Two Shoes - woot woot…
Finally, the day has come. I was given the okay to start to wear two shoes today, I am at week 10. The doctor said to put a one inch heel lift in the shoe, which is kind of uncomfortable, but 100 times better than the boot. He said I could wear wedges with a one inch heel, but I tried pushing it by asking if I could wear two 1/2 inch and he said only if you want to break your ankle…I’ll pass thanks. He didn’t order PT, which I was surprised of, however, his logic was simple. He said why got to PT when you can do it yourself at home on a stantionary bike. So, I pulled out my dusty bike that was sitting all summer and attached it to my trainer and viola, stationary bike. I have no problems getting my foot to neutral and am very pleased with my incision. I did take a walk around the block tonight, which instantly caused my ankle to swell. That’s nothing a little ice and elevation can’t fix. It was a good day, thankfully. Again, my husband is getting happier by the day because I am slowly getting back to my normal routine.
on August 19th, 2008 at 1:43 am
Wow, congratulations! Do you go up and down with a 1″ heel on one foot and none in the other shoe?
on August 19th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Congratulations! I hit 10 weeks on Sunday and hope the doctor gives me similar “marching” orders in a week except I want the PT!
on August 21st, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I have been cleared to start walking, like you, in two shoes, with a heel raise, no PT. I was also told that it wasn’t necessary, that slowly with walking and so on I could do it all myself. What do you think, are some doctors trying to save PT costs or they’re honest, that we don’t need it? Depends on the patient??
Mary
on August 22nd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Hi Mary,
My doctor sincerely told me that PT wasn’t worth the money. He told me just to pedal the stationary bike for between 5-20 minutes and walking is fine. He also said to go to the pharmacy to buy the band (that long rubber band thing) and start with a few reps. He said that if he were to send me to PT, they would only put me on a stationary bike anyway. Again, every doctor is different. I go back to the doctor on September 18, so we will see what happens then.
on August 22nd, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Hi Mary-
I’m just about 16 weeks post-op, I only had 5 PT appts due to insurance changing. I can’t afford the $150/30 minute sessions, so….the PT I had for those 5 appts was very nice. She gave me the bands that I needed, wrote down all the exercises that I should do. At my Dr appt when I went to two shoes, he told me that quite honestly, the best way to strengthen my leg back up was by just walking and that I would know when to move on. I’ve slowly started leg workouts including calf raises, leg press etc. I got clearance for bike riding pretty early on so I started riding, also I use the elliptical. If it hurts…don’t do it. If you go to a gym, chances are at least one of the trainers has been through some type of rehab. I changed trainers, the one I use now has had a multitude of injuries so I do everything low impact. He guides me through it. Hang in there!!