Friday, September 2, 2011

6.5 Months Post-Op Update

  (28 weeks)
I'm doing better, thank God. It has been touch and go with trying to walk in sneakers at the track with a reasonable pace. As you would imagine it's difficult at the beginning, but if you keep at it, it gets better. It feels good to get out and move. 

I did have a little something I'm not happy about though. Because the fourth toe sits lower than it should, while walking, the entire bottom of it (its full length, not just the tip) rubs against the sole of a shoe with more force than a normal toe would. This caused it to blister. 

I didn't want this to derail me at the track so I would wrap it with a band-aid. The healing seemed slow no matter how much Neosporin I was using. One morning I got the the track and realized I had forgotten to bandage it, but I wasn't too worried because the blister had been drying out. I improvised and wrapped my toe with a piece of paper. That seemed to work fine until I got home.


I then realized that the paper prevented my 5th toe from moving properly and it now had a blister as well! Fun stuff huh?



PAIN
The pains I use to have in my heel are gone.
The congestion is also gone.
I'm working on the sciatic nerve pain that developed during this whole process. It has lessened, but very slowly, and I have to work at doing exercises to accomplish this. I'm happy that it's improving.

The past month has been a time of endurance. Going out to do a few errands and getting home with a leg that begins to ache. I rest it and then I'm fine again. So it's a matter of building up my endurance. I can't wait till I can go to a museum and walk through the art for a day and not be hurting by the end of it. The thought makes me smile. ;o)

So the platelette feeling on the bottom of my foot was temporary. At 7mo, it's gone.


So is the tendon pain, and need for prescription painkillers. Halleluyah!

What I have now is stiffness. In the morning, the tendons and joints (bunionectomies) are very stiff. I have to stretch it all out to get started.

I've been walking for 4 months now and I have yet to walk in closed dress shoes. I've spent my time in flip-flops, I was unable to fit into a pair because remember, I had the bunionectomies on my right foot just 8 weeks ago. It still gets swollen and the incisions are too sensitive for a hard closed shoe.

Winter is coming so maybe I'll spend the time in a comfy boot. Hard closed shoes may have to wait for the spring?

One of my biggest lessons is this blog. I love that I accomplished what I set out to do, which was to tell all of it in detail so those considering it will be able to plan and anticipate accordingly. But the negative side affect it had on me was just that, negative. It made me focus each week on what was not working, the pain, etc.

I believe this did not help my own healing process. It's a lesson learned for me. I always knew that staying positive can work wonders and now I have my own personal proof on that account.

So in your journey, get the info, compare notes, but feed yourself good thoughts DAILY! It will help a lot. ;o)

2 comments:

mitavalle said...

I'm so happy to see new updates!! I'm sorry about your blisters! I hope they get better. It's good to know that those could happen once I start walking so that I can plan ahead.

My post-op doc said something interesting at my appointment today when looking at my x-rays. He thought the 6 screws were about 1cm longer than they really needed to be. He continued to say that when I start walking, I might feel sharp pain on the bottom of my foot because of the screws. I hope I never get the sharp pain he mentioned but it made me think of you and your post about that "platellete" feeling. It's good to hear that it should be gone around the 7-month mark!

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I appreciate it more than you know and I'm sure that anyone else with brachy feels the same way. You've really helped me a ton along the way in knowing what to expect and having something to compare to my situation. Thanks a million!! :)

ZJ said...

Mitavalle, thank so much. I'm sure glad this is helping you. Wow, 1cm too long is a lot! My platelette feeling was not due to my screws being too long, I feel it was just a normal feeling for a bone graph in those area. (remember I also had the feeling in my heel and there are no screws there)

But you may still be ok, give it some time, who knows maybe your doctor is mistaken and they aren't too long at all ;o)

Keep me posted! Ciao!

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