Joining the party

[Huckwheat]

Guess I'm "glad" I let the swelling down and saw an ortho . . . unfortunately it's my ACL that's gone - appears that the MCL is just peachy.

I am really sorry to hear this news, I just sent a massive PM on the subject.

So, how about surgery on Apr 1, in Tahoe? We can pull up side by side couches and Britney can feed us bon-bons. Maybe we can get a two for one deal????

On the positive side, at least the MCL is fine. Hopefully, every EXCEPT the ACL is good. It is supposed to be pretty straight forward surgery/recovery if it is a lone ACL.

[Kellie]

I am really sorry to hear this news, I just sent a massive PM on the subject.

So, how about surgery on Apr 1, in Tahoe? We can pull up side by side couches and Britney can feed us bon-bons. Maybe we can get a two for one deal????

On the positive side, at least the MCL is fine. Hopefully, every EXCEPT the ACL is good. It is supposed to be pretty straight forward surgery/recovery if it is a lone ACL.

Sign me up for bon-bon eating!!!! Britney to the rescue!!! At the very least we can be recovery buddies :-) I am thinking I would like to have my surgery in that timeframe as well.

I see another ortho on Tuesday - hopefully get more info and a surgery date that happens sooner than 5 months down the road (which is the estimate the first doc gave me)! Maybe I should make Orr my doctor and have him do mine right after yours!

[Huckwheat]

Maybe I should make Orr my doctor and have him do mine right after yours!

Oooh, maybe we would get ligaments from the same donor! That would be quite a bond we would share.

[The Suit]

I see another ortho on Tuesday - hopefully get more info and a surgery date that happens sooner than 5 months down the road (which is the estimate the first doc gave me)! Maybe I should make Orr my doctor and have him do mine right after yours!

Come back to Jackson - our docs are pretty quick (and well practiced) at repairing knees.

Sorry I didn't meet you until you had a freshly-blown knee. I'm bummed it's worse than you thought. Good luck and be inspired by all the other knee-recovered maggots!

[fineline]

aaah, im so sorry!! I had the same thing, I thought it was my mcl too- the swelling made it so it felt like my acl was fine, it gave out a few times too which is one of the main reasons I went in for an MRI. So when are you gettin it done? I am 15 days post ACL op... things are starting to pick up a bit now, atleast I can get around okay on crutches. Keep spirits high and keep that leg strong. Best of luck to ya.

[Kellie]

Just got the MRI read - severe bone bruising (that the ortho said I can't ski on, regardless of the status of my ligaments), and a fully ruptured ACL - right in the middle of it. Minimal (if any) meniscus damage and the MCL is intact, so that's a bonus!

Surgery scheduled for 3/17 in WA . . . trying to decide what graft to get and considering delaying to get the allograft. Thoughts?!?!?

[LAN]

Kellie, who'd you finally decide to go with?

I say go with the autograft and not the allograft. Although the docs will tell you differently, throw all kinds of statistics your way, the allograft is still someone else's tissue and has the potential for rejection or failure. If it were me, I'd much rather have my own hammy or patellar tendon working for me.

[Kellie]

LAN, which did Scoober get?

For PT, is the recovery still expected to be 6 months?

[Vinman]

For PT, is the recovery still expected to be 6 months?

Standard rehab time is around the 6 month mark for back to full go for activity. It varies with some and can be a bit longer, but you should be right on target for ski season.

[LAN]

Scoober had the patellar tendon graft. He was pedaling on the stationary bike 2 weeks after surgery. Now, at 4 months out, he's out on his mountain bike again.

I think your recovery and your activity restrictions completely depend on the surgeon. Dr. Morris and the PT folks wanted him walking, doing exercises and riding the stationary bike as soon as possible. As he progressed, the PT gave him the OK to get back on the road bike and the mountain bike.

[Kellie]

Surgery this Thursday - getting nervous! Any PNW-ers who want to take a trip to Bellingham (or live there!) are more than welcome to come entertain me!!!

