Well- I finally did a 10k! It went great – much easier than I expected. Finished in about 1:04:30- no problems. Ironically I slipped and fell directly on my bad knee two days ago and it’s black and blue- but it appears fine otherwise. I tried not to panic and other than being bruised it’s fine. I’m definitely slower than before surgery- but then again I am older! There is still a size difference in the quads- but not too noticeable. I’m pondering trying to do a half marathon at the end of this year- but that might be a pipe dream. For now- another 10k next month.
- Comment
- Reblog
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
desperate2run 
Congratulations on your 10k!
Last week my doctor said it is time for me to ACI surgery and now, I have to say, I am quite scared. I am wondering if you could answer some questions to maybe ease some fear…
(I have a 2.56 cm2 defect under my kneecap)
-Before your surgery were you able to do any physical activities or were you limited in what you could do?
-You mentioned several times how hard going down stairs was after surgery, did you have this problem pre-surgey?
-Your reaction to not being able to do things is very similar to how I think I will react; was there any one thing in particular that helped ward off the depression cause by not being able to do stuff?
I am pretty limited in my activity levels; pre knee problems I could no problem do a century on my bicycle but now 25 miles is a struggle. I can run for about a mile before my knee starts to hurt and I can usually go up and down stairs with no problem as long as I’m not carrying anything more than ~15lbs.
I am very concerned that my knee isn’t bad enough to warrant the huge recovery and pain of ACI surgery, although I am highly motivated to get better. I know everyone is different but I was hoping you could share what you were experiencing pre-surgery. Maybe your pre-surgery condition could help ease some of my doubts.
I appreciate your time,
Lisa
I had over a 2 cm defect as well. I was unable to run without serious pain and it was getting worse as time went on. I used the elliptical, but not on any real resistance. As I continued waiting to get the surgery I started walking with a limp. My concern was that my doctor made it clear to me that it would get much worse and that I would end up with arthritis. It was really hard going thru recovery – but if you are already into cycling you will be a step ahead. Cycling was permitted pretty quickly after I got off crutches. I never cycled in my life until I couldn’t run and did a century ride long before I could even run a mile. I do think it was worth it. Stairs before surgery not nearly as bad as after. But that is still improving. The difficulty with stairs arose due to my atrophied quad. Physical therapy earlier in recovery might have lessened the atrophy. I was over 40 when I had the surgery – so if you are younger you very well may have a better recovery. I wish you all the best and will happily answer any other questions you may have.
Hi,
I’m a 25 year old female with the same defect as you. Thank you so much for writing this blog. I had my first surgery (a scope to harvest cells and to remove a loose piece of cartilage) almost two years ago. Now, it is just a waiting game on when my ACI surgery will take place. For now, my knee feels fine most of the time except for some pain and swelling after workouts and on random days.
I am not a runner. But, I am very active in other aspects of exercise. I love biking, taking my dogs on long walks, going on hikes, swimming-basically every low-impact exercise. So, I was wondering when you started to feel back to normal without running. When were you able to walk around (i.e. grocery shopping, walking dogs, etc) confidently without feeling any pain?
I think at about a year after surgery I felt somewhat normal. I remember being able to take long walks within 6 months but there was some swelling after the first mile. I am significantly older than you are do you might very well have an easier time than I did. I think the younger you are the better the outcome. As I type this I just finished a 4 mile run in a hilly area – so things continue to improve as time passes. I run about 4x per week 4-5 miles per run and it’s not painful at all and no swelling. I hope it works out for you. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks for the quick response! How big is your scar?
Only the length of my knee cap- it’s pretty faint and not very noticeable by now. I wear shorts and skirts unabashedly
That’s great! I’ve read that people have scars going down their whole knee!
I’m curious, did you have the choice to have a allograft implant (cartilage from a deceased donor)? If so, why did you choose an autograft implant (your re-grown cartilage)?
Sorry for all of the questions! I’ve read a lot of blogs about ACIs but people are bad about responding to questions! So, again, thanks so much for responding! 🙂
My doctor did not present that choice. He was one of the most experienced doctors with ACI in our state- so I pretty much did whatever he recommended. I know there were issues with over growth of the patch covering the grafts in a lot of studies using natural (as opposed to artificial patches) – and as such he used an artificial patch. That was the only real discussion we had.
hmm, that’s interesting! My doctor said it would be up to me as to which procedure I would want. Although, after reading about your experience, I think I will go with the same procedure. Hopefully, I won’t need it for a while longer, though!
Did your doctor give you a timeline on how long the fix will last? Do you think you’ll need another surgery again down the road after so many years? My doctor said that it could last from 10 years to the rest of my life. I’m just curious as to what your doc told you.
Thanks!
He indicated that it was good for as long as I treated it reasonably. He made no guarantees but suggested I quit marathoning and do 10ks instead. I did not, however, specifically ask about 1/2 marathons 🙂 He did not expect that I would need additional surgery unless I had a graft failure which he said was extremely unlikely after the first year.
This blog is fabulous — thanks — I’m 17 weeks out with an osteotomy — therefore more limited in what I can do. Is anyone else in the same boat as me? I’d love a companion to go through this journey with!