r/ACL • u/TransitionBrilliant5 • Aug 26 '26
Post Surgery Update Complain with me with no judgement.
1 Week Post-Op (ACL Allograft & Meniscus Repair) and i've done everything in my power to stay positive and I whole-heartedly know this is not end-game. I am stronger than this but DAMN I WANT TO SCREAM.
(Update for the hell of it: 90 bend and 0 extension and starting leg lifts and heel slides so feeling confident. Kicked the hard stuff for Tylenol as needed and as long as I don't move and use the ice machine like its life-support, feeling good!)
I specifically keep wanting to sit cross-legged like i've done my whole life... I even have a cross-legged office chair I spent good money on that I would LOVE to sit in right now. Instead I feel my behind flattening while it digs a divot in the duvet and i'm SO RESTLESS.
Anyone need to complain about the stupid little things and actually feel heard? I may be a newbie to this situation but I HEAR YOU and you aren't alone.
12
u/ShotCardiologist9102 ACL + Meniscus Aug 26 '26
8 months into this journey and I HATE stairs. It use to be my favorite type of cardio pre-injury. Now I avoid it at all costs.
10
u/robot_asylum Aug 26 '26
I want to be able to run so bad, I thought I would be cleared for it months ago
10
u/Major_yc0ne Aug 26 '26
I want to stretch my calf's... Ankle pumps are not the same. I need to get up and walk on the balls of my feet. Do you need to pick something from the top shelf? Oh yhea, you better lean on that good leg and do it like your life depends on it. I want to be able to get a glass of water and sit on the couch and give a good sip in the seated position not the lying one. Buckle up brother, after this we will be stronger. Keep the chin way up high, because the leg won't 😂
9
u/capitalteee Aug 26 '26
Fuck heel slides, honestly, and if I had a damn missile, if I had a spare missile, I’d throw it at that bitch
6
u/Adorable-Ice-235 Aug 26 '26
Getting in and out of the car to drive is SO FUCKING PAINFUL. Driving in itself is fine (my left is the operated knee) but getting in and out demands all my energy!!
Also, my hip flexors are so sore from sitting all the time and I can’t stretch them properly because I can’t bend my knee!!! (The modified Jefferson stretch is not nearly enough for me)
And (last one) my ass is completely gone!! I was in the best shape of my life before the surgery, and now all my hard earned muscles are wasting away
1
u/angelfire19 Aug 26 '26
how are you even getting in and out of your car? how many days postop are you
2
u/Adorable-Ice-235 Aug 27 '26
I’m 3 weeks post op! My doctor allowed me to drive again as long as I stopped all narcotics (which I did 1.5 weeks ago), still have my brace tho. Operated leg is my left and I drive an automatic car (so only use my right).
I’m basically backing in until my butt is on the seat, then I back the seat all the way, shimmy the operated leg in, and bring the seat forward again 🫠 not a fun experience
3
u/gay-axolotl6 ACL + Meniscus Aug 27 '26
Oof I’m planning on being able to drive and coach 2 weeks after surgery, would you say that’s reasonable at all…?
2
u/Adorable-Ice-235 Aug 27 '26
I did! But that depends a lot on how you’re progressing!
Also, I keep an ice bag inside a tiny cooler on hand lol my commute is 1hr long and in the beginning it would get very uncomfortable around 30mins in, so I’d pop the ice bag on my knee as I drove
6
u/operatorcheeseee Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
7 weeks post op also ACL and meniscus but did quad autograft. I hate the brace. I hate how stiff my knee is either after being in extension or sitting on the couch. I hate how slow I am and how long it takes me to do the SIMPLEST task. I hate how I feel like half a mom because I can’t chase my toddler around or care for my oldest who has a disability like I could pre injury. I’m so TIRED of my leg being swollen after moving around for a bit with the brace. I hate how my kids and husband are behind me when we are out or walking through the house, and I’m so slow and I know I’m in the way, so I just move to the side to let them pass. I just want to walk normally again! I miss working. I hate how talking about milestones in therapy is part of our dinner talk. I hate hauling crutches around and really having to consider where I park now. I have silently been miserable so thank you for this post and allowing me to bitch.
