julie1071’s AchillesBlog

Congrats on 1 year! I am at 8 months this week. Up to 45 minutes running 3 times a week.

Doctor said 9-10 months will be a big break through.

Is that what you experienced?

I had no problems like that but I had a very different surgery. I had some nerve pain much earlier in the healing process and it was a nerve that runs under the ankle. My doc said it is just one of those nerves that gets a bit abused during the surgery so it takes a while to calm down.

Hi Julie…hope you are not still bothered with the burning. I just found this site today…October 16th. I had my surgery on July 18th and Adam still very bothered by the burning and the pain. I thought it would be gone by now. Am afraid to ask for Vicodin but feel like having more relief than only when sitting Down or in bed sleeping. I have been having PT twice a week. This whole “Journey ” started exactly one year ago with Achilles tendonisis. This is my first post because I just found your wonderful site!

Hi Julie…hope you are not still bothered with the burning. I just found this site today…October 16th. I had my surgery on July 18th and Adam still very bothered by the burning and the pain. I thought it would be gone by now. Am afraid to ask for Vicodin but feel like having more relief than only when sitting Down or in bed sleeping. I have been having PT twice a week. This whole “Journey ” started exactly one year ago with Achilles tendonisis.

Sorry to hear Julie.
I have gone the non surgical option so I hope there are others who can provide you some advice.

I did a lot of scar massage too. I found that even now if I do some real achilles strenuous activity (like hiking up REALLY steep hills) massaging the entire achilles/incision area makes things feel better.

Hi Julie,

Have you tried Bio Oil on your incision? I put it on mine morning and night and all pain has gone. It might be a coincidence but I would certainly give that a try.

I also do a lot of self massage on the area to get the skin gliding over the achilles. That’s great at breaking down that scar tissue.

Good luck!

Andy

You can still exercise - you just have to do it carefully. I can’t believe your doctor won’t have you do PT! I didn’t start PT until I was in 2 shoes and FWB, but I knew it was part of the plan. I don’t recall when I first started back at my Bodypump class, when my PT guy had me start doing squats I think - but I know initially I couldn’t do all the squats and when you would normally bounce a bit to lift the bar overhead I couldn’t do that bounce since it pained the achilles. I’m still getting all the strength back in the right leg and I’m at 6 months. It’s mostly there - but not quite all there. And, of course, the achilles is not back to full strength yet.

So go ahead and get some exercise in! Sounds like you have a gym membership so go do some rowing and you can lift weights while sitting and do lots of one-footed ab exercises, … Read my blog or agnesatr for the various exercising we did - I talk about the exercises I did, she has pictures and videos

I did have lots of pain until a few days ago. I had to take pain pills for a few days, but I was on my feet a lot! I bought a gel heel cup and wore that in my boot until yeasterday. I also bought big banages to put on my heel where my scar is (I still have a bit of a wound, but it is getting better). I have been doing lots of ROM and strethches. My friend who is a physical therapist showed me some stretches and how to break up the scar tissue. I have also been soaking my foot in a very warm tub with epsom salts. I think the combination has made a huge difference. I hope your pain eases very soon.

Hey Julie I took my first wedge out yesterday and my heel has been killing me even this morning I woke up with shooting pains on the incision area. Did this happen to you?

Hi Julie! You probably didn’t get any heel lifts for the same reason I didn’t - your achilles didn’t rupture and where it was cut it was surgically reattached. I think they put my foot at 0 degrees at the 2.5 week mark (during another cast change) and then I got the boot at 3 weeks and my foot was flat. I did, initially, use my gel heel pad when I went into shoes but never needed it when I was in the boot. But I also didn’t walk initially when I went into the boot. I was NWB in the boot for another 3 weeks (6 weeks total NWB) and when I started PWB I was only supposed to be on the foot 25% of the time initially and I bumped up my weight bearing time by 25% each week after. So do use your scooter if things are hurting. You need to work up to FWB slowly - letting your bones/muscles/healing tendon get used to it gradually. Your tendon is still healing where it was cut and reattached. Perhaps that wasn’t the direction from your doctor - but that’s how I was told to do it. I imagine your doctor would tell you that if it’s hurting - give it a rest.

My gross skin story is that it seemed to come off in waves over a few weeks. The last phase was after 15-20 minutes in a swimming pool. When I got out my foot looked like a zombie foot and a bunch of skin came off on my towel. That was at 10 weeks or so! Really surprised it took that long. I don’t think I’ll be invited back to that pool.

I agree with cserpent - I’d give PT a shot if it’s not too costly. Even though I eventually abandoned my PT group, I did get some good advice in the beginning.

I never thought soaking my foot and shaving my leg would feel so good!!!

Soaking won’t be sufficient for that skin - LOL! It took me about 3 days of regularly soaking the foot and then scrubbing with a towel (over a trashcan ) to get the yuck off!

