Here are some updated pictures.
Friday, April 6, 2012
1 Year + (April 6)
I was making great progress towards walking without the crutches until yesterday afternoon. I was using only one crutch and putting nearly all of my weight on my foot when I felt a horrible pull in the achilles. It dulled down but kept happening every time I would put any weight on my foot. I ended up not putting much weight on it at all today and am hoping it is improved by tomorrow. I am getting a burning pain in my heel that is similar to what I felt after the original osteotomy. It comes and goes and seems to depend on the position of my foot. I did just look and I do have bruising on the back medial portion so that may have something to do with it. I'm still averaging about two doses of meds per day.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
1 Year + (April 3)
The last few days have been up and down. The pain definitely comes every night though and requires meds. I stopped taking the valium on Saturday and switched from Oxy to Norco yesterday. I had the worst night of sleep yet last night and woke up in terrible pain. I had to take more Norco first thing this morning. The worst part about that is the Norco makes it impossible to study or do any type of thinking. I called my doctors office and requested a refill of the Oxy this morning but they are saying they don't want to give me any more. It has only been two weeks since surgery so this is a bit surprising. The nurse said she will check with the on-call doc since everyone else is on vacation.
I did begin transitioning off of the crutches on Sunday and it has not been easy. I'm trying to put more weight on my foot in the boot which results in pain in my heel and achilles. So far, it hasn't been overly miserable but I think that I need to go slow this. I'm also continuing to get pain in the front of my ankle which is very strange.
I did begin transitioning off of the crutches on Sunday and it has not been easy. I'm trying to put more weight on my foot in the boot which results in pain in my heel and achilles. So far, it hasn't been overly miserable but I think that I need to go slow this. I'm also continuing to get pain in the front of my ankle which is very strange.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
1 Year + (March 31)
Got my stitches out yesterday and everything looked great (exact same as pictures posted last weekend). I saw the medical assistant and not the doc. I have to keep wearing the boot 24 hours a day for 1 more week (except for showering) and then I can start taking it off for sleep. Really looking forward to that. Will be in the boot for a total of 6 more weeks but can begin transitioning away from crutches shortly. The MA did say that she will check with the doc to see if I can go without the boot for my interview in 3 weeks. I mentioned that the pain has actually been getting worse, especially at night. She said that is completely normal as things are healing and I'm moving around more. She said to expect to be on and off pain meds for another 4 to 6 weeks.
Although we didn't do much with my foot yesterday, it was the most painful it has been since surgery. I was told to take my meds before the appointment and I am glad I did. I took two oxy at 9:20 and my appointment was at 10:30. The MA used that brilliant magic spray to numb my skin so I didn't even feel her take the stitches out. She then put me in a new Cam walker and I was on my way. Everything was fine until 1 pm when my foot started to hurt. By 1:10, I was in the most pain I have been in yet. Wow, it was bad. Guess the Oxy really had been working and was wearing of. I took another dose and it kicked in about 20 minutes later. Definitely dampened the pain but didn't eliminate it. It was like that all day so I spent the rest of the day on pain meds.
Although we didn't do much with my foot yesterday, it was the most painful it has been since surgery. I was told to take my meds before the appointment and I am glad I did. I took two oxy at 9:20 and my appointment was at 10:30. The MA used that brilliant magic spray to numb my skin so I didn't even feel her take the stitches out. She then put me in a new Cam walker and I was on my way. Everything was fine until 1 pm when my foot started to hurt. By 1:10, I was in the most pain I have been in yet. Wow, it was bad. Guess the Oxy really had been working and was wearing of. I took another dose and it kicked in about 20 minutes later. Definitely dampened the pain but didn't eliminate it. It was like that all day so I spent the rest of the day on pain meds.
Monday, March 26, 2012
1 Year + (March 26)
Well, I have some good news and some bad news. My doctor's office called today to follow-up regarding the potential infection of my foot. After I filled the nurse in on what happened, I was able to ask her some questions about my recovery. The good news is that she was very impressed with how few pain killers I have been taking. She said most people are calling for refills by the second week and the fact that I've been down to as little as one dose a day is really impressive. Now the bad news. Because the doc split my achilles tendon, I have to wear the Cam walker boot for an additional 6 weeks after I get the stitches out Friday. Really bummed about that. I was still under the impression that I was going to be able to transition to a normal shoe shortly after getting the stitches out. Of course, now is the time when potential employers are calling and I may have to wear my gimp boot to an interview which I'm sure wont benefit me in any way. Oh well.
