Jun 02 2008
About
Just a little about me…….I will be turning the big 5-0 on July 2nd. I guess this injury is another reminder that I am getting OLD :( I am married to an extremely patient man, and have two daughters ages 22 and 13. I work as a substitute teacher for grades 1-6 at a school right across the street from our house. I ruptured my right achilles tendon, ironically, on the last day of school…..
Marianne..
How did it go??
Doc Ross
Well, I survived the surgery on Wednesday
I followed one of the site members’ advice and asked for anti-nausea med. from the anesthesiologist. It worked– no nausea 
Like most posters have said, the pain is manageable the day of surgery. It was yesterday, Thursday, the day after surgery that I suffered quite a bit. Slept on and off the first night taking the darvocet, but as morning approached, was in quite a bit more pain, so tried the vicodon again, which is what they perscribed the day of the injury, even though it really messes with my mind and that is very scary for me. 24 hours following the surgery was the toughest pain– extreme burning, stinging and stabbing pain…very unbearable and I was in tears:( My husband called the doc around noon to tell them that I was not coping at all… I spoke to a nurse and she asked me why I was afraid of taking vicodon and i explained that I’m very anxious and don’t like the feeling of not being in control which is how the vicodon made me feel. I had a panic attack after taking 2 pills and I was still in extreme pain. She was extremely nice and told me to just stick with the darvocet and to go ahead and take 800 mg. of ibuprofen, as well, in between the doses of darvocet. That seems to be helping me with the pain a great deal . Luckily, the excruciating pain only lasted through the mid-morning and early afternoon yesterday and I slept well last night 
So, I am hopefully over the worst the pain and am on the road 
Thanks so much for asking how it all went and for letting me vent. I soooooo appreciate it !!!!!!!
Hi Marianne,
Congratulations on your successful surgery. You are on the road to recovery! The worst is definitely behind you, but the next 1-3 weeks will be tough. Keep you foot elevated above your heart, minimize your activities, and spend plenty of time on this site.
Good luck and keep us informed with your progress.
Craig
Hi Craig,
I will definitely be heeding your good advice…
Thanks, Marianne
Craig,
I have been spending a lot of time on this site reading the posts about everyone’s experiences good and bad. I really want to learn as much as i can about the reality of this situation we are all in. I tend to obsess about the scary stories, though, like Kevin’s and Kristinatl’s wound closing problems and it really freaks me out worrying if i could handle something like that happening to me. I feel so helpless, sitting here hoping i will heal that it’s depressing. Still haven’t tried the crutches yet 5 days post-op. My husband and daughter use the wheelchair to take me to the bathroom and back to couch or bed. Sometimes I feel like i should be doing more, but still don’t feel up to it.
Marianne
Hi Marianne,
One thing you’ll read over and over on this site is that you need to progress at a pace you are comfortable with. The last thing you want to do is push yourself too hard and end up re-injuring yourself.
Try just standing with your crutches at first. When your body feels comfortable with the balance of weight, then try picking your good foot up a bit without walking. When you are ready to try some steps, plan on making short trips where you can sit down and rest as-needed. You’ll find your stamina and confidence will grow quickly. Before transitioning off of them, I was comfortable going relatively long distances (furthest walk was probably close to 1000 feet) while on crutches, and was quite a bit faster than I am now.
Craig