26 May, 2012
Day 14 - Travelling by air
Travel was uneventful - except that I could not whiz through the airport. No excessive swelling, etc. Lots of walking at the airports may have helped with the joint's mobility; today, I can jump a little!
17 comments :
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I just got back from my post-op appointment and. OMG!!! REMOVING THE STAPLES WAS SO PAINFUL! I was, clinging on to my husband, sweating and "needing a break" after every two staples. Everyone on the whole floor heard me screaming! Why some doctors use sutures and some use staples is beyond me! If given a choice,choose the sutures!! I also had my pin removed (painless) from my 5th toe. That toe looks no different to me, (it used to be curled inward toward the other toes and still appears that way). All my bandages are off but I am to remain in my orthopedic shoe for another two weeks before transitioning back to my regular shoes. Putting weight on my big toe does not seem as uncomfortable as putting it on my 5th toe, which feels like there is something sharp/prickly in there. I may have to call the Dr. if that feeling continues. Miracle of miracles, I scheduled my second surgery for after Thanksgiving-- The first week in December.
ReplyDeleteDay 14 --Stiches out left foot
ReplyDeleteStiches came out today and Persifal you win...getting them out on this foot did not hurt...more of little pricks. I braved it and did not take the Percocet because I trusted your judgment and you were correct. :) I did have a different nurse this time, so it may have been in the technique (or lack there of).
Foot feels really good, doc said 80 degrees range of motion already and he showed me on the xray that I have tons of cartilage yet in my left foot.
So glad I had the surgeries done on both feet 1, one after the other. I know I am on the road to my feet feeling great. By the feel of my right foot now at 13 weeks post....10-11 more weeks.
Had my post-op visit today. The doctor said that my toe would be sore and continuing to heal for another 4 weeks or so. He said that he had to remove a lot of bone spurs and something about hypertrophic synovium... Anyway, I understood him to say that I have more cartilage on that joint than he had thought and that I should get better results that he had fist told me. He said that the stitches had been in a few days too long, so the removal hurt a little. I asked him if I needed to be doing certain exercises with it. Besides wearing a wide based shoe, he said that it needed to heal because he did a lot of work in there. I hope the pool is opened tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteCR - Day 14
ReplyDeleteFollow up Visit today. The unveiling. I was pleasantly surprised to note I had dissolving stitches used, so nothing to remove. My foot almost matches its partner in size. Even the scar wasn’t too scary.
I was told I can resume all my activities as works for me.
I need to work on regaining some upward movement in my toe. When I said I couldn’t bend it at all, I was told that while I was asleep, he was able to bend it quite a bit. So was given a few suggestions for working on it - walking, bending and flexing them while standing and so on. In a month or so I am to get X rays done & to go for my next visit.
Day 14 and I'm so impressed with my progress. Had follow-up doc visit two days ago, and was surprised to learn that stitches are dissolvable. X-Ray was taken, and there is now space between the toe joint (compared to pre-surgery), and the doc explained they were able to achieve 90 degrees of bend in the toe after surgery. I can now shower, but need to wear my Frankenstein shoe (with a toe spacer added) for another two weeks. There is absolutely no pain when walking barefoot, and I actually went to the gym yesterday. Lifted weights, but was very careful when I worked my legs. When I'm home, the doc encouraged me to keep my foot elevated and continue to use my ice boot for another week. I'm itching to get back on the tennis courts, but know I can't even begin to get my foot into a tennis shoe at this point.
ReplyDeleteDay 14. Had the gauze removed and sutures trimmed. The nurse is happy that the swelling has gone down and recommends wearing a running shoe after two more days, still using crutch when necessary and now letting the toe take weight. She thought the movement was quite stiff and gave me several toe and foot exercises, and said it would be okay to build up walking slowly, but not to return to work for another couple of weeks. No cycling yet either but okay to do upper body gym work. Overall a good result but another couple of weeks away from my busy job seems difficult. I am seeing my GP next week so maybe she can be convinced of at least a phased return. Luckily I can access email, electronic files and video conferencing from my laptop.
ReplyDeleteI went in today for a second post-op appointment. They took an X-ray and said everything is looking good. I need to start moving my toe now. He just said to move it up and down 10-12 times, 2-3 times a day. He also said that I can start wearing whatever shoes I want. I still can't get my foot into most of the shoes I own, but I will be trying to slowly ditch what I call "Roboboot." He signed my form so I can go back to work too.
ReplyDeleteDay 14 for me and my right toe feels great. Stitches out tomorrow. HOWEVER, I've had intense pain in the same calf for 3 days. Saw my GP, had a test and I have blood clots (DVT) in the muscle. Happy days hey!!! So I am hobbling about the house not because of my toe but the pain in my calf. They tell you to put your foot up and take it easy and yet this inactivity caused the clots and from what I've read fairly common. Anyway i'm on meds to dissolve the clots and I'll have to live with calf pain until this settles.
ReplyDeleteI'm very pleased with my toe recovery but this setback has me frustrated and depressed.
