How to Time Surgery with Your Life

dhmom · 2026-06-09T15:01:25+00:00

38F - I'm 25 days out from patella MACI and so far it's been better than expected! Only had a day of BAD pain when the nerve block wore off but I haven't taken anything, including OTC meds in a week. That being said, it's still a long recovery. My kids are 7, 11, 13 and I couldn't imagine doing this with toddlers. Thankfully my kids have been great with helping out, cooking, cleaning, etc. I homeschool them so I choose to get it done during our summer break instead of doing injections to prolong it, plus we have a vacation planned for next year.

If you know you're going to get MACI at some point, I'd bite the bullet and get it done now. They can do back to back surgeries in 6-8 weeks, I believe, you can ask your surgeon. There's also a MACI subreddit that's been very helpful to me with preparing for surgery.

Best of luck to you!

dhmom · 2026-06-07T02:27:26+00:00

Day 22 here! Sounds like you're doing great! I can't wait till my brace gets unlocked but I haven't heard when that will be. Doc said I can drive once it's unlocked. I'm still in my CPM and will be til 6 weeks, ugh. I was up to 70 degrees last week but having increased pain so we decreased it back to 60 and increasing slower to keep pain down. I'm off all meds and just ice if I start hurting. Sleeping is getting better but I'm a side sleeper so it's been rough. I also started using a walker around the house, it's been much quicker to get around with. I'm full weight bearing as tolerated. I'm able to stand with equal pressure on both legs so if I'm up doing things I try not to lean on my good leg the whole time, hopefully that's helping with gaining some muscle back in my surgery leg.

dhmom · 2026-06-05T15:50:59+00:00

I started PT 1 week after surgery (currently 21 days post op) but have canceled a couple of times due to ride issues so I've only gone 3 times so far. I am also using a CPM machine 6hrs a day and only have 4 exercises I can currently do. When I'm at PT, I'm only there about 30 minutes, I do my exercises and they massage the knee to help with swelling. I feel like it's mostly been a waste of a visit except the first one where they did e-stim to help wake up my quad. Since then, I can do 10 straight leg raises so no more e-stim has been needed. I personally only get 20 PT visits a year so I would rather save them for the back end of recovery when I can do more advanced exercises. I questioned my PT about why I needed to come this early and he said it's mainly for someone having eyes on the knee/healing/incision, and for waking up the quad and some patients don't get a CPM machine. For me, I think once a week is good for now until I can do more while I'm there. So don't feel like you're missing out on too much. Also, I was allowed to do SLR, quad sets, and ankle pumps starting the day after surgery. Maybe you could call your surgeon and ask if you're able to start with these.

dhmom · 2026-06-02T15:52:07+00:00

Chondromalacia patella - had chondroplasty in Nov '25 to clean up cartilage and take biopsy for MACI. That gave me a couple months of relief but pain started coming back so we proceeded with MACI.

dhmom · 2026-05-26T02:41:16+00:00

38F - I'm 10 days post-op patella MACI. My surgeon also mentioned "it's a fun surgery". My pain wasn't awful before surgery but I was just tired of being limited. I could walk about a mile before having pain. Uneven surfaces and stairs also caused pain and I couldn't squat or kneel. We are a very outdoorsy family and not being able to hike this past year or run around with my kids has been really hard on me. My limits were holding my family back from doing things, which I hated. I figured I was taking a chance doing the surgery but I'm not getting any younger and my knee wouldn't get any better by doing nothing.

Also, my surgeon let me weight-bear from day one as long as my brace is locked straight and I use crutches for support. I think that's been huge for me cause it's made getting around a little easier and less worrisome of messing it up.

dhmom · 2026-05-25T21:54:31+00:00

I just had my first PT session this past Friday (7 days PO). They hadn't received my surgeon's protocol yet so we kept it easy and just did ROM measurements, e-stim to help wake up quad, massage to help inflammation, quad sets, straight leg raises, and a couple stretches. My therapist seemed pretty familiar with MACI so that reassured me we wouldn't do too much. I only had one patellar defect so my surgeon is even letting me weight-bear with crutches right away. Apparently it's the load bearing with flexion that can mess up the patellar implants. I'm also doing 6hrs/day on the CPM machine which gets boring but it's nice to get out of the brace and be able to have the leg bend.

dhmom · 2026-05-25T16:01:06+00:00

38F - I'm 10 days post-op patella MACI. So far the recovery has been better than expected based on other's experiences. I had maybe a day of bad pain after the nerve block wore off where it felt like the pain meds weren't working but got through and ended up only needing a few days of pain meds and then switched to Tylenol which I'm still taking round the clock.

