I just had surgery in October for a torn miniscus. I am like brand new now with exception of the arthritis. I hmmmd and hawed about knee pain for probably three years and finally could not take it anymore with my job being walking. Hope you feel bewtter and they figure out what is wrong.
Well, I went to the doctor today. It felt a little better today than it has since Jan 21st. They took some x-rays and said everything looked normal there. He wants me to get an MRI because he thinks I have a torn meniscus. He gave me a shot of Cortisone to help temporarily. If I do have a torn meniscus, I need to get surgery. Not looking forward to that one.
How bad is the surgery? I'm not a sissy, but man did that shot of Cortisone hurt! Right now even two days of missing work is a big deal. My machine has been down since Tuesday and it will hopefully be back up tomorrow afternoon. I had to disassemble the entire water pump to replace the hydraulic pump. The valve inside the hydraulic pump disintegrated and there was pieces of brass in all of the hydraulic lines and 55 gallon reservoir. All that is now cleaned and reassembled. Tomorrow I have to tear apart the intensifier pump and check all the valves and seals to make sure no metal shavings got that far. Then there's a couple more hours work on the cutting head to make sure that didn't get damaged. I'm gonna guess nobody here knows what the heck I am rambling about! Aint nothin' like a whole bunch of 12 hour days. To top it all off, if it's not working tomorrow I will lose my Saturday, which just so happens to be the day of the local car show. It's supposed to be sunny with a high of 62. Should be a nice one!
Wow, you have a lot going on bud. As it stands right now, we will be coming to NSB cruise on Sat. I'll call you on Sat to let you know for sure. I have a friend from out of town and he wants me to go to the race at Daytona Speedway on Saturday. However, I'd rather go to the cruise night. I'm not much on NASCAR so if he can find someone else to go, then I won't feel bad not going with him...
If its in a location where it gets good blood flow, may not need surgery. When mine happened 1st guy(a surgen) said have to have surgery. Went to a sports injury specialist and he said would heal in about 6-9 months. Can take pain, but on a 1 to 10, this was 12. But cut'n som'tn out is last resort in my mind. Wore a removable foam cast(has 4 straps) to keep it 75%-100% imobile depending on activity. Was out of it in 2-3 months. Being careful, good as new 6 months later.
I'm scheduled to get an MRI on Monday even though I can't afford the time off. Hopefully the boss man will understand. If this doc says surgery is the only way I will get a second opinion.
I tore my ACL at the same I damaged the meniscus, so I was off work longer for the recovery time. I agree with Region, hopefully it wont need surgery! With out the ACL repair, my projected time off work was supposed to have been a few weeks more or less (for just the meniscus surgery).
I put off surgery for my torn miniscus for almost three years. I was also told it could heal itself.It started to and it would feel pretty good after awhile but any slip would put me right back into the pain zone.My other knee tore as well from overcompensating for the bad one.The nature of my job (as a 13 plus mile a day walking mailman) would never allow it to heal so I finally gave up that pipe dream and went ahead with the surgery.BEST THING I COULD HAVE DONE.
It is day surgery and you are in and out in no time.They go in on either side of the knee with tiny incisions and in the middle with a camera sometimes and clean it up.No major scarring. I felt instant relief. I climbed my bathtub and was grouting tiles the same day lol I took the month off as I have paid sick leave so why push it. I was up and about fully with no crutches or cane within 2 days.Pain was minimal. Now I am in pretty good physical condition overall and I walk a ton every day so this may have helped with my speedy recovery.I did only the one knee and the other one has since healed completely.I cannot stress how good I feel now because of the surgery.I do tons of overtime now where before i could barely get through my own route.
Best of luck to you and if it is a torn miniscus, it is a pretty simple surgery in my opinion and nothing serious to worry about.Just make sure they mark the proper knee
I've been putting off surgery in both knees for 28 years. It sounds like it's a lot more promising prospect for full recovery than it would have been in 1982.
Vikki 1969 Goldenrod Yellow / black 400 convertible numbers matching
no, sorry, serious; as with all surgery a knee arthroscopy should only be undertaken when there is proper indication. If there is, complications are minimal and succesrate is high.
I have torn cartilage, torn meniscus, bone spur and torn ligaments in the right. Left has minor tearing only. I get around fine, but I have to be prudent as to what activities I take on. No uphill hiking, no excessive stair climbing, etc. I haven't been severely impacted, and pain is tolerable, so I have not been evaluated for surgery.
Vikki 1969 Goldenrod Yellow / black 400 convertible numbers matching
I have torn cartilage, torn meniscus, bone spur and torn ligaments in the right. Left has minor tearing only. I get around fine, but I have to be prudent as to what activities I take on. No uphill hiking, no excessive stair climbing, etc. I haven't been severely impacted, and pain is tolerable, so I have not been evaluated for surgery.
