reconstructive knee surgery tommorow

[institutional]

i usually dont make these personal posts. but i feel i could use the support from the bros. im having acl/lateral meniscus reconstructive surgery tomm. morning. it kinda sucks for me as summer is almost in full swing and im pretty much in the best shape (lowest bodyfat) of my life. i have never been this trim. but this knee has been going in and out for the last few years. i hurt it my senior year in college but elected not to have surgery at the time. full recovery is about 8 months to a year. im gonna bust my ass in rehab and hopefully be doing upperbody workouts on machines in a couple of week. keep me in you prayers. thanks- AL

 

[scotty2]

Tough blow, bro. Good luck.

 

[Alpha Dog]

Good luck. Really, its not all bad. I had ACL/Meniscus surgery last May (2002). I went the Alograft route with the ACL. Make sure your in physical therapy within at least 4 days of surgery. Keep stretching and icing and you'll be running around in a matter of months.

 

[institutional]

Good luck. Really, its not all bad. I had ACL/Meniscus surgery last May (2002). I went the Alograft route with the ACL. Make sure your in physical therapy within at least 4 days of surgery. Keep stretching and icing and you'll be running around in a matter of months.

thanks guys. im going with hamstring tendon. i start physical therapy 2 days after.

 

[Zack]

Good luck with that bro. I had ACL reconstruction around christmas, that wasn't fun at all. make sure your Dr. gets you in some physical therapy ASAP. Don't be stupid and wait untill he brings it up like I did. you have to insist on it. Make sure you have a comfurtable bed, or the back pains will be almost as bad as the knee.. I would also suggest taking some aminos will you are down and out to help retain muscle. Good luck with that bro.

 

[Supa Freek 420]

Best of luck bro. I'm sure you'll be up and running again in no time.

 

[Matthew D]

Sorry to hear about that, just work hard in PT and get yourself back in the gym soon as you are able to.

 

[institutional]

thanks again fellas, i appreacitate the kind words. i plan on using L-glut, and procomplex thruout the day. im not sure about the creatine, i dont think it would be beneficial if im not working out. this 2-3 week break is actually coming at a good time. i have been working out very hard the last few months. i just hope i dont gain too much weight while im in bed initially.

 

[Kitchen Chemist]

i usually dont make these personal posts. but i feel i could use the support from the bros. im having acl/lateral meniscus reconstructive surgery tomm. morning. it kinda sucks for me as summer is almost in full swing and im pretty much in the best shape (lowest bodyfat) of my life. i have never been this trim. but this knee has been going in and out for the last few years. i hurt it my senior year in college but elected not to have surgery at the time. full recovery is about 8 months to a year. im gonna bust my ass in rehab and hopefully be doing upperbody workouts on machines in a couple of week. keep me in you prayers. thanks- AL

Good luck with it bro, i had ACL resonstruction at the ripe age of 17
Rehab takes a while, i was at physio for 3 straight months 3 times a week, and was in crutches for 2 monts during this time. My knee slipped out of place every other month before i had the surgery aswell, had to wait two years until my growth plates were closed (did it when i was 15) and have had two other surgeries before that to clean up cartilidge. Hope to have surgery to add cartilidge to the knee (whenever they start doing it frequently) as for my age i should be first in line. Hope it goes well, you're gonna be one swollen mofo

 

[jweave23]

hey bro, good luck with the surgery and I hope all goes well. Like everyone said (and I'm sure you know), get in PT right away and I'm sure you'll be fine in time. I guess this means no cardio huh? Take care and check in, let us know how it's going

Jesse

 

[Alpha Dog]

I guess this means no cardio huh?

Yea, and the Kennedy's aren't gun shy

 

[institutional]

hey bro, good luck with the surgery and I hope all goes well. Like everyone said (and I'm sure you know), get in PT right away and I'm sure you'll be fine in time. I guess this means no cardio huh? Take care and check in, let us know how it's going

Jesse

thanks bro. yea PT starts friday. after that 3x's/week for 3 months. the only cardio ill be doing is the remote control. actually most people i talk to lose weight after these kinda surgeries due to lack of appetite from the pain killers. so move over ephedra, give me some vicadin!

 

[jweave23]

move over ephedra, give me some vicadin!

Words to live by...by institutional

 

[msclbldrguy]

good luck bro...hope its goin well. never had knee probs but did have rotator cuff surgery 5 years ago and was best thing i ever did. fortunately i had a dr who got me in pt within a week of my surgery. plus he initially said it would take a year before i could get back in the gym. i was back in 5 months with his blessing...i had to bench press the bar...but hey i was ablt to get on track alot sooner than they thought.

be persistent bro and you'l be runnin around before u know it. let us kno how u r doin...and the progress u r makin.