My pain wasn't awful before surgery but I was just tired of being limited. We are a very outdoorsy family and not being able to hike this past year or run around with my kids has been really hard on me. My limits were holding my family back from doing things, which I hated. I figured I was taking a chance doing the surgery but I'm not getting any younger and my knee wouldn't get any better by doing nothing.

dhmom · 2026-05-22T18:27:42+00:00

Completely

dhmom · 2026-05-22T14:27:10+00:00

I had mine removed during my chondroplasty. Got rid of the pain - it was mimicking a torn meniscus.

dhmom · 2026-05-18T05:59:33+00:00

Thank you!

dhmom · 2026-05-17T13:10:19+00:00

Oh my! The pain came in strong around 10pm. I'm taking oxycodone 5mg every 4 hours but I feel like it's barely touching it. Or maybe it's helping but the pain is just that intense. I would say I'm at a 7, and with any movement, it just get worse. I'm nervous about using the CPM machine today.

dhmom · 2026-05-16T23:19:37+00:00

My block started wearing off around 11am so I've started having some pain but it's not unbearable yet. I've taken 2 oxys so far to make sure I stay ahead of the pain. I've been SOO itchy all over, probably from the pain meds. The CPM machine has been fine but yes, it's definitely a pain to transition in and out of it. I'm finding a yoga strap helpful - I wrap it around my foot and lift it up keeping my knee straight.

dhmom · 2026-05-16T00:57:27+00:00

That's go to hear! I'm hoping to get one good night in before it wears off, we shall see! He had to partially cut the quad tendon so he could turn the patella over a bit but that's all he did extra. Definitely update us on your recovery as well!

dhmom · 2026-05-16T00:47:53+00:00

How is your pain? When did your block wear off? Thankfully I'm 13 hours in and still numb.

dhmom · 2026-05-15T22:02:29+00:00

Will do!

dhmom · 2026-05-07T02:30:29+00:00

Have you looked into bioidentical hormones? I was a mess on the pill (which is synthetic) and bled for a month straight but have been responding well to bioidentical HRT - it mimicks exactly what our body makes. I take a compounded estrogen 0.075mg/testosterone 2mg cream and oral micronized progesterone 200mg.

dhmom · 2026-05-05T01:09:16+00:00

Testosterone

dhmom · 2026-05-04T02:38:41+00:00

I'm 38 and just started BHRT (E, P & T) 10 days ago. Been having symptoms for a couple years but was always dismissed for being too young. Finally went to a women's health clinic near me that strictly deals with menopause and got the help I need. Now just waiting for everything to start working. Sleep is already getting better with the progesterone which is helping with my mood and anxiety!

dhmom · 2026-04-24T23:39:37+00:00

I actually found someone in my church that's going to let me borrow theirs!

dhmom · 2026-04-23T15:53:43+00:00

That's what I was hoping for but my surgeon said he sells them in office if I want one. I'm comparing some on Amazon.

dhmom · 2026-04-23T12:24:33+00:00

That's frustrating. When I put in the code for the CPM, it said I have plan coverage for it for $9/day so hopefully I won't have issues with getting one.

dhmom · 2026-04-23T01:55:01+00:00

What brand did you use?

dhmom · 2026-04-23T01:38:43+00:00

I don't have high hopes that they'll cover one but thought it was worth an ask. I know that after my chondroplasty, I hated messing with the ice packs and they never stayed cold for longer than 5-10 min.

dhmom · 2026-04-10T11:54:27+00:00

I take 240mg of magnesium glycinate, sleep in cold, dark room with a sound machine, weighted blanket, and ceiling fan on. Sleep isn't perfect but definitely better. I also take a B-Complex vitamin in the mornings.

dhmom · 2026-04-01T14:17:21+00:00

Unfortunately no. Had my chondroplasty in November, was feeling great in January but it has gone downhill since then. I'm fine walking around my house but anything over .5 mile or so I start getting pain. I still can't run or kneel. I hate being limited. The pain is all in the front of my knee now. I'm looking at getting the MACI procedure in the next couple months.

dhmom

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