Knee Surgery - Questions Please Help

Hello my name is Diana - I am 50 years old 5'4 360 lbs.  On Weigh****chers lost about 30 so far.

I have a tear in left knee meniscus - I need surgery and afraid!

Has anyone had this Surgery - can you tell me your experience.

Healing time?  I keep hearing the heavier you are its worse.

Your pain level - your experience.

Thanks

Hello - I had this surgery in 2007 after suffering for a year and it was the BEST thing I ever did!  I don't know why I put it off so long.  It is minimally invasive and I was cleared to drive within 2 weeks.  As for pain, it was not much after the first day.  Be sure to follow Dr. orders, take care of yourself, rest that leg as instructed and give it a go.

5'9", 350 lbs at the time, sports injury aggravated by incorrect exercise and weight.  I would do it again. That was my experience and everyone will have a different reaction. 

Hi Diana,

Please do not be afraid. I had a torn meniscus in 2011 and did not know it - but I knew I was in pain. I had just become a business owner in 2010 and so in 2011 I did not have insurance. Also at the time I was traveling with my husband overseas to visit his family for the first time. We saw an orthopedic surgeon while overseas and I had an MRI over there. We paid for the surgery out of pocket because it was so much cheaper - but that's another story! Anyway, the doctor scheduled the surgery for the next day because he said my meniscus was not only torn but flipped on itself. It was frightening for me too especially since I was in a foreign country - not knowing the language and having surgery. I made it through and the next week we went off traveling to another country that was schedule on our trip. I was paranoid so I took crutches but later I found out that I really didn't need them. My knee still felt weird for a few weeks after surgery but I did physical therapy when I came back to the U.S. Also, I should note that I was somewhere around 350lbs when I had my surgery. I was not necessarily in pain, it was just uncomfortable especially when trying to straighten my leg (both before and after surgery). However, with the PT and practice, my leg is much straighter but that comes with the PT and practice of moving it after surgery.

They gave me a blood thinner and an anti-inflammatory (Celebrex) which I got for so cheap over there and when I got a prescription here they wanted $400 for a month's supply - so I never got it refilled. I would say - keep moving - this helps to avoid any possible clots - which you DO NOT want, and ask if they will give you a blood thinner - heavier people who may not move are more susceptible to clots. I made sure that I moved a lot but when I got back to the U.S. (about 2 weeks later), I started physical therapy to build up my muscles which helps me take the pressure off my knee. There are certain exercises that they gave me to do at home which really helped me a lot - look up the clamshell exercise - which you do laying down for hip strength. Apparently if your hips are week you are at a greater risk of hurting your knees. 

I hope this helps and if you have questions for me, I'll be happy to answer them!

Best,

Kristin :)

I've had this surgery 2x. The first they attempted a repair which failed so a few months later they removed it. Pain was gone almost immediately. After the repair surgery I was on crutches for 8 weeks to allow the stitched tissue to heal, but it never did.  After the removal no crutches and it was awesome. I don't remember the pain being horrid. Probably in narcotic pain meds for a couple days then switched to Advil or Tylenol. I also iced my knee 20 min every hour religiously.