Well it was a matter of time...(knee)

LFADAM · Posted: Jul 09, 2012 6:13 am Post subject:

Finally got some answers today from a good knee doctor that I'll probably be getting surgery from. Apparently my MCL has already started healing and he thinks it'll heal itself just fine. But, he thinks my ACL is definitely at least partially torn and will need surgery (and my meniscus tear). I'm starting Physical Therapy ASAP to get range of motion back so he can do another knee exam in 2 weeks to decide on surgery etc. Until then I have 2 more weeks of no walking and no working which means I'm almost surely losing my internship...

Jensen · Posted: Jul 09, 2012 2:44 pm Post subject:

Good luck in your recovery. That was a painful read I feel like I'm on borrowed time with my healthy knees. That sucks about the Coumadin, keep up on the diet restrictions, but you're probably safe with a couple beers occasionally my brother gets frequent blood draws for the same thing (he's a lifetime warfarin patient) and beer never messes with his INR levels.

tboyhankq · Newbie Joined: 15 Jul 2012 Posts: 1

Ouch. Good luck with surgery & recovery!

LFADAM · Posted: Jul 23, 2012 11:11 am Post subject:

1 month update:

Went back to the knee doctor today. I have been making good progress at PT the last few weeks getting range of motion back (I'm at 0 to 135 degrees, up from 22 to 108 when I started PT) and getting some strength back. Finally the doctor cleared me to walk Very Happy

. I just took my first baby steps but my leg is still incredibly weak, so I'll be weening off of crutches for at least a few days. Feels so good to be making progress though.

As for the future though-I finally have a confirmed diagnosis. Turns out my first doctor was a clown. Final verdict is torn ACL, torn lateral Meniscus, strained MCL, and strained LCL. So I need a full ACL reconstruction and work on the Meniscus. The doctor wants to do a Patellar tendon graft. After surgery, full recovery will be 5-6 months. The kicker though, is that my doctors monitoring my blood clot/blood thinners probably won't let me have surgery until October at the earliest. The knee doctor and the blood doctor are going to discuss and get back to me. Best case is I have surgery in a few weeks and go back on blood thinners after. That gets me to full recovery around February. Worst case is I have to wait until Christmas break which gets me to full recovery next June (and I would subsequently miss my senior year Collegiate Nationals for Wakeboarding).

We'll see what happens, just pumped to finally be making lots of progress

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

LFADAM, that seems like a pretty good update. Sounds like you've got a solid diagnosis and a plan is coming together.

LFADAM · Posted: Oct 14, 2012 2:26 pm Post subject:

Finally came off of the blood thinners last week after 3 months. I got full Range of Motion this week. Left leg is still very weak and knee will get really sore some days, but for the most part I am walking without a limp.

Surgery date is November 14th, cant wait

Ps205Rider · Outlaw Joined: 14 Jul 2012 Posts: 130

Hope you continue to progress well!

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

Thanks for the update...thought about this the other day.

LFADAM · Posted: Nov 13, 2012 6:40 am Post subject:

Surgery tomorrow morning, can't wait

GnarShredd · Posted: Nov 13, 2012 11:01 am Post subject:

Good luck man. Puttin out good vibes that everything heals quickly!

Blindside_137 · Posted: Nov 13, 2012 6:50 pm Post subject:

Good Luck Adam!

I'm now 3 months and a week post ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair and doing great. Hoping to get off blood thinners in 2 weeks.

Are you going with the hamstring graft?

EDIT
Oh almost forgot!

Huge tip that took me a few days and lots of pain before I found out this technique for getting in and out of bed.

You won't be able to bend your knee at all without excruciating pain. This can make getting in and out of beds difficult as naturally if you hang your legs off the edge your knees want to bend.

So for example, if you are lying in bed and want to get up, take your right good leg and wiggle your toes under your immobile left leg's ankle. This way you can use your good leg's muscle strength in your right quad to keep it straight and therefore the bad surgery leg on top stays straight. Swing it out to the side of the bed slowly and lower it keeping your legs straight. Then do the same for getting back into bed.