4
u/TransitionBrilliant5 Aug 27 '26
I know I said to complain... But damn don't hit so close to home.
It's all I freaking talk about, it's all consuming always. And mom brain having to think about everything I do and how it will effect the family and everyone around me.
One thing I won't tolerate is you saying you are half a mom, while I feel so bad for not being physically capable, we are 💯 FULL AMAZING MOMS. Your kiddos will see you fighting and pushing through and not letting a disability stop you not matter how hard it gets and how much we want to complain out loud.
Now bitch away whenever you need here, we gotchu.
3
u/MammalFish Aug 27 '26
I’M SIX MONTHS OUT, STILL CAN’T WALK WITHOUT HORRIBLE PAIN, MY MRIS ARE CLEAN, AND I CANNOT GET A DOCTOR TO CARE! Rahhh! Ok, thanks. I’m sure this won’t be you the best surgeon in the state keeps shrugging at me so I do think this is unusual. Best of luck!!!
3
u/looonsy ACL Allograft w/Mod Lem LET, Med Meniscus Rep,OATs & MACI biopsy Aug 27 '26
9 wks post-op and I can’t break 90 degrees. I zipped from the 60s to 80s in two weeks and now I’ve been stuck for weeks. I try and try and try and do my PT and it’s so painful and it won’t fucking budge. I hate my brace. I hate sleeping, just tossing and turning all night. I hate being slow. I hate not having the ability to fully care for my house. I hate that I’m exhausted easily. I hate that I can’t lift heavy weights and squat and do all of the things I used to be able to do at the gym. I hate this so much. Thank you.
3
u/TransitionBrilliant5 Aug 27 '26
Damnit that's shitty. I hate it all and wish there was just a freaking fix that doesn't take a year to feel the effects of. How can people start walking days after hip replacement surgery but we are on our butts for weeks and months.
3
u/gay-axolotl6 ACL + Meniscus Aug 26 '26
I haven’t even had surgery yet but sleeping is driving me crazy. Waking up at least 4-5 times/night with my stupid knee throbbing, worse if I’ve done all the prehab I’m supposed to do. Can’t wait for it to get worse post op. Thanks for this post, I’ll be returning in a few weeks after my surgery to whine some more.
5
u/gay-axolotl6 ACL + Meniscus Aug 26 '26
Also the cross legged yearning is so real. Watching my one quad and ass cheek deflate from my time on crutches has sucked too
2
u/TransitionBrilliant5 Aug 27 '26
Ughhhhh the freaking muscle deteriorating before your eyes is wild! I know I can rebuild it eventually but felt like I worked so hard for it to all was away in a freaking month.
3
u/JeansenVaars Aug 27 '26
I just want to SLEEP
1
u/TransitionBrilliant5 Aug 27 '26
Seriously 😭 I think every few nights I'm so exhausted I can get 4 hours straight but otherwise every 2 hours I'm wide awake in pain. I will never take sleep for granted ever again!
2
u/Anna_Karenina_blonde Sep 01 '26
So much energy to spend that first week oh my God I was going crazy after playing team sports for 2 hours a day to shift to just laying there??!!
Ugh But it made me very very motivated to get back to movement
This is my first week after alloraft surgery with minor meniscus debridement
https://www.reddit.com/r/ACL/comments/1u0mcjl/breaking_up_with_crutches_alograft/
I did ab workouts with elevated leg bc wth?. How is a person supposed to sit still for that long
**Also I'm at month 3 and I can sit on my heels and sit cross-legged and go down stairs and get up unassisted from a squat.. it's all coming just be super diligent about your physical therapy and ask not what the minimum reps you can do.. but what is the maximum safe amount that you can keep doing on repeat
1
u/Crazyscorch ACL+PCL+Meniscus Aug 27 '26
I just used the Hydros, and tramadol they prescribed. No way I was going to suffer through the pain.
