Meniscus :
when does it stop hurting to stand??? - - Posted by tonid (tonid), 28 December 2004
Had medial meniscus tear removed, both knees, 1 week ago. When does it stop hurting to stand, and what about driving?? I start pt tomorrow, can I drive myself? Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Posted by Bruser (Bruser), 28 December 2004
I would hope that you will feel some better in a few weeks, maybe the O.S. should have done one knee at a time. Ask your therapy people how they feel it is going to take to get rid of the pain.
I would find someone to take you, my sister is having one knee done and they told her 12 days before she could drive.
I am sorry, I am not much help,
Bruser
Posted by tonid (tonid), 28 December 2004
thanks for the response.
He gave me the option to do one, then the other, but I didn't want to draw out the recovery process. I have to be in court on 1/11, so opted to get it over with. I was hoping to be much better by today.
Posted by Bruser (Bruser), 28 December 2004
tonid, good luck, you may want to wait and see how your knees do, if you were injured by someone else, knees can be a life long problem, please consider that if your court date is involving your knees.
Take care,
Bruser
Posted by tonid (tonid), 29 December 2004
Thanks Bruser.
The trial is related to work and not the knees, thankfully.
I hope your sister does well.
I did try to drive last night, and getting in and out was worse than driving, so my husband is taking me to pt.
Will talk to the pt today to get some estimations of recovery time. I am a nurse, so not a great patient!
Posted by chaplainbabs (chaplainbabs), 29 December 2004
tonid,
I am not a good pt either, having worked in various capacities in health care for 48 years. I do know that my OS said to take it easy - leaves the door wide open, huh? - but the PT said that I should not do anything that causes pain. Don't you and I both know that pain is a protective device
?
Anyway, I missed my first PT appt because I ended up in hospital, and I drove six days post-op; but, I had only one knee done. What I gathered was that the pressure up the leg could retard healing, so I think I would try not driving till I had to!
Good luck,
Peace, Babs
Posted by tonid (tonid), 30 December 2004
Thanks babs!
I did make it to PT today with no problem. PT also said, if it hurts, don't do it, so there ya go. I am going to go ahead and take off the rest of the week, and not feel guilty.
toni
Posted by doglady606 (doglady606), 31 December 2004
Good for you tonid! If you have the option, get plenty of rest and wait until you have to drive. Happy recovery!
Posted by dm (dm), 1 January 2005
if you're still finding driving difficult, try seeing how far you can push the seat back and still reach the pedals, and if the seat is height adjustable, see if adjusting it up higher so your legs aren't bent so much helps. I've heard of sitting on cushions to reduce the bend in the knees too. Just some ideas....
Posted by tonid (tonid), 1 January 2005
Thanks for the suggestions. I will definately try that. It's back to work Monday and the madness of life, so that will make it easier to get around.
Posted by islandgirl2 (islandgirl2), 3 January 2005
Well I'm 6 1/2 weeks post op and it STILL hurts like heck to stand and walk. I've been doing my exercises at home, and even got some weights to add as well. PT hurt so much that after six visits my OS said I could stop. You guys are sure lucky that there is someone out there saying if it hurts, don't do it! Mine was a real jackace who kept pushing me until my pain caused me to go back instead of forward.
Not sure how long it really takes to feel better, or to have the legs work like normal. Mine can feel like lead if I stand more than 20 minutes. Basically I stand for awhile and move around until the stiffness and heaviness starts and then I sit for awhile. I'm getting very tired of WAITING.
Hope your recovery goes quickly for you. BTW, I opted for one knee at a time, so I have the second one to look forward to in Spring... what joy 
Posted by chaplainbabs (chaplainbabs), 3 January 2005
Islandgirl2,
So sorry you are having such an awful time of it. One thing I did find was that standing was harder than wolking. I am very grateful for my PT and OS and their understanding of pain. My PT said not to use any weights until I could do the entire routine I have with no discomfort, and then add no more than one pound of weight - I've been using wrist weights, since those were lighter.
Hope you will be able to move slowly forward now; don't go too fast. I don't understand these "macho" PT types; I think they can do damage rather than help!
I also had lots of advice from the son of friends who is an athletic trainer at a university nearby, and he deals with young folks with injured knees all the time. His advice was much the same, don't fail to exercise, but only go as fast as your body tells you to.
Good luck to you!
Posted by tonid (tonid), 4 January 2005
Islandgirl2,
Well, I was hoping to hear that it would be way better by 6 weeks! I had my stitches removed today, and had to follow up with my OS's partner, what a jerk. When I asked what exactly had been done, because I didn't remember the conversation, and my husband isn't sure either, he just said, "ya know, I don't know. I wasn't there and can't tell just by the puncture sites". Never mind he had the op report on the front of the chart.
I'm glad that I am a medical person, I marched down to medical records and asked for a copy. I will go back tomorrow and find out myself. He then proceeded to tell me that all I needed to worry about was "PT, like crazy". Well if that doesn't fill you with tons of confidence for a quick and full recovery! So now I go back and see my guy in 4 weeks, and I guess I will keep with the PT. At least I am driving with no problem am doing ok back at work.
Babs, I think you're right, standing is harder, for a long period of time, and walking a little helps, but I keep feeling like me knees are going to buckle.
I guess I should quit trying to rush this and take it one day at a time.
I am glad to have found this site and so many friendly people willing to share their experiences and well wishes.
