In a couple of weeks

On June 13 I will be having surgery for a torn meniscus in my knee. Has anyone here had it done? Would you do it again if needed? I am not looking forward to it, but am looking froward to spending more time with my fur babies. The doctor has pulled me out of work for 3 to 4 weeks after. I could have had it done a few days earlier, but we have the CFA regional banquet the Saturday before and since Jack is getting an award I didn't want to go on stage on crutches!

I had it done to my left knee and yes, I would do it again. The pain that I had from that torn meniscus was bad. It got to the point where it would awaken me at night. I couldn't find a good position for sleeping. I got to the point where I was barely walking anymore, only when I absolutely had to. The surgery doesn't actually "fix" the tear; at least in my case, the doctor went in and simply shaved off the meniscus over to the torn area. 

My job is not physically demanding, so I was only off work about a week. The only thing my doctor said was that I could't go out into the field to inspect anything, to take pictures, etc. He didn't want me out walking around, step into a groundhog hole, or trip over a tree root and go down.

I had PT 3 times a week for about a month or so. And when I say PT, I mean PT. That was the worst part of the whole thing. They had me bending that leg, bending that knee, doing all kinds of exercises for that knee. I'd leave work, drive over to PT, and then come back to work. And I had Clarence at the time; he's a stick shift and I was fine using the clutch with that leg. My doctor did the surgery on a Tuesday and that Friday, I had my first PT session. They waste very little time.

I never used crutches at all. I went in to the hospital as an outpatient; my knee was cleaned out, and I hobbled out later on that afternoon. No crutches. My doctor really frowns on crutches and he didn't want me using them. 

There was very little pain, nothing that a few Advil didn't help with. (At that time, I could still take Advil; now I seem to have developed some kind of allergy and can no longer use it). I had some Oxy, but I don't really recall taking even one. Like I said, I was amazed at how little pain I had from the operation. There was pain from the PT; I don't know, I think I had a sadist for a therapist.   He had me using a band to force my leg to bend and I told him that there was going to be knee guts spewing out.....he laughed and said, "Honestly, Pam, your knee won't open up. I swear. Now BEND!"

The worst part of the whole thing? I'm a walker and it seemed to take forever to get back up to walking. I used to get so frustrated I'd just sit and cry because I never thought I'd ever get back to walking 3 miles. 

Would I have it done again? Yes. In a heartbeat. The little bit of pain that I had after the surgery was nothing (NOTHING) compared to the pain I was in before. And that's the truth.

Good luck! 

Our daughter had it done. It took a while for recovery but she is doing well now. She waited to have the surgery until it was really not a choice anymore.

my coworker just had it done-same thing as you Pam=he was in abunch of pain. Said it wasn't that bad-it fixes some of the issues and they can buzz out any arthritis you have built up in the joint which helps for pain management.

I would do it if I was in as much pain as he was prior to the surgery. He was on crutches before the surgery that's how bad it hurt. And he is active and it really bothered him too. Infact today he came back to work. Its been 3.5 weeks since.

Regarding the "sadist" comment, my mom asked her PT folks at the rehab facility she was at if all PT folks were sadists like they were. They said, yeah, pretty much! They have to put up with people complaining and yelling and screaming and have to make people push themselves when they absolutely don't want to in some cases. They liked my mom because she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, so she usually complied, but occasionally she said NO MORE! But in her case, if she said it, they knew she meant it.

Donutte said:

Regarding the "sadist" comment, my mom asked her PT folks at the rehab facility she was at if all PT folks were sadists like they were. They said, yeah, pretty much! They have to put up with people complaining and yelling and screaming and have to make people push themselves when they absolutely don't want to in some cases. They liked my mom because she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, so she usually complied, but occasionally she said NO MORE! But in her case, if she said it, they knew she meant it.

Click to expand...

I was like your mom; I wanted to be done with it and out of there.

My therapist had given me the band and I had to lay on my belly, wrap the band around my foot and bend at that knee; the band was to force the leg to bend and my foot to almost touch my butt cheek. I looked at him said, "Knee guts! Knee guts are going to spew out of my knee! Stand back! You have been warned." And that's when he said there were no knee guts and my knee would be fine. And then he said, "Bend!" After the third time, I did call him a   sadist. He started laughing and said, "I have to be. Bend!" But he knew I was joking around more than anything. He did tell me that nobody had ever warned him about knee guts. 

During one of my PT sessions, he had me on the stationary bike. Suddenly I stopped pedaling. He looked at me with raised eyebrows and I said, "I'm coasting downhill!" And he said, "Fine! Pedal down the damn hill!" Not only was he a sadist, he was a snot. 

He knew I just wanted it over with and I just wanted to be able to walk. And he kept saying, "Someday you'll be walking fine and you'll not even remember all this." He lied. (And that was part of his job, too.)