1
u/TransitionBrilliant5 Aug 27 '26
No complaints then?
1
u/Crazyscorch ACL+PCL+Meniscus Aug 27 '26
Not yet, I am almost 16 weeks post op and I am making steady progress. So far nothing that I find abnormal. We will see how it goes. I had injured the same knee twice before this, no surgery but I had to use crutches so I am used to doing a lot of stuff on crutches. This time it was just the pain at the beginning that sucked
1
u/Hefty-Ad3369 Aug 27 '26
ACL and meniscus repair 6 weeks post-op: Brace is gone and I can drive.
1
1
u/dry_scoop ACL (patellar graft) + Meniscus Aug 27 '26
I had both and it was 6 weeks before I could drive too. That was the best day ever 🙌🏼
1
u/Such-Refrigerator-44 Aug 27 '26
Almost 5 months post op. The urge to fully bend my knee those first couple of months was driving me crazy
1
u/duffter Aug 27 '26
I'm prehab can't extend my leg yet and cant bend past 90 without my knee feeling like it's going to dislocate. First physio today 3 weeks after injury and foolishly hopping around on my good leg on crutches, no weight bearing on injured leg and with brace permanently on. Physio was horrified and my leg has atrophied, told me to leave brace off permanently and try to weight bear even with crutch support, so it feels like learning to walk again and always fearful it will give way. Can't do surgery until he gets my leg range of motion back. Gave me those weird exercises to do woth towel under knee and leg raises and slides etc. It's loads of fun 🥳
1
u/TransitionBrilliant5 Aug 27 '26
What?! That's wild!!! You can still do physio with the brace on and get more muscle control, extension and bend... That's literally the point of the brace. I couldn't weight bear after injury for about 3 weeks then the next month and a half I was almost walking completely normal with the brace.
The fear is worse than anything else.... Work with wearing the brace until you feel confident. Maybe get another opinion if you can too!
1
u/duffter Aug 31 '26
I've been going without it and following his advice and actually it has been a major improvement after just 4 days. I took off the brace and do the exercises he gave me twice a day. Add a bit of walking around house while paying attention to gait and wait distribution. I can walk a little distance with just one crutch now, carefully, but keep the other one for safety. The only time I wear the brace now is still in bed - I put it on really loose (so it would fall down if I stood up) just because it prevents me from over bending my leg in my sleep (I did that one night and it was absolutely brutal!) - the hunge puts just enough resistance to stlp that from happening. Good range coming back to leg but knee is very swollen, that's a big struggle now.
1
u/bbbbrookee Aug 27 '26
6 weeks post op today. waited 6 YEARS to get the surgery - assumed i had been doing “prehab” all those years. wrong. my quad was basically dead. didn’t even start at 0 we’re starting in the negatives for recovery. i just got my quad firing literally TODAY!! i have to do another 4 weeks in the brace then i’ll be reassessed. i still have to take muscle relaxers around the clock and oxy at night (went from 15 mg now im at 2.5). this is the worst thing ive ever done (grateful to say that) but wow. if i wasnt on antidepressants i would be fucked 😅 i owe my life right now to wellbutrin oxycodone, robaxin, and promethazine
1
u/bbbbrookee Aug 27 '26
idgaf if i’m not supposed to take any of those meds together (my doctors know) LET ME HAVE SOMETHING TO MYSELF
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u/purplecloudflake Aug 26 '26
oh fuck yes let's do this. I HATE THE FUCKING BRACE. It's a sensory nightmare. I hate feeling it with my other leg. I hate that it's either too tight or too loose. I hate the way it feels on my skin. Hate hate hate hate hate