kelliblw’s AchillesBlog

Hey all,

I realized I hadn’t updated this blog for over a year.  It’s been one year and nine months since I had surgery for a Haglund’s deformity (fancy name for a bone spur) which rubbed my achilles in two.  I really struggled with the recovery of this surgery, but am happy to say that my surgery foot is now feeling pretty good.  I still only wear very good shoes, with my custom orthotics.  I also try to not over-do and make my achilles angry.  The bad news I have to report is, I am currently in recovery from having rotator cuff/labrum surgery on my shoulder.  I also had bone spurs there that were cutting into my rotator cuff and labrum.  I didn’t let that go on for as long as I did the achilles.  I had surgery in May, 2014.  It is healing pretty good, but again, just a slow recovery.  The other piece of bad news is that my “good” foot also has a bump on it that is slowly starting to affect my achilles.  It is no where as painful as I let my “surgery” foot get.  But, lord, why, oh why do I keep laying down bone?  I have researched it and have really found nothing.  I have been to several doctors, and they do not know either.  I guess I am glad that I am a tough old bitty and that I have good insurance, because I am afraid a third surgery will be in my future.  Good Luck to everyone on their recovery.  It’s no fun, but you will get there.  Be strong.  Fight.

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On October 6th, 2013, I will be seven months post-op.  I had surgery on March 6, 2013, after battling a bone spur/Haglund’s deformity for nearly 2 years.  My surgery had to be post-poned for two months because I came down with two raging cases of the shingles.  After surgery I felt really good and was ready to go back to work.  Ha- then about 4 weeks, the pain returned.  The surgeon had to remind me several times at the beginning of this recovery process that I had basically three operations at once.  I had the bone spur shaved down, I had my achilles pulled down and trimmed up, then it was hammered down to my heel with two anchors/screws.  A surgery that was supposed to last 30-45 minutes took nearly 2 hours.  The achilles had ruptured in the time that my surgery was post-poned because of the shingles.  Things were much worse than what the surgeon expected.  I probably should have had another MRI in March before surgery, but I didn’t.    I did finally go back to work as an elementary teacher on May 6, 2013, for the last couple of weeks of school.

I started physical therapy in April, and still continue to go to PT three times a week even yet.  I have really battled the recovery stage of this surgery.  I was in that stupid moon boot for 6 months.  I tried several times to make the break and wear two shoes, but the pain always returned with a vengeance.   One of the bone spurs is slowly growing back, but the surgeon assures me that is not the problem with the pain.  He said the bone spurs that were removed were probably growing there for several years before I had surgery.

In July, the surgeon prescribed a steroid pack that helped quite a bit.  I was able to wear two shoes for about 2 weeks, but then I had to put the boot back on because the pain was so severe.  Several weeks later, the surgeon tried another steroid pack, followed by a shot three weeks later.  I was hesitant to get the shot because I had read/been told that a shot in the achilles might lead to a rupture, and I’d already been there and done that.  My shot was NOT in the achilles, but rather it was given up further in the ankle.  The medicine, a steroid shot, and changing physical therapists seems to be doing the job for now.

My new physical therapist is concerned that my SI joint in my hip is pushing on my L5 vertabrae; therefore the sciatic nerve is involved and that is what is causing the pulling pain. I am still going to my first physical therapist for a shoulder condition that has been tentatively diagnosed as a torn rotator cuff, but the new physical therapist seems to be helping bunches on the achilles problem.  I really hated to change physical therapists for my foot/achilles, but I just wasn’t getting any better, and they admitted that they were flat out of ideas.

The new PT has given me a lot of the same exercises as the first PT, but she also does a LOT of manual massage.  I can’t say that I enjoy the massage, because I DO NOT.  It hurts (and it’s embarrassing for her to have to touch my back, butt and leg!!!).  But, it seems to help.  I had gimped along with the bone spurs/Haglund’s deformity for so long, that the muscles all the way up my leg were affected.  I have a hard time straightening my knee, and sometimes the muscles all the way up and down my leg cramp up and pull.  It seems like I am finally headed in the right direction.

