Post op Visits
I can definitely tell I’m not very good at sitting around all day. The few weeks after surgery have been the hardest. Pretty much the same routine, get up, sit with leg elevated above my heart (which can definitely tell the difference between elevating above the heart and just elevating), watch movies, read book, review everyone’s blog on Achillesblog.com. The worst is having to get up to do anything, as I get this rush of blood down my leg that just makes my leg very uncomfortable. Not sure if that’s normal or not.
I ended up taking the Percocet for about 2 days after surgery, then had to get off them, they make me feel very strange, almost loopy, plus didn’t really like the constipation side effect. I’m still taking the antibiotics (Cepholexin?) and have been for about 3 weeks. I’ve had about 3 post op visits with the OS to look at the incision, he was a little concerned about one of the stitches and getting an infection, so that’s why I’ve been on the antibiotics for so long. Has anyone else been on them for that period of time? Anything else I can do to help with this?
So last Monday, I had another visit to the Doc office and we had just gotten a foot of snow over the weekend. I knew I needed to be very careful getting into the Doctors office. I took a long time to make it thru the parking lot, but successfully made it into the entry of the office. Excited that I made it in, it didn’t even occur to me that the bottom of my crutches were still wet going thru the parking lot. I started to make my way to the front desk and as I was crutching along, I placed my left crutch on the tile and down I went. As I was caught off guard, I tried to brace myself with my bad foot, that was a mistake. I immediately felt the pain and backed off. As I laid on the ground, I felt this strong burning sensation on the back of the incision. There were several people around me asking me questions but all I could think about was hoping I didn’t reinjure myself. The burning sensation only lasted maybe 5 minutes or so, then it was just some heel pain and pain the rest of the day. Is that similar to what other people have felt after a fall? Good hing is it happened before I met the Doc, so he was able to check it right after. He indicated he doesn’t have X-ray vision, but it felt like everything was in tact and I was able to put some pressure on it, without just the normal tightness. I did open up one of the stitches a bit, so had some bleeding, which he wanted to keep an eye on. He didn’t seem too concerned about my Achilles as much as the open stitch. Should I have an MRI done or just go down the road. Feels fine now, but just not sure what others have done after a fall. He did take all the stitches out other than the one or two around the open wound.
Definitely getting tired of crutches and can’t wait to start putting some weight back on my foot and slowly getting off the crutches.
on February 6th, 2015 at 10:15 pm
I fell once during my first rupture recovery and it was an interesting experience. The pain radiated for a few minutes and I preceded to freak out thinking i had re-reputed my Achilles.
I called the doctor office to tell the story and the nurse came back on the phone and explained that I was okay. Needless to say, that was not good enough and I panicked. I drove the the surgeons office and basically told them I would be in the waiting until someone would see me. I’m a nice guy and I’m pretty sure i handled my craziness appropriately.
Anyway, the surgeon came in and felt my rupture and said I was fine; also said there would be zero doubt if I ruptured the Achilles again. He advised that I may have broke a couple of non-essential sutures (I had felt something small give)
From what I can tell, diagnosing a ruptured Achilles appears to be pretty easy. I am sure your Doc would have noticed if something wasn’t right. In addition, I didn’t even have an MRI for my second rupture. So, I would say no to the MRI.
Im not sure about your infection question. I am not even on antibiotics nor was I prescribed antibiotics for my previous rupture. I have only been taking a blood thinner to reduce the risk of a DVT/blood clot.
Good luck getting off the crutches. Sounds like it should be fairly soon!
on February 6th, 2015 at 10:30 pm
Thanks Dax, appreciate the feedback. Did I catch on your old blog you are in Iowa?? Me too. Live in Des Moines. How about you? If Des Moines, I’d be curious as to what Dr/group you use. Thanks again.
on February 7th, 2015 at 12:36 am
Small world. Capital Orthopedics.
on February 7th, 2015 at 3:41 am
The non-surgical approach included 4 weeks in a rigid cast and now 8 weeks in a boot. The boot portion is weight bearing but starts out with a 6 inch heel lift (yeah, like wearing one six inch heel) gradually reducing the heel every 2 weeks.
Some of the studies I read include up to 145 patients with equivalent re-rupture rates for surgical and non surgical and comparable strength if rehab starts early.
I was happy with my surgical result on the left so pushed for surgery. MRI showed the rupture above the MT junction which is non operable but it is subject to interpretation where MT junction is. In the end, dr said no to surgery and I already had the cast on for 2+ weeks…was ready to move on.
It seems to be progressing well ( very rigid)and started my alphabet stretching exercises today. Dr seems to think ruptures above MT junction heal better..we shall see.