 

[Dio]

Good luck Alex! I hope you have a speedy recovery. Best thing to do is try to enjoy the mandatory downtime...and the painkillers

 

[institutional]

surgery was a success!

thanks for the positive words.
they ended up repairing my medial meniscus also. my mri was old and didnt show that, so thats recent damage. so it ended up being acl reconstruction with lateral and medial meniscus repair. this is kinda of a major blow to me. the medial meniscus repair is significant because its non weight bearing for 6- 8 weeks in my situation. hopefully i will progress more quickly. right know it is very painful, and tender. im basically icing it non-stop and taking vicadin every 4 hours. im not a big fan of pain killers, but you have no choice in this situation. i go in to see the doctor tommorow morning, and start my physical therapy. so i will let you know how that goes. my saving grace is these hot tamales candy, theyre keeping me in a good mood, i have a case of these. another good thing is that im staying at my parents house , and they are helping me tremedously. my gf also helps out alot. but im going to make a serious effort to stay in shape, or rather stay lean. i dont want to gain too much weight in the next few weeks. so i will probably stick to my diet as soon as the pain improves. peace out.

 

[msclbldrguy]

sounds like you have a good plan bro. being "in shape" and all i believe helps speed recovery. Good luck and keep us posted bro....

 

[Rhapsody]

Good Luck......keep us informed.


You sound like you've got a great recovery plan !!!

 

[institutional]

well today is day 4 post op. i had my first PT visit yesterday and i will be going 3x's a week from here on out. since i had my medial meniscus repaired i will be non-weight bearing for 4 weeks. thats the hardest part, even tho my leg feels its getting stronger i have to give the meniscus time to heal, that means no pressure what so ever on it. im still taking heavy doses of pain killers, got no choice. hopefully everyday will be an improvement.

ps-- i found a forum for acl patients on the net, and it has been wonderful. we all share our progress and horror stories toghether and we give advice and what not. so now im not only hooked on bodybuilding forums , but also knee forums

 

[Matthew D]

Glad that things are going good.. let the knee heal.. and sleep if you can.

 

[institutional]

whats up. well its been one week for me since my surgery. things are going well. its getting better everyday. i still cant put weight on my right leg for 3 more weeks so my meniscus can heal. physical therapy is very hard, but thats no problem for me, ive been working out hard since i was 13. im doing a lot of range of motion exercises, electrical stimulation and other non weight bearing exercises. the hardest part for me is not being able to workout at all. actually today i decided to do some upper body exercises using the thera-band , which is those elastic resistance bands you see in physical therapy clinics. i did curls, tricep ext, rear delts, and some lateral delts. it felt great. just getting a slight pump made my mood so much better. im going to have to be creative but this thera-band is pretty much going to be my weight room for the next couple of weeks. and im also able to do ab crunches with my legs out straight. i cant do much now, but for me it still feels great.

 

[windwords7]

Good news inst.

 

[institutional]

i figured i would drop another update. im now at 3 weeks post operation. still non-weight bearing for another week or 2. started work back up this week, half days, real easy , just sit back and act busy. also started back up on the weights on monday. just doing machine work for this week and maybe next. i dont want to put any undue stress on my knee. but even hitting the nautilus machines felt wonderful, i never thought i would ever say that! but the hardest part for me during this surgery has been not working out. i think most of us are like that. but fortunatly i have maintained my weigth thus far, and im ready to get pumped back up. talk to you guys soon, peace.

 

[SCORPIO]

Sounds like you're making progress. Good to hear you are doing fine. It's only a matter of time before you are back in the gym. Heal good and strong and you'll be back better than ever. Good luck.

 

[institutional]

thanks for the encouragment and motivation scorpio, its appreaciated

 

[institutional]

8 1/2 weeks

its been 8 1/2 weeks so i figured i would full you guys in. im doing well. i have been walking without crutches for the last 3 weeks. i still have a slight limp. now my main goal is to improve quad strength and improve flexibility. this has been a crazy time for me, as i have actually been dieting for the last 6 weeks. i have been doing the ckd, with a midweek refeed and weekend carbups. this has really helped me stay lean throughout this whole process. and it has suplied me lots of energy for my PT sessions. i have lost about 5 pounds of fat in the last month (which i am stoked about, considering i cant do cardio), and maintaining muscle. so i have been happy with that. upperbody workouts are going well, mostly high rep workouts with light weights. i need my knee more stable to for me to handle heavier weights. but its coming. talk to you later.