It’s been quite the long journey, but I hope I am nearing the end.  For those of you just starting down the achilles recovery road, hang in there.  You will have your low days, and they suck; but you must push on, and hope the next day will be better.  Finding the right PT has made all the difference to me.   Good Luck to everyone.  Don’t give up, ask for help when you need it, and keep your chin up.  Things will get better.  :  )

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July 6th was my four month post-op milestone.  I had surgery on March 6, 2013 for a Haglund’s deformity which caused my achilles to rupture.  This is been a slow process, and I’m still not there yet.  I hit a brick wall about a month ago when I felt some type of “zap” during an ultrasound treatment.  The surgeon suggested laying off PT until I had my schedule appointment with him.  Last week at the appointment, he agreed that my heel/ankle was still significantly swollen despite icing numerous times a day.  He put me on a 6 day steroid of Medrol.  I thought this was going to be the miracle cure.  It is a taper drug taking 6 tablets the first two days, three tables a day the next 2 days, etc.  I felt really good beginning the 3rd day into the 6th day.  Now, I feel like I’m back to the same old pain.  I had another consult at PT today and it seems that my achilles has healed too short.  It pulls from my heel all the way up to my lower back.  I will do some stretching/lengthening exercises, but now I’m wondering if I’m in for another surgery.

The first orthopedic doctor I went to (for nearly a year) was hesitant to do surgery because he said the recovery would be horrible (he’s right !!) and he talked about cutting my achilles horizontally/scraping off the bone spur/harvesting some hamstring from my good leg/lengthening my achilles, and stitching me up.  This doctor piddled around way too long and I was in too much pain, so I switched to a different orthopedic surgeon.  The second doctor did say I needed surgery right away (which was right since the bone spur had ruptured my achilles) but he said NOTHING about harvesting the hamstring and lengthening the achilles.

So, has anyone healed “too short”?  What did you do?  Now what?  Suggestions?

On the upside, at least I FINALLY ditched the stupid moon boot.  When I took the Medrol steroids, it made me bruise really easily, and the stupid boot made bruises around my leg where I tightened the velcro straps.  With the boot already cause tarsal tunnel on the top of my foot and a Morton’s Neuroma on the bottom of my foot, I just decided to quit wearing it.  I am walking in two shoes with a horrible gimp/limp.  I have to keep my ankle/foot wrapped tightly with an Ace bandage just to give me support.  I’m hoping that one of these days I’ll “turn the corner”!!

Good Luck to all of you on your achilles tendon recovery journey.   Sending “Good vibes” to all of you.  Happy Healing.  : )

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So, it’s been a week and a half since school got out.  I had my achilles surgery on March 6, 2013, and was off of work for about 9 weeks.  I went back to teach the last 2 weeks of school - the last day being May 17th.

I was all ready to get better now that school is out, but it doesn’t seem like that is happening.  I did take it easy - ice/ and elevate the first four days after school was out.  I worked on wearing two shoes and ditching the boot.  I would wear two shoes for a few hours and “practice” around the house.  I didn’t feel too much pain, and went for longer periods of time with two shoes each time.

I had an appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday, May 21st.  The doctor is a two hour drive away, and I wore two shoes.  I did use one crutch to go into the doctor’s office, because it is quite a large practice, and a haul from the parking lot !!!  The surgeon, and the PA (that was my former student) both looked at my foot/heel and poked and prodded.  They said things were looking good, and that they could “feel” my achilles and it felt really good.  They did tappety-tap on the sore spot along the back of my heel.  They said this spot is a little swollen because that is the area where they shaved off the bone spur, but the swelling will go down with rest, ice and elevation.   The doctor did ask if the bump was a little bigger this month than at the last check.  I told him, that I thought it WAS a little bigger, and definately more tender.  They gave me a prescription for some anti-inflammatory, and an order for 6-8 more weeks of physical therapy.  REALLY?  Six to eight more weeks of PT - I still have two weeks to go on the current order.  So, it appears that I will be in PT most of the summer.  Grrr  -

After the doctor’s appointment, I went ahead and finished out the trip to go see my mom in the hospital.  I was already halfway, so I figured I should go ahead and make the trip.  I took off on a three-day trip to spend some time with her.  For some reason being in the car absolutely KILLS my foot/heel/achilles.   I have a pretty roomy vehicle, but the angle of the dangle of my leg and foot just kills me.  It feels a little better to drive when I wear the boot, but I am stubborn, and I just kept on two shoes.