I had to have it done as my quality of life basically sucked.I often cried at night from the pain or tossed and just turned if it was tolerable,either way it meant lack of sleep.I could slam dunk a basketball and run a sub 5 minute mile, sprint like a champ,etc... until this happened at which I could barely jump 3 inches off the ground and running,well that was not even an option.My job would never allow it to fully heal on its own.Thankfully I did not talk myself out of it any longer. I have arthritis in the knee but currently it is pretty good.
Another thing is that my surgery was covered by my provincial health plan as well as my time off of work was covered by my banked sick days. If I had to pay out of pocket for it and cover lost wages myself,depending on cost I may not have been able to afford having the surgery.
Again,best of luck with it.I know how bad it feels.
I did get to see creekbob yesterday at the New Smyrna Beach monthly cruise. Great to see him, his car and way cool FGF ket chain! That is killer dude, nice work. Something every FGF owner should have! And your hood support, that thing is sweet. I can see someone using that at a high end indoor car show that usually requires some type of display/theme etc. Very cool! I only wish it would have been warmer out!
... until this happened at which I could barely jump 3 inches off the ground and running,well that was not even an option.My job would never allow it to fully heal on its own.Thankfully I did not talk myself out of it any longer. I have arthritis in the knee but currently it is pretty good.
Another thing is that my surgery was covered by my provincial health plan as well as my time off of work was covered by my banked sick days. If I had to pay out of pocket for it and cover lost wages myself,depending on cost I may not have been able to afford having the surgery. David
We can't bank sick days, my disability insurance only kicks in if I would be out and unable to work for at least six weeks, which means that I would use up as many of my my six annual sick days as necessary then go back to work. Most of the cost of the procedure would probably be covered.
I can't run, jump or ride a bike. I can live with that, it's just when it affects walking around my own house that it really gets to me. My kneecap likes to pop out of place and slide up about an inch and a half, effectively locking my knee into a scream position, generally when I am going up stairs. I found that wearing a simple band above the knee helps keep this from happening, and if I have to do something that will put a lot of strain on my knees like cutting and hauling firewood, I also wrap them with ACE horse bandages (thicker and wider than the ordinary kind). I just try not to aggravate things.
Vikki 1969 Goldenrod Yellow / black 400 convertible numbers matching
Vikki, my wife knows exactly what you are talking about. She has been dealing with JRA (juvinile rheumatoid arthritis) since she was 12. In the past 5 years she has had her lower spine recontructed (multiple fusions, rods, plates, screws, cadaver bone etc.). Then, in the last 24 months she has had both knees fully replaced. The most recent was 18 months ago and she is STILL battling a staph infection from that surgery. She is supposed to have both hips replaced but must wait for the infection to be 100% gone.
Anyway, she used to have serious issues with her knees, locking up, popping out, grinding you name. Now, she has very little pain in the them and can walk quite easily now.
Surgery is definately no fun but sometimes it's the best solution with good results.
Just got back from the doctor. Good news is I have no major structural damage in the meniscus or acl. Bad news: I have severe bone bruising in both my femur and tibia. His recommendation was to take it easy while it heals, 6-8 weeks. I've got pictures from the mri, just need to scan them.
Not the trifecta to win, that's for sure. I had mine done 6 years ago, best decision my wife ever made. I was only sleeping about an hour at a time, and wasn't too pleasant to be around in the day. My 2cents is to bust your butt in rehab, crying isn't unusual. I have more strength and greater range of motion in the repaired shoulder than the other, so for me it was worth it. Good luck!
Auto. But from what I hear, I'll be in a sling and miserable for four weeks
no problem! You can still cruise....in 1970 I had foot surgery (on my right foot , after stepping on a sewing needle!)but with an auto. I drove with my left foot! right was just "idle" in a 'package'
I agree with desert68! Bust your butt in rehab-you will have the pain but you will never regret it.
I put a rusty nail through my knee (while remodeling)and into the fluid sac of the joint a few years back, got some nasty nasty infection in the whole body. They said there was a chance I wouldn't regain full motion due the scar tissue, etc. But I went to rehab and begged them to push me to the limit. So glad I did- the knee is like before. Highly reccomend it.
Cant wait for summer... 68HO4004spvert Sleddog Iowa
God Bless the men and women past and present that have served this country. Thank you. Support D.A.V. - it helps gives a life back to those who gave so much for us.....
Just remember, everybody that sees you in that sling will assume that it hurts from the elbow down, as they grab your shoulder to convey how sincere they are when they ask "how you doin'?" Once you peel yourself off the ceiling and choke down the bile, they should have gotten the message... late. Seriously, it's a PITA for a while, but well worth it. Again, good luck.
