Rankled by the Ankle

At the end of the long weekend, the ankle was feeling a little worn and I had trouble sleeping.  It wasn't all ankle; plenty of stuff on my mind.  But it had me questioning whether or not to go back to the boot for a bit of the day to ease into the transition more. I felt pretty good Tuesday morning, so I decide to go bootless.  Unfortunately, my first meeting out of the gate was in a large convention center, and I logged nearly 4000 steps by 9am!  Yes, the foot felt swollen afterward, but nothing I couldn't handle. When I got home I found some Hoka sandals that I had ordered were delivered.  These mirror the shoes as far as padding goes.  They fit the bill pretty well for walking around the house.  They are called "recovery sandals," more for running than my type of recovery, but whatever works! I iced up Tuesday night.  My machine doesn't seem to be keeping the pad as cold as it used to.  Not sure what gives. Wednesday and Thursday ...

Three day, President's Day Weekend to try no boot. Saturday we hit the town and went to a local casino.  We had fun (lost, though).  I put the foot to the test a bit.  After a while it was pretty swollen and uncomfortable, despite the fact that we were sitting most of the time.  It was a long walk from the car to the casino and throughout (long by standards these days, anyway).  We were there for about five hours.  This included a nice dinner, so we weren't gambling the entire time.  Sure, we're degenerates, but not that bad!  I was relieved to head home, though, take to the couch, and fire up the ice machine. The next morning, Sunday, and the foot felt kind of rough.  General pain throughout.  We did some grocery shopping, but other than that had a pretty lazy day.  Getting around the store was even a bit of a pain.  The limp was heavier than it had been Friday or Saturday. I even had some thoughts about going back to th...

Monday and back to work.  I started off the morning with about 7 minutes on the recumbent bike.  Just a little movement, and trying to increase it a bit every day.  I booted around well all day long.  At one point at the end of the day I pivoted on the bad foot and it twinged a bit, right on Mr. Achilles.  The pain lasted for about 5 minutes before fading.  Later in the evening after resting and icing, my curiosity drove me to grab a left shoe.  The doc had said a week or two in the boot and then a transition to shoes.  It has been a week. I got my left Hoka Clifton and put a Tuli's heel lift in it.  By the way, I just started wearing these Tuli's a week ago, and so far I like them a lot.  I sat down on a chair, put the left shoe on, and carefully stood.  I took a cautious, short step, and it was...very weird.  It has been so long since I've taken a step on this foot with a shoe on.  I took another step, and then a third...

The crutches are still in convenient places, but they are no longer being used.  I'm boot only now and getting around fairly well. Saturday was a lazy day.  It was beautiful outside but I didn't do much; no reason why.  I iced a bit, watched TV, and ended up at 1500 steps or so.  A bonus recovery day. Sunday I helped the wife clean the house a bit.  She's been shouldering a lot of that since the surgery.  We then decided to go to our local gym.  I selected machines that didn't impact the foot; mostly upper body stuff, but did some leg extensions, too.  I then did a recumbent bike for just a few minutes.  It felt good to do a little physical activity.  It wasn't much, but it was something.   The rest of the day was icing, walking around a bit to do this and that, more icing, more walking, etc.  By the end of the day I had over 2300 steps and the ankle felt...not bad!  Is it the Meloxicam? Is it a bit of extra act...

After a lot of pain Monday night (and a pain pill), Tuesday morning felt better.  I was able to do some non-crutch walking today, as well and some one crutch walking (all with the boot, of course).  It felt pretty good until the evening, but more movement today than previous days (over 1800 steps).  Ice, ice, and more ice! I ditched the crutches Wednesday morning.  I decided I'd go for it and went to work with them in my car, but they stayed there.  No crutches the entire day.  It is an awkward walk, and it certainly isn't pain free.  But it also isn't excruciating and I can handle it.  I'd say it is a constant 3-4 on the 10 scale while I'm moving about.  The first few steps are always awkward.  To counter this, when I stand up I do a bit of back and forth rocking on the natural curve of the boot, trying to "fire" the muscles and tendons a bit.  This helps.  By the end of the day, the foot felt a little raw and tired, but not...

Back to work Monday after a heck of a Super Bowl. I decided to one-cruth it to/at work today.  The stroll in was a little harder than expected; the backpack weight was noticeable.  I made it through the day pretty well.  There was a problem with a meeting in a far part of the building, though, that I had to hustle over to.  Once I got there, several people wanted to engage me in long conversations.  Standing there talking, both feet started to yell at me.  It was a little difficult to get out of there! Doctor's appointment day.  I gave the doc an update that I had only been on one crutch/no crutch for a few days, but the pain was better.  He did an exam.  The scab is still there, but close to coming off.  Range of motion is improving.  He advised me to continue range of motion work as much as I could.  He said that once I was boot-only, to do that for a week or two and then begin the slow transition to shoes.  The tran...

The wife's birthday is coming up, so this is the weekend that we celebrate a bit.  We had an event planned for Saturday night, plus dinner out, so I spent the morning stretching, icing, and repeating. Also, my next doctor's appointment is coming up after the weekend on Monday. Early Saturday I focused upon getting into a rhythm of icing, stretching, and moving.  I tried to use one crutch and it worked out fairly well.  The first few steps are always shaky, but once I get moving and into a flow it feels okay.  I then picked up the single crutch and walked boot-only.  This worked out pretty well. When we went out for the evening, I took both crutches, though.  Not quite ready for public prime time, so I wanted a safety net.  By the end of the evening the foot was unhappy and tired. Sunday was a day with nothing on the calendar except a night of Super Bowl watching.  the foot always feels better in the morning.  I continued to work with ...

Back to work Monday, with the goal of a full week this week. I took one of the old ice bags to work Monday to try and focus upon icing more (can't take Mr. Ice Machine there).  It is tough to do in that environment!  I did more than the past, anyway. Moving at work was an increase from the weekend.  The foot was a little more yelpy in the evening so the ice machine went to work.  I gave the foot a little inspection halfway through the evening and noticed an obvious increase in swelling from the weekend.  Just another reminder that the pace is going to be slow. Your mind plays tricks on you when you read about things like this.  I remember reading posts on Achillesblog prior to surgery that hinted about being up and running in three months or similar time periods.  I went back last night and re-read those, and found that they were people who were "guessing" or thinking that they'd be doing that; not many who actually did.  In fact, most that ...

Continuing with aggressive icing with the ice machine.  It really seems like it is helping, or perhaps the steroid, or maybe both.  I haven't really tested the ankle out much, as I'm still using two crutches.  But it feels better. Saturday night I attempted sleep without a pain pill; without anything (except Medrol), in fact.  It worked!  Took a bit to find a comfortable position, but once I did I was out like a light.  Sounds like nothing special, but this really was a big step. Sunday I iced in the morning, and then we went to the movies.  I didn't want to see the same movie as the wife and step-daughter, so I went to a different one.  I had booked a seat next to the disabled seating, and someone was in my seat!  After they watched me crutch around for a few minutes, the person finally got up and told me she wanted to sit next to her husband and asked if I would mind switching seats.  Not a problem, but it would have been nice to a...