I went back to work in the office today. Normally I would take public transportation, but this is not an option just yet. The boss agreed to expense my parking so I could park close to the office, so I am walking one city block or so to/from the parking garage and then also around my office for a bit. Mostly I sat all day, but I did not elevate, and when I did walk, I had work on my mind and would forget to take it easy and tweaked a few things. As a result, by the time I left, which was around 6:30 PM, my foot was quite sore. I limped to the car. And limped to walk my pups. Unfortunate, but not a super big deal. Tomorrow I'll elevate.
ReplyDeleteDay 14 for me, and I'm probably hurting more now than I was a few days ago. I think this is because I am starting to use the foot more.
ReplyDeleteDay 14 and it feels a lot like yesterday. I walked a good bit yesterday and experienced outer left foot cramping in the late afternoon when I rested, somewhere between the ball and the middle of the arch. It was so deep I couldn't pinpoint the muscle, but it was pretty annoying. I decided take it easy for a few hours before bed, and that made sleeping much easier.
ReplyDeleteToday I tried walking around a bit with no Ace bandage, exfoliating the dead skin on my feet in the shower, and it's been generally fine. I'm continuing to massage the toes and feet as instructed to try stimulating feeling back into the toes and reduce their puffiness. Slow progress, but patience is key...
Same as day 13
ReplyDeleteToday is day 14 for me -- I had a stage 2 Hallux Rigidus on my left big toe.
ReplyDeleteI'm nervous and very upset. Stitches came out yesterday and I can't move my big toe at all. (well, maybe an 1/16 of an inch up and down.) I had A LOT more movement before the surgery. I can't put any weight on it. I can't even stand flat footed with a bare foot on a hardwood floor.
I hope I have not made a terrible mistake having this done.
( I'm wondering if anyone even reads these, since this blog is so old... maybe this is just tossing a note in a bottle and throwing it in the ocean. )
If you read my posts you will notice that I started moving the toe up and down, just a little (perhaps 1/16 inch) only on day 17! And now, 5 years later, I have a great range of motion and no pain at all. You need to give your toe the time it needs to heal after the surgery.
DeleteDay 14 - after left toe cheilectomy on 50 year-old female.
ReplyDeleteWhoa are those stitches frightening (perfect for Halloween time)!
The Day2 gauze had been stuck to my incision, but fell off naturally on Day 13 revealing those intense black stitches. Yikes. But the incision actually looks pretty good. However, I was a little surprised the size of the joint is still large, about the same as pre-surgery, much bigger than my normal right joint. So I'm hoping it's just post-surgery swelling and it will subside over time.
I get stitches out tomorrow and thanks to this blog, I'm not too nervous, since about 75% of you seem to have little discomfort. Still, I'll bring along some tyelonol and a left-over norco.... just in case.
Tried to put on normal shoes today, but it was a no-go. The ortho sandal with cushy sock is still my comfortable friend. Haven't exercised yet, just walking around normally during course of day. Continue doing joint mobility exercises 2x per day.
I went for my first follow-up appointment this morning. I had expected to see the registrar who did the operation (I don’t actually know who did it) but it turned out it was only an appointment to get the bandage changed by a nurse. Hmmm... a 2.5 hour drive each way to get a bandage changed. OK, so I’m feeling slightly less chirpy about our wonderful national health service.
ReplyDeleteMixed news. On the downside, the wound was split open for approx 4cm of its length, so is now re-bandaged and at least a weak more under wraps. Doh! I join the list of those who have failed to live by the collective wisdom contained in this blog: try to do too much too quickly and chances are you will delay your recovery.
more serious downside is that the nurse said that there was a post-op note to say that there was 50% cartilage loss in the joint. I’m not sure what the implications of this are, but the nurse seemed to think I might only get a few years before needing further treatment. Hey ho, hopefully she was being overly pessimistic. It would be nice to get an expert view.
On the positive side, the foot looked pretty good to me. Yes, the wound had opened a little but it will heal very soon and there was no bruising and the joint actually looks like a big toe joint again – rather than a big, bony, misshapen lump. And it seems to move much better, although I can’t quantify this in terms of degrees.
Day 14- I haven’t posted for a few days but I have accomplished a few more things. On day 12 I decided as it was the weekend I would get downstairs. It made me feel much better to sit in the chair with the patio doors open and get some fresh air. It rained the whole weekend so the garden was off limits but the sofa and a box of chocolates was a great treat. The stairs was a challenge with the crutches but I just took my time and was careful.
ReplyDeleteToday I had my first car journey out. I didn’t feel I could drive in my boot so I managed to get a lift to my two dance classes that I run. I sat and taught at both classes and it was just brilliant to see all my dancers again. I taught a morning class and an afternoon class. I was out from 9am until 4pm. I was surprised how well my foot was, I did not need painkillers. I had times when I put my foot to the floor and times when I put it back on the chair. I’m now back at home resting and feeling great. I have two more classes to do tomorrow and stitches out in three days.
The best advice I would give at this stage is to be careful, be patient but do those small things that lift your spirits and make you realise that things are getting better everyday.