As far as the foot is concerned, I had a rough day yesterday and took a dose of Oxy followed up by 1 Lortab. It seemed to settle things down. My foot still does seem to get very achy at night. Feels like there is a lot of pressure built up inside. So, before I bed I took my valium and 1 Oxy (instead of the full dose of 2). Slept like a baby. I do have phone interviews coming up this week so I'm going to try and go the whole day tomorrow without taking anything. Night time is my biggest concern but I have to give it a shot. I want my head to be as clear as possible.
My boot still smells like the plague. I did order a new liner that I can pick up anytime but I'm going to wait until I get my stitches out Friday so I can fully wash my leg and start out fresh. I just can't be in enclosed spaces too long. Gross.
As far as the foot is concerned, I had a rough day yesterday and took a dose of Oxy followed up by 1 Lortab. It seemed to settle things down. My foot still does seem to get very achy at night. Feels like there is a lot of pressure built up inside. So, before I bed I took my valium and 1 Oxy (instead of the full dose of 2). Slept like a baby. I do have phone interviews coming up this week so I'm going to try and go the whole day tomorrow without taking anything. Night time is my biggest concern but I have to give it a shot. I want my head to be as clear as possible.
My boot still smells like the plague. I did order a new liner that I can pick up anytime but I'm going to wait until I get my stitches out Friday so I can fully wash my leg and start out fresh. I just can't be in enclosed spaces too long. Gross.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
1 Year + (March 24 & 25)
Well, had an interesting 28 hours. I took my meds at 11:30 pm Friday (23rd) and slept through the night without waking up once! Was really pleased. Pain seemed much less all day on Saturday (24th). My little bro came by in the morning and ended up having my leg down for about 30 minutes or so. Pain wasn't bad but I did take some oxy after he left. Overall though, barely any pain all day (compared to before).
Now the crazy part. Yesterday, I noticed that my leg was really beginning to smell. I've worn the CAM boot before during the summer and it does tend to stink a bit after a few weeks but nothing too bad. Well, last night it really smelled. Then today, it was even worse. I'm talking 10 times worse than really bad foot odor. Someone mentioned that I should check my leg as the smell could be indicative of an infection. I'm not supposed to remove the cam boot and especially not the ace wrap and gauze. I did take off the boot and noticed some dried blood and a bit of a fluid outline on the ace wrap. And the smell.....was even worse. I wrote on the Healthboards forum asking for advice and a nurse said I should call my doctors office as they will have an after hours service. I called, gave my info, and was told a doc will call me within 30 minutes. The on-call doc was one of the partners but he sounded either drunk or like he had just woken up. It was only 9:30 or so. Anyway, he told me to either take off the dressings and visually inspect the wounds or go directly to the ER. If I inspect them myself, I need to be able to rewrap them. Well, I don't have the supplies or anything. I decided to wait a bit and asked the nurse on the forum and she said she recommends not screwing around and going to the ER. A few other people also recommended the same. I decided to take off the ace wrap and there was quite a bit of dried blood on the gauze and some yellow staining. Once again, it smelled horrible. I tried to look and see the wounds but the gauze was stuck and I was very nervous. I decided that I better just go get it checked out.
Got to the hospital at 12:30, was triaged and in a room at 12:35, saw the doc at 12:38, and was out of there by 1:20. I love this town! Anyway, when the nurse first came in, she said "wow, that smells like a really bad infection". Crap, not what I wanted to hear. Doc then unwrapped everything and my wounds looked great! Not even any staining on the skin! Such a relief. They said the smell is from all the fluids that had been collected in the gauze and ace wrap. I asked if I did the right thing by coming in and they said absolutely. If it had been an infection, it could get really nasty really fast, especially because of the screw removal.
For anyone that has the same worries, here is what the nurse told (which I searched all over the internet but couldn't find). The primary indicator of infection is red or aggravated area around the wound. The next is any drainage. Third is fever and last is odor. Everything I found online gave each symptom the same weight. Oh well.
