Knee arthroscopy at Christmas

[Summersoul]

I am due to have knee arthroscopy on 22nd December....for those of you who have had them...how long til I feel human after the GA? Have already sorted Christmas at Mils but am I likely to still be in pain and feel groggy on Christmas day? 🎄

I have one on Friday next week hopefully so I can let you know!

But from what I understand it's a pretty short procedure so a relatively light GA. Personally I'm expecting to be recovered from the GA by the next day. No idea abou the actual knee though!

It’s usually a day case procedure and if you’re having GA it will involve short acting drugs. It can often be done with just spinal anaesthetic if you’re really worried (but that may make discharge from hospital a bit slower).

Yes I've heard it's a short procedure too. Please will you let me know how it goes hope it goes well

How are you feeling today? Hope it all went well yesterday x

I had one 2 weeks ago. I felt absolutely fine after the GA and wanted to go home straightaway. Obviously everyone reacts differently.

It's knocked me about since though. It's harder than you realise only having 30 degree movement in your leg! Also didn't expect the brace to be quite so massive.

If you have morphine... consider taking a laxative alongside...

I had one years ago - the GA wears off after 24 hours but I was on light duties for a week after. DCs were small so I didn’t work & i think they said a week off work.
They shaved a bit of the meniscus - had a bandage for a week.

Hey thanks for the message! Not too bad thanks. I had fentanyl after the procedure whjch combined with the anaesthetic made me quite sick for a bit. But managed to escape the hospital before 9pm when they stop discharging people. Procedure was around 1.45/2pm. I was in recovery by about 3.15/3.30.

no brace, shaved some bits off and melted some cracks together I think. Compression bandage for 24 hours. 2 crutches for 2 days then one crutch for 2-3 days but weight bearing from the start. Exercises to do from today, and advised tk ice several times a day once the compression bandage comes off in the next hour or so.

so in terms of ga recovery could be really quick or if you’re like me and a puker maybe a few hours. I struggled to maintain my heart rate and blood pressure which didn’t help. But that’s just the way I am with ga.

Slept really well last night been on the sofa today. Paracetamol so far, avoided the codeine.

advice was the first week usually isn’t too bad for pain until week 2 when you start doing more. Certainly mine hurts down into the calf and thigh if I stand to brush teeth etc. and if I bend it obviously hurts. But they like you to get it moving fairly quickly.

im probably rambling so I’ll be quiet for now!!

Glad you are ok x did they give you anti sickness meds x

@Summersoul yes you get anti sickness meds but there's a ladder like with pain relief. You have to try them all before you get one that works. Different people react differently to ga and some people unfortunately just vomit whether you get anti sickness or not. It's just the way they react to GA

I did in recovery and at the ward I had anti sickness tablets. Then I was sick and had the injection which helped. They also did an anaesthetic procedure called tiva which is supposed to help but I’ve always been really sick after a general. Just sensitive to it I suppose!

pain wise my leg is cramping now so I’m taking the paracetamol and ibru regukarly but loathe to use the codeine just yet.

Hey how are you feeling? Is your pain any better?

Hey :) It's not - the knee itself is loads better. I can bend it (carefully), fully weight bear although I'm still using one crutch for stability most of the time, but I can potter to the loo without it etc. I am mostly sleeping through, but I can't lay on my right side still without the leg pain (left leg was done). I've been able to empty the dishwasher, put washing on, do a few bits and pieces. I can now just about stand up from a seat/toilet without pushing up with my arms on something which I'm unreasonably proud about.

But the pain in my leg is intense - not in the fat bit of my calf muscle itself but into that thin bit of your calf above your ankle, and my thigh. I can only imagine it's a nerve that has been tweaked or something. Para & Ibru are controlling it, still haven't touched the codeine, but I am a bit worried about it. Doesn't seem like a DVT - it's not really in the muscle and it's that tooth achey nervey pain (I've also had spinal surgery so I'm familiar with it :( ). I guess it could also be because I'm now moving the knee a bit differently and leg when I walk, so maybe that's aggravating something.

In terms of regime (if it helps)... I have some gentle exercises to do 3 times/day, and advised to ice it 5-6 times/day for 20 mins at a time. I'm doing that and it hasn't really swelled up. Surgeon said the shock of the procedure can deactivate the muscles that support the knee, and you lose 25% muscle capacity within 4 weeks. So the initial exercises are designed to try to keep those muscles activated. Then I see my own physio next Wednesday and we start rehab.