At first I had my mom or dad try to hold my left leg for me as I was rotating in and out of a bed and it was just too painful to coordinate correctly.

Good luck! hope that tip is understandable and helps! lol (also explained the tip assuming your left knee is the injured one like mine was from that picture it looks like it)

LFADAM · Posted: Nov 13, 2012 7:10 pm Post subject:

Thats a long time to be on blood thinners as a precaution. Did you get a clot too? I was on for 3 months this summer, but now that Im all clear they are only putting me on blood thinners for 2 weeks as a precaution.

Im doing patellar graft, and thanks for the tip-I definitely used that one when it first happened. Crucial Laughing

Blindside_137 · Posted: Nov 13, 2012 7:40 pm Post subject:

Yea I ended up with a clot. Not sure why exactly but I had gotten pretty sick about 4 days before and was pretty dehydrated come surgery date. And the surgery lasted longer than anticipated so maybe that was a factor as well. Once I'm off the blood thinner they will test my blood for some genetic predisposition to clotting and hoping I don't have that, and this whole incident really was just one in a million or something like that.

That's a good idea they're putting you on blood thinner as a precaution. I wish they had done more to prevent the clot with me but they didn't I guess since the chances were almost zero since I have no history of clots.

But anyway, hope the patellar graft goes well for you! I had my hamstring graft done and it's doing great. So wild how they can do these procedures. My doctor gave me before and after pics of the inside of my knee which was pretty cool. The before pics are just a mangled mess lol.

Report back when you're able. And glad you know of that tip! I wish I had found out sooner than I did lol.

LFADAM · Posted: Nov 14, 2012 5:17 pm Post subject:

Surgery was a success! Got a new ACL and they just snipped a tiny flap of my meniscus off, no real repair necessary. Feel great so far (they gave me a nerve block shot so my entire femoral nerve/leg is numb). The block will probably wear off overnight or tomorrow which is when I am anticipating the pain to be the worst. Luckily I have lots of Percocet so I should be fine.

Blindside_137, sounds like we both got unlucky with the clot. I think that was by far the worst part of this whole experience. I had some pretty excruciating pain and difficulties with the clot

Blindside_137 · Posted: Nov 15, 2012 5:41 am Post subject:

good to hear. Yeah that femoral block was great lol I didn't feel a thing the whole day. I was laying in bed the night of and slowly my leg and quad was tingling and got really hot and I freaked out at first then though oh this must be the block wearing off haha.

I really didn't have a whole lot of pain at all unless my knee ended up bending slightly anytime I tried getting in and out of bed (until I learned the right technique wiggling my other leg under).

And yea we were super unlucky. Did you get your clot from the injury over the summer? 4 days after surgery I had my first day of therapy and when I got home I was really worn out from trying to flex my quad over and over for an hour. So I sat in a chair and watched tv a few hours to relax and then the moment I stood up I had the worst muscle cramping of my life in my entire calf muscle. I couldn't believe how bad it hurt and at first thought it was sore from therapy. So I sat back down and keeping my leg elevated kept the cramping at bay. The next day was just as bad anytime I was standing and oh my god I about died when the doctor was squeezing my leg trying to feel for the DVT and when the ultrasound technician jammed the reader into my calf muscle. By far the worst part of my experience as well. The pain felt like my entire muscle was on the verge of exploding.

Thankfully they said the clot was completely occlusive and wouldn't break off and travel anywhere so the danger on a scale of 1-10 was about a 2. I was worried though the calf cramping wouldn't go away and would get in the way of my therapy. But thankfully after about 4 days on the blood thinner it started to get better and the cramping had disappeared almost entirely after a few weeks. I still have had to wear this compression sock every day which has been rather annoying lol. But it's been a necessary evil to make sure nothing else happens. I have an appointment for a follow up ultrasound and consultation with the cardiovascular doctor on the 26th and hopefully the clots gone for good when they check.