Dex- sorry to hear about your fall. That must have been scary. Interesting to read one of your earlier posts about no pain after second rupture. My experience was similar, just an extensive timeline starting to develop in my head. 3rd child was born a week after my repair surgery the first time around so much more manageable this time..
on February 7th, 2015 at 4:08 am
Hey all! I had surgery 3 weeks ago, retrocalcaneal exostosis and an achilles tendon repair. I have had my stitches removed and am in a hard cast and am currently non weight bearing. Last night I fell, as I was falling I put my NWB foot down and felt as if my incision ripped open, I had a very bad burning/ stinging sensation and was in severe pain for several hours! I had stopped taking pain pills, but I have been taking them every 4 hours today, and still very uncomfortable, I also have a numb tingly feeling near my calf, and feel like my muscles are twitching… Does this sound like a re-rupture? My Dr. is closed until Monday, and I am worrying myself sick! TIA!!!
on February 7th, 2015 at 8:19 am
Farnz - the blood rush initially is normal yes. I would probably not get the MRI and here’s why:
1. You just had surgery down there, maybe you popped a stitch or something. It’s going to be really hard for the radiologist to tell you for sure what is new and old and the significance of a possible retear (unless you ripped the thing in half again, which it sounds like you didn’t.
I fell off my scooter post op 4 weeks in and felt a pop, pain, and some bleeding. Pain went away bleeding stopped. Had MRI which showed a partial acute re-tear but the only way to tell “for sure” was to go in to surgery again.
I declined as even my aggressive surgeon was apprehensive about cutting me open again (healthy 34 year old) “just to see” the extent of the partial. There was a decent chance they couldn’t do anything anyways given the condition of the tendon and the likelihood of it being partial rather than full.
So I’m now about 5 weeks post-re-tear and 9 weeks post initial op and I’m FWB at zero degrees in my boot with a shot at getting into two shoes wednesday. The tendon feels quite intact now and PT was only able to “maybe” find a “very small” defect there. In the past few weeks the re-tear has closed quite a bit and my thompson test was good and improved so..so far so good.
Ask your Dr about the MRI and then asked him why he said yes/no but I found it to be an exercise in futility. I think they were just checking for a full re-tear
on February 7th, 2015 at 8:24 am
Suziq - sorry to hear about your fall
I fell off my scooter about 5 weeks ago (4 weeks after surgery). I didn’t have my boot on as I was going to the shower.
I felt a pop and had some bleeding. I did it on a Friday night so I know exactly how you feel.
You had a cast on too so that’s good, a few folks around here have fallen in cast w/out issues.
Try not to stress about it to much b/c you won’t know for sure until you see the doctor monday, I know that’s easier said than done though. You’re early in your recovery as well so even in a worst case scenario it’s only a few weeks. I know that’s of little comfort but with this injury we always have to look at the bright side and not dwell on the negative.
My concern would be the incision. If it seemed like it opened to me, I would think there would be noticeable bleeding though. I would probably go to the ER to get it looked at and potentially re-wrapped.
Does your otho have someone on call? most do, the hospital should to.
Those little muscle twitches and such don’t necessarily indicate a re-tear, you just introduced some unexpected trauma to a recently repaired and weak muscle. Probably a lot going on there.
on February 7th, 2015 at 9:09 am
Thanks everyone for the comments. Definitely small world Dax, I actually know one of the Docs really well at Capital Ortho really well, although he is a hand specialist. I’m using DMOS and it’s going pretty good. When I read your post, I definitely made the decision to never play basketball again, I think I had in my head that I probably wouldn’t play, but that definitely confirmed it. I can do plenty of other things that are active that I love to do.
on February 7th, 2015 at 11:33 am
DMOS has a great reputation. You can’t really go wrong if you do your homework. A lot a great physicians in the Des Moines area.
I had given up on basketball and avoided the game for a long time. It was almost comical that it happened. I had debated playing for a couple months (Is it worth it, or not worth the risk?) Apparently, I thought it was worth the risk. Playing didn’t last long, but it sure was fun to be out there competing.
I’ll probably stick to the other activities as well. These other activities are not easy either… there just must be something about basketball. Just too much stress from shifting weight and changing directions.
Anyway, good luck and I will be interested in your updates. Enjoy the day!
on February 8th, 2015 at 6:41 pm
I just tripped coming out of the store and stepped down on my bad foot wrong. I thankfully had my boot on, but felt a pop and immediate pain. I’m 7 weeks 2 days. Pain has subsided some, definitely more painful with ROM. Did Thompson test and saw my foot move so that was reassuring. What could have popped?
on February 8th, 2015 at 6:42 pm
I should say I’m 7 weeks 2 days post haglunds surgery with full detachment with 4 bone anchors.
on February 8th, 2015 at 10:05 pm
The movement means something is still attached.
The pop could be scar tissue breaking away, a stitch letting go, or a rupture/tear.
In my case it was a partial re-rupture which so far, knock on wood, hasn’t set me back at all.
Get in to see the doc asap if nothing else just to alleviate the what ifs. Although the doc may not be able to tell you exactly what it is anyways, like in my case we knew it was partial but not the extent (only way would have been to go back in).
Good luck
on February 16th, 2015 at 4:03 pm
Sorry to hear about your fall. Many of us here have had to deal with it and it’s terrifying, but if you pass the Thompson test, more than likely you should be fine….I spent a pretty depressing and painful weekend, right before christmas worrying about a fall, that fortunately turned out ok.
Also, I would not wish this injury on anyone, but if you are already in this boat, enjoy the first couple of weeks being in bed, icing and elevating and spending it catching up on reading, movies, etc…..after 10 weeks post op, I wished I had done more of that….the rest of the healing will take care of itself….it needs time and rest….so might as well enjoy that process….