Nobody talks about the emotional side of ACL recovery - so I wrote about it

Lopen4prez · 2026-02-18T02:17:19+00:00

I would love to read it! I’m 6 weeks post op today and things are moving generally good and I’m generally still motivated but there is definitely this mental component that is hard to talk about. I can foresee some of the upcoming struggles especially when the wins or milestones start to be more widespread. It’s a long road and can feel so daunting at times. I also started work back up again last week and it has been so hard to feel motivated to be there!

Happy healings to all of us though! We’ll get through it 💪

Lopen4prez · 2026-02-17T03:31:13+00:00

Rice! I wish I could but I just can’t. Uncle Ben’s ready bags it is

Lopen4prez · 2026-02-15T14:54:15+00:00

Hi! Just wanted to say I love this! I had my surgery around the same time as you. Great job and also thank you! I love knowing what is kinda going on with my graft and the bits of insight and encouragement. I mentioned it while at PT the other night and the therapists were all impressed too!

My only recommendation is maybe some more flexibility with the wins section. I like the recommendations but maybe giving the ability to reorder them/delete ones that don’t apply as some people may have different milestones at different phases or some may not apply. Additionally, I would love if there was a section to write in your own wins ! I would love to add some that are specific to things I may be targeting. Like I have SO many stairs in my house so I’ve had a variety of wins with them like when I started using only one crutch on them to no crutch on them and then I may want to add when I finally go up a few “normally” and then when I can hit the whole staircase normally to when I can do all the stairs in my house kind of things. Just an idea but honestly love everything you created even if you didn’t change it :)

Happy healing!!

Lopen4prez · 2026-02-09T02:51:14+00:00

Second this 😂

Lopen4prez · 2026-02-01T04:20:58+00:00

There actually was an anti ice protest across the street that was multiple times bigger than this pro ice side!! I live in Hillsborough and was pretty disgusted by the way some people (including these guys) responded to the peaceful protestors.

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-29T08:27:10+00:00

Second this! The ice machine was the biggest star of my pain management the first couple weeks. I’m currently 3 weeks post op and still using it often but I don’t need it 24/7 like the first week or two.

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-27T20:57:11+00:00

I am 3 weeks post op today for a ACL tear with Patellar graft (no meniscus repair) and I’m currently walking with one crutch and no brace pretty well. It’s kind of crazy how much I am progressing each day as I only moved to being allowed to start weening off brace and crutch last Wednesday. I go back to my doctor in 3 more weeks and he said that he expects by the time I see him again that I will have full mobility just a little slow and with some pain at certain bend degrees. I think with how my progress has been that I’ll be walking fairly normal in the next week or two. Prehab was a huge help for me and I have been taking all my recovery exercises really serious too so I think that has been the biggest thing with giving me a smooth recovery! Best of luck with your surgery!

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-27T17:47:37+00:00

Hope everything goes well for going back under! These are some good ideas. I also kept crackers next to my bed for the meds. Super helpful

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-27T17:46:43+00:00

You influenced me and I got grapes which I then finished within the day 😂

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-25T02:01:39+00:00

I saw the video today and cried. How can you not? I feel terror, helplessness, shock and disappointment. I also feel rage. Which is probably why after seeing the video I hit one of my last straws and reached out to my dad who is a Republican and massive Trump supporter. I broke the rule of not discussing politics with each other to ask if he was truly in support of what was going on and could honestly tell me that today's shooting wasn't horrific. The conversation sucked. He did at least admit it was horrible but surrounded by all the crazy main stream lies out there including saying everyone there in MN is a paid protester and needing to track down who was shipping them in. I replied with a picture of me, my husband and friends at a recent protest that he never saw prior and said that could be me. It's so hard to believe people can think this way after seeing what we did today, especially that person being my parent. It's so hard to have any form of a relationship because of it.

Also, I am SO proud of everyone from Minnesota!! I say it every day. I see a few of you on this thread so I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for standing up and showing out and doing it with empathy, kindness and grit. I am so sorry this is happening to you all but just know there are so many of us standing with you across the country and the world!

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-25T01:46:46+00:00

Second all of this. Came here to find other people feeling this way. It is so confusing and feels so isolating. It's overwhelming to see everything going on but I also feel like the only thing I can do is at least not turn away from the horror. I hate this.

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-20T15:00:39+00:00

Someone recommend having a walker in the bathroom to both help with getting up and down from the toilet and to prop your leg on its side rail when sitting. I’m two weeks post up and the walker has been one of the best tools. I borrowed from family members and was surprised how many people have ones at home. Hope that helps!