I’m really amazed at any doctor that says you won’t need PT. I think it is a must - not only to motivate you to do the exercises you should, but also to keep you from doing things you shouldn’t. I would tell that doctor you insist on PT - but that’s just me

Thanks for the input! So far I am like ving the boot, and will order my even up Thursday ☺️

Congratulations on losing the cast! I’m not exaggerating when I say that was one of the best days of my life. Sounds funny, but I hated that cast so much. Being able to take my boot off and put my leg up on the couch each evening was like heaven.

I also got an EvenUp on Amazon but ended up returning it. I had a pair of hiking shoes that matched up okay so you might see how it feels with a thicker-soled shoe on the other foot.

Congrats on getting out of the cast Julie! Agnes covered it all. Yes get an evenup (I also got mine on amazon) and get some comfie shoes. I just went to big5 when they were having a shoe sale and tried a bunch of tennies on until I found some that felt good for both feet. I think SAS has good shoes that are also orthotic but I haven’t been to one of their stores in a while.

Hi Julie, congrats on getting out of the cast! I would definitely recommend Evenup. I believe it allowed me to get to FWB in the boot very fast. It also will allow you to have even gait when walking thus not putting any unnecessary pressure on your hips. I ordered mine on amazon.

As far as regular shoes (not for sports, but for walking) I used sketchers with memory foam. The extra padding was helping with heel pain that occurs once one starts walking again. They have wide range of styles, colors and widths, but it is most important to try them on. The brand does not matter as much as how comfortable they are for your feet. the important thing would be some sort of memory foam padding. I was adding silicon heel pad on top of that.

julie1071 -

Yeah my doctor told that I could possibly have a non operative after he saw the MRI results pretty much. I wanted to be less - invasive as well. However studies say that with surgery there are less chances of re - rupture. I am okay, its been 4 weeks since i had the cast. I have an appt in two weeks being that doc said wait six weeks in total. Hopefully my condition have improve throughout and I can go on to next steps.

Stuart- I hope I can do PWB soon. If all goes well, I am told that I will wear a boot with “heel lift”. I hope the collagen forms as well. I heard about some supplements that help with collagen formation such as omega 3, turmeric, ginger and multivitamins in the process. Thanks!

Dafolabi - go to Agnesatr blog. The most important thing about non-op is starting weight bearing about now for you. For this you need to be out of the cast and into a walking boot. Early weight bearing will reduce your risk of re-rupture and gets you back to normal things sooner. If that is not an option then you can still heal well but you may be behind others in time initially but after 12 months all are about the same. It is important to encourage the collagen type 1 to form and align. There is a great deal of information regarding clinical trials on this site. Normofthenorth blog will have more. Happy reading.

Dafolabi-Idid not have a rupture. I had a bone spur removed and had my tendon de-bulked, so I had to go the surgical route. I tried alot of different things before I decided to go for the surgery. My bone spur kept getting bigger and my tendon kept getting thicker. I wasn’t even aware that you could go the non-surgical route for a rupture until I got on this site. I am always for less invasive. It looks like there is less risk of a re-rupture. How are you feelng?

I am also a teacher

Hey this is my first post in the community. I did non operative route and at week 4 now. I’ve had a cast the whole time. I had a full tear as well. Just wanted to know what you guys may think about that.

Good post Julie! Yes NWB means no weight bearing When I asked my doc to explain why NWB for so long, why in a boot for so long, … he told me exactly why from a physiological perspective so I followed his instructions to the letter. I went up/down my stairs on my butt until the doc said I could start PWB. Now keep that sucker elevated, ice behind the knee and let it recover!

Thank you! I was put in another cast because the doctor was out. The nurse who put my first two casts on put my current one on and it is much better. I had some anxiety for a couple of days (over thinking it was going to be too tight again), but I have been pretty comfortable. I think I can handle it for two more weeks, but if I get that panick feeling again I am going to ask to be put in a boot. I feel like I would be strong enough to handle it. Counting down the days!!

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Julie - a bit late on this however you should do a site specific search (from home page of the forum - top right search box) for cast claustrophobia. Even though you had it on for 2 weeks your symptoms seem to fit. It is quite common.

Sweet relief having the cast opened! I had a cast on for two weeks and it didn’t bother me at all, but today just blew my mind! I have never experienced anything like that. The ER doc told me I could take the ace bandage off at home, and it was so nice to have it off and have some extra room. I just put the bandage back on for bed. I think I will ask for the air cast. I don’t want to go through what I went through tonight again!

Oh good. I’m so glad (breathes a sigh of relief for you!). I definitely know about the full blown panic attack. Even now if I see someone in a cast I get jittery! Ask them tomorrow if you can go into an aircast boot instead. That’s what I did. Just knowing I could get out of it was all I needed. And my foot was just as secure and stable in there.

