Hello new friends
June 21, 2008 by 1tufchick
Hello out there. I have had problems with my achilles tendons since I was in basic training in the Army 25 years ago. Now I have not “officially” been diagnosed with having tears in them, but all the signs and symptoms are there. I’ve been to the podiatrist who took x-rays and told me I have calcaneal spurs (”Pump “Bumps”), talked me into cortisone injections (OMG, that hurt like HECK!!!), physical therapy with iontophoresis using cortisone, then, later, acetic acid. I kept telling the podiatrist that it feels like somebody has kicked me in the backs of the heels or like a stone bruise. This has been going on for more than 6 months. I have another appointment with him early in July when he will finally refer me to a surgeon. I have worn a night splint for the past 6 months to help relieve the symptoms and excruciating pain.
I’m a home health nurse and I spend several hours on the road, driving from one home to the next, and when I get out of the car, it’s very hard for me to walk. I get shooting and stabbing pains in my heels even when I don’t move my feet.
Anything anybody can do to help me figure out what to do next, or what to ask for, by all means, I’m happy to listen!
It’s nice to meet ya’ll!
I would insist on an MRI - you may have tendonosis and only an MRI can determine how severe. There are surgical treatments for tendonosis but I understand that they are not always effective. Disclaimer - I am not a doctor, just someone who found out he had tendonosis AFTER rupturing the AT…
Good luck!
Ed
I agree w Ed. I had an MRI and an xray done. They dont really know the full extent of the injury until they open you up my doc said. My MRI showed a 8 cm tear but when they sliced me it was discovered that it was a complete rupture…ugh. Doc said I was on the OR table for almost 2 hours…I guess thats a long time, who knows.
Good luck
Yes, I agree that you are 1tufchick!
We are about the same age (I’m 48) and your problems make mine seem much less - esp. when you say that you must have the other foot done as well.
Time to get a great stack of books and DVD’s and enjoy a lot of time thinking!
Much as I enjoy a rather quiet and “intellectual” life in my normal time off, I found that this enforced weeks-long time to think drove me mad; couldn’t even enjoy the endless reading time, as I would normally with days off work.
I’ve concluded, after reading about so many others here at this website, that the pain mentally is overwhelmingly worse than the physical, for most people thrown into bed with foot/leg/ankle operations. The sporty are totally frustrated with the lack of available exercises. The hardworking are frustrated by mandatory sloth. The anxious types become more anxious than ever, because they lose control and become dependent. The lonely become even more lonely. The sad and depressed even more so, etc. The financially stressed become frantic at the imposed time off.
This is one of the first times in people’s lives when they cannot even think about doing what they want to do, even going to the store or visiting a friend. So that is why all of us here could eventually, perhaps one or two, take the material of our own mental suffering and turn it into a novel, a film, a poem.
Yes, folks, the definite film on the ATR patient has yet to be made!
Be sure to inject some humor into the script! And show how much time the person spends on achillesblog. com!
1tufchick-
I feel your pain. FELT your pain actually. I don’t know the medical term, but years and years ago, 7th grade, I’m now 37; I had to quit sports for the rest of the year because of an injury. My basketball coach kept telling me I didn’t know what I was talking about (bastard-lol) and wrapping my ankle. My father kept saying, “It’s a stone bruise” (bastard-lol) WTF is a stone bruise? I’ve yet to find out. Anyway….The doctor took x-rays and determined that the cartilage that attaches the Achilles tendon to the bone was lifting away from the bone. I had to quit all sports for a year. I was devastated. I still to this day remember how bad it hurt. I’ve felt that since my ATR injury. after a couple of my PT appts.
Find a good Orthopedic surgeon, one that specializes in sports injuries.