While I was stomping back and forth from the motel to the hospital, I continued to wear two shoes.  I did ice a couple of times, but OBVIOUSLY not as much as I should have.  I got through the three days wearing two shoes, and using one crutch most of the time.  But, needless to say, the 4 hour trip home was excruciating, to say the least.  I hurried home and had a PT appointment at 5:30 that day.  That session of PT wasn’t horrible, but my achilles/heel was really sore and I nearly had to cripple out of there to get to the car.

The next day, Friday, May 24th, the PT session was the worst yet.  The tens unit (or maybe it is called e-stem, I can’t remember) wasn’t helping, so they decided to try ultrasound to relieve my pain.  I’ve had the ultrasound numerous times, so I thought I knew what to expect.  He put the “blue goop” on and started the treatment.  They had always told me that you won’t feel anything when you receive an ultrasound treatment.  Well, that’s a big, fat lie !!!  I was about 3 minutes into the treatment, and it felt like he needed to add some more of the “blue goop”.  About the time I was going to ask him about it, I felt a horrible, sharp, stabbing pain starting on my heel, and up through my calf and hamstring.  I flinched and pulled back (and maybe said a choice word or two !!).  The PTA and PT were both there when this happened.  The PT reached over and flicked the machine off.  They really didn’t say anything, but I knew that was not normal.  They finished the session with a light massage of the calf and I was sent on my way. So, it this jolty pain normal ?  Has anybody else experienced this with ultrasound treatment?

After I got home, the pain didn’t subside, but instead intensified.  I had sharp, jolty pains shooting up my calf, and the bottom of my heel was killing me.  I didn’t know what to do, especially with the holiday weekend upon us.  Even though I had just been to the doctor three days earlier, I called the doctor’s office and asked for one of the nurses to call me.  In the meantime, I called the PT department and talked to the secretary and asked her to have the PTA call me.  The PTA did call me back within a couple of minutes.  He said, put the boot back on, ice/elevate, etc.  and he would talk with the PT.  Then the PT called me and talked to me.  He mentioned that the PA that was in on my surgery was in the satellite clinic that day and I probably should come and see him.  (The PA comes from Nebraska two days a month and does a satellite clinic in our little local hospital.)  Then the doctor’s office in Nebraska called back and said the same thing, to get over and have it checked out at the satellite clinic.  I didn’t even need an appointment, they were just going to get me in.  I wore the boot and hobbled to the car to make the trip back to the hospital to see the PA.  He thumped around on my heel, moved it around, told me to keep taking the prescription anti-inflammatory medicine, and rest and elevate.  No x-rays, nothing.

One of my friends loaned me an ice machine thingy that is pretty nifty.  You fill it with ice and water and hook up a hose to the wrap, and it ices your foot for about 6 hours.  Why didn’t I now about this handy invention before now?

I used the ice machine/wrap thingy and it felt like things were settling down.  The compression of having the wrap tight around my foot felt good.  The cold therapy also felt good.  But, when I quit icing, the pain soon returned, even worse than ever.

This went on throughout the day on Friday and into Saturday.  Finally, on Sunday, my foot /heel felt much better.  I have been staying put and trying to elevate.  I have only iced a couple of times.

I am at a loss as to why that ultrasound jolted me.  I’m also at a loss as to WHEN I am going to turn the corner and feel like I am on the mend.  The doctor has told me that this was a major injury and a major surgery and it will take time, but I guess after this much time (nearly 12 weeks,) I am just IMPATIENT !!!!

In the meantime, if you are just starting your journey, hang in there.  There will be ups and downs, but I am proof that you will live through these rough times !!!!  I don’t have another PT session until Wednesday.  I don’t know whether to go or not.  I wonder what they will say or do about the jolt that I received last time !!!

Until next time-everybody hang in there and good luck with your ATR recovery.

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I had my Haglund’s deformity surgery/achilles tendon repair on March 6th, 2013.  As I wrote previously, the achilles/foot was so sore before surgery that after surgery, I felt like a whole new person.  At my 2 week post-op check up, I felt so good, I was sure that the PA would remove the stitches, write me a prescription to begin PT, and tell me to ditch the crutches and get back to work.  W R O N G

The PA that I saw was, of course, one of my former 4th grade students.  Yes, it was strange for him to have to gawk at my ankle/incision, but I had to get over that a long time ago and just go with it.  He did remove the stitches, did a little pokey/pokey asking if it was numb, tingley, etc, and had me put my boot back on.  I was sent home from the surgery in the boot, and never did have a cast.  The PA says, “Everything looks really good-four to five more weeks.”  Four to five more week of WHAT?  What could he possibly mean?  It felt so good, I was ready to go back to my elementary teaching job.  Granted, being on crutches wasn’t real easy, but as good as my achilles felt, I was sure that the crutches would be gone in a couple of days, and back to work it would be.

