Week 1 (11/11/16 Surgery)

The procedure went well.  I was in and out of the facility in about 5 hours.  I was administered a femoral nerve block...I think that helped a lot with the pain immediately following the surgery.    

The first 24 hours were pretty easy as that femoral nerve block they gave me was more than adequate to eliminate the pain. I'll admit it gave me a false sense of hope that it was going to be "easy". 

Day 2 was a reality check. Thankfully I was staying on top of the pain meds so it was bearable...nothing I'd want to go through again. It was also the start of the Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) machine. The doctor requires me to spend 6-8 hours a day in this machine to help break up scar tissue and to promote blood flow for healing. It's not my favorite thing. I did not sleep that well in it that first night. 

Day 3 the CPM machine went a lot better.  I managed to have it going for 5 hours straight and slept through most of it. The pain has been completely tolerable by now.  My Netflix binge has begun.

Day 4 was the last day of the pain meds.  I'm only took Naproxen now to aid in the reduction of the swelling (which wasn't any worse than the selling experienced from the arthroscopic surgeries).  I was able to take off the dressing for the grand revealing and take a shower finally.  The incision was relatively anticlimactic - that was a good thing.  

Day 5 - 7 really didn't bring anything noteworthy.  Just lots of the CPM machine (8-10 hours a day).

Overall I had a really good first week of recovery.  Pain was more than tolerable and the swelling was minimal all things considered.  I followed the advice of someone I connected with who had this procedure done before.  I believe these things are what have allowed me to progress so nicely:

Polar Care Cube - This has been the MVP regarding pain management and swelling.  It provides 4-6 hours of compressed, continuous cold therapy.  I used this essentially 24 hours a day for the first week.

Supplements - Fish oil (2 gms of Omega 3), Glucosamine/Chondroitin/Msm (1500mgs, 1200mgs, 1000 mgs), Turmeric, and Vitamin C (2 gms) for anti-inflammation and collagen restoration.

History

Well...for those of you who don't know I will be having a significant knee surgery today to replace damaged cartilage from a weightlifting accident (yet again supporting why I hate machines and strongly favor free weights). I suffered two cracks in my femoral cartilage - one on the lateral and one on the medial side. The procedure I'll undergo is called Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation, or ACI. It involved a first surgery where a biopsy of my healthy cartilage is taken and sent off to a lab where they reproduce, or clone (sounds like sci-fi huh?) my cells and will be followed up by a second surgery (today) to implant them. It is an extremely intensive rehab that follows, with the hopes of a full recovery anywhere between 12-18 months. The reason I'm making mention of it, and why I may blog about it, is because despite the positive results of this procedure through research, finding other people's actual experiences with it are few and far between. So I'm hoping my experience can be a resource for anyone in the future who wants to gain a better understanding of what to expect throughout the duration of the process. Let the story begin...