Day 3 Post-Op
I am now on my 3rd day after surgery. I am under quite a bit of pain and the oxycodone has made it so I have not slept much. Most of my time has been laying down. It is dificult seeing everything function without me. I feel pretty helpless right now. I feel pain in 2 distinct areas. One area is at the incision where I think the pain is due to swelling and it feels better when I keep foot elevated. The 2nd area is my lower calf muscle where it ties in to the Archilles. This pain seems to also get better with elevation. It is very dificult to move around. My office is downstairs at my house so I spend most of my time downstairs. Getting up the stairs is a challenge. I crawl up stairs then lift up on one leg and use crutches to get around. One trip up stairs and I am pretty wiped out. I will never again take for granted the ability to accomplish even the simplest of tasks.
May 4th, 2008 at 6:43 am
Vance - Sorry to hear you’re experiencing a fair amount of pain. Try to keep the leg elevated as much as possible. I found it helpful mentally to move around, but don’t try to do too much if you’re experiencing pain. Sometimes rest is the best.
May 4th, 2008 at 7:49 am
THis is my day 3 also….I am not having the pain you have, but I don’t feel well - kind of shaky and nauseous. And I think stairs are absolutely exhausting. I felt like passing out last nite when I finally made it upstairs. I go up on my butt, pushing off with the good foot and my hands. I may try crawling, that might be easier.
When do you see your doctor? i have an appt for thursday May 8- one week post op.
May 4th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Hey Vance! Yep…it’s the simple things that are so difficult. And, the first couple weeks when I was have pitty parties some times during the day it’s because of the helpless feeling. In the beginning I barely drank water…’cuz who wants to hobble to kitchen and balance and drink or eat anything. I recommend you switch med’s. I, like many others on the site, took percocet in the beginning and you sleep like a baby. After the first several days when I ran out of percocet I was taking vicadin or some other pain med’s and they were keeping me up at night. So, switch to percocet or another pain med, or take tylenol PM, and some folks on the site have taken the prescription sleeping meds. Hang in there!!! It so gets easier and the pain will go away. And, for sleeping like you already know probably, keep several pillows propping up your bad leg. Lastly, I’d go outside a little each day. The sun and fresh aid will help life your spirits. And, on the stairs I go up like tennisjunkie does…on my butt. I’ve gotten good at going down the stairs hopping and holding on for dear life. But, before surgery I fell down all of them, so don’t try that in the beginning!
YOU’LL GET BETTER EACH DAY AND YOU’LL FEEL BETTER. My brother has also went thru this and once when I cld him crying he’s like, “It’s just a foot…you have another one…it’s ok…you’ll get thru it.” In the beginning I had a claustrophobic feeling with the heavy splint on. That goes away quickly. Get some better sleeping meds and you’ll feel much better!
May 4th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
I was able to lay out on the deck and soak in some sun. It felt great. I thought maybe I could take on a project so I put together my wife’s bike trailer. It started out well as I felt I was accomplishing something but with the excitement and determination to get it done I over did it. I have been pretty sore. I did not put any weight on foot but I was sitting up and foot was not elevated. I do feel I am making progress and I feel good about accomplishing something. Thank you all for the wisdom and support.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Vance - hang in there! I’m about where you are and the pain does ease off. I think we’re all using muscles that we don’t normally use and just doing the little things are exhausting. I’m glad to see that you’ve got some accomplishments under your belt, too!
Keep up the rest and elevation. It’s tough being mostly immobile, but it’s worth it in the long run.
May 5th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Hey Vance,
I’m one week post-op today, and am finding I am feeling stronger moving around than at first. I have been using Ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin) for pain. I stopped the Tylenol 3’s by day 3 as I found they made me feel really wobbly on my feet, and tired. The pain I feel now is in the evening when it swells up, and it feels tight and claustrophobic in my cast. I’m still feeling my incision line, but less and less everyday. The Ibuprofen seems to help settle the intensity down. I also find that hanging my foot down causes my toes to turn purple and tingle - I am hoping that by the end of week 2 that should settle down more. I am amazed you put your wife’s bike trailer together - it probably felt good to accomplish that! Make sure to keep your foot up as much as possible - easier said than done, I know.
Hang in there - I am hoping that each day will feel a bit better.
Jen
May 5th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Jen,
Just a quick medical tip that my surgeon told me after my surgery. He said that ibuprofen may slow tendon healing and told me to take Tylenol after I no longer needed the prescription pain meds.
The purple/tingling of the toes when not elevated will go away gradually. For me, I started being able to keep my leg down for extended periods of time (i.e., more than 15 minutes) around 3.5 weeks after surgery. I am now at almost 9 weeks post-op (and should be in two shoes next monday (hopefully)) and my foot still swells when I keep it down for a few hours. I call it steak foot because my foot looks like a big steak when it’s all swollen. Once you are in teh boot, you may want to try a compression sock. My PT gave me one and it has really helped with the swelling. Good luck! It goes much quicker than you think it will.
Drew
June 4th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
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