One Month After Surgery

by Kerry
(Baltimore)

I am a 24 year old male and I tore my ACL and damaged the knee cartilage. The injury occurred in July playing football. I went to stop running and my knee made a knuckle cracking sound and I went down. After a month, I thought it was better because I had no pain or swelling and ended up hurting it again. I went to the specialist in October and was diagnosed.

I had my surgery Tuesday, Dec 7 and it went well. Luckily, the doctor did not have to remove as much cartilage as he initially believed. I was able to put pressure on the leg immediately after the surgery which was surprising. I left with crutches, my knee heavily wrapped, and a knee brace with instructions not to remove the brace or bandages until my follow up appointment.

The next day was when the pain came. Lifting my leg seemed impossible. Any bend in the knee was incredibly painful and it was difficult to get off of the sofa or sit back down on the sofa once I managed to get up. I started to take the pain meds the morning after the surgery and took them consistently for 2 days. I took my last pain pill Friday before I went to sleep and haven't taken them since. They didn't really help with the pain but made me sleep. On the third day, I could move around the house easily and even went over a friend?s house for a while. I went back to work on the following Monday and was able to sit comfortably all day.

I had my follow up with the specialist on Dec 16th to remove the stitches and the bandage. The bandage was the worst part since the surgery because it itched from where they shaved my knee and I couldn't get it wet for a week. I stopped using the crutches after 1 1/2 weeks or so but I still have to wear the knee brace. I started physical therapy on Dec 22nd and am pretty much pain free in my knee.

Thanks to everyone who shared their stories. This was my first surgery and reading other's experiences helped a lot.