March 4th-DAY 3 POST-OP

Today is the third day post-op for me. I left a message on the nurse's answering machine about the pain medication causing me to be itchy. When they called me back it was actually the doctor that called me. I told him about the meds and he is changing me to Lortab 10/500 since I can normally take that without any problems. He told me to continue the Benadryl with every dose of pain medicine and if the itching continues to call back again and he will give me something that doesn't have hydrocodone in it. Pain levels so far today are very low and am able to move around easier than I was. Pain is probably about a 4 today. And I am starting to get bored and ready to go back to school so I know I am on the road to recovery!  

  I finally talked to the doc's office around lunch time So the doc switched me from 1 to 2 Norcos (10/325) every 4 to 6 hours to1-2 Lortabs (10/500) and it has made a huge difference. I am no longer itching all over like I was and am having less nausea and better pain control with the Lortabs. I am very happy with the switch and feel 100% better than I did on the Norcos and glad that I am tolerating it much better. I actually talked to the doctor himself and he said that Norco and Lortab are the same medications but slightly different formulations and some people can tolerate one better than the other.

March 3rd-DAY 2 POST-OP

I actually slept through through the night last night and only woke up to take my scheduled pain meds so the pain wouldn't creep up with a vengance. i am still nauseated though and the Phenergan does not seem to be helping that. I beleive the nausea is probably being caused by the pain meds since they are so strong. If the nausea is not better by in the morning, I will be calling the surgeon to see if he will raise the dose on the Phenergan(only taking the 25 mg tab) and/or change the pain meds to something not as strong the Norco.  I have moved closer to real food though. I had some oatmeal this morning with a bananna and i feel a little queasy but it's not anything I can't handle. I am staying well hydrated and drinking lots of Gatorade and water. I am continuing to ice my knee mainly on the back of the knee. The dressing over the knee is so thick that I can't feel the ice on the front side. There are stitches on the back of my knee over to the side so the ice feels really good on it. The stitches are driving me nuts though beasue they are itching and obviously i can't scratch them. My whole leg is still swollen but not like it was. Pain level is probably about a 5 out of 10. My stomach muscles have been strained by putting all of my weight on the one side since I am not putting weight at on that leg, I feel much better than I did yesterday.

April 2nd-Day 1 POST-OP

I am still in a lot of pain but the meds are helping now.I am still taking Phenergan because I am still nauseated and sticking with clear liquids until the nausea goes away. i have been able to get my pain under control and am continuing to take the pain meds on a strict schedule. I think i have strained my stomach muscles though because they are very sore. I am using the mucsles more since I cant put any weight on my leg. I called the doctor on call for my surgeon to the doc on call and he told me to take 2 benadryl 30 minutes before the pain pills. He said that the Benadryl will make the pain meds and Phenergan work better since my doctor doesnt want me to have anything stronger. if cant get the pain under control that I am to go to the er and get a pain shot. He also had me loosen the ace wrap underneath my brace to relieve some of the pressure from the swelling. So post op meds are a 10 milligram Flexeril every 8 hours, Norco  10/325-every 4 to 6 hours, Benadryl 50 milligrams every 4 to 6 hours, Phenergan 25 milligrams every 6 hours and Ibuprofen  800 milligrams in between doses of Norco and the other meds. Pain was probably an 8 on a 1 to 10 scale all day yesterday

April 1st-Day of surgery

I am home from the hospital. Surgery went well. They did a femoral nerve block right before surgery to help control my post operative pain levels. The damage to my knee was worse than the MRI showed. He did a meniscectomy on the medial meniscus and sutured the lateral meniscus back together. He also did the scheduled ACL reconstruction. I am in a brace from thigh to foot locked in full extension. No weight bearing for 4 weeks and on crutches. i start PT on April 6th w/ my first post-op appointment and dressing change on April 13th. I have at the minimum 6 weeks of PT with 2 to 3 sessions per a week. He gave me really strong pain meds with instructions to take 2 every 4 to 6 hours and 800 milligrams of ibuprofen in between the pain meds and muscle relaxers every 8 hours. Icing for 20 minutes every 4 hours. I also have to take a daily aspirin for 6 weeks to prevent blood clots. I am in a lot of pain even with the Norco, Flexeri, ibuprofen, nerve block and the icing. 

March 31st

Surgery in the morning. I am very nervous and anxious. Can't wait to have it over with. Surgery has been moved up an hour

March 23rd

So I have been going to physical therapy and today was my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. My surgery is scheduled for April 1st. It will be an outpatient surgery and will be having an ACL reconstruction done.

March 8th

Therapy was today. It was hard and very painful but I made it through it. They made me work on bending it since I am unable to do it. It doesn't feel as stiff now