thank you so much for your reply! it really helps to know that others are going thru the same thing cuz a lot of people just don't get it, and i can't blame them, but it's tough putting on a happy face for people when they ask everyday how you're doing and all you really wanna do is yell and say horrible! this site really is comforting...thanks again...

This is skypenny, originator of this post and now  3 years post- op ACL. The last few comments have been amazing - I agree and want to re-emphasize  -take your time; take baby steps; have faith in yourself.  Appreciate being forced to slow down (understatement.) .  You will look back at this as a turning point if you use your rehab time right  - and you will build up all kinds of muscles you never knew you had.  You will cultivate compassion for peole who have issues with movement.  You will become patient. You will heal.  I remember sitting on the subway one day, right after I got out of the brace but was still on the cane and looking at the woman across from me- her knees and legs were perfectly matched. I felt so blue - my knee always hurt, I limped, my legs would never match again - one was like a stick with freckles on it, and my  scar was so ugly.  WRONG. Pain subsided over time (completely); scar faded (can barely see it) and legs match perfectly again.  Many of  you are much much younger than some of us (I was 49 when I had surgery - 2 docs (fatsos !!!) wouldn't even consider me as a patient because I was too "old." Huh  ???I ran 4 marathons in my mid- forties !!  (I found an athlete doc.) You young'uns will heal fast. Me - honestly it took three years until I had no residual pain in my hip or my leg - but it kept getting better and better and it is ALL behind me now.  My PY stretche

s are part of my work out routine. And this  weekend I biked 17 miles; ran 7 miles (on pavement) and swam a mile and a half.   I could have done more but I wanted to watch the Red Sox.  You'll get there - in baby steps. Time flies.

Hi Everyone:

Been reading through all the touching stories. WOW...  thank you all for writing such details and inspirational reports. Some of you sound sooooo very quick to bounce back.:) 

I'm at the very edge of going through with the surgery I think.  I haven't gotten a complete diagnosis yet, which is frustrating, but I think I'm headed toward a meniscus/ACL surgery.  I have been through a lot in my life and WAS busy recovering from a long illness (years).  I never let it get me down because I knew the whole time, I would get my running back. Just as I was getting really well again feeling like my normal self, things took a turn for the worse...when one injury begot the next. Now... I find myself in this unthinkable position.  

I'm pretty sure that the twisting event happened six months ago, and that left me with the patellar subluxation, meniscus tear...and lax ACL.  The MRI only shows a mild sprain with the ACL...but since the knee is unstable, I have to keep looking for a doc to take it seriously. I have chronic sharp pains that foster swelling in my joint line.  Both legs are injured and the ankle is injured. I've got to somehow climb out of this mess.  It looks so daunting...and I keep trying to unwind how it all happened...looking for an exit door.

Thanks for letting me post...

~S:)

Could the shin pain be related to tightness in your calf and hamstring muscles? It's not uncommon for persons who've had ACL surgery to have some difficulty with that.  Another possibility is that your biomechanics have changed due to the altered strength profile post-operatively.  Are you wearing the same shoes you were before?  Perhaps a different shoe is in order?  It might be worthwhile to get a gait analysis done either by your therapist or perhaps you've got access to a technical running shoe store that has people there that can watch you run and see if the shoes you're wearing are correct? 

Just some food for thought, Janet

Treat the cause, not just the symptoms.... http://www.runningstrong.com

Congrats Dave!! That's awesome.

I've been doing great as well. I set a new half marathon PR in October, and am getting ready to run another one in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping to do a full marathon in october. After my half my knee did go kind of nuts, and I actually went to the surgeon after a few weeks of physio to make sure it was not my ACL or meniscus. She said she was pretty confident it was ITB friction syndrome (also what my physio said), which was great news by comparison. I do find if I run outside the side of my knee gets kinda sore but I am anything but religious about icing afterwards. The surgeon said my ACL was perfect and my knee did not test positive for anything to do with meniscus so with that relief I have been running like I've never ran before.

Hope everyone else is enjoying similar success!

~B

I had the dreaded triad back in 2000. I was in an ankle to hip brace for 6 months and then a smaller calf to just above the knee brace for another year. It was almost 2 years to the date that I could finally run pain free. I still prefer running on softer stuff. Tried running on a dirt/gravel bike and hike path only to have my knee swell and be sore for 3 days.  Good luck. Oh, I am 50 yrs old by the way. The story may be different for younger people.

I had a complete ACL repair back in 1/04 using part of my patella tendon and well as medial meniscus repair due to a basketball injury.  I had followup surgery in 4/05 to remove scar tissue that was hindering complete movement.  In July 07 I was able to complete 60 miles of walking over 3 days as part of the 3 Day Walk for breast cancer.  Last year I started running again and though I was never much of a long distance runner, started to train for a half marathon.  Since then I have completed 2 half marathons and a number of 5Ks.  So far this year I've completed a couple of 5Ks and am currently training for a sprint triathlon and the Marine Corps Marathon.  Recovery was a slow and painful process but I had a great ortho and PT.  Neither one is overly crazy about my running but my PT (I try to keep in touch with him), has wished me the best of luck with the first full marathon.  I hope this never happens to anyone who has never gone through this but if you have, don't give up hope. Oh I almost forgot, I continue to play basketball (at times) and an avid alpine skier (again).

Just trashing some old e-mails, and I came across a post notification from this thread.

I am now 3 years!! post-op. CRAZY.

My knee is phenomenal, and I am in the best shape of my life. I took up triathlon last year, and did my first half ironman in June.

Check out my blog -- http://legalb.wordpress.com if you are in need of some post-ACL repair motivation. This thread was very helpful to me during some dark times. ACL repair is scary, and there are a lot of horror stories. But like others here have said, most outcomes are positive.

I truly hope everyone is doing well, keeping active, and strengthening their knees