ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! - Post-Op

First, I want to thank God for being with me, cuz I sure did need to know he was around those first few months when I was shut in.

As I look back, I'm reminded of so many things! My melancholy, the pain, and the small hurdles I overcame along the way. =o) 

A FEW HAPPY THINGS

• I use to have a corn on my third toe and now it's gone. ;o) 

• I also use to have thick calluses in the bottom front of my feet. They are gone too. I hope it stays that way.

• Another little thing is that before the surgery I was a size 9 to 9 1/2 shoe size; and now I'm a size 8 1/2 to 9. This is due to my Bunionectomies. Yay. 

• In case you're wondering, I do not feel the hardware in my foot.

OUTSTANDING PAIN ISSUES

(the red areas are further past muscle, closer to the bone if you will.) This Sciatic Pain pain keeps me from taking long walks or doing anything on my feet for hours. It's an annoying and sometimes miserable kind of pain. It's daily, and if I keep going I end up limping. I'm hoping it will diminish completely with time.

UPDATE The issue in this box WAS part of my outline when I started putting this entry together 4 few weeks ago. BUT something amazing happened. I won't go into the details, but I received complete healing in this area. This pain lasted 11 months and 2 weeks. I've been completely pain free for the past 2 weeks! So there are no outstanding pain issues!

TENDONS

Remember I spoke about this back in the "Didn't know" page? Back in the 11th post-op week? Anyway, when I wake up in the morning it feels as though my tendons have been in a ballerina position (pointed foot) for an ice age. 

So every morning I have to recline myself forward to make the tendons feel "released". It's weird.

NUMBNESS

RED are numb areas. YELLOW are areas of a tingling sensation when touched.

PINKIE TOE
As I mentioned in a previous post, I suspected my 5th toe might develop a bump or callus because it's now rubbing up against the inside of my shoes.

It never did that before because it lived under my 4th toe. (I placed it out from underneath my 4th toe for the B/W photo.)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Well, the past year has been a sedentary one. If you remember, I tried walking at the track back at the 6.5 post-op-month mark. It didn't go well. This post explains the complication with the fourth toe.

At the 8th month mark I tried the treadmill for 2 weeks, but my whole leg was in pain. I had to stop.  

So now the question remains, "Will I forever have to wear a band-aid on my toe when doing intense physical activity to avoid a blister?"  I think I've avoided the gym because I don't want to test this. I don't want a painful blister under my toe! But at this annual point, I really have to. I'll be sure to post the results.



SCARS

The two in the center are from the Brachy surgery.

VIDEO

As promised, I made a video to summarize this past year's journey in case you've just joined the Blog. ;o)

INSOLES

In the past few months I've had to invest in this stuff.

It helped with the pain, but moving forward I will make this part of my shoe-drobe because I want better foot health.

I wore this lovely little number a few days ago for a 40th BD party.

Again, the higher the heel, the shorter my new fourth toe looks. ;o)








The "High Heel" insole is just a must for me now. They feel so good. I think this will help keep those calluses under the front part of my foot at bay. 

And these things even have arch support! Awesome.

FLEXING

This is how things look when I flex my toes upward.

RESULTS

My right foot looks gigantic! LOL

Obviously my left 4th toe isn't as long as my normal right one. 

This is more likely with the one-stage method vs the external fixator. I knew that going in. 

With all I've been through— I'm ok with it.

I'm more bothered by the results of my bunionectomies. Specifically, the first-metatarsal on my left foot. Seriously, I thought it would be better than that. But it's been a year of recovery and it's time to just move on.

HELP

As I had shared in this post, I'm looking for flip-flops that say "Puerto Rico" on the straps. Preferably in leather. If anyone knows where I can find them, please leave me a comment. ;o) Thanks.

QUESTIONS

Is there anything you'd like to know that I haven't covered?



Thanks for following!

8 Month Mark

          (34 weeks) 
Hello all. Autumn is here! Isn't it lovely?! ;o)


At this point I am pretty sure that the Sciatic nerve issue I've experienced is not usual. I really haven't heard anyone else who's had this surgery mention it. 

I also no longer think it was ONLY due to how I was sitting post-op. I think it's more than that. When you look at how this nerve runs all the way down your leg, and to your heel, I now believe that the heel surgery itself had something to do with this. I think it was aggravated somehow during surgery.

