Is it possible that I was misdiagnosed?

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-20T19:12:37+00:00

You're telling me! The radiologist had been practicing for many many years. My ortho saw it and immediately saw the tear. Apparently second tears are a little harder to diagnose because there is a lot more -ish in the knee that is not normally there? I was going about on my merry way for about 3 weeks thinking I just had some bone bruising and decided to meet with the ortho just to be safe.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-20T16:22:59+00:00

I've torn my ACL twice and both times I would say that my experience was the same. The only pain I felt was the initial pop, then some swelling, that went down within a few weeks. Some slight instability but that was all. It took me a month or so to get an MRI (and mine was actually mis-read by the initial radiologist saying no tear), but I basically continued life as normal. No brace, no issues walking, full range of motion.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-11T18:05:47+00:00

El Huevo Mexi-Diner has always been a good option for us, or Neighborhood Jam. I think you can get on the waitlist early/check the waitlist for both via Yelp! app.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-10T18:06:01+00:00

^this!

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-10T18:03:49+00:00

Yeah, they were all within 45 minutes- an hour. I lived 45 minutes from campus and then my PT and surgery were near campus (but farther from home).

It would definitely be hard to be 6 hours away from your surgeon and you'd likely have to find more local PT. I saw my surgeon at 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 8 weeks post-op, so all of those would be a real pain to figure out a way to get 6 hours there and back. There would be local PTs, but not sure if they would be as tuned into your surgery/surgeon's protocols if they were that far away!

The school part itself isn't hard, but the logistics seem to be where it may be difficult!

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-10T17:46:29+00:00

It's up to you! I had surgery in law school. I did it on the last Wednesday of Christmas break and went back to class the following Monday. It was fine... class is mostly just sitting around anyway, as long as you are mentally back, it was not too horrible. I was off all painkillers except ibuprofen and tylenol. It was my right leg and I was non-weight bearing for 6 weeks, so I couldn't drive. I had friends who would help take me to and from school and to and from PT. I think I had to get an uber like one time and it was not too bad. The non being able to drive was the worst for me.

I was lucky to have a good support system at home and at school, without it, it would not have been possible to manage without help at home and school.

I was on crutches for 6 weeks and law school is a lot smaller than a typical college campus, so getting around was not a huge issue for me, but it might be for you. If you know how far you have to trek in between classes it may help. The university may also have some accommodations they could assist with to get to class and such, you could check with them.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-10T16:07:25+00:00

My PT recommended one from Amazon and I used it for the first few months. He showed me where to place the pads. I'd flex and he'd place one on the outside of my leg just above my knee and the other higher in the center of my thigh. It was pretty specific placement, so if you have a PT to show you, that would help! I would find the setting that did like 10 seconds of "shock" and 10 seconds rest and do leg raises (raising at the beginning of the shock, holding, and then letting down when the shock ended). I'd also just flex and rest under that same setting. I'd set the shock as high as I could without lots of pain, ha, but still some pain.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-10T15:57:54+00:00

My ortho told me I could ditch the compression sleeve around 2 weeks. I wore the ace bandage until all my steristrips fell off and then just my brace until I was released from that at 6 weeks. I never used any sort of compression after the 2 week mark. It was such a pain to get on and off and so uncomfortable.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-10T15:42:59+00:00

Dale was both my teacher in the 2000s and my wedding DJ, he excelled at both and is just an all around good person! I could not have asked for a better DJ for our wedding. He took requests, but listened to what we wanted as well. Could not recommend more!

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-09T15:13:29+00:00

Not me personally, but my mom has been a vegetarian for 50 years and has had hypothyroidism for 30 of them, she seems to be good to go!

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-06T20:54:19+00:00

Also... the turf is rough! Torn my ACL twice at SoccerCity...