It's so hard to think of surgery when everything feels "almost fine" - I rode my MTB all weekend and LOVED it! I am so sad to lose this, even for a short time.

Oh well, let the adventure begin . . .

[gincognito]

I'll be sending you vibes all week. Be well.

Sick and ashamed and happy (and what graft did you decide on?),
d.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Surgery this Thursday - getting nervous! Any PNW-ers who want to take a trip to Bellingham (or live there!) are more than welcome to come entertain me!!!

It's so hard to think of surgery when everything feels "almost fine" - I rode my MTB all weekend and LOVED it! I am so sad to lose this, even for a short time.

Oh well, let the adventure begin . . .

Hey! Check your emails! I hope I sent them to the correct one...got some stuff to fax to you...

Also, dropped some books in the mail for you.....oh crap, hopefully you will get them before you take off for WA

[truth]

Surgery this Thursday - getting nervous!

Oh well, let the adventure begin . . .

Best of luck Kellie...see ya on the other side.

[Kellie]

well, 2 days post-op . . . got the surgery on Thursday and was in femoral block bliss until early Friday morning . . .

today is much better and I have my first pt appt on Monday - I haven't done much to move it yet, but may try today cuz it's a lot less painful . . .

let the healing begin!!!!

[altagirl]

Glad to hear you're doing well! In addition to moving your knee a little right now - do a bunch of calf pumps and ankle rotations - it helps get the blood flowing and get the swelling down.

Have fun at PT!

[Kellie]

Hit my first PT today - it was painful but I got to within 5 degrees of full extension, even though I was super stiff when I got there. They also gave me a good set of excercises that I can actually do (not ready for full straight leg raises yet, etc.) and helped me understand how much pain is okay.

Afterward though, my body went into shock - chills, nausea, dizziness - it was terrible! They said it's normal cuz the shock of messing with your knee drives your body crazy.

If anyone has recommendations on how to avoid this, I'd love them.

Other than generally eating healthy (and the PT said that this week I should eat a lot, even if I'm not active), are there any particular foods that people recommend?

Thanks a ton!
Kellie

[altagirl]

Hit my first PT today - it was painful but I got to within 5 degrees of full extension, even though I was super stiff when I got there. They also gave me a good set of excercises that I can actually do (not ready for full straight leg raises yet, etc.) and helped me understand how much pain is okay.

Afterward though, my body went into shock - chills, nausea, dizziness - it was terrible! They said it's normal cuz the shock of messing with your knee drives your body crazy.

If anyone has recommendations on how to avoid this, I'd love them.

Other than generally eating healthy (and the PT said that this week I should eat a lot, even if I'm not active), are there any particular foods that people recommend?

Thanks a ton!
Kellie

I made sure I ate frequent balanced meals - not very big, just made sure I was eating every few hours. Personally when I'm just eating comfort food and sitting on the sofa, I need to pay attention or I don't get enough protein. And your body is rebuilding, so I figure that you need that protein or your atrophy will end up even worse. So I did a lot of chicken soup, protein smoothies with blueberries, etc.... stuff that I could make quickly but are good for my body.

As far as PT misery goes... I didn't use pain pills much other than during/after PT. And I'd just come home from PT, prop my leg up and rest. It'll start feeling better soon.

[xboat]

kellie - i had my first PT 2 days after surgery and felt exaclty like you did. hadn't eaten much at all during that time. went in there feeling like crap. dizzy, light headed, thought i was going to pass out. you'll be feeling better every day, hang in there. i wish i could give you good advice on food but my eating habits need a ton of work.

honestly, i think the single thing that really helped me with those first couple weeks was putting an exercise bike in my living room. my brother gave me this cheap ass airdyne thing that doesn't even have much resistance at all (worthless now). just sitting on that thing and rocking the pedals back and forth slowly to get a good stretch seemed to do me good. then i would lay down on the floor and prop my leg HIGH up on a wall. the main thing that i would do different after looking back would be to elevate more and more often that first week after surgery.

btw, you never said what graft you went with? good luck!