I had Brachy and Bunion surgery on my left, and only Bunion surgery on my right. The sciatic issues are only on my left. I really feel the "heel" surgery aggravated my nerve because if it were the sitting position I did months ago, it should really be gone now, and it's not.

I believe I will be well again and it will be gone at some point, but for now, after 8 and a half months it comes and goes.

I am now on the treadmill several days a week. I do a max on 4.0 speed and 7.0 incline. Only walking for an hour. Because the pain comes and goes so sporadically I still don't know if exercise helps or hurts it. I just started on the treadmill so time will tell. (update: I had to stop the gym, it got to be too painfull.)

It's still not freezing out so I'm mostly in flip-flops. And I work from home so the only closed shoes I am really wearing are sneakers. Because of my bunionectomies, wearing closed shoes will take a while. If it was only Brachy I'm sure I'd be wearing them already.

GOOD NEWS! Remember that trip I booked?! Well it's in 3 weeks!!!!! Wow it's been a long haul. Remember this? 

Well things do get better. I look back at my struggles and I'm very grateful to be past them. All I have now is the sciatic pain that comes and goes (it flows into my buttock and makes me limp), and my feet still swell a bit.

But now it's time to look forward to my trip! YAY! I'm planning to have my first ever professional pedicure on the Cruise, ON MY BIRTHDAY!

I will try to take snapshots of the event to post. lol. Next post will have foot pics for sure, I promise! ;o)

Tootles!

7.5 Months Post-Op Update

Feeling even better!                                                     (32 weeks) 

I took the risk and went on a very short photography hike. It was great! It was a very slow pace and it lasted two hours. When I got to my car to drive home my leg was starting to hurt (sciatic nerve), and my bone graph in my 4th metatarsal was actually aching. 

But again, once I rested things were fine. So I think it's all good.

Recently I did wear a wedge heel sandal. It had no cushion whatsoever. I could walk to where I was going and sit with them. But walking back to my car I noticed I was limping and favoring my right side. (So even though I had surgery only 3 months ago on my right foot, it still feels better than my Brachy foot surgery from 8mo ago.) But it's still progress. ;o)

There is less swelling in my left foot so it looks more defined now.

Nice to have the bunion reduced on my right too.

These socks actually press in areas that really accentuate my bunions. They sort of still look big don't they?  lol.  But I feel it's partly the socks. I think once I start taking photos of my new feet IN shoes, I'll appreciate my surgeries even more.

Sure, I wish I had a straight line for my 1st toe, but you can't have everything.

These are the very first flip-flops I purchased after my surgery. I LOVE them, they are so soft and comfy. I hope they last forever. 

Seven month scar update.
They are coming along.














Numbness 
My skin is still slightly numb in these areas. The areas use to bit a bit larger. Compare it to the 6th week here.

(FYI: the images used to show the numbness areas in this post are old images of my foot. Just the red sections are current status.)

The Big SCIATIC Post

I didn't even know that sciatic was a nerve, or where it was. I mean, I've seen people grab the back of their hip and complain about sciatica, but that was it. Unfortunately I am now much more educated with it.

The stuff I found online doesn't seem to apply to me though. Much of the sciatic issues mentioned stem from lower back problems and disc issues, which I have none. I think it's possible that I might be able to help someone out there by sharing what happened and how I'm dealing with it.

"The sciatic nerve is a large nerve fiber in humans and other animals. It begins in the lower back and runs through the buttock and down the lower limb. It is the longest and widest single nerve in the human body." [wikipedia.com]

After going through this pain, reaching out to my doctors, and getting nothing that has actually helped me, I was forced to take matters into my own hands. ("I" even had to ask to be sent to physical therapy.)

My online search and my doctors had advised the following exercises. However, they only gave me very temporary relief. I always ended up back at square one within a few hours.

I thought I had hit the jackpot with this one,
but it offered no permanent or growing relief.