I saw him down the mall one day about a year or so later. I was walking into a store and he and his wife were walking out. We stopped and talked for a while and he asked me how things were going. He said that I seemed to be walking fine  and asked how many miles I was back up to. I told him I was walking five miles at that time and he just smiled. "My work is done." 
 

"Yeah, but I bet you're still a sadist."  His wife started laughing and she agreed with me!

I've had it done on both knees - all due to accidents.  I had good results with all, although now that the right one is on it's second surgery arthritis has become an issue for me.  Make sure you go to all the physical therapy appointments afterward and if for some reason they don't give you a script for them, ask why and then insist you go.  Seriously hard to totally recover otherwise.  

Also like Winchester mentioned, the pain was so bad for both beforehand that getting surgery was a no brainer.  I also couldn't sleep with the knee touching the mattress and the last time, the pain was so bad that walking in general was incredibly difficult and energy depleting. I don't have a physically demanding job either but do have a very long commute from NJ to NYC every work day which requires me to do walking/stair climbing/standing on trains, etc.  Was terribly wearing on me.

The last time I had it done I didn't need the crutches past the first day when I got home.  I was easily able to get up and down the stairs as long as I was cautious and went slowly. Didn't need the prescription pain killers after the first couple of days - took Advil instead and it worked fine. 

I'm now 2 years out from the 3rd surgery and while I do have some problems it is way better than before. 

Winchester said:

 
I was like your mom; I wanted to be done with it and out of there.

My therapist had given me the band and I had to lay on my belly, wrap the band around my foot and bend at that knee; the band was to force the leg to bend and my foot to almost touch my butt cheek. I looked at him said, "Knee guts! Knee guts are going to spew out of my knee! Stand back! You have been warned." And that's when he said there were no knee guts and my knee would be fine. And then he said, "Bend!" After the third time, I did call him a 

 sadist. He started laughing and said, "I have to be. Bend!" But he knew I was joking around more than anything. He did tell me that nobody had ever warned him about knee guts. 

During one of my PT sessions, he had me on the stationary bike. Suddenly I stopped pedaling. He looked at me with raised eyebrows and I said, "I'm coasting downhill!" And he said, "Fine! Pedal down the damn hill!" Not only was he a sadist, he was a snot. 

He knew I just wanted it over with and I just wanted to be able to walk. And he kept saying, "Someday you'll be walking fine and you'll not even remember all this." He lied. (And that was part of his job, too.)

I saw him down the mall one day about a year or so later. I was walking into a store and he and his wife were walking out. We stopped and talked for a while and he asked me how things were going. He said that I seemed to be walking fine  and asked how many miles I was back up to. I told him I was walking five miles at that time and he just smiled. "My work is done." 
 

"Yeah, but I bet you're still a sadist."  His wife started laughing and she agreed with me!

Click to expand...

Haha! Glad to see I'm not the only one who hated the PT.

I luckily had a very nice woman helping me but the one thing I hated was the bike also.  I'm pretty short and it wasn't like they had the most modern equipment.  It was never comfortable for me.  I finally just told them I'm NOT doing it.  That was at the tail end of rehab but I had enough.  I said I'd do anything else but the damn thing was just too much for me.

I've partially torn the meniscus of my right knee three times now, but not have avoided surgery.  HOWEVER...I did have a LOT of PT!  Had I needed the surgery, I'd have done it in a heatbeat.  Did PT with lots of folks who did have it.  The PT is a lady-dog, but it is the key to good recovery...Gripe and moan and threaten but do every bit of it to the best of your ability!

Oh goody, you all have given me something to look forward to after the surgery!  I decided it was time to do something about it when it was waking me up 5-6 times a night and I couldn't find a position to lay that didn't hurt. My family doctor told me when I first went in complaining that it would get better with time - 2 YEARS ago! I finally told my husband that I had had enough and was going to a specialist. I hope when it is done I will actually be able to kneel down on that knee! I haven't been able to for 2 years now.

TWO years???? OMG. You poor thing. I feel so bad for you.

You will be able to kneel down on that knee, but it's not going to happen overnight. But I honestly think you will be amazed (and deliriously happy) after the operation is over and you're back up on your feet. Hang in there. Just know that it will take time. 

Two years. That just blows me away. It's not going to get any better without having the surgery. Sure sometimes surgery isn't needed, but your doctor should have known better. At the least, send you in for some good PT. And your doctor should be smacked on his knee.....with a baseball bat.   Ha!

I hope the surgery went well. :cross:

The surgery went fine. I haven't even had to take any of the pain medicine they prescribed. The only thing I did not care for was the fact he told me no showers for 3 days - that didn't happen. I figured out a way to shower without getting the dressing wet. He will determine when I go back for my post op visit if physical therapy is needed and when I can go back to work. I am rather enjoying staying home with the fur babies and hope he doesn't rush me back!  I couldn't do my job right now anyway - I am on my feet for 8 hours a day.

I'm glad it went well!