One week down....

[rocknrollgirl]

That is what my doctor said on Friday when I went to see him post foot surgery. One week down. Not sure how many more to go. On the 28th i had to have the plantar fascia partially released on my right foot. It was so tight it caused a fibroma to form. I found the lump two years ago and have been buying myself time with orthotics while it grew. It finally got to a point this summer where I knew it had to be done. I waited until our race season was over on 11/22 and scheduled the surgery for one week later.

So week one consisted of THE most uncomfortable cast on the planet. And crutches. My foot was in a flexed position, and as long as I was sitting upright with my foot out I was fine. As soon as I tried to lie down and sleep, the cast put excruciating pressure on the top of my foot. So I went a full week with no sleep. And when I say no sleep I am not exaggerating. I was so over tired last Thursday night I had a panic attack and my poor husband had to sit up with me for two hours.

Friday the cast came off.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.....and I was in heaven until the doc grabbed my toes and pushed back hard. YOWZER. Ouch. He instructed the hubs to do this torture 2-3 x a day. I still have the stitches in and I am still on crutches....ah the crutches, an entire thread in itself. I am allowed to lift upper body and do core.

So no running or riding or yoga for a time yet to be determined. 4-6 weeks probably. I am trying really hard to not be down about it. It is hard because riding is a huge part of our social life. It was SO hard to watch my hubby leave to go mt bike last weekend. But as he pointed out, if the cast was on the other foot, I would go run or ride. He is wonderful about taking care of me and the hose and shopping and cooking, so he needs to get out.

So here I sit...in my boot...and the crutches....

So keep me company ladies.....

[Crankin]

I can imagine how you feel when DH goes out to ride. I know how I would feel, as riding is a huge part of our social life, too. Are you going to work? I had to use crutches once, when I fractured my knee many years ago. I just couldn't do it (was very out of shape at that point of my life), so I ended up dragging my casted leg everywhere!
Focus on what you *can* do now, and think about how pain free you will be in the spring.

[rocknrollgirl]

I am going in to work. I teach high school and my kids are great, so I went in last week and " was my own sub". I figured as long as I was not in a lot of pain, I might as well go in. Nothing like 100 teenagers to take my mind off things! The lack of sleep was the tough part. That and driving with my left foot. I only live 3 miles away through the neighborhood, so I drove back and forth.

The crutches are exhausting aren't they? My husband was on the for 10 weeks when he had his knee done years ago. I am not sure how he did it.

[Helene2013]

Oh boy can I hear you on this. Been on/off crutches for the past month. It is so hard to walk in those. I hate it but I know sometimes I have no other options.

Yesterday was the first day I could walk normally - if you can call it this. My ruptured baker's cyst is resorbing and my lower half-leg is starting to look normal. But not out of the woods yet and no walking and jumping all over the place.

Hubby was training on bike trainer a few nights last week and it was so heartbreaking not being to even do a small gym, but light physiotherapy.

Today I will try to ride on trainer for 10-15 minutes with no strength on bike, no standing, no max speed. Just a small warm up to see how the knee is handling things for now and get the fluids from bottom leg right up to the knee lymp nodes as it is easier to be absorb back by body.

It was the worst pain I ever had. The knee ligament restruct of the other knee 10 years ago was nothing compared to this pain. I don't ever want to feel this ever again.

So hang it there. There are better days coming up even if it seems hellish right now.

[rocknrollgirl]

I never thought I would actually look forard to the trainer! We had awful weather this w/e so nobody was out riding. It made it easier to stay put.

Today was a sloggy day. Tough to get out of the house this morning, tough to muster any enthusiasm. But heck, it was Monday, I am sure half the world felt that way!

[bluejellybean]

I've had plantar fasciitis a couple times in the past and not too long ago noticed a lump on the bottom of my foot. There's no pain or anything, (yet!) but I'll be keeping an eye on it. I'm hoping it doesn't develop into anything!

[rocknrollgirl]

I was able to push it off for two years by using orthotics. They really helped.

[Crankin]

You are not missing much in this rainy weather, rocknroll.

[rocknrollgirl]

truthfully, I am so exhausted between not sleeping and crutching that I am not yet antsy. It will come and I guess when it starts I will know I am on the mend.

back to the doc tomorrow, my hope is that the stitches will come out and that the crutches will get an expiration date.

