jackinva’s AchillesBlog

I bought one last week on Amazon, and it has been doing wonders to keep the swelling down!  I’ve been FWB in the boot for almost 2 weeks and EVERY DAY my foot and ankle have swelled up tremendously. Since wearing the sock (it’s actually a sleeve /brace) I have had hardly no swelling at all. Am still icing everything a few times a day, and also elevating -but  it’s so much more comfortable doing so without the foot swelled up like a football when I start!

On another note - almost 2 years ago I experienced extreme back and leg pain and discovered I have 2 herniated lumbar discs (L3-4 and L4-5). Have been treating them with epidural injections and (so far) they have been working very well - the last series of shots were in May and June a year ago, and I’ve been pain free since then. UNTIL THIS PAST WEEKEND - I’m fairly certain that the sciatica pain is due to the imbalance of my legs (boot on left foot VS work shoe / tennis shoe / sandal on right foot). Looks like I will be begging for epidurals this week along with going 2 shoes.

I got to sleep without the boot on for the first time last night (actually this afternoon). I’ve been back at work for 3 weeks now, and am back on night shift (10 PM to 6 AM) so I get to sleep when it’s light out!  Dr said to sleep with the boot on for 3 weeks, and yesterday was 3 weeks!  What a joy! I taught my SPIN class yesterday morning and sat on the bike for the whole class - cycling sandles on and clipped in to the pedals while slowly spinning with light resistance.  Such a great feeling to reach that next level of progress.  I’m managing FWB in the boot - the foot does swell up quite bit, but sitting at my desk with the ice wrap on it helps and feels SOOOO good.  I was very surprised to see that there is not a big difference between the calve muscles on both legs

I am getting some new “aches” and “feelings” in the foot - the tendon across the bottom of the foot to the big toe occasionally feels tight, and I also get an occasional “twinge” on the front outside of the shin bone. Stretching, massaging, seem to take care of these issues.  I’m not too concerned about any of these as I’ve been slowly moving FWB for the past few days, and after over 2 1/2 months of NO ACTIVITY in these muscles, it’s a lot to ask of them to start functioning again.  Easy Does It!

Next Dr. appt. is this coming Wednesday - from what he said last month, it will be “GOODBYE BOOT - HELLO LEFT SHOE ….. and physical therapy!”  We opened up our pool at home yesterday and I am really anxious for the water to warm up and use it for exercising. 

Happy days are straight ahead! Just gotta keep my brain in the SLOW, SAFE, and STEADY mindset!