So, here are pics of my foot. Pretty sweet. Only 8 days out from surgery! Can't believe how big the incision is over my achilles. The pic of the lateral side isn't that much different than the one from last year when they did the osteotomy. I do have to like that there isn't all the crusted nasty blood on them like last year.
Now the crazy part. Yesterday, I noticed that my leg was really beginning to smell. I've worn the CAM boot before during the summer and it does tend to stink a bit after a few weeks but nothing too bad. Well, last night it really smelled. Then today, it was even worse. I'm talking 10 times worse than really bad foot odor. Someone mentioned that I should check my leg as the smell could be indicative of an infection. I'm not supposed to remove the cam boot and especially not the ace wrap and gauze. I did take off the boot and noticed some dried blood and a bit of a fluid outline on the ace wrap. And the smell.....was even worse. I wrote on the Healthboards forum asking for advice and a nurse said I should call my doctors office as they will have an after hours service. I called, gave my info, and was told a doc will call me within 30 minutes. The on-call doc was one of the partners but he sounded either drunk or like he had just woken up. It was only 9:30 or so. Anyway, he told me to either take off the dressings and visually inspect the wounds or go directly to the ER. If I inspect them myself, I need to be able to rewrap them. Well, I don't have the supplies or anything. I decided to wait a bit and asked the nurse on the forum and she said she recommends not screwing around and going to the ER. A few other people also recommended the same. I decided to take off the ace wrap and there was quite a bit of dried blood on the gauze and some yellow staining. Once again, it smelled horrible. I tried to look and see the wounds but the gauze was stuck and I was very nervous. I decided that I better just go get it checked out.
Got to the hospital at 12:30, was triaged and in a room at 12:35, saw the doc at 12:38, and was out of there by 1:20. I love this town! Anyway, when the nurse first came in, she said "wow, that smells like a really bad infection". Crap, not what I wanted to hear. Doc then unwrapped everything and my wounds looked great! Not even any staining on the skin! Such a relief. They said the smell is from all the fluids that had been collected in the gauze and ace wrap. I asked if I did the right thing by coming in and they said absolutely. If it had been an infection, it could get really nasty really fast, especially because of the screw removal.
For anyone that has the same worries, here is what the nurse told (which I searched all over the internet but couldn't find). The primary indicator of infection is red or aggravated area around the wound. The next is any drainage. Third is fever and last is odor. Everything I found online gave each symptom the same weight. Oh well.
So, here are pics of my foot. Pretty sweet. Only 8 days out from surgery! Can't believe how big the incision is over my achilles. The pic of the lateral side isn't that much different than the one from last year when they did the osteotomy. I do have to like that there isn't all the crusted nasty blood on them like last year.
Friday, March 23, 2012
1 Year + (March 23)
(have added update after surgical report)
It turns out that my simple screw removal procedure turned into a more complex operation. I wondered why the doc sent me home with 80 oxy, 40 norco, and 25 valium. I just got the surgical report and now I know why.
Here are excerpts from the report:
Preoperative Diagnosis:
1. Left insertional Achilles tendonitis
2. Painful retained hardware, left calcaneus
3. Haglund's deformity, left calcaneus
4. Painful prominent ridge, left lateral calcaneus status post lateral slide osteotomy
Postoperative Diagnosis:
Same
Procedures:
1. Debridement of Achilles tendon
2. Removal of hardware from left calcaneous
3. Excision of left retrocalcaneal bursa
4. Excision of Haglund's deformity, left calcaneus
5. Removal of prominent ridge left lateral calcaneal tuberosity through separate incision
Technique (highlights only)
1. Achilles was cut in half and debrided
2. Screws were removed
3. Inflamed bursa was visualized and removed
4. Haglund's deformity was resected and the __ most portion of the tuberosity was smoothed down to a good bleeding calcaneous bone
5. The ___ portion of the calcaneus was then smoothed out with a bur obtaining a smooth surface and removing Haglund's deformity completely.
6. Incision was made over lateral tuberosity of the calcaneus along previous incision and carried down to bone. An inch of bone at the level of the previous lateral collateral osteotomy was removed and smoothed.