[Kellie]

I went with the PT graft. I pretty much had my leg raised consistently for the first 6 days (unless I was up to go to the bathroom!) per Altagirl's suggestions. Now I am sitting with it outstretched to take some load off my back and to help with extension.

I am still waiting for some crazy bruising to diminish - the PT said it's from the iodine migrating down my leg . . . did you guys experience this too? How long did this take for you guys to disappear?

Thanks for all the insight - it really helps!

[Vinman]

Kellie, don't worry about the bruising. That is normal and it may last for some time. I have seen bruising left over for months after a surgery (mine included). if will go away and there is nothing that you need to worry about, but to disagree with your PT its not related to the iodine. It is just blood from all of the cutting, drilling and screwing done inside your knee.

Keep working on the extension. It is one of the first things that you need to accomplish. Once you have full extension and the doc lets you off the crutches you can the be able to walk without a limp.

[xboat]

i had some pretty crazy looking (to me) bruising, also. but at PT they said "don't show that to any other ACL'ers around here, that's nothing. looks great." i think by the end of the 3rd week it was all gone.

one thing that i had trouble with that i haven't said anything about, was the tightness that i would get sometimes when bending my knee in the patellar tendon area. the patella wasn't tracking right and would start out really tight and i could actually feel the kneecap slide over into the right groove while bending. sometimes it would pop loud and fall into place. freaky feeling for sure. i don't seem to remember that problem with my first ACL surgery. it had me pretty pissed for a few weeks and PT kept telling me to work through it. well i'm a little over 9 weeks and i can finally say that it is almost all worked out. i'm feeling stronger by the day and have started to hit some golf balls last week.

again, good luck!

[Kellie]

Just over 3 weeks out . . . flexion is good, and I am still working on maintaining full extension . . . I can get there with prone knee hangs, etc. but can't keep it naturally. I am sooooo ready to stop limping!

I came back to CA and to work this week, which was downright exhausting, but put in some good evenings at the gym which felt great . . . I love how good the knee feels right after you get through moving it a lot!

I also went to my first PT appt. in CA and it was TERRIBLE (15 minutes long - just measured my flexion/extension with no warmup, and then moved my joints a bit and sent me on my way)!!!! I unfortuneatly have an HMO insurance company who puts little value on PT - their metric/goal is to get patients out in 4 visits or less and get them to "own" their own injury. It also takes about 2 weeks to get an appointment. I am all about doing rehab on my own, but I also feel like this is an injury that needs some guidance to make good progress that will set me up for a lifetime of activity.

So, in fighting with the insurance company, it looks like I have an appt. next week and can hopefully have one/week after that. But, I have little confidence in their expertise and feel like I want a clearer picture of what to expect as I progress, and what are the things I should make sure I get at PT, because I can't do them on my own (i.e. e-stim, etc.).

Also, I'd love perspective on whether once/week is enough . . . I am kind of stressed out about it because my paradigm (largely developed on this board) is that PT early and hard really pays off. I don't want to push things too early or too hard, but I do want to heal to the point that I can be enjoying some activity and re-discovering my almost nonexistant quad. And, more importantly, I want to come back from this injury 100% - I will hate myself forever if I can't heal it well.

Thanks for the insight!
Kellie

[Vinman]

[QUOTE=Kellie
Also, I'd love perspective on whether once/week is enough . . . [/QUOTE]

A once a week PT visit is OK and by OK I mean not as good as 2-3x/week. However. If you are comfortable with the exercises they have given you and are consistent in doing them, 1x a week can be good enough to basically go in have them give you new stuff and do some extra stuff as well as monitor your progress. With that being said you should be doing something for your knee everyday as i'm sure you are.

[Kellie]

I'm on the bike 20-30 minutes 1-2 times/day, as well as lots of leg raises (ad/abduction, stomach, and straight), at least 30 minutes (in 10 min. increments) of prone knee hangs, as well as some closed-chain weights (i.e. leg presses) and yoga once/week. I am trying to motivate for some pool time, but haven't been able to force myself yet . . .

I am going to try for 2x/week, but I may have to take what I can get . . .