Day 68 I think.  

Things are going well.  I feel like I am walking pretty much normally at this point.  We had our first snow storm here and I thought for sure that I would want my crutches, but I managed fine with my flexible brace.  I even had to shovel my car out of my driveway and did so with little trouble.  

I rarely have to take even ibuprofen right now.  Last night was the last time I took it, but that was because my arms were sore from all that snow shoveling!

As far as exercises are going, it is getting far easier to manage.  I am down to about an hour's worth a day.  I am doing more complicated exercises with my legs (including weights at PT) and daily stints on the treadmill and bike that I have at home.  

In short, I had a Merry Christmas!  I hope all of you did as well. 

Day 55?

Things are progressing faster now.  I am walking more and more normally.  No more crutches and I only have to wear my smaller brace when going outside or when I am in a crowd.  The smaller brace (it appears to be a DonJoy thing) feels like it works well, but it is hard to take on and off without taking off my pants, which can be difficult when I am in my office.   Apparently it is not a good idea to wear it all day, although I forgot to ask why.  If I wear it for awhile I certainly feel a little sorer than otherwise, maybe it is just a comfort thing?  

My leg in general gets sore and stiffer a bit more often than before I was keeping my weight on it, but it is so awesome to be walking that it doesn't bother me much.  I am finally utilizing my Cyrocuff now to help reduce swelling.  My frozen peas were great for short term relief, but for longer sessions with ice, the Cryocuff works best.  

I think I am probably at my 500th time explaining what happened to me, but without my crutches it is happening less often.  Now it is more people just saying how happy they are with seeing me walking again.  Although sometimes it gets old telling my same injury story again and again, I am touched that some many people -- many whom I do not know very well -- care enough to ask in the first place.  

I am now on the bike, treadmill and do some more strenuous exercises.  So far so good I think. 

Day 48:

Feeling a lot better.  At physical therapy I was released to begin putting weight on my leg and got my new, smaller brace.  I am now walking at home and using crutches while I am out.  

It feels liberating!  I have to say though that walking has caused me to be sorer than I have been in awhile.  My knee gets crunchy if I do it for too long and I am definitely back to icing to get the swelling back down.  

I know that I have been saying that the graft site hasn't really been bothering me, and it still isn't that bad, but I am beginning to think that the tightness in the back of my leg and in my calf now that I am walking might be partly due to my hamstrings being victimized.  Oh well, can't really complain too much right now.  Things are feeling more and more normal...

Day 42:

Things are going pretty well.  Not much more to report.  I continue to progress on my physical therapy.  I believe I will be weight-bearing next week, which will be nice.  

I have been able to cut back my pain med usage a bit.  I now take about three Advils a day, down from six the past couple of weeks.  What has everyone's experience been with pain meds?  When did you stop taking them regularly?  I do not think I could get through the day with much energy if I went off of them completely.  The soreness I would have otherwise tires me out.  

Riding my exercise bike is probably my favorite thing to do.  My leg feels so much looser and more normal afterwards.  Perhaps it has been good that I have been doing it.  My flexion is up to 135 degrees.  My PT said I could hold back a little bit for the next week or so on pushing it much further.  

A few words of advice for those who follow me.  Obviously, everyone is different... 

1.  Do not over think the graft choice.  As I think Sue has said, the best graft is the one that works for you!  That being said, I had a lot of back and forth over cadaver versus hamstring.  So far, so good I think.  My pain has never been too terrible and the graft pain hasn't been too noticeable (yet).  I enjoy not worrying about the disease risk, but, to be honest, objectively my fear was just a phobia.  The chances are so slim that you can get anything.  Probably more of a risk taking a long car trip I think.  But... I am happy with my choice for the moment.  

2.  I am not sure that the Cryo-Cuff (non-motorized) has been worth it for me.  I used it a lot when my meniscus tear was acting up before surgery, but after surgery I could hardly feel anything with it with all the gauze and after the gauze was off it was too much of a hassle.  With crutches it was hard for me to manage it myself and it seemed too confusing for my helpers.  Using a bag of frozen peas -- and I don't feel a need to use them more than once a day -- at night seems to be the most worthwhile.  

