I had ACL reconstruction on Jan 8th, Patella tendon graph and about 1/3rd of my meniscus removed. I waited a couple years to have the ACL repaired which caused the meniscus damage, so I wish I had done it right away.
The most important thing is icing it and doing what your physical therapist says. I used a gameready machine which was priceless for the few days after surgery. Ice it as much as you can without developing frostbite. Usually 30 minutes on 30 off.
The graph actually gives me more trouble then the new ACL, I kind of wished I had done a cadaver graph, that would have probably been a much easier rehab. Although you run a chance of rejection which would totally suck but if your body accepts the new tissue fine using the cadaver would be a much much easier surgery. I only had 3 tiny holes from the ACL reconstruction but a 2-3" scar from cutting a chunk out of my Patella tendon.
I think I over-trained doing some squats and leg extensions after my rehab, If I had to do it over I'd primarily only do lunges to build strength, they have very low amount of stress on the knee and force you to not cheat or else you'd fall over. I'd do more biking and elliptical.
The pain really wasn't too bad, I only took some narcotics the first day, not since I needed them but just because I thought I was supposed too. You can get very constipated from surgery/narcotics so watch out for that. I loaded up on Ibuprofen. You can take a good ~15 Ibuprofen a day, it's fine for the short term although after a few months I would try to get off it. Watch out for stomach issues I never had any but some people develop ulcers from Ibuprofen. Ice is the best anti-inflammatory, Ibuprofen is second best.
Currently I've been working more on total body fitness, including stretching and Yoga. I was in bad shape trying to resume playing basketball when I tore my ACL, I had bad strength, flexibility, and form in my hips and ankles which put stress on my knee. I've found a lot of success in my current rehab working on those issues.
