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.