broomfieldbill’s AchillesBlog

reprodusere Evergreen AF1 rekke udødelige sjarm.

Congratulations on getting the cast off!! Hope you are celebrating.

With the second cast could you put weight on it or just after it came off? I’m getting my second cast tomorrow so this just made my day thinking about them cutting of off and being free again. Thanks for the inspiration!

I am already jealous, but congrats on the milestone - I still have a toes down cast on right now (3wks in though) and am one of the non-surgical repairs (partially due to the position of the full tear).

Was your’s a surgical repair or are is it like mine? Just wandering as I was hoping to go straight to boot when I have my review in 11 days time.

Again, congrats on the milestone

The first doctor did a lousy job since your tendon didn’t heal properly. It’s a good thing you asked for a second opinion.

Since you split it front-to-back (cutting down the sides), I think another option you’re going to have is to just wear the back half of it - like a splint - wrapped with the ace bandage. My guess is that you might find that to be a little more comfortable as you get farther along.

I mentioned this split-cast possibility in response to an earlier post of yours, Bill. It’s like a home-made boot — except that orthopedic boots are held closed with NON-elastic Velcro straps, which seems safer and more supportive to me than elastic bandages. (They also have nice padding inside, and sometimes air bladders or other micro-adjustments to make them conform better to your foot.) With elastic bandages, I’d think you’d have to squeeze your foot quite hard to get the kind of reliable support that a normal cast or a boot would provide.

Meanwhile, you’ve got all the other advantages of a boot, including the possibility of doing gentle wiggling and even PT at the appropriate points in your recovery. (Please install the ATR Timeline Widget on this blog so we can all check your schedule easily.) And you can keep your leg clean, and ice it properly, etc., etc. All with great care and caution, of course.

Hi Dlmack…thanks for the suggestion. I’m going to ask my doctor tomorrow about if I will need a boot after getting my cast off the first week of June. If so…I’ll start searching around for one now…:O)

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Hello Eric…indeed..I located just what you were talking about…fiberglass cast rolls made by 3M. After a LOT of searching and calling around we found a medical supply outfit in the city of Pereria which is about 45 minutes from Armenia. Upon arrival…turned out the outfit only had 2 rolls and I needed 4. They called one of their other stores in Bogota and sure enough they had two in stock. I paid for all 4…took the 2 with me and the other two arrived two days later…this last Thursday (4/19)…actually one day earlier than they promised. This was quite a shock to me. Anyway…I have an appointment with my good doctor tomorrow (Tuesday) and he’ll be putting it on then. I’m sure I’ll be the only dude in Armenia…maybe in all of Colombia who is strutting around with a green, fiberglass leg cast! Such a happy ending!!! well…at least I think..scheduled to have this final cast removed the first week of June. :O)

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FK, it sounds crazy slow to me, FWIW. Surgeons who use grafts may tend to throw in an extra week here or there (tho Beckham’s didn’t, IIRC), tho there’s no evidence to show that it helps. I’d stay close to bit.ly/UWOProtocol , because it’s fast and convenient AND produced results that nobody’s beaten, AFAICS.

Dj & dlm, the vast majority of ATR patients — op and non-op both, even with old-fashioned sub-optimal protocols — recover well enough to return to active sports, incl the one that tore the AT (if sports tore it). A significant fraction seems to experience a relatively minor performance deficit (strength &/or ROM). And a small % has bad results, either rerupture or significant “healing long” or bad complications (usu surgical, but not always).

I suspect that quite a few tone down the high-risk explosive activities post-recovery, but many of us don’t. I didn’t, no regrets even after tearing the OTHER one!

I’m about 2wks. post surgery, getting stitches out Friday. Dr. said I had major tendonitis & he did the best he could to save the tendon & the other small tears around it with a graft inside, etc. Whatever that means lol I’m in no pain anymore but I’m just wondering or would like to know if anyone heard of being in a cast for 12wks. then a boot for 2months & then start physical therapy rehab for another 3-6months. DONT THIS SOUND CRAZY??? P.S. The Dr. is very anal & ocd, which means he’s conservative I guess. Thanks for listening! Frankie K.