3.  Don't delay the surgery for the "perfect" time.  Because my leg did not bother me on a daily basis except very recently, I kept on putting of the surgery worrying about whether I was doing the right thing.  I am so glad I went through with it earlier than originally planned.  Physically it is a little tougher right now, but mentally it is WAY EASIER to have gotten the surgery over on it and to be just focusing on my recovery.  

4.  You get used to crutches and physical therapy.  I was worried that my life would be miserable and that I would not be able to motivate myself to fit in all my exercises.  I was wrong.  You adjust.  You find a routine where it works and because you are no longer worrying about the surgery you just have more mental energy to follow through with things.  

5.  Along with #4... it is amazing how quickly you can feel somewhat normal.  I am back at work and it is different (people always asking what happened and how they can help me) and it takes me longer to get to my desk, but when I am just sitting there working, it feels like I am back to my normal routine in a lot of ways.  

6.  Don't rush off of the heavier pain meds.  Not because you need them for super long necessarily (probably two weeks for me), but because you need to taper them off.  I tried to just jump right off of them.  The pain wasn't too bad, but I was exhausted and sweating all the time.  It turns out that was withdrawal.  Once I realized that and just tapered them off it went very smoothly.  

7.  Definitely get the 24 hour pain block in your leg if available.  I was in no pain after surgery.  This made things go much more smoothly. (The only problem was the nausea.)  

8.  Get a shower stool!  This has made showers so much easier...

I will add others later as I think of them.  Thanks for reading!

Day 31:

Going back to work has gone pretty well.  At first I wondered if maybe I took too long to come to work.  Things went smoothly and I felt pretty good the first day.  As the week has worn on I now realize why it was good I was out for four weeks.  As my duties picked up and I had to crutch to places more and more, I really started to feel tired.  I am glad that it is Thanksgiving week in the States because I think I would be pretty exhausted by the end of the week otherwise.

My recovery is going well.  My knee is becoming more and more flexible and less and less swollen.  This week's PT appoint went well too.  I got to use the exercise bike for the first time with good results.  10 minutes did not feel hard at all.  I also was able to unlock my brace to max flexion now that I am past the four week mark.  I forgot to ask what my target flexion should be, but at the moment it is 120 degrees.  If it varies person to person, I think I probably will end up on the lower end of the range based on how inflexible my good leg is.  I hope that there's not too much more to go.  A good sign was that my PT thought that I should focus on practicing my walking motion so that I can walk quickly after being able to weight bear.  It is funny.  I never gave so much thought about how I walked before.  I sort of forgot what I normally did.  

I also had my first beer since the surgery!  No beer has ever tasted so good!

A lot of people ask how much time you need off for an ACL reconstruction.  I am just one data point but as a 30 year old man in average shape who used his hamstrings and had a meniscus repair four weeks seemed about right.  I think if I didn't need to worry about weight bearing and using the crutches so long I would say that three weeks would have been fine.  I have an office job that can have long hours but is flexible as far as when I am in the office and when I can take a break to do exercises.  

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans!  Best wishes to all the other fellow gimps recovering around the world!  

Day 25:

Things are going well although I continue to have a scare from time to time.  While doing my knee bends on Tuesday night I started to feel a grinding sensation as I was coming back through.  It didn't hurt, but it was a little troubling.  I brought it up to my PT who thought that it was probably just due to some inflammation due to the new exercises we were doing.  

One of the new exercises is the standing hamstring curl.  This is where I am really noticing the graft site.  It is not terribly painful but I definitely feel the rawness and the lack of *something*.  This still doesn't change my opinion about my decision of going with a hamstring graft over an allograft.  We will see how I feel once I start walking... 

Next week is going to be a big week for me.  I am going to go back to work and am told that I will be ready to go past 90 degrees officially on flexion and try the exercise bike.  I am getting pretty bored at the moment, so both developments are not too unwelcome at the moment. 

Day 18. 

Not a whole lot new to share.  I had another PT appointment on Wednesday.  The only thing of note is that they tried to see how far back my knee would go into flexion without much effort despite the 90 degree flexion restriction I currently have due to the meniscus repair.  Turns out that I can get to at least 105 without feeling any resistance.  I wonder if I couldn't go back any further, but my PT was being conservative.  

Getting a little restless and bored right now, but I am sure I will miss being able to concentrate on my recovery as much as I am once I go back to work in a week or so.  

