surgery

Posted on September 6th, 2008 by vfraley

my surgery was scheduled for 2:15 but my doc was delayed due to an emergency surgery that morning.  I didn’t get taken in until 4:00 and was in recovery by 5:00.  They chose to do a nerve block and partial general anesthesia due to an elevated liver function test on the 20th of Aug.  My leg didn’t get feeling in it until early the next morning which is probably a good thing.  The pain isn’t as bad as I expected.  I haven’t seen the surgeon yet though, so I don’t know what he did.  I called and was told that he will give me a full report at my first post op visit. 

I’m spending alot of time in bed right now and using crutches.  I have a non weight bearing cast until my post op visit on Thursday.  They prescribed me Lortab 10.  1-2 every 4-6 hours.  My husband is helping me with everything.  I don’t know what I’d do if I had to do this alone.  I highly recommend anyone scheduled for this surgery to get a cast cover and a shower stool before you have surgery.  I tried to think of every thing I’d need after and have it ready when I got home. 

I’ll let you know what I find out at my post op visit.

2 Comments »

Surgery scheduled

Posted on August 31st, 2008 by vfraley

I’ll be having my surgery to repair my achilles tendon on Wed. 9/3/08 at 12:00 noon.

4 Comments »

My 1st post.

Posted on July 21st, 2008 by vfraley

Hello all,

I am really glad to find this site.  I experienced some popping in both achilles tendons while walking last year around the end of August.  The pain started and continued without fail.  I’ve been on many anti-inflammatory drugs over my years at my employer but none helped with my pain.  I finally searched out a doctor after Christmas and he ordered an MRI.  The dr. I was seeing was a podiatrist that was in an office with several other podiatrist’s.  The MRI was done in their office and was a small machine that you only put your foot into.  When I went back to the dr for the results, there was a mix up and the name & birthdate on the MRI was for another patient.  The results from the radiologist office that they use also stated that I didn’t have any problems but the dr. said that he looked at the films and could tell that their was definately some tendonitis.  We requested for the films to be sent back and read again at the radiologist but the radiologist said he would only issue the same report again without looking at the films (sidenote: the dr office has changed radiologists).  The doc put me in a boot (up to my knee) and instructed me to take off work.  At that time, I couldn’t go on medical leave from work and continued to stand and walk all day 10 - 12 hours on concrete wearing steel toe boots.  I would wear the boot as soon as I got off work, but that didn’t help any.  By the first of May I couldn’t continue with this and sought out another doctor due to the problems at their office.  This time I went to an orthopedist.  He ordered a new MRI (didn’t trust the other ones) and the results were different.  By now, my left foot was still painful but better than the right one.  My results showed nothing remarkable on my left foot but my right foot had Tendinopaty and partial tear of the Achilles tendon, sprain versus partial tear involving the peroneal brevis tendon, cyst in the anterior ankle and edema in the pre-Achilles.

I searched on the internet for reasons for tendon damage without having any type of injury.  I came upon a site that talked about some antibiotic (Fluoroquinolone) side effects.  I went to my pharmacy and printed out a list of prescriptions that I had taken during 2007 and low and behold, I had taken 2 of these types of drugs (one in June and one in August).  I had taken Cipro and Levaquin for upper respiratory infections.  This is the only cause that I can come up with for my tendon problems. 

I finally had to take off work around May 9th 2008 and wear a walking boot on my right foot.  I went to physical therapy (iontophoresis) 3 times a week for 8 weeks.  Alot of the gunkiness has left from around my achilles tendons, but I still have alot of pain where the tear is located (where the tendon attachs to my heel). 

I’ve called the doc for a sooner followup appt to discuss other options because I can’t continue like this without loosing my position at work. 

Has any of you had similar problems due to drug side effects?

3 Comments »

Hello world!

Posted on July 21st, 2008 by vfraley

Welcome to Achillesblog.com.

