Well I'm finally scheduled for acl surgery on Dec 1st here in the Sault, going to talk to the doc tomorrow but figured id get as much info as i can, just a couple of questions.

Am i going to have to stop taking all supplements (multi vitamins) a week before my surgery?

Is it alright to drink alcohol a couple days before my surgery?



I guess that's all i really want to know now, any replies are appreciated

Thanks,

Kris

don't know about the multi-vitamins. i don't take them. i take glucosamine and the doc had me lay off it for just a day ahead of time. no alcohol for 24 hours before is good. i hope you've been riding a bicycle to help the range of motion. the more range of motion and strength going in will help speed the recovery process.

is it just acl, and cartilage i assume, or did you do other ligaments as well?
good luck. don't worry. it's not that bad. ask for dilaudid for the pain. way better than percocet or vicodin.

Thanks man. Just acl, I was on a 5 month waiting list for the surgery(i know, it sucked, lol), been jogging and going on the bicycle alot. Knee is fine other then the occasional give out, just when i go to bend it fully it still feels uneasy but hopefully the surgery fixes that.

yeah that instablility will be gone when they're done. make sure to get after the p.t. as soon as possible. good luck.

I can't believe that you had to wait 5 months to have your surgery. I had my MRI and surgery done in less than 3.5 weeks by Dr. Shelborne out of Indy. I was back racing exactly 3 months later.

Is this the future of US health care...Long waits for common procedures? I wish you well with your recovery, keep us posted.

K B said:

I would think the main consideration is to not take anything that has a blood thinning effect... not a good thing to bleed out on the table... especially if Canadians have to wait 5 months for blood infusions too. kidding

Some supplements such as Ginseng, Ginkgo Balboa, CoQ10 have a blood thinning effect. I don't know if the effect would last a whole week.

If you can't take vitamins before surgery, you'll also have to take it easy on fresh fruits and veggies.

Anyone know how long it takes vits/mineral/herbs to metabolize and negate their effect?

thanks for replies, had my surgery yesterday using my hamstring in the same leg, i know Dr.Mark is against that method, but i gotta say, i have to be in the most pain i've ever been in ever, hurts more then when i actually tore the knee in the first place, they gave me T3's but they weren't cutting it, after a half hour they would wear off and knee would start aching again, got myself some percocets now and im looking forward to taking them, hah. They had a blood excavator thingy attached to my leg also, looks like i had a power pack or something, hah, haven't seen anything like it, but felt weird as hell when they removed it this morning.