LFADAM · Posted: Nov 15, 2012 8:38 am Post subject:

Blindside_137, yep my clot came from the injury. I had a lot of swelling that moved into my calf. My whole leg was purple on the back and my calf kept hurting worse and worse. After 2 days of excruciating pain, I went back to the ER where it was diagnosed. The ultrasound was by far the worst, as you said. Unreal pain. But it diminished after a few days on blood thinners, and I was rechecked in october and declared all clear. I'm just back on Lovenox shots for 2 weeks now for precaution.

Still feeling way better than I thought I would. Slept great last night, just woke up twice to take Percocet and change my ice. The block is just starting to fade now-a nice 24+ hrs later. But even though it is fading now, it still doesn't really hurt unless I raise my leg to move, then it's a little burning where my scar is. Thats about it. Smile

Blindside_137 · Posted: Nov 15, 2012 10:57 am Post subject:

Well sorry to hear about the clot. I wouldn't wish that on anybody. The blood thinners really do wonders though. My cramping was literally gone in a couple days.

And yea I stopped taking my pain meds after I think two weeks maybe because I thought they weren't helping a whole lot at that point and I wanted to start driving again and have some form of independence lol. But surprisingly the pain was never that bad from the surgery, but the clot... well you know the deal..

LFADAM · Posted: Nov 15, 2012 4:18 pm Post subject:

Went for my post op today. Doc was very pleased and surprised with my lack of pain and putting some weight on my foot. Only bad part was when they changed my dressings out...looked like a murder scene. I bled way more than normal because of the blood thinners. Didn't get a picture of the dressings, but I'll post the knee pic later. Slightly nasty but I'm sure you all can handle it Twisted Evil

LFADAM · Posted: Nov 17, 2012 1:59 pm Post subject:

Forgot to post it...

Blindside_137 · Posted: Nov 18, 2012 1:53 pm Post subject:

looks good man.

Have you talked with your doctor at all about knee braces or anything for the next wakeboard season?

This is what I've been using, level 2 brace from dicks that really has been super comfortable. Thinking of continuing to use it and get another for my right knee (only when I wakeboard).

LFADAM · Posted: Nov 18, 2012 2:59 pm Post subject:

Ya Ill probably be getting a custom Don Joy brace for riding but they dont usually give you one of those until 4-5 months post op so they can fit to your normal muscle definition.

Took my first baby steps last night and today with brace locked. Only taken 1 percocet today...making progress

LFADAM · Posted: Nov 20, 2012 5:36 pm Post subject:

Finally hit a bump in the road. Yesterday started great...went to PT where they didnt hurt me nearly as bad as I thought they would. Exercises were also easier than I thought they would be. Doctor was very impressed at my ROM (-10 to 108). Apparently the other knee he fixed last Wednesday only has 60 degrees of ROM so Im ahead. The bandages came off for good...no more bleeding, but they were a little surprised at how swollen it still was.

Then last night and this morning things spiraled downward. I started noticing that my pain was worse but only when I sat up/crutched around. Then I realized it wasnt pain around my scar anymore but at the top of my shin/side/top of my calf (on the MCL/inner side). Then I remembered that this was exactly the kind of pain I had with my blood clot over the summer. I woke up this morning and it had gotten worse. I cant stay standing up anymore or put any weight on my foot (I had been walking a little bit). The pain is burning and throbbing when I sit up and try to move (lying down its fine). I immediately called the doc this morning and told him I thought somehow I had another blood clot (even though I haven't missed a dose of my precautionary blood thinners). They said that's highly unlikely but scheduled me for an Ultrasound to check. By some miracle, they didn't find any clots...but they don't know what is causing the pain. I'm super relieved, but still a little skeptical and worried that it's a clot. They did reassure me and say that the spot I am having pain is only superficial veins, so if a clot did form there it wouldn't be serious/not DVT. The only thought the ultrasound technician had was that it may be an infection. I have no idea...I still am adamant that it is the exact same pain as I had with my blood clot just in a different spot. I need to get to the bottom of it though because it totally reversed my progress and I'm back on 2 percocets every 6 hrs (15mg) and am still in pain. I'm going to call the Dr back tomorrow and try to get an answer if the pain doesn't dramatically improve overnight. I don't think it is surgery related because its only near the bottom of my MCL which was not worked on...not near my meniscus or ACL...and as I said, it's very different pain. Anyone have any ideas?

