So my 2 week follow up was Wednesday. 1 day shy of my surgery. Doc was pleased with my wound and put me in a boot. The plan was to begin partial weight-bearing in a week. I had some calf tenderness so I went for an ultrasound to check for clots.
Went for ultrasound, tech ran into my foot and it hurt like hell, so after she found 2 blood clots I had to go back to my surgeon to check my foot.
She tells me it is still good, but I need to go see my PCP about the blood clots. So I go and do that and hear about shots of Lovenox to get my blood thin until the Cumidin can kick in and keep my blood thin for 3 months. Shots were to be for 3 or 4 days. Cumidin will require several checkups a week to check if it is too thin or not thin enough as it is a guess and check kinda thing. Spectacular.
At this point I have to pick up these drugs and this is where the story goes awry. So my normal pharmacy doesn’t have it. Going to Walgreens would have been $100 a shot, but they had the Cumidin and were open. After having to go in to figure out this detail and find out how to get the medicine since my insurance pharmacy didn’t have it I am on my newly acquired knee scooter in my boot. I am waiting in line to buy a drink while my wife is in back dealing with the Pharmacy. Just standing there I pull some pressure off the knee scooter while standing there and as I try to put my knee back down it slips of the side and I put my foot down.
A day later a MRI has confirmed my re-rupture and I get to start over Monday. Needless to say what positivity I had maintained has officially left the building.
Only funny thing was that my surgeon says that this time she will loosen my Achilles from my calf because in people that have normal size calves this wouldn’t have torn, but since I have massive calves it makes it harder to take any pressure early. That process will heal faster than my tendon and won’t be an issue and will still give me full strength when done.
Thank you for the good vibes »« A week and a day
That’s terrible, awful news. I wish I had some sort of positive spin to put on it for you (2 weeks is better than 20 weeks I guess), but there’s really nothing good to say here.
Really really sorry for you. Good luck with that 2nd surgery.
That obviously sucks, efrain. I hope it’s smooth sailing from here on, you’ve earned some!
FWIW, I’ve been through numerous Lovenox shots and 3 months of Warfarin/Coumadin pills and regular “INR” blood testing to calibrate the dose. (I needed it because I had a heart valve replaced and another one repaired.)
For most people (including me) it’s more a minor nuisance than anything else. Once you get your INR level in range and your dosage stabilized, testing 1x/wk is usually plenty. If you’re lucky, you can find a clinic or lab or drugstore that will test you with a finger-prick and give you the results while you wait (new technology). It IS important to keep the levels (INR) in the right range, so it can do its thing without causing side-effects and risk of complications.
(Lots of cardiac patients, including everybody who’s received a mechanical heart valve, get put on this regime for the rest of their lives! And many of them find it no big deal, as I did for 3 months. I didn’t mind stopping, though!)
Wow, I am so sorry for you… I can’t imagine what that must be like, at least as ryanb said, it’s only 2 weeks in, but that’s still no consolation. I also had the calf release that you speak of, and for me it has seemed to be fine. No pain from it and everything feels normal. I had to have it since my tendon was so frayed and wrecked that the ends had to be shortened to get clean edges back together.
Man that is really too bad! There is not much one can say to make you feel alot better, but what we can do is offer you support and let you know that there are people within our select group who understand what you are going through! Take care and we will be waiting to hear how the surgery goes!
I am at a loss of words, so sad to hear your story.
Hopefully the second surgery will be a success and you heal well. It is a long road to recovery, stay strong, and don’t loose hope.
hang in their, so sorry to hear about this. i hope their is some “silver lining” to all of this for you.