I am at the er right now. I couldn’t take it. Called the on-call physician and they told me to co e here. They are going to cut it on the sides to relieve pressure and place an ace bandage around it. I am sure I will be in the office getting a new cast tomorrow. I think the girl who placed my cast today didn’t position my foot right. Just thankful I won’t have to wait until tomorrow. My bp is 185/95. I was in full panic attack mode! I am so thankful for this group. It is so nice to have people who understand and can help. ❤️❤️❤️

I had the same thing. It’s awful. (Blog post April 11). I ended up going to the ER. Aside from that, elevate your foot as high as you can. I honestly wish I had something better to tell you, because I know how you are feeling. I’m so sorry.

Well - rest, elevate, ice and don’t do it again We all do that!

Thanks for the advice. I am going today to get a new cast. Hopefully I won’t be too swollen when She puts it on. That was the problem last time. I think I will get a bright, fun color!

I agree with cserpent. Absolutely call. One of the things my surgeon said to me in the recovery room was, if you have any problems at all, or if your cast needs to be re-done, just call the office. He said it so casually, like re-doing casts is almost routine. I always felt like I was being a bother, but they never made me feel that way. They were very accommodating and told m it was good I came in.

Absolutely call! I’m sure they’ll get you in tomorrow to redo it. I would have called when it started getting loose - but I’m a squeaky wheel when things aren’t comfortable and my incision is not happy and my post surgery instructions said I should call if I had issues. And be sure to wrap it so you can’t flex it! Or reattach the cast and wrap it to tighten it for the time being. I did that once with one of the splints. It was getting loose and annoying me massively so I cut it open where there was no plaster and used one of my ace wraps to wrap around it and tighten it up until I could get in the next day to redo it.

I had that burning feeling often in the first 2 months. I still feel it every now and then. In my case, the skin was super sensitive around the incision site. Any rubbing from a sock (or worse, cast or boot) would set it off.

My PT guy recommended rubbing different kinds of fabric over the area to stimulate the skin and get it used to contact. I don’t know if that helped (it seemed to) or if it was just time, but the burning mostly went away once I was completely out of the boot. Now I only notice it if my ankle gets swollen at the end of the day - seems to stretch the skin around the incision site and get it irritated.

For a comparison my doctor wanted me to elevate (above your heart) 90% of the time for the first 3 weeks and ice as much as possible during that time. Anytime I went in for a cast change I had very little swelling so what I did worked. I didn’t need to elevate in bed - but sometimes I did just because my foot would throb a bit. So I wasn’t up and about too much the first 3 weeks. Fortunately my hubby was very supportive the whole time since he wanted me to heal up as well and quickly as I could. Following my doctors directions (though I usually make him explain WHY he gave me those directions) has worked well for me since I’ve healed up pretty well and pretty quickly. I had so many problems trying to sleep with the cast/splint on and was so tired I didn’t mind laying around all day. I was just annoyed that I usually couldn’t sleep even though I tried.

And when I got that rubbing feeling I went in for a cast/splint change - LOL! It didn’t feel that way when the cast/splint was newly put on so I figured it was from all the padding compressing. Since the post surgery directions said go in whenever I was having problems I d

Thank you! I elevated and iced it. I think I am probably up and around too much. I have a very hard time staying put and feel a bit stir crazy sitting for too long. I am going to take the next few days and be up as little as possible and keep it elevated. Hopefully that will help.

I had that feeling quite a bit. I always assumed it was my cast rubbing on my incision, but once I had my cast off I still had it occasionally. I think it is the tendon healing. Whenever I get it I would get my foot up and made sure to rest it on its side.

It could be rubbing on your cast. Or it could be the bone that was cut, and the tendon. I still get burning at the back of my heel/Achilles at the insertion area and a little higher on the Achilles. Like a rug burn type of feeling. Put some ice behind your knee and get that foot elevated as high as you can. In my early days I had my foot up on a stack of about 6 pillows, while I was lying down. It was the only thing that helped. Hope you feel better soon.

Glad it went well Julie! I agree with Shell - keep that foot elevated as much as you can. Have fun with the ukulele!

Hi Julie! I had a surgery similar to yours (Haglund’s Deformity removal and Achilles repair) on March 24. Glad to hear things are going well for you so far. Keep that foot elevated above your heart as much as possible. I found that (and still do - lying down, foot up as I type!) to be even more beneficial than ice.
The ukulele sounds awesome! Lucky kids!

Hopefully your tendon wasn’t too damaged. I was fortunate that mine was in good shape still. Good luck on your first appointment. I hated the cast and/or splint and after much complaining (couldn’t sleep, padding in cast/splint kept getting compressed and rubbing on my incision/..) I got a boot at 2.5 weeks. The boot was heaven! LOL!