It's funny.  I was on crutches for surgery over 10 years ago. I forgot how it's not really stairs that are the big problem; it is just getting and moving things.  Using my backpack has helped, but I hate being so reliant on getting help with getting food or coffee.  It is difficult if not impossible to brew coffee or make a sandwich and then try to take it to the table.  Often I try to lean on my crutches at the kitchen counter and eat and drink fast.  Still, I am sure this will be over before I know it and I really have little to complain about the whole process so far given my fears esp. going into this.  I am really happy with my surgeon especially at the moment.  

One thing I really wouldn't mind is a beer one of these nights.  I am not much of a drinker, but I miss kicking back and having a beer in the evening.  I have been afraid that alcohol might hamper my recovery or be dangerous, esp. when I was heavily on narcotics.  I also didn't want to drink the week before surgery, so it has been a while now.  

I may post a little less than I have been doing, especially once I start back work again.  Still, to the extent my surgery remains a positive experience I hope to continue to post from time to time to help patients coming after me from getting as scared as I was about this whole process. 

Thanks for reading. 

Day 16 

Things are going well. 

I am pretty much off of everything but ibuprofen.

 I went over my concerns about putting weight on my bad leg when I missed a step coming down the stairs with my PT.  He reassured me that I probably did not jeopardize the meniscus repair too much because there was less swelling now and because I was well into the recovery. 

The extra pain I felt on Sunday has also gone away. Still surprised that my graft site hasn't been too painful.  This was one of my biggest concerns in going with the hamstring over the allograft. 

I had to walk a bit far on my crutches to vote today. I was really tired afterwards.   This makes me wonder how being back in the office in a couple of weeks is going to go...

Day 14 (I think).

So it has been about two weeks since I had my surgery.  Things still seem to be going well generally.  I am really feeling my quads come back stronger.  I think I could easily do 50 straight leg raises in one session.    

Two recent developments were a little less positive.  After taking a shower on Friday, I missed a step coming back downstairs.  I didn't fall, but my crutches started to give out and I think I put a bit of weight on my bad leg out of instinct.  No pain or anything and my wife thankfully caught me, but I have a little bit of nervousness that I might have jeopardized my meniscus repair.  I hope not... 

The second thing is that I am feeling new types of pain.  I feel sort of a pulsating pain and tingling in my knee this morning from off and on.  If I had to guess this seems like something to do with my nerves coming back?  I expect this is normal but it is new.  It has made doing my PT a little more difficult and perhaps delayed me phasing out pain meds now.  

Another PT appointment tomorrow.  I hope to have good news from that.  

Thanks for reading. 

Things are still going pretty well for me.  I had my stitches out yesterday and got to see some pictures from the surgery.  Although my meniscus tear was repaired it was not too big.  It was just like someone had poked a small hole in my meniscus. 

Looks like my incisions are healing well too. I also found out that what I thought was my hamstring incision was the wrong one. 

Quad strength is coming back well this week.  It is getting easier to isolate them.  If only I could get off the crutches and really test them out...

Day 7-8:  Got to 90 of flexion today (probably could have done so before but was taking it slow).  Now there's not much to do on flexion until the 6 week mark when they feel comfortable about my meniscus repair.  Still making a lot of good process according to my PT esp. with my quad control. 

Hoping to get my stitches out tomorrow presuming Hurricane Sandy doesn't hit us too hard.  

A few observations on my recovery:

1. I have been surprised with how little I have needed ice and how limited my swelling has been.  I have found that the plain old frozen peas have been more useful than my cryocuff when I do use any ice. 

2.  So far the exercises have been easier to do than I thought.  By this I mean I am surprised with how motivated I have been.  I am not a huge gym nut, but I am pushing hard without much effort because I am bored and because I know how important this is.  

3.  I thought the graft pain would be worse but I have noticed very little there.  Calf pain has been the biggest problem. 

Day 6:  Been taking my oxy less frequently.  The pain creeps up a bit as I stretch it out, esp. in the calf, but I think things are going well.  I keep feeling my leg and knees feel strong and more flexible.  I just wish I was not guaranteed to be non-weight bearing and in this leg brace for another five weeks.  

Going against my wife's wishes, I am trying to become more self-sufficient and am learning to be creative with my bending and my crutches.  It just makes me feel better to get more things myself. 

Day 5:  Pain is still manageable.  I get a little concern when I knock my leg into things, but since it has not hurt too bad when I do that I am hoping it is no big deal.  

