I am more than seven months post surgery now. I have been doing PT on my own at home religiously and continue to exercise at least 5 x per week. I noticed yesterday that when I went on a 4 + mile walk with my daughter, that I did not need to ice my knee when I returned. This was a pretty good improvement from one month prior – when I took the same walk and was in pretty rough shape by the time I got home. My “bad” leg is still smaller than my good leg (the quad mainly). Stairs are still a challenge, but going down is getting more controlled. I have a lot of concern that when I get my MRI at the one year mark something will be wrong, but that is just me being concerned over things that I know nothing about. I have no sharp pains, just a lot of stiffness and some slight swelling at the end of the day – especially if I try to wear heels. I would say that I am about where I was before the surgery in terms of mobility. My hope is that over the next 4 1/2 months that I will get to the point where my knee will feel somewhat normal. I miss the days of running up the stairs to grab something from my kid’s room and not thinking of it as a journey. And, of course, I miss running. It has been 11 months since I went on my last run – I miss it just as much today as I did when this first happened. Just keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to at least run reacreationally again. On the up side, I have not gained any weight over the last year, and in fact lost a few pounds. I have done a ton of upper body work that I would not have done otherwise, so I am not wasting away or turning into a blob. Mentally I would say I am not as good as I used to be on the happiness scale, but I am better than I was over the summer…. Here is hoping 2013 the “year of recovery” — even if we are at the “fiscal cliff”!
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desperate2run 
Hi I am Jonathan from the UK.i injured my right knee in March have not been running since and have desperately been hoping the knee will get better but deep down I know it won’t.My surgeon says have the opp my PT says don’t I really just don’t know what to do but I do know that after 6 months of nothing I can walk up steep stairs but I can’t run to even catch a tube train.Your blog is helpful but kind of frightening as well think I will book and get the fist operation before Christmas
Hello Jonathan: I understand your hestitation about this procedure as it is a really big deal. It definitely altered my life over the last year. At this point, I think I am starting to feel better than I did before surgery. In other words, before surgery, I definitely could not run, could not walk long distances and was experiencing swelling ALOT – even after using the eliptical on extremely low resistance. Now I can walk 4 miles with no real swelling, use the eliptical for 3-4 miles on moderate resistance and have been doing a fair amount of weight lifting with the bad leg. I do not know whether I will run again or not. I am hopeful, but my leg is still weak from atrophy. My doctor will do an MRI after 1 full year (in about three or so months) and then tell me if I am released to run again. I really had no choice but to have this operation, because I am too young for a knee replacement and I am very active. My tips for you are to 1) make sure you have the most experienced doctor possible to perform your surgery 2) have them use artificial patch rather than using a patch taken from your shin bone and 3) find a physical therapist who is VERY famililar with this surgery and 4) do not let the pain meds wear off for at least two days after your second surgery. I tried to tough it out and that did not go well. Once the drugs wear off, its hard to get back to being numb again. When I look at other blogs on line etc… I am really surprised by some of the scars I see on people. Mine is small and really not a big deal. My doctor is an expert on this type of surgery – making it a relatively quick procedure. My PT person had actually observed this type of surgery and had many patients with the procedure. My feeling going into it was that it was my only chance to return to running – and I still feel that way. Just be as prepared as possible. By the way – the first surgery is no big deal – I was back to work the next day (which may have been a bit quick) and back working out on the eliptical in one week. GOOD LUCK AND DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS. My biggest problem was never knowing what was normal and what was not normal…. 🙂
Hello, I have been searching for some one that had the ACI surgery. After years of putting it off I finally had it done on December 7th. I am on day 8 on the CPM machine. I get the staples removed this Thursday. My life sounds similar to yours. My husband has been really supporting but on my first day home he shouted ” this is a full time freakin job” from the kitchen. I have since relied heavily on my parents, thank god. I have a very loving 17 year old son and a13 year old daughter that thinks the world ONLY revolves around her. My cat hasn’t left my bedside, he sleeps all day and walks over my face all night. I have a 100 lb golden retriever named Harry that really should have been named Hairy. I realized I was the only one that walks and brushes him. I don’t know who misses running on the beach more, me or my dog.
I loved your blogs. I don’t spend much time on the Internet . Using this time on the CPM machine to look up everything from how to plan my next garden to high school boyfriends. HOURS go by.
I think the toughest part about this surgery is being laid up recovering. My thigh muscles are killing me, worse than my knee.
I would love to ask you a million questions. I have never followed or posted on a blog before.
Hello Greta: I know this is a really tough time. I did not use a CPM machine – no idea why — but my doctor did not recommend it. I wish he had as atrophy was my largest problem once i got back on my feet. I am going to update my blog with a 9 month update. My hardest time was between 3 – 6 months, because I over estimated where I would be physically and got really discouraged. Plus the lack of running led me to be really down. I am happy to answer any questions you have and hope that you have a smooth recovery. I know what its like to spend hours on the internet, and I had never blogged or written on a blog before — but was driven by boredom. I read a lot of books and spent a lot of money shopping on the internet… Hang in there!
How did you manage your pain? I a having every side effect from every drug so far. ( hense I normally would chose not to take any at all) I had constipation from the narcotics and had to go cold turkey on day 7. That was really bad,worse than childbirth. Everybody warned me but I thought I would be fine. If I ever have surgery again, I will request exlax in my IV’s. ha. Then he put my on Celebrex and it upsets my stomach that I live in the bathroom. Can’t win. I am taking Tylenol during the day and one Percocet at night to try to sleep. This brace is SO uncomfortable. I don’t mind being in the CMP machine because my brace is off. I can’t get comfortable no matter what I do. I have been sleeping downstairs on a futon. My house is an old 70 style split level house. Whoever designed these style house never were on crutches, I don’t feel confident enough to go up the three steps by myself to get to the kitchen ,luckily there is a full bathroom on the first floor. When were you confident to do the steps by yourself? When did you drive? when did you go back to work full time? Mine is my driving leg, ugh!
What made you decide to have the surgery? I tried everything for years, chicken shots, working with a personal trainer to strengthen my thigh muscles , alternating workouts, but I had my last hike in August in the Sierra mountains visiting my family in California , felt it go at the top.my help just arrived….do you mind me typing all this?
Whoops – my last email was to your 1st post- pain for me was bad- but no brace and no cpm machine- so it may not have been as bad as it could have been. Used Vicodin without much trouble. Did not do stairs for a month. Went to work part time after 2 1/2 weeks- full time 2 weeks after that. Drove after 2 weeks- but my driving leg not involved…. Hang in there. Don’t hesitate to ask questions.
Sent from my iPhone