Anyone have torn meniscus surgery?

[Beer-lord]

Tomorrow I'm having a quick procedure on my left knee for a torn meniscus. I've got no concerns at all about the surgery and follow ups but I'm curious if anyone has had this and how fast they got back to work, life, etc. I know everyone is different. As I exercise 4-5 days a week and am in reasonably good health considering I'll be married 30 years this December (oops, did I say that out loud?) I think I should be relatively mobile in 2 days. I think the concern is the pain meds and they likely don't want me driving while on them but I'm hoping to quickly get off of them and move on, even with minor pain.

So, if you've had this little gem of financial fun (well, I do have insurance) I'm curious how fast you were up and around. There's beer to be made and one can't be on their arse too long.

[BigPapaG]

I have not had that particular sugury Paul, I wish you well with it and a speedy recovery!

HOWEVER, I would be remiss if I did not say that this seems like a case of PPP.

Yup, bad planning...

Seems to me that if there is beer that needs to be brewed, it should have been brewed before aforementioned surgury.

This way, you could recover as long as needed while the yeasties do the heavy lifting for you!

[Beer-lord]

Ahhhh, I did 10 days ago. So, I do have some Stone Levitation in the ferm chamber begging me to dry hop it and get well to drink it. I am somewhat a 'beer prepper'.

[D_Rabbit]

I partially tore my meniscus in my left knee in HS, my senior year. The part that really killed me was that partially torn piece flipped over in to my joint and basically locked my knee in the bending position. I had to have a surgery within a few days of it happening so they could straighten my leg. It wasn't a bad surgery. I think a couple hours in the hospital. The stuff they used to knock me out was fantastic!! I have a curse..... I remember EVERYTHING whenever I drink too much or in that case have really good medicinal drugs. Which means those embarrassing things you do when you drink.... i always remember!! I vividly remember them telling me to count down from 10 and I think I got to 8 and said "wow, this is good stuff" and was out. It was such a weird sensation that started in my left hand and just went over my entire body like my body was warming up really hot and than i felt like i was floating and than remember waking up in the recovery room where they gave me some apple sauce, threw me in a wheel chair and kicked me out.

As you know, I am and was an avid bowler. I basically had the surgery in February and was back and bowling by June. The physical therapy was a bitch!! Because my knee was in a bent position before the surgery that was how it was after the surgery. Took me about 3 weeks of therepy before I could fully extend it with minimal stress. Probably a few weeks before I could walk without the assistance of crutches. It was at that point I bought my first car, a manual transmission, just so I could use the clutch as therapy. And therapy it was!! You needed to jump on that damn clutch on the 91 cavalier to get it down.

Anyways, I was back to full activity in about 2-3 months, maybe sooner. I did miss my senior year of baseball for HS. My situation was much worse than most people with this surgery. It took me a full week of therapy of just trying to extend my knee fully, I increased it a little each day until I could fully extend it. Since your already active that really helps. I would say you will be back to your normal life within the month. Maybe light duty in 2-3 weeks.

You can probably ditch the pain meds after the first week or 2.

[Inkleg]

No info Paul, but all the best and a speedy recovery.

[BigPapaG]

Ahhhh, I did 10 days ago. So, I do have some Stone Levitation in the ferm chamber begging me to dry hop it and get well to drink it. I am somewhat a 'beer prepper'.

Cool beans!

[Beer-lord]

Rabbit, my regular doctor told me it's a piece of cake. Said I'd be up and around in 2 days doing most light stuff. Of course, I won't be going to the gym for a few weeks. Even the surgeon (who operates on some of the Saints and Pelican players here) told me it's simple but I should stay at home until Sunday. I really think they worry about the drugs. I'm not. I'm getting off them ASAP so I can have some beer Sunday during the games. At least that's the plan.

[D_Rabbit]

Like I said, my surgery was much worse for this than most so my time tables are a bit skewed for what I went through. Ditch the pain meds and let the beer do the healing!

[JohnSant]

I've had this done on both knees, was a bitch on the first one had to cut my knee open ,this was back in 1976. The other was much simpler and not to bad with orthoscopic, that was back in 1982. I think I was up and around in about 2 days on limited duty onboard ship. However I was on crutches and it was a pain trying to go up and down ladders. I think I lost the crutches after two weeks. Hope this helps and wishing you a speedy recovery. (Had both knees replaced one in 2008 and the other in 2010.)

[Gymrat]

A friend of mine had it done around 15 years ago. He was a powerlifting buddy. 8 weeks after the surgery he squatted 655lbs in a World Competition. His surgeon sponsored him in that meet.

[zorak1066]

Tomorrow I'm having a quick procedure on my left knee for a torn meniscus. I've got no concerns at all about the surgery and follow ups but I'm curious if anyone has had this and how fast they got back to work, life, etc. I know everyone is different. As I exercise 4-5 days a week and am in reasonably good health considering I'll be married 30 years this December (oops, did I say that out loud?) I think I should be relatively mobile in 2 days. I think the concern is the pain meds and they likely don't want me driving while on them but I'm hoping to quickly get off of them and move on, even with minor pain.

So, if you've had this little gem of financial fun (well, I do have insurance) I'm curious how fast you were up and around. There's beer to be made and one can't be on their arse too long.

around 2000 I tore my left lateral meniscus. started out small because I was able to walk without problem. since I had hmo I was told it would be 2 months before I could get to see a surgeon. so for 2 months I hobbled along, doing squats to lift paper off a printer...going up and down stairs and getting progressively worse. by the time I got to see a surgeon I was on crutches and in a lot of pain.

the surgery was done laproscopically. they make a tiny hole in 3 places by the knee. one for a scope/camera... 2 for instruments for cutting and stitching etc. it was done with anesthetic.. knocked out because they have to reposition your leg in places that would hurt like hell if you were awake. since I am a fat slob they had to intubate me while the procedure was done.. more to allow me to breathe well than anything. since you are fit I wouldn't worry about that.

I woke up and they sent me home right after..to walk up 3 flights of stairs. you will likely be prescribed oxycodone or vicodin for pain management though I doubt you will need it. the surgery is relative quick and the recovery is too. you will likely get a couple sessions of physical therapy where they will try to keep scar tissue from building up. you will be told (likely) to take it easy for a week or two.. no squats and bends but otherwise you should be up and around right away. more than likely you will be told to take a week off work .

you can expect some problem with aches everytime there's a storm on the way. my knee acts like a barometer now.. but then im sedentary and fat so maybe youll be luckier. lateral meniscus is the easiest of the knee repairs. youll be fine. ACL meniscus repair is a little stickier and involves more recovery time I imagine.

[FedoraDave]

Sorry you have to go through this, Paul. I have no similar experiences to share, but I do wish you a speedy recovery.

Everyone is different, and age, fitness, severity of injury, and the body's own ability to heal itself all get thrown into the mix, so while it's definitely a good idea to solicit these experiences from others, it's more important to listen to and heed what your own body is telling you.

[D_Rabbit]

Zorak,

I can predict bad weather as well with my knee. A funny side effect of that surgery.

[dbrowning]

Ive had the procedure done on both knees twice
The last time was a breeze.
Walked from car to the house about 5 or 6 hours after surgery.
Basically 100% in a week
The other 3 were not quite as fast
But I think the longest I was out of work was a whole week

[Beer-lord]

Thanks for all the info guys. The biggest deal so far is that I'm hungry. OK, and thirsty too.
It's all good.
I appreciate the info and the good wishes. See ya's on the other side if I'm not too stupid from the pain pills.