[ny biker]

I was going to suggest this would be a good time for any sedentary projects you might have been putting off. Like going through boxes of old photos and putting them into albums, or organizing those old financial documents that we are supposed to save for X number of years and purging/shredding the old ones. But it's better if you're not exhausted (or zonked out on pain killers) when you do that sort of thing, which often makes it hard to do them when you've got forced down-time due to injury.

Do be careful not to overdo things when you get off the crutches. Easier said than done, I know. But we don't want you to injure something else!

Good luck with the doctor tomorrow.

[rocknrollgirl]

Believe it or not, no painkillers. Not a one. I have had very little surgical pain, just uncomfortable from the cast at night.

So once i can hobble unaided, shredding stuff sounds like a wonderful idea! heck I will be stoked to vacum!

Lordy, speaking of which I hope I get off the crutches tomorrow, we have holiday company coming next w/e and staying. YIKES.

[rocknrollgirl]

I saw my surgeon's wife today who is a partner in his practice. Here is what went down:

The stitches are out. I am going to suffice to say it was " moderately unpleasant" to have them removed. I have a blister of some sort that has developed on the outside incision. So I can't get it wet for another week.Poo.

It is still shockingly sore, so the doc told me to start to add some weight gently while I am crutching. Yep, that's right folks. I am still on crutches.

BUT, she took pity on the amount of discomfort I have been having so she bandaged me with lots of TLC. Considering that I ripped off the last dressing at 3 am on Tuesday, I think she saw I was not joking about needing it done with a bit more wiggle room.

So there you have it. So hopefully in about two weeks I will be able to get on my trainer. Maybe. Heck at this point I will settle for a good night's sleep and a chance to shave that leg!

[OakLeaf]

Ow, RnR. Hope the healing accelerates from here on. Don't be shy about the pain killers. You need to get some rest ...

[rocknrollgirl]

I had a pretty good night last night ( post me ripping off my dressing), so I am hopeful. Is it weird that I am afraid to weight it? Has anyone else experienced this?

[Crankin]

Yes, when I had my cast taken off, after I fractured my knee. This was many years ago, I was in terrible shape. It's the only time I've had a cast, I hated it, but when i had it removed, I could barely walk on my leg because I was so scared.

[ny biker]

Maybe start by just putting your foot flat on the floor while you're sitting down?

I know the process seems slow, but hang in there, you are making progress. I hope it heals well.

[rocknrollgirl]

I think I figured out what part of the problem is. When you have a boot on and you weight it. because the height is so different than your other leg you can evenly distribute. Last night went I went up to bed, I found a shoe, a Dansko clog that was even in height. It makes it much easier to stand and sort of gently weight my foot.

[OakLeaf]

Glad you're making progress!

I think the hesitancy is normal and probably healthy. Even a short time in a cast leads to a LOT of muscle atrophy, plus a lot of the proprioceptors live in the fascia, which will now have to find a completely different route around your foot than they did before your surgery. IME, doctors really tend to neglect the neuromuscular side of things. If it's not contraindicated, what I would be doing is a lot of non-weight-bearing movement of the foot and ankle, just to get your proprioceptors firing again, and accustomed to their new arrangement. Drawing the alphabet with each toe individually, that kind of thing.

[rocknrollgirl]

Thanks Oak for the advice. I have been wiggling my toes a lot since the cast came off and flexing my ankle. I will add in some alphabets ( while I am binge watching Sleepy Hollow):)

[Sky King]

I stumbled across this thread and maybe I shouldn't have read it :) My neuroma surgery is the 28th and I keep telling myself two weeks and I will be on a strong road to recovery... I don't run but this time of year do a ton of walking as the roads are to icy biking. Having read this, I see the trainer is going to be my close buddy in February. Glad to hear you are "almost" clear

[rocknrollgirl]

You know what, truthfully, I am six weeks today and it has gone a lot fast than I thought. I was only really completely down for 3 weeks. And during those three weeks, I did not really feel like doing much anyway. I went in with a list of all the possible activities that I could do and had the doc say yes or no. Can I lift upper body? yes, when the cast come off. Can I do core work? yes...etc.

So if the trainer is your go to, embrace it. It will go faster than you think. I did not gain any weight and I mt biked with my normal comrades last w/e and they said they saw no difference in my fitness. I felt it, but hey, if they did not see it, who am I to argue!

good luck with your surgery, let us know how you make out.