I have successfully cut my pain meds in half without bad effects so far, but I will be monitoring that a bit because I know pain can sneak up.  

The itching under my leg brace is getting a bit much, but I can't really complain if that is one of my biggest problems.  

Worked with the CPM machine for the first time yesterday for two hours at 60 degrees flexion.  It is kind of relaxing.  The PT thought I was already at 70, so I can quickly increase the CPM to 90 pretty soon, just doing 5 degrees a day.  

Really happy with my decision so far.  

Day 4:   Felt good again in the morning.  PT exercises is what causes me to be a little sore.  Mainly, I am only feeling it in my calf besides the occasional hamstring twinge.  

I had my first PT appointment today.  The PT seemed pretty impressed with my progress, especially with the fact that I could pretty easily lift my leg on its own and lift it up pretty high.  I am about 70 degrees flexion but she didn't think it would take me long to get to the 90 degree max that I am going to be up against for the first 6 weeks due to my meniscus repair.  

They took off the bandages, which was really nice.  Now the ice actually works and my leg doesn't feel so heavy and hot!

Still going well overall.  Next step will be to start using the CPM machine and maybe lowering my pain pill intake a little bit. 

Day 3:  Feeling more with it now.  I thought for sure I would wake up sore, but the drugs still seem to be doing their job.  I think I am doing the initial PT with relative ease although after a session is probably when I most feel sore.  It is difficult in how limited my sleep positions are.  

I think I may have experience the blood rush phenomena that I have seen mentioned on this board before.  I felt like a liquidity weight of some sort hitting my operated leg as I was crutching to the bathroom, but it wasn't too painful.  

First PT appoint tomorrow.  I think I may get my bandages reduced at it, which would be nice.  I especially want to start feeling my icepacks...

I had a quick conversation with my OS yesterday on how the meniscus repair will affect my PT.  He said I can do the gentle stretches I was told to do in any event after the surgery (quad sets, heel digs, ankle pumps, patella mobilizations, leg extensions and the flexion exercise where I support it with my good leg).  

I was delivered a CPM machine right before surgery.  My OS tells me to use that after my PT shows me how to use it and how to get in and out of it safely.  Thankfully, I will be having my first post-op PT on Thursday.  

Definitely felt a bit more sore this morning, but still manageable.  I realize now that my inability to easily raise my bad leg yesterday probably came from the nerve block.  All of a sudden I can fairly easily lift it, which makes me feel much less dependent on my family.  The toughest thing about getting around is getting off of the couch and getting out my bed, but it is easier now that I have more practice and can lift my bad leg on its own more easily.  

So far, so good I think.  I am in better spirits than I thought I would be at this point.  It is not comfortable, but it is not like this is torture yet.  The worst part so far was the post general nausea and that has gone away.  

I had a really good experience at the surgery center.  My OS was great and all of the nurses and anesthesiologists were very cool and patient with me.  

Sorry for how all over the place this.  I am still a little out of it. 

So I am out on the other side!!  My surgery was early in the morning (in the states), so I am now about 7 hours post op.  The nerve block seems to be doing its job, although I can feel soreness in my hamstrings a bit already.  Perfectly manageable for now. 

Turns out that they did a meniscus repair for my medial  meniscus, which is great for my long term, but disappointing for my initial recovery and limitations on weight bearing.  

More once I can do better than my iPad. 

So I am going through with my ACL reconstruction using hamstrings on Monday.  I just wanted to start this to show my commitment to track my progress once I get started on my recovery.  

I have been hitting the exercise bike hard in advance and have lost almost 20 lbs due to nerves and exercise.  My knee actually feels the strongest and best it has since my injury.  If I knew this was how it would be the rest of my life, I probably would skip the surgery, but I know that any misstep could do more damage to my knee, so I am comfortable with my decision to go through with this.  

A few things I am looking to track...

1.  How long will it take for me to generally live my everyday life (very modest here, not thinking about jogging or things like that)?

2.  How well am I able to balance physical therapy with a young family and a demanding job?

3.  How well will the hamstrings recover from this?  How bad will the graft site pain be?

My first PT appointment is next Thursday.  I had my pre-op PT appointment yesterday.  My goals for the first few days are modest:

1.  Wake up after surgery.
2.  Do all the initial PT.
3.  Not make my family too miserable.