Also - get something called a Limbo from Amazon - like a plastic sleeve with neoprene ends you put over your knee, fits nicely, waterproof, easy to have a shower rather than messing about with clingfilm, plastic bags, tape etc.

I'm feeling a lot less sick and weird now too - maybe the GA and/or the Fentanyl took a bit longer to get out of my system. I've had 6 GAs in my life and I don't remember any of the others being this tricky. But the last one was >10 years ago so I'm older now - maybe that's it !

Big step backwards today - don't panic and it shouldn't happen to you, but if you get cramping pain in your calf, speak to the doctor !

I went to A&E last night because mine was getting worse and I was a bit paranoid about a DVT and it turns out that's exactly what it was. It's really unusual, I don't have any risk factors really - I'm not grossly overweight (healthy BMI), I don't smoke etc. etc., and I started getting pain the day after the surgery, so not exactly immobile for days or weeks.

It's really rare I think, but just be aware !

Sitting in A&E for 8 hours before seeing anybody wasn't much fun and ironically a bad thing for a DVT to sit on a chair still for that long! Took me 15 hours end to end to get diagnosed and get some medication etc. Feeling really quite sorry for myself now.

(PS no usual other DVT symptoms - no swelling, heat, redness etc., just a cold foot on/off, slightly tingly toes and vice like pain in my calf that was worsening - I only scored 1 on the measure they use to assess you. The only reason they investigated and did blood test etc is because I had a superficial venal clot 3 years ago with no real symptoms other than an odd feeling).

Recovery will depend on what they do / are planning to do.

In theory, you can do a look-only arthroscopy under local anaesthetic, although with MRI scans, there's virtually no point.

Recovery ranges from a week or two with a simply meniscectomy, all the way up 6-9 months with an arthroscopic ACL reconstruction.

Some treatments such as microfracture or mensiceal repair require you to be non weight-bearing for 4-6 weeks.

I'd speak to you surgeon to find out what they're actually expecting to find / do.

Oh no that's awful x thank goodness you went and got checked out. I actually have a blood clothing disorder so will be on anticoagulants after x
I hope you start getting some relief now xx

Thank you! The pain is excruciating ! I’ve been sobbing! Hopefully it will start to ease.

Hey how are you doing? Have you managed to get any relief x

Hey it has thank goodness. I had an injection of blood thinners, and I'm now on Rivaroxaban, and it's obviously having an effect because the pain is completely manageable now. The downside of that is I can now feel the knee pain - ha! The knee is sore but also manageable.

I'm miserable and pretty down in the dumps, but that's temporary I keep telling myself.

Knee wise - def get a Limbo so you can shower easily, and if your surgery is like mine (shaving/melting as opposed to micro fractures etc.), I'm pretty much crutches free - just using them on stairs and to get in / out of the car, and up/down from the floor when I do my exercises - but how much of that is because of the knee pain and how much the DVT pain I'm not sure. I'd say give yourself a couple of days to get over the GA fully and expect to feel a bit wobbly emotionally and physically. Just all depends how you react to it, what pain relief you get etc. Knee wise I've just been using paracetamol and I was on ibuprofen until the blood thinners (incompatible). Didn't need the codeine they sent me home with (until the DVT anyway!)

I would say though, it's my left knee and I drive an automatic - I'm not sure I'd be driving yet if it was my right knee.

I'm also finding I can't 'drive for more than about 20 mins without things starting to hurt - but again I'm not sure if that's knee or DVT pain.

Thanks for checking in :).

Sorry being lazy and saying blood thinners - I mean anti-coagulants of course!

I had my op about 9am and home eating tea at 5pm. No problems at all other that mobility problems and crutches. You will be fine by Christmas

Thank goodness you have turned a corner xx

Thanks x I've never had GA so I just hope il be ok x

@Summersoul - 2 weeks tomorrow, I'm off crutches (can get up off the floor and in/out of the car without now). Not sure I could drive if it was my right leg (it's my left and my car's an auto) and squeezing out of the door in a parking space is tricky, but doing stairs etc. Coming down is harder - one step at a time mostly and using the banister.

But generally ok !

DVT pain much better too. Physio has upped the exercises - doing one legged planks to get the muscles working in that leg, and wants me to do gentle cycling on a turbo / indoor bike, but I need to check with the anti-coagulant clinic first.

When are you booked in for ?

Thats great news you definitely sound on the road to recovery.
Im booked in on 22nd ... how long have they signed you off work for? My consultant said 3 weeks but my physio thinks longer 🙄