Had a 5 month checkup with my surgeon today. Was the exact same as the last visit. X-rays and then 5 minutes with the doc saying everything looks fine. Had me stand and face the wall so he could look at my alignment but that's it. Didn't manipulate my leg or anything. Really think these guys are just interested in the surgery and then passing the buck. I told him I was still having quite a bit of pain if I walk long distances or am on it a lot. His response was to offer me a few samples of a pain killing patch (called the Flector patch which I apply directly where it hurts). He suggested that I see my internist for pain medicine as he will not see me again for a few months. I did mention that I feel as if my recovery has stalled and he said it's perfectly normal. Said there will be ups and downs for the next 6 months. He asked if I still felt the osteotomy was not necessary and I told him yes. He still feels it was the right thing to do as it will help my ankle and comfort levels years down the road. He said if I continue to have problems in a few months or so, we may want to consider taking out the screws. Sweet. Lastly, I mentioned that I am still having quite a bit of pain along the entire lateral side of my foot. He asked if it is still partially numb and it is. He said the pain/numbness is due to the nerve regenerating/settling and will slowly return to normal. The one positive thing he said is that I have made tremendous progress since the last time I saw him 6 or 8 weeks ago. I guess I need to remind myself to be patient.
I did do quite a bit of travelling the last few weeks. At one point I was on a very rocky beach and I wore some water shoes so I could swim. It was definitely challenging but my leg handled it well. I was sore the next day but not too bad. On a different day where I drove for 6 hours, my foot did swell but within reason. I did spend all day Saturday walking around the city. My leg swelled up a bit but nothing too severe.
It's been a while since I've posted pics. Here you can see how my leg looks after 5 months. This is as good as it gets. I usually have a fair amount of swelling around my achilles. The colors of my scars are constantly changing as well. One thing I do want to mention is that when I was uploading the below pics, I did look at my old pics from before. It was a definitely a good reminder of the progress I've made!
First pic is the lateral side of my foot. You can see the scar from the modified brostrom repair on top and the scar from where he went in to do the osteotomy on the bottom. The second pic shows the scar from where he put in the screws. The last pic shows the dent in the back of my calf muscle and the scar from the gastroc recession on the front.
First ? is in the third picture are you standing up on your toes? If so, that is great! I think I've noted this to you before, but the distance and terrain you are able to walk on are so encouraging to me. I am still so far away from uneven terrain or even going for a walk. I started PT this week and I'm super excited about that. I was telling my pt that it seems like the surgeon expected me to be able to just walk after three months in a cast or boot. In the first pic, it does look like you still have some swelling on your ankle bone. I have a huge round ankle bone right now. I also have a burning pain on the outside of my foot. PT said that there is a perrenial nerve that runs along there and may or may not completely heal. Hang in there. I'm very familiar with the pain!
ReplyDeleteand I agree, your foot looks like a whole different foot than from your previous pics. :)
No, my weight is all on my other leg. I can almost go up on my toes only using my bad leg. Still don't quite have the calf strength.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what the surgery was on your calf, but that on top of the foot surgery is huge. I learned on Sat. that I have a staff infection. The sore is on my arm. I guess the immune system really weakens with surgery. I can almost walk around a store now without limping.
ReplyDeleteKeep going. You are doing amazing. (at least in comparison to me and you had much more done)
Nice legs James!
ReplyDeleteDamn, this is fascinating in a horrible way. You are describing everything that I fear, really. I am still determined to go ahead with my surgery because it's the only way I can address my foot issues, all conservative measures having failed. But it's like I have to wrap my head around the fact that this is what the future *could* hold for me. I have heard stuff about numbness in the lateral side of the foot before, and small toes. seems like that would be weird and annoying, but I could deal with that, I feel, in terms of cost/benefit, as long as there's no burning (I know, easy for me to say).
I *am* concerned about pain from screws. I am concerned about being blown off if I end up in pain. I am expecting that it would take up to a year for things to become even remotely "normal", which is difficult to conceive of considering that two feet are involved. My surgery would be the same as yours minus the bostrom procedure. I"m not sure what that is yet. If it's any comfort, which it probably isn't, I'm pre-surgery and I can't imagine spending a whole day walking around the city. Once a fortnight I have to try and walk for about an hour to do grocery shopping, and at this point that is an insane task of fever-pitch pain. You're way more active at this point in the recovery period (now a number of months ago) than I am at this point prior to surgery, which is interesting.
My feet aren't swelling though, and having seen your later posts, I know that your pain actually gets worse. As far as I can tell, the kind of pain I'm in now, and the pain after surgery, are very different kinds of pain. Eh.
Best, K