This did nothing for my sciatic nerve. It helped stretch my heel cord (tendon)
which I need too but nothing for my sciatic pain

After weeks of no help, I started to pray. It then dawned on me that perhaps it's the way in which I'd been sitting that was aggravating the nerve. I had a congestion issue in my leg and was sitting in a position that helped that issue (A). I began to sit up (B). While I had to deal with the congestion in my leg (it was better that 3 months ago), I started to feel relief of the sciatic pain.

So it seems to me that my sciatic problem happened because of the way I was sitting for 3.5 months. (update: as time passed I realized the nerve must have been aggravated during surgery.) It put pressure on my nerve for an extended period of time. Sitting up began to help, but did not solve all of the pain. 

I kept praying. The following two exercises came to me out of nowhere and have been offering me growing relief at a slow pace.

I do these without the band

This one was on my mind for a long time.
But I was afraid it would aggravate the nerve. It's helping though.

I'm now taking either ibuprofen or naproxen twice a day to keep both pain and inflammation, if indeed it's an issue, at bay.

After being able to start getting relief I canceled my physical therapy appointment because I asked Dr. Yes if physical therapy would make me do stretches I'm already doing. He said that was probable. ;o/

However, I'm going out soon for surgery on my right foot. I'm curious to know if they have anything further to offer. So I will be going to at least one physical therapy appointment to see if they can lend anything additional that will help me RECOVER from this and not just manage it.

I'll keep you posted.

Week 16-17 Post-Op Summary

"Foam soles" seems to be
the comfiest thing right now.

Hi everybody! Ok let's get to it...

The biggest thing in the past two weeks is that the pain in my leg was persistent even with all the stretching I was doing for my sciatic nerve. As you recall I sent out an email asking for help to both my doctors one weekend. I'll spare the details and say that ultimately neither was of help to me in this matter. "I" even had to ask to be given an Rx for physical therapy (PT). 

When I asked if PT would have me do stretches I'm already doing on my own, the answer I got was, "It's probable." It was also said, "Patients your age usually do good on their own. It's older patients that seem to need the motivation of a three-times-a-week commitment to stick with it."

Nonetheless I decided to have my doctor give me the Rx anyway because I'm going for surgery soon for my right foot and need this pain addressed now! I made an appointment to go in a week (the only opening they had).

The pain was miserable and led me to pray quite a bit about it. Feeling alone in the matter I asked for wisdom of what to do about the pain to relieve it. Sure enough 4 days ago a notion entered my brain. I asked myself what had I been doing for 4 months because of this surgery that isn't part of my normal routine. "SITTING" is the word that came to mind.

I felt like a broken record in my posts, with my doctor... and my friends, with my: "I can't sit upright yet! I have to sit reclined with my legs up because of the congestion in my leg." Well it occurred to me that my manner of sitting was putting pressure on my sciatic nerve, aggravating it. Working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week now, in this position may be increasing the problem.

I immediately sat upright with feet on the floor! It felt odd at first and of course I felt the congestion setting into my leg, but it's certainly not as bad as it was 2 months ago. I really wanted to give this a go so I forced myself to stay upright during my work day. I FELT BETTER! Three days later 80% of my sciatic pain was gone! Praise God for giving me this inclination!!

Any sciatic pain I feel now I believe is just the nerve inflamed for what it's been through and my lack of exercise. As I continue to sit upright and let things heal I'm convinced it will totally go away. I will be canceling the physical therapy for tomorrow. From what I've gathered, I will be made to do stretches I'm already doing, inconvenience my work schedule 3 times a week, and cost me $120 a week in copay fees. So I'll do it on my own. (see newer posts... I ended up going to one PT session.)

Other than that, I still have the regular pain that comes along with this surgery at this time by practicing walking again. (and swelling) I'm doing stretches to regain flexibility in my tendons, muscles, etc.

The thing I found that helps the most in this matter is to not be annoyed that I'm still in pain at 18 weeks in. Instead I look back to see what I couldn't do 2 weeks ago. When you look at how you can do something now that you couldn't do 2 week prior, it makes you feel real good. It's important to celebrate progress. Not the amount, just the fact that you're progressing. ;o) I've learned to say "YAY FOR ME!"

MEDICATION

I'm taking either ibuprofen or naproxen to address any inflammation.