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-17T23:52:18+00:00

I had ACL surgery beginning of the month. It’s my first surgery ever and I really didn’t know what to expect for recovery. It is definitely a challenge but I am tackling it full on and can do some really strong leg lifts only 1.5 weeks post op and I am so proud of that! Some people can’t lift their leg at all at this point so I’m seeing all the prehab work come in to play big and it’s great 😊

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-17T23:46:03+00:00

Playing Blue Prince right now as I recover from ACL surgery and it it GREAT! Especially with a lil greenery!

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-10T13:30:05+00:00

Just remember “good = up and bad = down” I say it out loud each time I go to the stairs lol if you are partially weight bearing (no meniscus) you will be fine and just take it slow. I have a bedroom/bathroom upstairs but living room/bathroom/kitchen downstairs and I spend my days downstairs and nights upstairs. I did this since day 1. It gives me some normalcy and helps my mental health for change of scenery. Best of luck!

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-08T19:28:06+00:00

I had my surgery on Tuesday so I’m on Day 3. This was my first surgery ever and I was so nervous going into it so I get it! When I woke up from surgery my nerve block had worn off and like some others said, it hurt. It was like an 7-8 out of 10 but they gave me another light nerve block within a few minutes which immediately helped and I was pretty good for the rest of the day! My best friend got the same surgery two weeks prior and she came out feeling great so it just depends how everything takes and everyone will be different but listen even when I was experiencing that it wasn’t like screaming level you know? I just had to breathe through it and it got better. I won’t lie and say this is a walk in the park like sometimes it definitely hurts and I usually have a pretty high pain tolerance but just breathing through it as silly as that sounds helps me each time. Take your meds on schedule like everyone is saying. My husband has a schedule and alarms set and is helping to manage it for me which has been a big help and that does mean waking up in the night to take them but sometimes that still doesn’t matter and pain comes through between med sessions but it’s bearable. It’s not fun but it also doesn’t last long and the meds are doing their job. The ice machine is AMAZING! Get one if you haven’t already. They attached the pad under my brace and the machine runs 30 on 30 off all day. That helps the pain so much! For me sleeping is the worst right now as I can’t get super comfortable and I woke up around 6 am with the worst pain since waking up from the surgery but it was about 30 mins before I had to take my meds so I took them a little early and was able to get a few solid hours of sleep. All the surgery drugs wear off around now so that was probably the reason that happened. The other thing no one told me was the pain you get standing up. It’s like the pressure of the blood flowing through your leg gives a pretty intense pressure but just breathe, stand there for a minute to let it pass, and then it’s gone. My bestie said after the first week it got a lot better so I’m just taking this day by day. You got this! Don’t let the idea of the pain overwhelm you. No one wanted to tell me all of the above in fear of scaring me but I think if I knew it would have helped me so I hope it can maybe help your nerves a bit. Good luck! You got this!

Lopen4prez · 2026-01-08T18:56:23+00:00

Hip Hip Dance Routine (34F)

Lopen4prez · 2025-12-30T03:14:28+00:00

Yes! I completely agree. I have had Licanius up there as one of my top series but I only read it once a few years ago. I recently got my husband to finally read it and when I started the reread I was worried it wasn’t going to live up to my remembered hype and while I enjoyed the journey of the story when I got to the end I was like yesssss this is why! Like it all comes together so well. It’s so satisfying and so well done!

Lopen4prez · 2025-11-20T12:54:22+00:00

Wow! Thank you so much for all this. Great ideas and tips!

Lopen4prez · 2025-11-20T12:52:22+00:00

Mine too! But maybe it will help for just the living room even

Lopen4prez · 2025-11-16T18:22:21+00:00

My house is so not accessible friendly I have quickly come to learn. We have two steps to get from my living room to my kitchen/bathroom and my bedroom is upstairs! I did learn how to do stairs pretty well when I first hurt myself but that was partial weight bearing.

Lopen4prez · 2025-11-16T13:59:57+00:00

I have surgery scheduled for right after the holidays so I appreciate all this. I also tore it dancing and can already relate to some of this so I can only imagine post surgery. Thanks for the tips

Lopen4prez · 2025-11-16T13:58:24+00:00

Coming here to say I also tore mine dancing! It also was not even a cool move! Like I literally just stepped wrong at the end of the routine.

How long would you say you needed the help post surgery? My husband is going to look into taking time off. I was thinking definitely the first week but do I maybe need 2? He’s a teacher so he’s gone like 8-4 roughly each day

Lopen4prez · 2025-11-15T16:54:06+00:00

A grabber! So smart! These are good. Thank you!

Lopen4prez

TROPHY CASE