@ DJ - sorry to make you nervous…I just meant to imply there are people who are beyond needing the boot so maybe they would be willing to give it to bill in Colombia. From what I have read here…it seems there are many people who have gone back to their activities and lead full and very active lives after rehab. I’m only 3 weeks post surgery so I’m very hopeful this is the case!!

You say “recovered”.
Does this injury heal or not? Or am
I going to have to quit most activities and worry about it the rest of my life?

Also, many ATR folks have enjoyed SPLIT casts - basically your plastic casts sliced down the middle and held together with non-stretch Velcro straps. It’s basically a custom-made boot! Not quite as adjustable, but somewhat — and removeable, at least.

BB, there are some good boots (tho not the beloved Vaco) available online for <~$100 +shipping, last I looked. Even some hinged ones (which I slightly prefer).

Also, although plaster casts aren’t made for walking, any cast will “walk” better with some kind of shoe sole (aka a “cast shoe”) strapped to it. They’re cheap if you can find one — or you could kludge one from a dead shoe and some Velcro, &c. It’s also important to add something similar to your OTHER foot/shoe, to keep your bod level and balanced.

Hi there…maybe someone on her who is “recovered” has a lightly used boot that they would be willing to send to you (if you pick up shipping costs). I can imagine many folks would be willing to part with it! Or, maybe try contacting Vacocast directly and explain your situation…maybe they want to expand their business into Colombia and you can be their test case. Good luck with your healing!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330691708624
Ships worldwide. That’s just one example, there are quite a few cheap used boots available.

NWB = No Weight Bearing
PWB = Partial Weight Bearing
FWB = Full Weight Bearing

I was gonna suggest you get online to 3M Company - they make the fiberglas cast rolls that my doc uses. Basically, the doc wets the roll in warm water and raps it around the cotton underlayer. Three rolls, going from toes to about 2″ below the knee. In about 10 minutes, the fiberglas cloth is as hard as a rock! Amazing stuff. But, it looks like you have it solved, so nevermind!

As for the boot, you can probably buy that online, also, if your doc would recommend that. But, given your local, that boot would probably cost 3x what your surgery did! lol

Happy healing!

Hi Ryan!!! Thanks a lot for your comment. Remember that I’m in Colombia, South America. You can see what an arduous task it was JUST to get 4 rolls of fiberglass, casting tape. Getting a walking boot? That seems really problematic..I hate to even think about how I’d find one of those! I appreciate your comment greatly and I’ll ask my doctor if that WOULD have been an option in my case. That information could come in handy (god forbid) if I have suffer another Achilles’ tendon tear. :O) By the way…what does “PWB” stand for? thanks!

If you’re at neutral and PWB on the cast…. why not just get into a walking boot?

Hello! Thanks a lot for taking the time and energy to post your comment about my surgery. The doctor indeed is a good guy and a great sport! Please refer to my new post that I’ll be making right after shooting this to you! Again…many thanks! best wishes, Bill

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Sounds like the Dr is both caring and a good sport. Glad that you’re able to get out and about at a fairly early stage. & that your wife also is hanging in there! We sometimes don’t give enough credit to our support group — or at least I feel I don’t.

Plenty of delays in treatment and rescheduled appointments here in the USA as well. It seems all things considered, your “Latin American” treatment is working out very well.

All best.

Hi Janus….thanks for your comment. Wow…$15,000 for what…a 30-45 minute surgery…yikes!!! That is hard to believe…although…I believe it! Gosh..gives an indication what is totally wrong with the US health care system….totally run amok. One of the problems…U.S. surgeons who make probably $200k easily/year. Surgeons here are lucky to make 1/4 of that..but even at that rate they have a very nice living here. On the other hand…when doctors get out of US medical schools they owe a ton of debt…so complex. I’m glad you had the $15k to spend…I hope you are doing well!

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My man, sounds like you made a good decision having it done outside the USA. My operation and related is setting me back about $15,000. All from what was retirement savings. It’s not forcing me into bankruptcy, as medical bills do from some people: but’s it a double-whammy I’d really rather not be going through right now.

All the best to you, and to your full and complete recovery.

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