Craig’s achilles blog - one day at a time

Phew.

Swimming sounds good.

Yay!

Craig - Thanks for the update. It’s good to hear that everything is relatively okay and that the steroid should help with the inflammation.

i hope the bleeding under the scar is nothing serious . just take it easy for a while man and dont push it too hard.

Hey there. I’ve been off the blog a few days and just read about your events. Sending you fast healing thoughts your way. May the prednisone do the trick and all be well ASAP. Take care of yourself!!!!

Craig, a short course of prednisone is nothing to worry about, it’s when you take it for a long time it can have an effect on things. Your experience sounds a lot like mine of late. I have about a quarter, or a little bigger, size spot in the middle of my scar that is pissed off and painful, especially when I put lots of pressure on the tendon. It started when I found my gastroc muscle again and had that same tearing, burning feeling. I was at about week 10.5 when it started. I don’t think any pain I have is from the tendon, it’s a hot, searing, tearing feeling that basically stops me. I can’t lie, I’ve been fighting mine for over a month and trying to bash through the pain almost daily. As of 4 days ago I just decided to give it a serious rest, and if it hurts at all, I don’t do it. Strangely, the bicycle feels really good with very little pain. I bagged PT this week and probably will next week too. I still walk quite a bit and can’t help pushing it to pain at least once daily. It’s getting better, slowly. Hope this helps.

Jim - I’ve experienced similar hot/searing feelings from time to time, usually after pushing things too hard. I started to think that inflammation was the problem, so I take an occasional dose of ibuprofen. While it may just be a matter of time and rest, I have noticed a big improvement. I’ve also been looking at other anti-inflammatory options as I don’t like the idea of taking ibuprofen for an extended period of time. I’m trying a fish oil supplement, but I’m curious if there are better options.

Jim and Tom, thanks for the feedback. Jim, your experience sounds exactly like mine. I’m trying to go back to crutches (sucks, but I don’t mind them as much as others on the site) to get some rest. My pain comes primarily when I stretch around the tendon area. Standing doesn’t irritate it. Also, it seems like ROM exercises don’t irritate, so I try to continue to do them.

My doctor thought it was likely some adhesions under the skin that had tore. Are these adhesions part of the normal healing process and/or are they related to the build-up of scar tissue?

Glad it was good news, craig…good luck moving forward.

Craig, mine looks very much the same, even in the middle like yours too. Incredibly painful though when pushing on the ball of my foot, and only with a straight leg, which activates the gastroc. I don’t think I have been able to impress on anyone treating me how painful this is, as I don’t get all hysterical about the pain. I once broke my foot playing racquetball with my brother on the first point. Well, I went on to beat him with a broken foot. This is much worse. I think it’s probably just how we scar and heal. I also think the tendon pushes on this from the inside and that is what causes the pain. It kinda feels like a giant blister in a new pair of hiking boots when you have a heavy pack and a rock in your sock. Mine even started about the time yours did, and today begins week 17 for me post op. If I had it to do over I would probably have taken it easier and just let it heal up some. The last two days have finally been better though. It was so painful it really kept me from developing my calf, which has continued to shrink (only hurts when trying to put lots of pressure on the ball of my foot). This concerned me so I talked with my uncle who is an orthopedic surgeon. He said not to worry about the muscle, and if I didn’t use it for a year, it would still come back. I didn’t get a scab but the skin likes to flake off in this area, almost like I had a sunburn. Is yours kinda soft and mushy in the middle by the purple area? Mine is.

Hi Jim,

Yeah, I think the blister analogy is a good one. A stinging, sharp pain. I don’t seem to have the “mushy” feeling. I’ve been trying to crutch around as much as possible hoping it will heal, but a little walking.

Hang in there, hopefully we’ll both be back on track soon.

Craig