Thanks! I am lucky to get the surgery very quickly. I am in a ton of pain and the tear apparently is really bad and will lose half of my meniscus. He did say arthritis will be an issue but that will just go along with the two gigantic rods I have in my spine, lol.
Ugh...it isays so hard with 2 year old twin boys and a 5 year old. I am ready to pull my fucking hair out.
I had a torn meniscus. The surgeon talked to me about worst case scenario: skin graft and all if the ACL was damaged.
Turns out only my meniscus was damaged. Lucky me, I had a discoid meniscus. That means it was a full O instead of a C shape. It was really easy for the surgeon. He removed the torn part and now I have a normal meniscus.
Surgery went really well. I came in the room at around 1:30pm and was home by 4pm. I had no pain at all. Didn't even need the Vicodin. I had two + on my knees for scars. I had one crutch to help me walk the week after but really, I could walk right after surgery. The nurses made me walk and I was still groggy.
ETA: I was back at work after 2 weeks and didn't need PT. THe day after my surgery, they showed me a couple exercises to do and I did them at home.
Ugh...it isays so hard with 2 year old twin boys and a 5 year old. I am ready to pull my fucking hair out.
I SAH with one 2 year old and a 5 year old, so I can mostly relate (though the second 2 year old is a game changer!). It sucks! That's where my friends have really been helpful. We've "hosted" quite a few play dates. Friends bring their kids over to play & I get company, too!
My 5 year old has also become a pro PBJ maker and is excellent for helping with all kinds of things that I need! And fruit cups and cheese sticks have come in really handy!
I had surgery about 3 weeks ago. It was a lot easier than I thought. I was given crutches and told to use them as I needed them and to take the pain medication even before I felt pain to "stay ahead of it". Well I never actually needed the crutches, I was able to walk slowly right away. Crutches were more of a hassle than they were worth to me. I also took pain medicine one and after that didn't really have much pain. They did give me a CPM machine to use for 8 hours a day at home starting immediately after surgery. I don't know if that's what helped so much. I had surgery on a Wednesday, went in for PT consultation and follow up Friday of that same week. I had full range of motion, minimal swelling, no pain. Since surgery I have had very minimal pain and swelling and am completely back to normal. I don't know if I got lucky (I have never had surgery before) but I wish you the same good experience!
Ugh...it isays so hard with 2 year old twin boys and a 5 year old. I am ready to pull my fucking hair out.
I SAH with one 2 year old and a 5 year old, so I can mostly relate (though the second 2 year old is a game changer!). It sucks! That's where my friends have really been helpful. We've "hosted" quite a few play dates. Friends bring their kids over to play & I get company, too!
My 5 year old has also become a pro PBJ maker and is excellent for helping with all kinds of things that I need! And fruit cups and cheese sticks have come in really handy!
Fucking sucks.
I have been couch-ridden for almost 2 weeks already and sleep on the pull-out couch downstairs. I can't go up or down the steps or drive since it is my right leg. Luckily, the kids are in daycare/kindergarten during the day but my husband is stuck with doing everything including drop-off and pick up.
It is good to hear most recoveries have been pretty quick and figure ANYTHING is better than the pain I am in now. I also appreciate my doctor pushing it through. I saw him yesterday to review my MRI and replied " you need this done, now, my surgery days is Wednesday and am putting you in." So, I guess it is pretty bad and really appreciate it due to my situation.
General plan of care in my clinic is to start PT one week post op. Generally my patients who are going and healthy do well and discharge within 8 PT visits with full range, function, and strength at the knee.
Pain is generally manageable and by the end of 8 visits most of my patients state they have no pain or limitation in function.
My best advice is do the rehab even if you dont think you need it.
I clearly didn't ask enough questions yesterday, he really was focused on getting me in to surgery to see what is going on.
Is the normal PT like once a week for X amount of weeks? I didn't even think of PT. Crap.But, thank you!
I had surgery about 3 weeks ago. It was a lot easier than I thought. I was given crutches and told to use them as I needed them and to take the pain medication even before I felt pain to "stay ahead of it". Well I never actually needed the crutches, I was able to walk slowly right away. Crutches were more of a hassle than they were worth to me. I also took pain medicine one and after that didn't really have much pain. They did give me a CPM machine to use for 8 hours a day at home starting immediately after surgery. I don't know if that's what helped so much. I had surgery on a Wednesday, went in for PT consultation and follow up Friday of that same week. I had full range of motion, minimal swelling, no pain. Since surgery I have had very minimal pain and swelling and am completely back to normal. I don't know if I got lucky (I have never had surgery before) but I wish you the same good experience!
Were you not using crutches prior to the surgery?
No, I never needed them prior to surgery. I actually injured my knee in October of 2015 and put off surgery for a very long time. However it sounds like your tear is pretty severe if you're going to be losing about half of the meniscus. Mine was just a little flap that needed to be trimmed and smoothed.
Have you tried stairs with your crutches? We have a two story house & my bedroom is upstairs. At first, I had my H follow me up the stairs, just to be safe. I was really slow, but it was worth it to sleep in my bed. (I'm now really steady on the stairs.) I generally went up and down once a day, I leave toiletries downstairs and get ready down there & when the kids go to bed, I go upstairs and stay up for the night.
Hang in there. In addition to my own pain & needs, it was really hard for me to not be able to take care of my family. In fact, I think that was almost harder. Also, keep in mind that this is hard for your kids (& H), too. You all get a free pass for less than desirable behaviors for the time being. Sounds like this will be pretty short-lived for you!
The torn meniscus was nbd. I had an ACL replacement when DD was 1.5. I was on crutches for 4 Meeks maybe. Therapy for 3 months. DH had to do a lot but honestly now I can say it was the best decision ever.
General plan of care in my clinic is to start PT one week post op. Generally my patients who are going and healthy do well and discharge within 8 PT visits with full range, function, and strength at the knee.
Pain is generally manageable and by the end of 8 visits most of my patients state they have no pain or limitation in function.
My best advice is do the rehab even if you dont think you need it.
I clearly didn't ask enough questions yesterday, he really was focused on getting me in to surgery to see what is going on.
Is the normal PT like once a week for X amount of weeks? I didn't even think of PT. Crap.But, thank you!
It's all patient dependant. I generally see my knee patients with your injury twice a week for four weeks and then go from there. Longer if they are wanting to return to high level sports like running soccer etc.
I had it done 5 years ago. I had it on a Monday and left on Thursday to drive 600 miles to MI for my sisters wedding. The car ride was hell, don't over do like I did! The trip really set my recovery back, but overall it wasn't to bad. I did PT for 6 weeks, 2x a week. I still have a lot of stiffness and sometimes will twist it wrong and be sore for a few days, but I also have psoriatic arthritis, so I think that's the main reason I still have trouble.