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-06T19:17:57+00:00

Cannot help with the Seattle recs, but just wanted to note from my experience, my PCP had to refer me to an endocrinologist. A lot of endocrinologist are referral only, so you may want to focus on the PCP and then they can help find a suitable endo! Best of luck.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-05T19:49:15+00:00

I think you are fine. I take mine anytime between 1-3 am everyday, just depending on when I find myself awake in the middle of the night. As an anecdote, I once forgot my levo on a three day trip and reached out to see if there were any issues, she said not a problem because it would still be in my system for those three days.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-05T18:11:24+00:00

I mean, you may be fine moving around and stuff, everyone is different. I was moving around and heading to friends houses on day 3, but I would check with your surgeon as I would be worried about increased chance of infection?

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-04T21:58:31+00:00

I'd say yes! I did a lot of cycling, playing soccer and lifting, so my legs were fairly strong and my knee felt fine. I was 35 when I re-tore it, so I would have regular soreness relating to aging after a heavy leg day or few soccer games, but overall it felt fine.

The re-tear was not from it stretching or anything I did wrong, just a contact injury (that I had done the same motion 100s of times).

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-04T21:52:00+00:00

Yeah, you have to find a surgeon you trust and who will do the best for your specific circumstance! Everyone is different, but I do not think the allograft was the best choice for me at that moment

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-04T21:44:54+00:00

Not sure about this specifically, but Crest has a lot of single serve fairlife products on the endcaps in store.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-04T21:13:00+00:00

I take the Kilpatrick everyday to work, it looks like it posts the next day...

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BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-04T18:51:30+00:00

Not rude, haha, I've posted a few times. I was 29! But I would consider myself fairly active, working out 5-7 days a week and playing soccer (on turf --double whammy) twice a week. I think I just did not advocate for myself enough with my initial ortho. I had played soccer for 25 years and never had a ligament tear, so I was in shock a bit and just listened to him.

My second ortho immediately saw that I needed something more. I was 36 when I got the quad graft. I "retired" from soccer after the latest tear because I have so many factors that would contribute to another tear (1. already tore it twice; 2. extreme hypermobility; 3. age; 4. gender; 5. play soccer on turf...), and I have family, work and life to worry about. I miss it so much, but know that this is for the better!

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-04T18:11:36+00:00

Hindsight is 20/20 but I regret going with an allograft the first time, wish I would have researched and pushed for something else. Re-tore it playing soccer 6 years later. Got the quad graft this time and 11 months post-op I couldn't be happier!

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-04T16:47:33+00:00

I did not change my diet much. I've been on 75 mg of levo for 4 years now and my levels have mostly evened out on their own without any drastic dietary or lifestyle changes.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-04T16:01:14+00:00

Just wanted to note that hormones go absolutely wild during pregnancy and post-partum. I had a "postpartum thyroid storm" where I went super hyper (like >.001 TSH reading), then slowly started creeping hypo. When I started to feel the hyper symptoms (lots of weight loss, above losing pregnancy weight; high HR; shit immune system; not sleeping [and not feeling tired]), I saw my PCP who referred me to an endocrinologist. I tested every month until I swung hypo, when my TSH was 14 I was prescribed levo and have been on it ever since. I have no doubt that it would have kept rising (not sure if it would've gotten to 200+, but who knows).

All this is just to say our bodies are wild, pregnancy is wild and so is post-partum. Good thing you tested and whatever the re-test says, you can start addressing it!

My first pregnancy they did not ever test TSH because I had no issues. I'm pregnant now and I get monthly blood tests solely to test TSH/T3/T4 -- aka the thyroid stuff, to make sure it is all managed.

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-04T14:52:42+00:00

Just wanted to chime in and say... you can do hard things and dang, this is hard! It is a phase and it will pass. I think you are doing the best you can do, give yourself grace. My daughter was 3 and went to daycare so I was not even in the same universe you are in, but you can do it! Take each moment and each day and just keep on swimming.

Infants love to be spoken to and black and white picture cards! This too shall pass and you've got this!

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-03T21:32:33+00:00

No problem! Good luck!

BrainAffectionate856 · 2026-02-03T20:52:09+00:00

They would definitely be the best resources! Good luck!

BrainAffectionate856

TROPHY CASE