7. The two halves of the Achilles were sewn back together.
8. Skin was closed
Postoperative plan
Partial weight bearing in CAM walker and crutches for two weeks. Sutures removed and then 6 weeks in CAM walker.
Here is the actual report, not sure if it will be hard to read. I had to convert it in order to hide names and such.
It turns out that my simple screw removal procedure turned into a more complex operation. I wondered why the doc sent me home with 80 oxy, 40 norco, and 25 valium. I just got the surgical report and now I know why.
Here are excerpts from the report:
Preoperative Diagnosis:
1. Left insertional Achilles tendonitis
2. Painful retained hardware, left calcaneus
3. Haglund's deformity, left calcaneus
4. Painful prominent ridge, left lateral calcaneus status post lateral slide osteotomy
Postoperative Diagnosis:
Same
Procedures:
1. Debridement of Achilles tendon
2. Removal of hardware from left calcaneous
3. Excision of left retrocalcaneal bursa
4. Excision of Haglund's deformity, left calcaneus
5. Removal of prominent ridge left lateral calcaneal tuberosity through separate incision
Technique (highlights only)
1. Achilles was cut in half and debrided
2. Screws were removed
3. Inflamed bursa was visualized and removed
4. Haglund's deformity was resected and the __ most portion of the tuberosity was smoothed down to a good bleeding calcaneous bone
5. The ___ portion of the calcaneus was then smoothed out with a bur obtaining a smooth surface and removing Haglund's deformity completely.
6. Incision was made over lateral tuberosity of the calcaneus along previous incision and carried down to bone. An inch of bone at the level of the previous lateral collateral osteotomy was removed and smoothed.
7. The two halves of the Achilles were sewn back together.
8. Skin was closed
Postoperative plan
Partial weight bearing in CAM walker and crutches for two weeks. Sutures removed and then 6 weeks in CAM walker.
Here is the actual report, not sure if it will be hard to read. I had to convert it in order to hide names and such.
Update:
I had a pretty good day and have definitely been cutting down on the meds. It has been a week since the procedure so I figure it's important to start getting back to normal. I'm taking less than half of what I was originally.
I decided it was time to bathe today and set up my bath tub like I did after the surgery 1 year ago. It's a basic shower/tub with a curtain. I have a pad/grip that suctions to the bottom of the tub that helps to keep me from slipping and also makes it more comfortable. I fill the tub about 1/3 of the way and then get im with my bad leg hanging out. I use a towel on the side of the tub as a cushion for my leg. Everything went fine and I got out and dried off after. About 30 minutes later, my leg started to hurt. Not a big deal and I elevated and iced as usual. I took one norco instead of the oxy. It seemed to work pretty well. About 4 hours later, I got in bed and my foot is really sore. Feel a lot of pressure and overall ache. It also stings were the stitches are. First time that has happened. I just took 2 oxy and a valium in hopes that it will get under control quickly so I can go to sleep. This is the first time I've let the pain get ahead of me and I don't like it.
I did some research regarding the procedure my doc did. I'll post my findings and thoughts tomorrow. Pretty interesting.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
1 Year (March 21)
Wow, it has been one year since my original surgery. Hard to believe. Definitely one of the worst years of my life on many different levels.
So, got home last night and everything was fine. I was pretty loaded up on the meds from the hospital and took a Lortab when I got home so I wasn't in much pain. I decided to try sitting on the couch to start out. I had my foot up and was icing so everything was fine. Except, I started getting really loopy again. I really don't like the feeling. I equate to it seeing someone that is really really drunk and you can tell that they want to stay awake but keep passing out. That's me on the meds. I finally gave up and got in bed. It's amazing how much less stress there is in the hospital just from knowing someone is there to take care of you, bring you meds, and help you if you need it. Anyway, I put together my pill schedule which called for me to be up every couple of hours for medicine. I didn't set an alarm and just figured my body will tell me when it's time. The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous so I had my windows open and the fan on (March in Michigan!). I had a few water bottles next to the bed as well as some snacks for the middle of the night. I used the yellow pillow wedge thing that the hospital gave me to prop my leg on and also packed a few pillows in next to it so I can sleep on my side. I took Oxy at about 9:40 and was asleep by 10. I woke up at 1:30 to pee and took my Lortab and Diazepam. Slept until about 4:30 and got up to pee, took more Oxy. I slept until 7, took my Lortab and went back to sleep until 8:30. I got up, grabbed a piece of raisin toast for my stomach and took a diazepam. Relaxed in bed and took my aspirin at 9. Overall, not a bad morning.
