jencallaway’s AchillesBlog

Hi jencallaway, i see this is an old post, but i feel your pain! i severed my achilles after a freak accident of slipping off my sisters bed through her bedroom window. I am only 17 and i am not 7 weeks post op, still NWB and on crutches with no physio and what not.
You are the first case i have seen besides my own of severing the tendon.
I hope your recovery is quick and the boredom doesnt frustrate you too much

So sorry to read of your injury. I had my Achilles 40% severed by a shard on May 3rd (dropped a 9×13 corningware baking dish on porcelain floor - OUCH). 5 inch deep, curved incision - had 15 external stiches - tendon was just “wrapped” - infection x 3 antibiotic courses - 4 weeks to clear infection and close wound (once the infection cleared it closed in 4 days !) 2 weeks in cast - 4 in boot - 6 weeks crutches - 2 weeks cane - I am now almost 8 weeks out. BE PATIENT AND PERSISTANT. It is a long haul - especially as the mother of a household (I have 5). Everyone will need to pitch in and you will need to learn to slow down (and ice and elevate). If you don’t, your body will rebel. I experienced a lot of twitching/cramping/burning/itching/tingling and it is all supposedly normal. I began PT @ 6 weeks and go 2x a week for 2 hours each time. I also do excercises all day long to increase calf strength and ROM in the ankle and Achilles. By the very early evening (read 4pm) I am sore, stiff and swollen. Evenings are still evelating, icing and ROM. I can walk with an almost normal gate in the morning until the early afternoon (sans cane).

Jen, I’m an active working mother of 2, so I feel your pain (at least, 2/3 of it)! I fell down a rabbit hole while sprinting up a hill at my son’s baseball game to get a better view. Parenting, and taking care of a household, *is* athletic in the sense that we don’t realize how much constant running around we do on behalf of our children….until we can’t do those things any more. Many more men than women suffer this injury, and that may be reflected on this site. There is a common thread about allowing other people to take care of us during this period. It is definitely hard to do that–it’s hard even to try to list all the things that need to be done around the house and for the family because I’m used to doing them instinctively!

There’s a list-table-spreadsheet on this site that lists how each of us did our ATR. Most of us ruptured them with high tension like sports, but there have been another small group that had them sliced externally like you — broken glass, screen doors, etc. If you find that list, and enter one of the ID-names after the basic website name (A…B….com/) in your browser, you’ll be able to read the stories of people with stories similar to yours.

Nobody really knows if there are important differences between your little group and our bigger one or not, and some of our experiences are probably 100% identical. But you’re not alone with a freak accident here, either.

I think if a random fit person were immobilized for a month NWB, they’d experience some cramping and discomfort or pain. Through in a trauma and maybe the additional trauma of surgery, and it’s not uncommon.

What IS uncommon is boot hatred! And it suggests that it’s badly sized or badly fitted (pads etc.) or badly adjusted (strap tension). As long as it does its basic functions — first immobilizing your ankle at the right angle and protecting your incision from harm, then supporting your (PWB then FWB) weight and the force of walking — it can and should be adjusted to fit well and be comfy. Sure it’s bulky and clunky and maybe not light, but it’s got some serious jobs to do. Most of us liked our boots a lot (though it was still nice to return to 2 shoes).

I had what felt like my foot cramping up. I wasn’t sure if it was the cast/boot or cramping though as I’ve never really had foot cramps before. I decided to drink a ton of water to see if it would help. I bought a 64 oz jug that I keep next to me and make it a point to drink it all, each day. Then I drink some more. It helped, but I’m not sure if it was from that or when the doctor let me do some PWB at 4.5 weeks in boot. Also tried to limit my salt intake.

When I first got the boot at almost 3 weeks, I couldn’t take it off either, but I would open the foot section when I was laying around, which seemed to help. I would even ice what I could get to. Maybe you could open the boot and slide an Ice pack on the side or on top? Be careful of the incision/stiches though.

Good luck and I hope you find some comfort, it got better for me in the boot for sure, especially with PWB. Hang in there.

I’m at 8.5 weeks and still have muscle cramps and nerve impulse bolts. I think it’s all part of the healing process- evn though it is incredibly annoying. My PT started isometric stength exercises at 7 weeks that will help.

Mike your right to check out DVt, but there’s a few of us on here with pain, I’m 18 weeks still have pain at times , started getting rifd of major pain around 12 , weeks I also thought maybe DVt but wasn’t the case

I’m not sure I’ve heard of much pain at 4 weeks. I’m not sure I’ve heard of cramping at that time either. Does anyone know what the symptoms of a clot are? Those happen sometimes and are serious (not to worry you). Look up deep vein thrombosis and make sure or ask your doctor!

Hi Jen
Sorry to hear your news,
Your in for a frustrating time but it does get bet better i promise. Agree with Kelly you will find this blog so useful , re the boot if you can be more specific the issues folks on here will offer so much advice, I can’t see why you can not open boot whilst laying on sofa , it does help to let foot breath.
I would ask your doc for 8 week protocol.
You will make milestones that will make you feel great such as fwb , sleeping without boot, then 2 shoes hooray, for now that will seem a long way off but it soon passes, it’s a bad miserable injury but comes with some positives ,for example talking to some great ,funny, helpful people around the world on this blog, being greatfull and putting life into perspective, itmade me slow down a little and had some family and friends time, I haven’t had a day off work since the ATR but did slow down once I got home, put a little weight on,but arms look fab. There are soe positives to glean but There are one or two things I would of done different with hindsight
Take care RRR

Wow, you are making me think twice about unloading groceries in bare feet or sandals. I’m thinking I need to wear work boots 24/7! When you have time, read through some of the blogs here. I’m non-surgical but most of the people around here have had the same surgery you have. Their blog posts will give you a really good idea of what to expect. Good luck!