This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Following link will take you to your blog’s “command center” where you can write your posts:
http://achillesblog.com/vfraley/wp-admin/

Be sure to fill out your city, Achilles rupture date, surgery date, etc.. (if you know it) here:
Fill out my Achilles Profile Here

When you do, you can keep track of your recovery progress and see your information on the Marathon Tracker.

Here’s more info: using Achilles Timeline Widget

Please change this post’s title to something more descriptive. Just leaving it as “Hello World” leads people to believe that you haven’t updated your first post!

If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask! :)

Dennis

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  • Richard | September 17th, 2008 | 6:54 am

    Hello Marilyn,
    Co-incidentally I met an old friend yesterday who has his own PT practise. He had heard about my rupture and quizzed me about the history (basically chronic tendon pain for about 18 months) and then asked about my pre rupture treatment. When I told him about the two cortisone injections he was appalled and even mentioned the dreaded word’mal-practice’ - However I’m at the hosp on Monday hopefully for a foot move - I’ve been in a hard cast with my foot pointing down now for nearly 10 wks! so I’m looking forward to a bit of positive news. All the best,
    Richard

  • MarilynRD | September 16th, 2008 | 9:09 pm

    I also had 2 cortisone injections from a Podiatrist and went back for a 3rd and he stated that he wouldn’t do more than 3. Six months were inbetween each one. They do increase your change of rupture but I had incredible relief and was able to go back to my tennis game each time.

    But, I got increasing worse and now know that it was a temporary fix. The heel spur was still there and the bump on my heel was bigger over the two years. I decided on surgery this August. (after the Spring Tennis Season, of course :) Hopefully I will be ready for the next Spring and can run faster! BTW, Other MD’s said that I should not have allowed any MD to inject that site…..

    So Richard and VFraley, how are you doing now?

    MarilynRD

  • duff123 | September 7th, 2008 | 7:50 am

    I feel for you girl!! I have just started weightbearing and yesterday packed up the shower seat~ don’t worry there is an end. The other thing that helped me was my husband got an extendable shower at Home Depot for like 10 bucks. It attaches at your regular shower head- it came in handy since you can’t move much in the shower. We also got a camping portapotty for right next to the bed-I’m still using it since our bathroom is downstairs. That was a life saver! Good luck!! When they give you a boot cast, think about having your husband gently do some foot massage- I think that helped me alot when it was time to walk again. Good Luck!!

  • Richard | September 6th, 2008 | 4:53 pm

    I have a similar tale in that I was treated with 2 cortisone injections to clear the inflammation around my achilles - they worked for a time - I was like a new man but of course I now know the consequences of these injections and the high rate of rupture which follows. To be fair I was warned but the pain in my achilles was stopping me functioning to the point where I couldn’t work properly and just live normally . Desperation probably got the better of me, however I have done loads of reading and general research since my ATR and its an absolute mine- field of claim and counter claim about cause and effect.If only I’d known then what I know now……………………… !

  • hobblit | September 6th, 2008 | 10:56 am

    Congratulations on your first “step” to recovery. Try and keep your foot elevated above your heart as much as possible during the critical first two weeks. The more you rest, the faster your foot heals. I didn’t have much pain either but I still took an Ibuprofen every day for the first week to reduce swelling.

  • dennis | September 5th, 2008 | 5:14 pm

    vfraley - How did the surgery go? Keep us posted on your recovery, and I hope you get plenty of rest.

  • stevew | August 31st, 2008 | 1:19 pm

    Good luck.

  • annieh | August 31st, 2008 | 10:22 am

    Another member of our exclusive club, welcome. As you will no doubt find out over the coming months the advice you get off this site will be invaluable. Take heed of the main advice of rest and elevate, we all think we don’t necessarily have to do this, but be assured you will.

    Good luck with your recovery, if you have concerns about the medication try and research as much as you can and post on this site for others to see.

    Annie

  • kkdub | August 31st, 2008 | 10:00 am

    Good luck. Go back and read people’s early day blogs to get an idea of what to expect. That was a life saver for me.