Anyone recovering from surgery? Looking for support.

aedfit

Hello. I am almost 2-weeks post-op from reconstructive knee surgery. I have been on crutches and in a knee immobilizer since February 3rd. I'm really struggling with diet and exercise. I used to be very active and it has now been over two monthls since I exercised. I will be in recovery mode for about 6 months.

I'm looking for others out there like myself to share support and tips. Thanks! ~Amy

kcdrake

I've had knee reconstruction myself!
I wasn't a fitness buff when I had it done, though, so believe me - fitness was not on my mind when I was going through post-op! One thing that really threw me off was that my quad atrophied in those two weeks of immobilization, and the type of surgery I had made it really painful to use my quad for about a month and a half.
Food was also not a big priority for me because the medicine I was on made me nauseous so I was just struggling to keep food down at first.

Since you are already trying to get healthy, I'd say just stick to your guidelines that MFP gives you. You might be able to talk to your doctor to see if you should be eating more of something to help you heal more quickly (I don't know if your body is burning calories healing itself or what). I'd say skip out on the exercising until you're well enough to do it. Your physical therapist should give you some exercises to help you get strength and mobility back. I had to ride an exercise bike, do a lotttt of stretching, climb a stair master (worst. pain. everrrrr. ...but I think it was because of how weak my quad had become at that point ~2.5/3 months post-op), do squats, and leg presses. Granted, I didn't do this all at first (I could barely bend my leg... i had to learn how to pick my foot off the ground before all this could happen) but at the end I was doing all of these exercises.
I would say keep track of the exercises your physical therapist starts to give you. Obviously you'll be doing them at home, not just the doctor's. If you have an HRM, you could wear it while doing these exercises. Also, if there is any data on walking with crutches you could input that.

I'd worry about healing up before you worry about doing any major workouts. Listen to your body and do what feels right. If you have any questions, your doctor and physical therapist should be able to help you out.

Feel free to message me with any questions about the healing process or physical therapy. I'm not a doctor, but I have some first hand experience and can offer support.

hopeitworks

I haven't had surgery yet, but will be having arthroscopic surgery on my knee for a torn meniscus (possibly 2 tears) on April 27. My biggest concern is gaining weight while not being able to exercise. I'm not sure what the recovery period will be and won't know until after the surgery. I wish you a speedy, healthy recovery.

aedfit

kcdrake ~ What kind of surgery did you have? Full replacement? I had my MPFL replaced as well as a scope for fissures. I start PT on Tuesday so I'm hoping they'll give me some good exercises that might get my heart rate up a bit. My quad has no muscle left. It's awful right now. How long ago did you have surgery?

hopeitworks ~ I had arthoscopic surgery in 2003 for a meniscus tear and I walked out of surgery. The recovery time was really fast. The hardest part for me was the meds they put me on. Not to be gross but make sure you take something like Colace or Senekot if they prescribe you with pain killers like oxycodone or hydrocodone. I'm taking Dilaudid now which is a pretty heavy duty med. They definitely mess with your stomach. Good luck to you! I bet you'll do great!

hallswan

Hi,

I didn't have a knee op - but I had my the tendon in my ankle repaired in January - and I have only been able to exercise properly in the last 4/5 weeks.

PT will be good - hopefully they will put you in the pool rather than land training whilst you start to fully weight bear. I couldn't walk when my cast came off, and I was on crutches for about 6/7 weeks after - but what I could do is swim! It was great - no pressure on the body - and basically you start to get the heart rate up - I still use swimming as one of my regular workouts as if I do too much land training - elliptical/running/bike - I find that I have difficulty walking or carrying on normal life - so I use it to interchange.

As time goes on, you will be able to do more and more -as kcdrake said - listen to your body and you will be right as reign - to be honest in the initial days, I focused on training how to eat and what is the most filling with a restricted calorie intake.

Good luck with PT - it is hard in the beginning - but really rewarding when you start to see progress

kcdrake

I didn't have a knee replacement, but it was a reconstruction. I stretched my meniscus (the thing that helps hold your kneecap in place) and it was damaged so badly that they couldn't just snip it back to the right length. They had to remove it and took a section of my quad and stretched it so that now my quad is holding my kneecap in place.

My surgery was in January of 2008. I was in physical therapy for about 4 months but had to keep doing physical therapy exercises for a few months after. I didn't get my full range of motion back until almost a year later.

You'll probably be surprised at how something simple really makes you struggle. I had to use my good leg as a model of how to move and tighten muscles. And don't push yourself too fast. My knee buckled on me a couple of times and it was *not* a fun experience...