Dilemma... Need advice from wise folks.

The double cab has more interior space than a corolla... just sayin

 

You hit the nail on the head! That's EXACTLY what I am worried about. However I like to hike, walk, exercise and be active in general, do I stop doing all that too?

I am only 25 years old, in ok shape 180lbs 5' 10" I was in much better shape before my knee started to give out few months back.

To justify switching to AT and lets say prolonging the life of the knee, do I have to stop walking, exercising & hiking as well? My train of thought is that if I can exercise, walk & hike, I should be able to drive MT as well?

For now I gave my girl crash course on driving manual. She is doing good and she took my truck to work yesterday & today. Not so sure about my clutch & rear tires doing good. I told her when she gets completely frustrated and can't get going to rev it up and drop the clutch. She will get going for sure and can't do much damage... 4banger with 3.33 gears & 31's make up for one slow truck....LOL

Tried switching cars with my dad and that turned out to be complete clusterfuck :/ So if she gets too frustrated and can't keep driving my truck we will go car shopping this coming up weekend...

 

To add...I sold an MT car that was tons of fun because of a rotater cuff problem in my right shoulder. The constant use as I shifted gears just aggravated it unecessarily.

Seriously...you are asking questions you should be asking your doctor. Every case is different and he'll discuss options on how to proceed that fit your condition, life style and age.

Oh, and if it came to a choice between surgery to keep a manual transmission and no surgery... I'd dump the truck in a flash (see above). But that's me.

 

I have to get a surgery that's not a question, right now I cannot extend my left leg nor walk...

 

bisdak10 < What he said. Even if it is normal when you get back up and running, the extra stress will over time wear on you. Not just with your driving, but everything, try to reduce the unnecessary use of it (don't baby it), in this case go with the convenience of auto.

 

Don't stop, just take it easy, know your limits when doing these activities. There are two trains of thoughts, that you should use it to its limit to strengthen it, and the other is to use it light duty to help preserve it over time and build it up over time. The facts are that everyone recovers differently, so you will have to test it gradually, push it to the limit, but not over the limit (if that even makes sense).

 

What do you guys think?

If i can get this for 20k out the door after taxes, tags and all that crap would it be decent deal?

LINK --> http://www.cars.com/go/search/detai...kId=20088&rpp=50&feedSegId=28705&aff=national

Truck like that I would be very happy with and wouldn't feel the need to upgrade for long time to come...

 

Are you planning on trading or selling outright? You could probably get more outright, but it is a real hassle.

If you're plan is to trade then be sure to consider his trade deal with the deal for the 'new' one.

 

Trading in. Selling outright is too much of a hassle and if I don't get exactly what I owe I have no money to pay for the difference..

 

A torn meniscus is not that big of a deal I have had both knee's done ( not at the same time ) but I was walking without crutches that day. I did trade in my 97 taco 5 speed for a auto made life alot easier, plus getting a double cab was nice.

 

anytime you go to a reputable sports ortho doc, the goal should be to be able to return to whatever activities you did before. if you played football or ran track, the goal should be that. the surgeon needs to be right, and naturally the higher the goals the more hard work you'll have to put in to get there, but by no means should any knee surgery (with the exception of a terminal thing or a knee replacement) be a reason to stop doing activities and sports, or avoiding driving a manual vehicle. hard work in PT and the gym has great rewards for knees after surgery.

PS - something everyone needs to keep in mind is that if you have knee issues, do not put them off, especially if you have a feeling of "giving out" or instability. the reason is, if you tore you ACL or something, that can be replaced. but waiting increases the risk greatly that you will tear the meniscus too from the instability, something that technically CAN'T be replaced reliably, only trimmed/removed, which eventually heightens the chances that you will wear the articular cartilage which eventually means you might be a candidate for a knee replacement. it just depends on so many factors, and what paths you take, but the main thing with knees is to KEEP THE CARTILAGE healthy and keep it as intact as possible.

knees and shoulders are incredibly complex and should not be ignored when hurt.

OP, best of luck, and don't think this is the end of the world. like i mentioned in my last post, i'm almost 8 months post-op ACL reconstruction and i'm doing everything i did before with the exception of actually playing football because i'm not mentally ready for it.

 

dont use your knee as an excuse to get a new truck. that knee work is very common and everyone gets along perfectly fine afterwards.

fam not fitting in your small truck is reason enough.

 

Get urself a new truck that's what I did I really wanted a manual but my knee said no in the long run u will be happy with ur new truck instead of a used truck .... I luv my new truck

 

Went to random Toyota dealer to explore my options. I owe 15K on my 5lugger. They wanted to give me 10K. I told them I am not insane...lol

Well I will try the dealer I bought my cars from tonight. They have dc long bed for 18K, see what they say... I am not keeping my hopes up. 5K is a lot of money and I am not crazy to roll that over into another loan, that would be the worst decision ever.

 

I know everyone is different, but I'll speak from my experience.

In '82 I had a torn medial meniscus with an arthroscopic repair procedure. In a cast 6+ weeks. New procedure back then.

In '83 re-tore the same meniscus in a different spot and had the conventional arthroscopy to trim out the torn area.

In '84 tore the medial meniscus in the OTHER knee. Had a conventional arthroscopic repair.

All injuries were softball related. I continued to play for 18 years after that, and I have a very physical job that puts strain on my knees daily. I have no pain...no arthritis. I feel great.

I have been taking glucosamine for 15+ years as a joint supplement. I presently take Life Extension Arthromax EVERY day. And no, I don't sell the stuff I just use it.

As I said earlier, every situation is different, but as a young man I wouldn't sacrifice the things I enjoy because I MAY have problems down the road. I would eat right, use supplements and enjoy your life. If you have problems so be it. Get them corrected.

Not trying to fly in the face of medical advice. Just giving you an opinion.

Otherwise, you'll get old (in your mind) before your time.

 

I feel your pain!! I have had both of my knees fixed in last two years! I have had trouble myself since a young age and I would say if you love your truck than keep it, you can heal very quickly and completely in a short time. I was back running 3-5 miles a day in about 4-6 months, so just to drive should be just a few short weeks [4-6]. So good luck!!!

 

I am thinking of getting different truck auto, yet I already miss my little truck

 

I am 50 years old and had my 1st of three orthroscopies in 1991 on right knee. They were all for torn medial meniscus. I had #2 on the left knee in 2007 and the third on my right knee again in May 2010.

The surgery at your age is a piece of cake, no big deal. You will be walking around like normal by the time you go back to get the stitches out. The bike riding etc. they have some people do at physical therapy is much tougher than using the clutch.

The surgery shouldn't play any factor in the trade of your truck, that is a seperate decision based on wants and/or needs.

Just my .02

 

Yeah that's what people are saying, I should be good after the surgery. I got the MRI results and my meniscus is completely torn.

Needs and wants are one thing and getting $5k added on a new loan is NOT worth it... We have the Camry as a family car and that works just fine. We would like to take trips to snow areas few times a year, but that doesn't justify high car payment.

 

Get the knee fixed. I've had that surgery 3 times on two knees. Twice in the left and once in the right. You will be driving about 4 or 5 days after the sugery.