 

[PC1]

Al,

I only just now stumbled onto your thread. I haven't talked to you in maybe 6-8 months time, and only over on bb.com at that.

You may or may not recall but I suffered a complete pec major avulsion last September, and a ruptured achilles this past January. I know how badly it sucks to have debilitating injuries. It's behind me now and the worst is over for you as well.

Just wanted to let you know I'm pulling for you too. I hope and pray you'll have a speedy recovery. Al, you have the brains, the brawn, and most importantly, the attitude. I'm glad to hear that you're doing so well post op, and may you continue in that vein at record pace.

My best to you.

 

[institutional]

Al,

I only just now stumbled onto your thread. I haven't talked to you in maybe 6-8 months time, and only over on bb.com at that.

You may or may not recall but I suffered a complete pec major avulsion last September, and a ruptured achilles this past January. I know how badly it sucks to have debilitating injuries. It's behind me now and the worst is over for you as well.

Just wanted to let you know I'm pulling for you too. I hope and pray you'll have a speedy recovery. Al, you have the brains, the brawn, and most importantly, the attitude. I'm glad to hear that you're doing so well post op, and may you continue in that vein at record pace.

My best to you.

thanks alot for prayers and kind words, i really appreciate it. yes i do remember when you hurt your achilles. im glad to hear that you are well again. these type of injuries really put things in perspective, and humble ones self. but i am doing better each day, slowly but surely.

it looks like your pecs are alive and kicking (looking solid btw). keep up the good work. thanks again--al

 

[PC1]

Al,

You're about 3 months post-op now, how's it going?

 

[institutional]

Al,

You're about 3 months post-op now, how's it going?

yah its been 3 months now. things are getting alot better quickly now. i think you understand what i mean, since you have been thru some surgeries. but strength is improving every workout, flexibility is almost perfect, but still got a few degrees to work on. my right quad is still tiny in comparison to my good one. but it will come. so for next few months my goals are to keep increasing quad and hamstrings strength, work on agility, balance and also flexibility. i should be jogging in the next few weeks or so. on the downside i still have stiffness in the mornings and after sitting or standing in same place for a while. but thanks for asking. how are things with you? chest and ankle?

 

[jweave23]

Good to hear it's going ok bro

 

[PC1]

yah its been 3 months now. things are getting alot better quickly now. i think you understand what i mean, since you have been thru some surgeries. but strength is improving every workout, flexibility is almost perfect, but still got a few degrees to work on. my right quad is still tiny in comparison to my good one. but it will come. so for next few months my goals are to keep increasing quad and hamstrings strength, work on agility, balance and also flexibility. i should be jogging in the next few weeks or so. on the downside i still have stiffness in the mornings and after sitting or standing in same place for a while. but thanks for asking. how are things with you? chest and ankle?

Glad to hear it Al. I really don't understand the details of your knee injury, although it sounded pretty serious. And it was apparent you were very concerned about it.

Glad to hear you're rebounding so well You were right to point out the "lesson in humility" we all go through with a debilitating injury. Our family and friends already think we're a bit whacked for some of the things we do, our training, nutritional and sleep habits seem borderline radical to them; and when we're hobbling around with our "self-inflicted" injuries, they take comfort in their own more sedentary ways. It sure as hell gave me despair and anxiety.

But you're well past that now, thankfully. I have no doubt you'll be surpassing old strength and fitness levels.

As for me, the pec tendon avulsion has been 100% since early Spring. And I've surpassed the strength level I was at last September when I suffered that injury

The achilles rupture is coming along but more slowly. I'd say strength wise, it's 75-80% although flexibility is 100%. My doctor tells me this one usually takes longer (for pro basketball players even upwards of 24 months for 100% complete recovery). Aside from stretching, I do 1 legged calf raises on stairs, with no weight. It's only been about the last month or so that I could get 8-10 full reps out of the injured leg. And I'm also skipping rope now once a week as well, which really seems to be helping quite a bit. Being 8 months post surgery, I understand that's very good progress for an old fart of my age! All in all I'm pleased.

The best thing for me was to continue on doing whatever I could while injured. Like you said, even a slight pump SOMEWHERE helps one's spirits.

Keep at it, and best of luck Al. I look forward to reading continuing positive updates on your progress here.

Best regards,

PC1