Getting depressed from Achillies/Plantar tendon surgery
Posted , 4 users are following.
Mid September I ruptured my achilles/plantar tendons. It only went 2 days unchecked before I couldn't stand the pain anymore.
They tried casts and splints until mid November when they decided surgery would be the best option and I thought it would have been too. Weeks after surgery, two freak accidents opened my incision on the back of my heel twice while the side incision remained intact.
It's been 132 days and the back of my heel stays red and purple. I get stabbing pains, my leg cramps up, I can still hardly walk and when I do there is a ton of pain, no matter what kind of shoes I wear, and I do stretches which are not helping. Periodically throughout the day and night ( it wakes me up ) , it feels like someone is stabbing me repeatedly in my foot. I last saw my doctor 5 weeks ago. I have my last follow up on the 17th. But he says this is completely normal and I can be in pain for quite some time. The surgery was to fix my tendons and correct the pain and I just feel like it made it worse. My foot also has some small deformities to it. Sells so bad all the time. And within 5 minutes of being on it, I am crying in pain. I don't know what to do. It's making me so depressed.
0 likes, 15 replies
stephanieM32
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raven94187 stephanieM32
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I tore my Achilles on June and went straight to surgery in July. 9 months later. I still have the stabbing sensation at night or through out the day. Feels like needles are sticking me. My doctor said it's the nerves trying to reconnect. Which he says is a very slow process. I still have numbness in the ball of my foot, plantar and toes. Doctor said it will also go away eventually. Fortunately no pain other than the needle sensation. The 1st 3-6 months it swelled a lot and improved a lot. Little to no swelling at all, however it's still hard to fine a comfortable shoe. So e hat you're feeling is normal. Best of luck in your healing process.
Oh yeah I couldn't put weight on it for 3 months and wore a boot. I think this helped a lot.
stephanieM32 raven94187
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Just started walking again at the end of Jan.
stephanieM32
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Rob9700 stephanieM32
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Hi Stephanie,
So sorry to hear about your injury and the tough time you are having with recovery, While it seems that everyone has a different experience, yours does seem a little out of the ordinary.
You are a little more than 4 months out from surgery. At that time I still had quite a bit of swelling and had a hard time with shoes. Doc kept me on crutches for about the first 8-10 weeks. For quite a while I got what I call "shooters," brief stabbing pain in the heel that would sometimes wake me up. I think these are associated with the sural nerve that can get irritated as a result of the surgery and the injury. They did finally subside (I am about 7 months post op). I still have some pain, although it is not as intense as yours, but It is getting slowly better.
The redness and pain you are reporting can be concerning. Can you press your doc for an earlier appointment and tell him/her your concerns?
This is a tough injury with a long and slow recovery that can be very frustrating with advances and occasional setbacks. Even pro athletes take 8 months to a year to recover. I wish you all the best for a complete recovery. Let us know what doc says. I hope you feel better soon.
Rob9700 stephanieM32
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stephanieM32 Rob9700
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I have tried for an earlier appointment but he does not feel it is necessary.
So I just have to wait unfortunately.
I will keep this post updated with what the news is once I have my appointment.
The red and purplish coloring does have me very concerned, especially as it constantly gets that stabbing or burning feeling.
I did have some skin necrosis earlier on in the healing process as well on the back of the heel which luckily healed but where it was, still has a scab over it of dry skin.
Rob9700 stephanieM32
Posted
I think that stabbing will eventually subside. Unfortunately, unlike a simple fracture which would already be mostly healed, these tendons are tricky since they are involved in basic locomotion! Can't walk without them functioning, and they take a lot of stress. So, it takes a ridiculous amount of time to heal, but I am confident it will heal, although some folks take longer than others due to the nature of the injury, the specific surgical techniques, and other factors.
Seems like you had a double whammy with the achilles and Plantir tendons all at once, as well as the additional injury that most likely set back the healing process.
Hang in there, Stephanie. You will get better. There will be small victories and advances as time goes on--don't forget to celebrate them. Also,don't be bashful about pushing on the docs! After all, it's your foot and ankle, not theirs.
Again, best wishes for complete recovery and relief from your pain and discomfort. As you will see from this blog site, there are lots of folks in different stages of recovery.
stephanieM32 Rob9700
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Thank you for the kind words. I am trying my hardest to remain positive that's for sure.
I wanted to include a link to a pic of what my foot looks like and compare it to other people's but was not sure if that is allowed on this forum?
stephanieM32
Posted
Not sure if this is allowed or not but this how my foot looks, luckily in this pic it's not all red and purple like it has been so you can see the incision area..
http://i66.tinypic.com/2rzxu81.jpg
Rob9700 stephanieM32
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I see what you are talking about. I can see where it would be painful--no way to wear shoes and it is bearing your weight. Foot does look swollen which exacerbates pain. If you haven't tried ice packs (there are some convenient ones with Velcro to make it easy to wrap--not sure where you are, but I found some at Walgreens, a pharmacy in the US). Also, elevation helps. Are you doing physical therapy?
The stabbing pain is almost certainly from the sural nerve. That will most certainly pass with time. Imam told it is a skin sensory nerve, and unlike some other types, it will eventually heal, albeit s-l-o-w-l-y.
stephanieM32 Rob9700
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Before I started walking, he took my boot off, and pushed up and bent my toes as far forward as he could get them to go while I literally sat there with tears in my eyes and told him it was hurting me. He said that was normal.
I have not tried ice packs only because I have some health issues and my body does not handle that much coldness at one time (my body is a wreck during the winter even). I do elevate and I am going to start doing epsom salt soaks to see if those help.
stephanieM32
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virgil stephanieM32
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I'm very sorry to hear about your set backs. This is the first I've read / heard about such a long time of pain. Perhaps a second opinion? Unfortuneatley I can't offer much advise here, as I'm just getting started. Ruptured my tendon one week ago and surgery is next week. I hope things quickly begin to improve for you.
stephanieM32 virgil
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