Islandgirl2, I hope you can slowly start to heal, I am so glad I did them both at one time. It may take a while, but I don't know if I could do it again, knowing what I know now. Hang in there!!
Posted by islandgirl2 (islandgirl2), 5 January 2005
Thanks guys, but the thing is that the OS made it sound like I should have been walking without any problems by the time I saw him on the 21st. When I told him of my discomfort and that my legs felt like led, he didn't respond. He is a weird type of person and my husband noticed that right off. He's very short (no offense to some of you guys, but he has the short man's syndrome), and does not like to be questioned!
Anyway, with PT the idiot started me off with more weights than I could handle. The last day I saw him (PT #6) he had me up to 7 1/2 lbs! I could barely raise the leg. He also wanted me to do 5 sets of 30 raises with those weights. I couldn't budge for two days afterwards. I'm all for slowly but surely workouts.
Now I have 1 lb and 2 1/2 lb weights and I'm going to start with just 1 lb and work up SLOWLY. I overdid it the other day and ended up resting again. I was trying to increase my ROM and did exactly what the PT said to do, and the number of times per day and that was too much 
I HAVE ZERO faith in the medical profession and in particular with doctors. Will see if I can get to another OS though I'm thinking they would want me to see the fool that did the surgery.
Posted by tonid (tonid), 5 January 2005
Your PT is totally different than mine.
I did the quad sets and 3 different types of straight leg raises, and the stationary bike for 15 minutes. No weights used AT ALL.
As a matter of fact, my ROM for rt. knee was 123 and 130 for left. She thinks after 1 more week, I'm done.
I wonder why the difference in therapies? Mine is definately kinder.
Maybe you should find a different PT??
I am so sorry this has been so difficult for you, that would drive me crazy too!!!
Posted by chaplainbabs (chaplainbabs), 6 January 2005
tonid - you wrote:
I wonder why the difference in therapies? Mine is definately kinder.
I am of the opinion, having posted on a couple of questions/threads, that where one is may make a difference. I started PT slowly, no weights, and now I am 4 wks post-op and just started with 1#, and only for leg raises, nothing else. I have several static and stretching exercises, bike with no resistance, and still the e-stim. My PT is going to ask for 8 more visits, I had eight to start with, including the eval pre-op. We shall see!
Today my borrowed car with automatic died on my on the highway - not a freeway, thank goodness. I had to get my own car back, and I can feel the stress and ache from having to use the clutch. Think I might just go back to the frozen peas tonight before bed.
I have also used an arnica gel on my knee, relieves pain and helps resolve swelling and bruising. I showed it to my PT and she thought it looked like a good product.
Hope things get better, day by day, for everyone. I am back to the school-work grind as of this past Monday.
Peace, Babs
Posted by bwalling (bwalling), 6 January 2005
Your OS has probably made decisions about your care based on the combination of his/her regular patient demographics, your age and activity level, and his/her impression of how your body and mind will react to the surgery. Not all doctors are good judges of a person's character.
I have had no PT at all, and have been relatively free to do as I please post op. My basic instructions were to do as much as I could, but stop if it hurts. Now, my OS spent 13 years working for our local NFL (American football) team, several years working for our pro baseball team, and has treated a number of prominent athletes in other sports. I'm 28 and play soccer competitively and several other sports casually. My OS feels I will return to sports next week (my surgery was last week). While I feel my recovery is going very well (yesterday was the first day that I didn't have any pain or limitations in movement), I think a return to sports next week would be ridiculous (it could just be that I'm afraid).
I'm not stating all of this to attempt to brag about my recovery or my good fortune to be near a good OS. I'm just trying to illustrate my original point about a doctor's experience and a patient's circumstances.
Posted by chaplainbabs (chaplainbabs), 6 January 2005
You are exactly right, bwalling, it is a good OS who knows - or learns about - his/her patient. Mine worked in concert with my primary, who knows me well, and I also had the support from my young friend, the athletic trainer at a university nearby.
Because of the knee, I had had NO real exercise for over six months, and I am considerably older than you. I do know that my OS requires the pre-op eval, and I also know that my insurance covers all the PT. I do live in an area with very good medical care (San Diego), but I agree that the area in which one lives makes a difference. DIfferent areas develop defferent models of care, in every arena of healthcare. Having worked in healthcare for 48 years, all over the US and in a few places outside the US, I am well aware of those geographic differences.
Again, it is a good caregiver who takes the time to listen to and know the patient. It sounds as if both you and I have been blessed to have that level of care.
Peace, Babs
Posted by blackbeltgirl (blackbeltgirl), 6 January 2005
islandgirl - get a new doctor, and a new therapist, immediately!!!! Get a copy of all records and films, and make the move, even if it costs a little more. You only get 1 set of knees, they are easily damaged, and not so easily fixed. After 4 weeks of doing exercises at home, when i started formal pt they had me use 2lb. weights, and sets of 10 instead of 15. My instructions for home use are to increase weight by 1/2 lb. when a set of 15 becomes easy. 7.5 lb. weights were INSANE!!!!!! I don't care where you live.
Good luck with the medical care, recovery, etc.
Posted by chaplainbabs (chaplainbabs), 7 January 2005
blackbelt girl,
Good call, I thought that was what islandgirl was saying, but when I re-read her post, she wasn't real clear about a new OS.
islandgirl,
Best of luck to you, but only you can make the call. Gut level thinking is often our best guide.
Peace, Babs
Updated Fri Aug 29 2008