Never had it but I wish you a speedy recovery.

Also, this seems like a pretty good time to be recovering from surgery for a few months. ;)

Yes, there could be worse times since everything is paused. I wanted to get this done a few months ago but non essential surgeries were banned. Luckily they just lifted that restriction in Virginia as of May 10th. One thing I can say as of day 2 of recovery. I am going to make sure I am doing everything I can to reinforce my joints with tendon and muscle strength and flexibility. I do not think it would have helped prevent this tear but I now appreciate maintenance. It is humbling to struggle to make it to the bathroom on crutches.

Thanks!

Also why I'm hopeful I can still manage to get the tattoo I have booked in mid-June, as it's a great time for recovery and not having to walk much. I can't make the one I had booked in Norway for early June, but the other one is a tattooist within the UK, so might be good to go. Private studio in her house that doesn't take walk ins, so as long as I can get there on the train ok, I'm fairly hopeful to make it.

If tattooists open up before BJJ in the UK (they are already open in Norway, possibly elsewhere too), then I can try bumping up another one I had planned, we'll see (as that's in a bigger studio with multiple artists with a high street store front, so less likely).

It is the perfect time for that as well. It is as if everyone promised to not get any better while you recovered. Although, the people who are at home drilling every day with a bag or a partner will have a good edge when we restart.

My jiu jitsu is shit anyway, so no worries on that score. :P

I had the opposite last year. They thought they could go in and sew mine, but when they got in there the tear was in a white zone which won't heal, so they removed the damage.

The best thing you can do is to stay off it and let it heal. Keep it iced during recovery and make them give you the physical therapy you need. CBD can help with pain and inflammation.

Netflix and chill man. That's all you can do. Keep your weight off it and let it heal. The good news is that sewing it up and letting it heal is a better long term fix than trimming and removing the damage like they did for mine. I would ask your doctor about and kind of joint supplement they recommend too.

I had a bi-lateral menisectomy on my right knee a few years back. It didnt help me one iota. Wish I wouldve not even had it done. I cant speak for the repair myself but history is not great for the repairs it seems. I wish you the best of luck and make sure to keep that joint moving, do all your PT, etc.

Getting meniscus resewn means you really have to wait, like really. Everyone I know who went down that path ended up tearing it again (sample set of 3 people), so really wait until you're 100%. Probably not what u wanted to hear I know but at least you'll delay arthritis but not having it cut off.

Also stationary bike for me was the best rehab.

Deepu,
Thanks, not what I want to hear but it is what it is. How long do you think? 6 months? I heard it was 3-6 months.

Jonathan,
I am feeling regret now since I used to be able to walk and now I am stuck in bed. However, I was hosed. I rolled last week and it locks up for no reason at all. Anytime my foot is locked in place my knee would lock and be in pain. So, I was hosed either way.

Harley,
What is a joint supplement? You mean like fish oil? What was your healing time? My instructions were to put weight on it but I stopped because it hurts and I read up on how you should not do that for a repair.

Thanks all!

They prepped me for a repair and said i would basically be down for 6 weeks non-weight bearing, and then 4-6 months to fully heal.

There are tons of joint supplements, ask your doctor if they recommend anything specific like glucosamine and condroiton or something else.

I was totally functional before surgery, but I was having problems when i would have my knee bent and if I twisted my foot out it would feel like my knee was dislocating, and it would lock up. They told me in the end that I had a flap of meniscus that would flip over and jamb the joint. If it happened rolling, I would have to stop and force my leg straight to reset it. I also was not able to close my guard because when someone would put pressure on my knee to break the guard it would start to do the lockup thing.

I ended up getting the bad section removed. For about the first 8-12 weeks after I honestly thought I had made a mistake letting them do surgery. Then I finally started seeing results and now I am glad I had it. I don't get the lockup problem anymore, but I still can't keep my guard closed if I get alot of pressure on that knee. I feel it pulling weird and I let guard go. That isn't a huge deal, I am more of a top game guy anyway.

I started doing light work in the BJJ gym at about 6-8 weeks in, but didn't start full go stuff until I was about 3 months post surgery. My coach was super cool and let me do what I wanted and could and didn't try to force me to do things I didn't want to and did not let me participate even when I was only part speed. He let me do my thing and I got back into. He knows I know myself well though. I played alot of sports and know how to be smart with my body.

Your surgery was different though, you have to let that repair heal. I had nothing left to heal other then the surgery part of it and letting the knee get stable again.

CBD was my friend, and still is. It helps alot with inflammation and pain for me. I take the non-THC stuff because I get tested at work, but both topical creams and internal drops help me when I need some relief and don't want to use ibuprofen or Tylenol. I also took alot of tumeric for supplementation. My wife had rheumatoid arthritis and tumeric is one of the most beneficial for her joints.

I had my surgery last April for reference. I wasn't happy with the decision until about July or August. My knee will never be 100% from the damage I did, but it is as good as it can be now and is better then before I had it for sure. I did my first competition in early March right before Covid broke out and my knee wasn't an issue at all. Cardio was a problem, not my knee.

I don't want to depress you, but those timelines for regular people to get back to walking about without pain or "feeling" the knee.
They aren't a timeline for full recovery, they certainly don't consider jiu jitsu as normal activity.

I had a partial menisectomy exactly a year ago. I was walking comfortably in a month. But it was 3 months before I was comfortable drilling, and another 3 before I was comfortable rolling proper, and another 3 before I competed again. And the repair is a longer recovery, and high failure rate in sports.

And note that this is with a meniscectomy. 6 months minimum imo.

That is all great advice. I will take it slow. I wish it was shorter but I can minimize the recovery time by only doing this once. Thanks!

I'm about to have a meniscus repaired and cyst solved in 2 weeks, looks like I'm gonna be taking it slow and listening carefully to my physio ☹

I was back full roll in about 4 months live but smart. That said I am much larger then most people so it isn't quite as taxing on my body because most of my team members are 100+lbs lighter than me except for out Lead instructor and a handful of other people, and I am not afraid to tap to not get hurt.