NOPE- no such luck.  The PA informed me he wanted 4-5 more weeks of rest/elevation/icing, and crutching around.  He did tell me that I could put a little weight on the injured foot, but, very little.  I was crushed-four to five more weeks at home?  Really?  I had already been house bound/ laying flat with my foot elevated for two weeks and two days.  So, back home it was.  The doctor’s appointment at the two week mark was the only the second time I’d been out of the house.  Even though I had the surgery on my left foot, I still hadn’t driven.

Within the next week, I began to see why he wanted 4-5 more weeks of rest.

Around the 3 1/2 week mark post surgery, I started having sharp, jabby pains in the area of the heel spur/Haglund’s deformity and up the back of my calf.  The pain wasn’t as intense as before surgery, but it was getting there.  I iced, elevated, and took Extra Strength Tylenol.  The pain was bad enough, that I called the doctor to inquire about things.  He prescribed some type of muscle relaxer because “your calf muscle was pretty ugly too!”  The muscle relaxer didn’t really seem to help much, but at least it did make it sleepy at night.  Since surgery I’d had a tough time trying to sleep.

After the muscle relaxers ran out, the pain was still pretty persistant.  I called the nurse, and she told me the doctor wanted to see me.  So, I met with the surgeon at about the five week mark post op.  Again, he did some pokey/pokey, removed the rest of the gross scab, and told me that he thought things were progressing fine.  He still wanted me to lay off work for another 2-3 weeks, and then begin both work and physical therapy.  (He told me that when I DID go back to work, I was only to have 5-10 minutes up on my feet, followed by 40 minutes of elevation and icing!!  What?  That was going to be pretty difficult to do as an elementary teacher !!!)

In the meantime, my mom had some pretty major surgery, and spent 3 weeks in ICU at a hospital 4 hours away (and is currently in a rehab program to regain strength).  I was trying to drive up to see her, and crutch across half the earth to get into her hospital room.  (In our family, we do things up right.  Not much goes wrong, but when it rains, it pours!!!)

I started physical therapy about 7 weeks post-op.  I was scheduled to return to work, and finish out the school year, about 8 weeks post-op.  I started back to work on Monday, May 6th, 2013.  I still had the sharp, jabby pain in the heel area, up toward the calf, but both the surgeon and the PT said that the “nerves are regenerating and getting hooked up again.”  Damned nerves.  They need to quit that!!

My school kids were so glad to see me, and I was glad to be back.  I’ll have to admit though, I tire very easily, and  lunch duty and bathroom breaks are a bit difficult (I haven’t had recess duty yet!!).  My co-workers and the kids are great, and they all help out.

As of right now, I only have about 6 days of school left.  I can make it.  I think I can, I think I can.  I have my PT sessions 3 days a week after school.  I am still trying to go see my mom on the weekends.  I can just about get rid of the crutches, and then I have a lot of pain during the day and have to use them again.  The PT says that things aren’t going to get much better until I am finished with school and not up and moving around so much.

For all those just starting the AT recovery - HANG IN THERE.  There will be down days, when you feel like giving up, but hang in there.  I’ve had a couple of mental meltdowns, but I just had to suck it up and get on with it !!!!

I’ll have to admit, that this is the hardest things I’ve ever done.  It is hard to be by yourself for so many days at a time, hard to figure out how to do the laundry, tote it to the utility room, and back to the bedroom, hard to fix something good to eat.  It is also hard to go shopping.  I still haven’t done any grocery shopping by myself.  I’ve had 2 good friends, that would bring me a few supplies as I needed them.  That’s another hard thing - ASKING FOR HELP.  I am NOT very good at asking anybody for help.  I would gladly help out anyone/anytime, but asking for help really sucks.  I have abused these two friends beyond what is reasonable !!!! HA.  There is no way I can ever re-pay them for all that they have done.

So my advice for everyone is - HANG IN THERE.  Things will get better.  Even though I am in a slump right now and I feel that I’m not getting any better, I just have to wait my time out until school is over, and hope for the miraculous recovery (which will probably take a few more months!!)

Until next time - the roller coaster rolls on.

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