I'M NO LINGER USING MY BOOT OR CRUTCHES. I did get a cane though because I went to an outing where there was a lot of people and I wanted to visually tag myself as someone to be careful around. ;o) (Now that I'm beginning my 18th week I've stopped using the ace bandage altogether. My foot is now bare and in sneakers or foam flip flops.) Walking barefoot on floor is still too uncomfortable.

I can only walk short distances before the pain makes me stop and rest. ei: I can walk my dog in the morning and then go to a doctor's appointment, by the time I get home, my foot is in quite a bit of pain and I have to sit and lift my foot up for a bit. But in a very short period of time I feel fine again. ;o) YAY!

Pretty.

I couldn't resist these! They are actually really tight. But I have a theory, that they are tight in all the right places based on the fact that "pressure" is the best thing for hypertrophic scars.

I'll wear these around the house to stretch them out.

You can see my right bunion sticking out! That is going away in three weeks!! ;o)

I got these to help me look forward to my surgery in three weeks and my vacation cruise in 4 months!

Now a member at DSW! Yay for me!! ;o)

Tootles!

Week 15 — Post-Op Highlights

Howdy.
A picture is worth a thousand words right? I'm definitely visually adept, but there is more going on than this photo can tell. So I'll tell you. ;o)

IN A SNEAKER!

Saw Dr. Yes last week. I've graduated into sneakers. Went out and got a good pair. I choose a men's (I need the extra width) Nike Air Max Run Lite +2. They were the most comfortable to me out of the selection. I also choose them because I would be able to add some comfort insoles in them without a problem. I needed a sneaker that would have enough space top-to-bottom (vertically) in the front.

I got 2 kinds of insoles. One for Heel pain relief and the other for the Sole.

I wanted them both in a men's size for the extra width, but was only able to find one. ;o(

Nothing seems to take the pain I feel away, but this is better then just the insole that came in the sneaker from the manufacturer. ;o)

Because the ace bandage would be too bulky, in a sneaker my Doc gave me this snazzy TIGHT sock. It does my scars good. (Remember the post I made about pressure being the best thing for scars?) 

My ankle and foot need the support (especially while driving my stick shift) so the sock is a good thing. But I do find that my foot starts to ache after about 5 hours. It's too snug after that time.


But I still wear my ace on top of that for ankle support.

PAIN
Let me be clear, while I am now out of my boot and off crutches, I'm walking with a great deal of pain and discomfort.

There are three things going on in the pain department:

    1. Both front and back of the sole of my foot
        are quite painful when I walk. It feels as though have metal         plates there, right under the skin of my soles.

     2. The Achilles tendon (Heel cord) is very tight

     3. My sciatic nerve

I had complained of this pain maaaany weeks ago and after describing it again to Dr. Yes this past week, he simply told me what it was. GO FIGURE! He gave me stretches to do.

The exercise was to stand arms-length away from a wall. Place palm of hands flat on wall, lean into wall by bending elbows... bringing the body toward the wall while heels remain on the floor. I found that this addressed the Achilles tendon, but not my sciatic nerve pain. 

I knew nothing about the sciatic nerve so I looked it up. I found this stretch was the best one so far:


For me however, I need more than this stretch. (The pain is persistent.) I have sent an email (because it's the weekend) to both of my doctors explaining the pain even though I am doing all the stretches, and requesting actual physical therapy. I'll let you know what they say. (In the meantime I've started taking Advil for the Ibuprofen. I'm hoping it relives the inflammation.)


WALKING

Stretching the Achilles tendon (heel cord) is Soooo necessary. With effort, I am able to go up stairs one foot in front of the other like normal (need bandage on).

But going down stairs is a totally different story. There is no limberness in that tendon. Until this happens to you, you never realize how it actually helps you go down the stairs.

I'm working daily to stretch this out. While I do not have permanent improvement in my sciatic nerve, I do experience permanent improvement in this tendon with my stretches. ;o)

There are stretches on YouTube for this tendon, but I find they aren't the best for those of us who have had Brachy surgery because we can not fully put weight on the foot yet. This is what I came up with that works best for me:

SLEEPING

I'm now enjoying full sleep through the night! YAY! ;oD

CONGESTION
This is improving also. (See: STRANGE)

NUMBNESS

(the images used to show the numbness areas in this post are old images of my foot. Just the highlighted sections are current status.)