I got out of bed a little bit ago to fill up my water bottle and mix up the stool softener thing. Was on my feet for about 5 minutes. Back in bed now with my leg propped up and it's pretty sore and throbbing. I just took two more Oxy, hope I don't turn into a noodle again.
I have to say it again, having a med schedule written out next to the bed is a life saver. It's very hard to keep track of when the meds have been taken. The one thing that I may do is get a small flash light to keep by my bed so I don't have to put on the big light in the middle of the night to see which meds are which bottle. I freaked myself out at one point bc I thought I had taken two Diazepam instead of Oxy. That would have been bad.
My foot is aching pretty bad and it feels like there is a lot of pressure from my ankle to my toes. My toes still don't feel normal, they don't have all of the sensation back yet. Almost feels like they are asleep which is dangerous bc if they do go to sleep, I have to go back to the ER.
Will try to post a pic of the yellow wedge pillow thing from the hospital. I definitely recommend getting one.
Here's a pic of the wedge. It really is perfect when you are in the hospital bed and can change the angles of the mattress. For a regular bed, I put a small pillow at the front of it so there is gradual support for my leg. I also put one or two big pillows on either side so that I can sleep on my side with my bad foot on the wedge but my knee hanging off the side but supported by the extra pillows.
So, got home last night and everything was fine. I was pretty loaded up on the meds from the hospital and took a Lortab when I got home so I wasn't in much pain. I decided to try sitting on the couch to start out. I had my foot up and was icing so everything was fine. Except, I started getting really loopy again. I really don't like the feeling. I equate to it seeing someone that is really really drunk and you can tell that they want to stay awake but keep passing out. That's me on the meds. I finally gave up and got in bed. It's amazing how much less stress there is in the hospital just from knowing someone is there to take care of you, bring you meds, and help you if you need it. Anyway, I put together my pill schedule which called for me to be up every couple of hours for medicine. I didn't set an alarm and just figured my body will tell me when it's time. The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous so I had my windows open and the fan on (March in Michigan!). I had a few water bottles next to the bed as well as some snacks for the middle of the night. I used the yellow pillow wedge thing that the hospital gave me to prop my leg on and also packed a few pillows in next to it so I can sleep on my side. I took Oxy at about 9:40 and was asleep by 10. I woke up at 1:30 to pee and took my Lortab and Diazepam. Slept until about 4:30 and got up to pee, took more Oxy. I slept until 7, took my Lortab and went back to sleep until 8:30. I got up, grabbed a piece of raisin toast for my stomach and took a diazepam. Relaxed in bed and took my aspirin at 9. Overall, not a bad morning.
I got out of bed a little bit ago to fill up my water bottle and mix up the stool softener thing. Was on my feet for about 5 minutes. Back in bed now with my leg propped up and it's pretty sore and throbbing. I just took two more Oxy, hope I don't turn into a noodle again.
I have to say it again, having a med schedule written out next to the bed is a life saver. It's very hard to keep track of when the meds have been taken. The one thing that I may do is get a small flash light to keep by my bed so I don't have to put on the big light in the middle of the night to see which meds are which bottle. I freaked myself out at one point bc I thought I had taken two Diazepam instead of Oxy. That would have been bad.
My foot is aching pretty bad and it feels like there is a lot of pressure from my ankle to my toes. My toes still don't feel normal, they don't have all of the sensation back yet. Almost feels like they are asleep which is dangerous bc if they do go to sleep, I have to go back to the ER.
Will try to post a pic of the yellow wedge pillow thing from the hospital. I definitely recommend getting one.
Here's a pic of the wedge. It really is perfect when you are in the hospital bed and can change the angles of the mattress. For a regular bed, I put a small pillow at the front of it so there is gradual support for my leg. I also put one or two big pillows on either side so that I can sleep on my side with my bad foot on the wedge but my knee hanging off the side but supported by the extra pillows.
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