LFADAM · Posted: Nov 21, 2012 9:12 pm Post subject:

Thankfully, doctor is convinced it's not an infection. Unfortunately, it's the flu. Today was absolutely miserable, but my shin/calf pain is starting to diminish and I'm feeling a little better.

da Liks · Addict Joined: 22 Aug 2010 Posts: 594

pfew, close call.. i'm feeling your pain man..

Blindside_137 · Posted: Nov 22, 2012 5:27 pm Post subject:

glad you're feeling a little better. Hang in there man. Atleast it's not another clot.

vastyle · Newbie Joined: 05 Jun 2012 Posts: 32 City: RVA

Wow dude, crazy injury! Glad your on the road to recovery though. Hope you make it out for the 13' season. I'm pushing 40 and have been boarding since the 80's and my knee ache a lot. I've started a leg regime in the gym this winter to try and keep things strong.

LFADAM · Posted: Dec 14, 2012 9:32 pm Post subject:

Another bump in the road. Got an infection. Thankfully, they believe it is only a superficial infection (Cellulitis) and not in the joint itself (Septic). The latter requires more surgery and sometimes even redo-ing the surgery. Shocked

It's been oozing fluid for a few days straight and has really picked up the pace. They gave me some super strong antibiotics and are going to check on it again on Monday. In the meantime random holes are forming on my scar and soaking through 4 gauze pads every couple of hours. Really gross and smells terrible.

Until this though PT has been going great. My range of motion is coming along really well and starting to get strength back. Got a long way to go though, my quad is tiny.

Blindside_137 · Posted: Dec 15, 2012 6:26 am Post subject:

Damn dude that is such a bummer. Keep hanging in there and hopefully you don't have to redo all this!

How have you been handling this with school aren't you in the middle of exams? Did you have the surgery up at VT and are able to see the same surgeon or have you been seeing one doctor up there and another in NC?

On my front the blood clot is gone and ultrasound shows my veins healed back to normal and show no scarring or any signs of a clot. However, blood tests show that I have factor V leiden mutation so my clotting mechanism can go a little excessive at times which is what led to my blood clot after the acl surgery. So I just need to take extra precautions in the future now. Better to learn this clotting problem at a young healthy age so thats my silver lining.

LFADAM · Posted: Dec 15, 2012 7:24 am Post subject:

ya I missed an exam yesterday that I'll have to make up. My doctor is in Roanoke which is nice. 45 mins from VT and 45 mins from home (Smith Mtn Lake)

Glad to hear your clot is gone. They are no joke

Blindside_137 · Posted: Dec 15, 2012 8:15 am Post subject:

Thanks man,

well hang in there and keep us all posted with the progress.

LFADAM · Posted: Dec 19, 2012 9:41 am Post subject:

Ended up going under the knife one more time just to clean it up and staple it closed. They believe the cause was that my body is intolerant to the vicryl sutures they used to close up my wound so it was trying to spit them out. They went in and took them out and closed it with staples instead.

Hopefully the last surgery for a long long time.

Blindside_137 · Posted: Dec 19, 2012 3:20 pm Post subject:

da Liks · Addict Joined: 22 Aug 2010 Posts: 594

how are you doing now?

LFADAM · Posted: Jan 01, 2013 5:15 pm Post subject:

Great, thanks. Got the staples out last week. Wound is pretty much all closed up. Been making big progress at PT and walking without a limp for the most part. Range of Motion is getting closer to 100%, the big task now is rebuilding my quad muscle. It's tiny. Got a long way to go there