Achilles woes

1st post-op visit

ithappened2me — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:18:02 +0000

I met with my surgeon/orthopedist on Monday, 8-11. Injury 7-18 and surgery 7-24. He put me in a cast with more dorsiflexion. I will be in the cast for two weeks. Then, I will get the walking boot. He said to start with minimal weight bearing, PWB, up to FWB. He said I could possibly be FWB by the end of September. This news got me excited, but I am not sure if it is realistic. Any thoughts?

Also, a side note: I am 32 years old, and I opted for a red cast because I am a huge OU Sooner fan. Is that wrong? I’m thinking about stenciling an OU on it as well. Is that even more wrong? And, by the way, this cast is soooooo uncomfortable. It seems too tight. I’m getting that clausterphobia thing all over again. AHHHHHHHHH!

1st day after surgery

ithappened2me — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:19:56 +0000

The surgeon said the surgery went fine. It was pushed back to 4:00pm, which made for a very hungry boy. The surgeon said it was frayed like a rope, but he feels good about the repair. I was completely doped up after surgery, I kept falling asleep while I was supposed to be getting ready to leave. Felt really good last night, but today has not been very good. I went 12 hours without pain pills which I paid dearly for. Hard to describe the pain, but it isn’t really sharp. It is just constant aching with periods of higher intensity. Did anyone get a feeling of “leg clausterphobia mixed with restless leg syndrome?” I almost drove myself to a panic attack thinking about it. How was everyone else’s pain the first day after? All the advice is definitely true, elevate every minute you can. Just the few periods I had it down caused throbbing. I wish there were some way to ice it. Also, what type of pain medication did everyone get? I was prescribed Vicodin and ibuprofen. I thought that Percocet or stronger would be better suited for surgical pain. I did get a wheelchair (thanks for the advice) which will be my saving grace through this ordeal.

Thanks again for all the comments and advice.

It’s official

ithappened2me — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:46:42 +0000

I met my orthopedist today, and the ATR became offical; complete tear about 2 inches above the heal bone. My surgery is set for this week, July 24th at 10 a.m. My original blog said the ATR was on the 19th, but I obviously wasn’t thinking straight. It actually occurred on the 18th at 4 p.m. SO that is not too bad to get the surgery six days after injury.

Anyone that has any words of advice from preparation to the first few days after, please let me know. I am pretty bummed right now because my son turns 4 on the 28th. We had to cancel plans to Legoland, and we didn’t have anything else planned for his birthday. Any chance I will feel up to going somewhere with the family on Saturday? Has anyone here used a wheelchair in their recovery? My freakin’ pits are already hurting from the crutches. Has anyone here gone with a local block instead of general anesthesia?

I just want to thank everyone so far for the great words of wisdom and sound advice. This site has already made a difference for me.

To cut or not to cut?

ithappened2me — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:37:20 +0000

Does anyone have any personal experience or know of any research about having surgery vs. not having surgery? Any information would be helpful. I will probably have to make that decision on Monday.

July 19th, 2008 4:00 p.m.

ithappened2me — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:04:42 +0000

That’s when it happened. Now, here I sit on the couch about eight hours later, just pondering how and why this happened. Never in a million years did I ever think I would hear a “pop” like that. I have had several sprained ankles before (which surprisingly were more painful). But to hear and feel a “pop” like that seems surreal.

I shot around for about 15 minutes, then played a game of 21 with a few other guys. We picked up another two and played 3-on-3. I was warm and loose, and I was playing pretty well. We scored first and took it at the top. I got the ball just above the three-point-line and faked a shot that got my defender in the air. I drove to the basket and “BAM.” I heard the dreaded “pop”, but I actually thought someone just fell on my leg. I turned around to see who it was, but nobody was there. That’s when I realized what happened. I tried to walk it off, but quickly abandoned that. I slowly went to the floor expecting my ankle/calf area to be jacked. It wasn’t though. It hurt, but not nearly as bad as spraining an ankle. I got back up and tried to walk again, only this time I got a strange sensation of walking downhill. I finally yielded to the reality of what happened. I elevated and iced it as I waited for my ride to the ER.

Eventually, I got to the ER. The physician performed the Thompson test on me and immediately said, “I’m quite cetain you tore your Achilles tendon.” No reflex whatsoever in the left foot. I got a temporary splint, a prescription for pain pills, and was told to call the recommended orthopedist on Monday morning. I will update then…………………………….

Hello world!

ithappened2me — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:27:17 +0000

Welcome to Achillesblog.com.

This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Following link will take you to your blog’s “command center” where you can write your posts:
http://achillesblog.com/ithappened2me/wp-admin/

Be sure to fill out your city, Achilles rupture date, surgery date, etc.. (if you know it) here:
Fill out my Achilles Profile Here

When you do, you can keep track of your recovery progress and see your information on the Marathon Tracker.

Here’s more info: using Achilles Timeline Widget

Please change this post’s title to something more descriptive. Just leaving it as “Hello World” leads people to believe that you haven’t updated your first post!

If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask!

Dennis