Hi Sophie!
Yep, I'm still around.
I suppose I'm not popping in quite as much as when I was pretty much house-bound, and we've been doing some "extra" homeschool stuff that needs my involvement more....(making up for lost time when I couldn't do much of ANYthing except what I could do from bed or recliner!) I'm able to get out and about now, and am doing better, though still have very definite pain at the place where 2 of the screws are, and expect that they may very well have to come out - it especially hurts anytime I put SHOES on, so that's definitely a bit INCONVENIENT!!
I can feel the shoes rubbing on the screws
and that HURTS! I still have quite a limp, but I think that is slowly decreasing.
I haven't called doc back at all, as I know I'll probably need to wait a bit longer before we even consider removing screws... and he said the only other reason I'd need to call him is if I have worse pain or if the foot was still swelling a lot (it is, but...) and he'd send me to PT to have them try to help me get swelling down with some kind of massage, special exercises, etc. I may give him a call this week, to ask if he can send me for just one time, so they can show me what to do on my own, at home - since I homeschool our kids, it's nearly impossible for me to have (carve out!) time to go to PT more than a time or 2. When I call, I'll also ask how long before the screws can come out, if still painful at end of waiting-time. (Maybe I'll get really lucky and the pain will just fade away... but it sure doesn't feel like it right now) The foot still swells a LOT - all the way up past my ankle - especially more as the day goes on, and I still have just one pair of tennies that I can wear (because I bought a second pair in a size larger to accomodate the swollen foot) - though I think I'm getting closer to being able to get a 'normal' shoe on - I can now get my slippers on both feet, and have one pair of flat dress shoes that I can SQUEEZE the foot into... painfully... (can't WEAR them for any more than 2-3 minutes though, as the one is very painful right across 2 of my 3 incisions/scars)
Hope that gets better.
I almost posted the other day (then got side-tracked) that I finally got back on my treadmill for the first time since the day before surgery (11/12/05). I made it a whole whopping 7 minutes, at the incredible, lightning-fast speed of 1.5 m.p.h.! ROFLOL!! Today I managed 13 (painful!) minutes at 1.7 m.p.h. I'm hoping to increase minutes and speed a bit each couple days. I might try to do it 2-3 times a day, in small increments, until I can work up to tolerating it for longer periods. It's the pain at the screw sites from mid-foot fusion (*mostly* that), and some from the screw at the base of my big toe, that is really keeping me from doing more. I don't notice any pain at all from the area of osteotomy and screw on 2nd metatarsal - which is nice!
When I consider where I was at just a few weeks ago, and where others are now (and still) going through the worst parts, I feel pretty thankful to have the improvement that I do. And very, very thankful that I didn't have to start a second stint NWB like you... I'm so very sorry that you have to go through this for so much longer!
I know it must be discouraging - I can only imagine how frustrating it would be. But, like you said, EVENTUALLY, it will be over for you, too, and you'll be glad you had it done (and EXTRA-glad to be DONE with it!!)
Has your bone stimulator gotten approved yet? And are looking at possibly needing surgery on the other foot at some point? I know I'm going to end up needing pretty much the same thing on my right foot, but am determined to stall that AS LONG AS POSSIBLE right now. I really, really, REALLY do NOT want to do this, EVER again! I think this was almost as bad as my first spine fusion, which was really pretty bad. At least with that I was able to be up and around - in fact, the more walking, the better. But with the FOOT, it's absolutely MISERABLE to be up and around AT ALL, due to the awful, painful swelling.
Well, I need to haul my gimpy self to bed, as I have to get up EARLY to bring daughter to figure-skating - then I'll probably go back to bed!!
I hope you can get your new cast and stimulator soon, so you can get fixed up and be done with the foot!
Have a wonderful week-end!
JD
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