Weaning Crutches - Day 40 - 43 (Work Week) Post Op
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 in terrible pain. Ice, ice, and more ice! In my running days, my feet (both) would feel similar to this after a longer (10+ mile) run: very worn out and tired, but not debilitating for sure. The primary differences are that this is just in the one foot, and the Achilles is a different kind of twinge that I never had prior to the spur. The Achilles is feeling it as I stretch it out more and more. Over 2,000 steps today.
On another note, the right foot is still demonstrating a low level pain along the upper back of the heel. Am I concerned? Slightly, but hopeful as I transfer more of the burden on the left this will ease up. No need to plan for surgery #2, God help me, yet.
I've also started preparing for the transfer to shoes. I have a pair of Hoka Clifton runners that I purchased just prior to my journey toward surgery. They were a last effort to try to keep my run/walk regimen up. Obviously, they didn't work, but it wasn't their fault. They are shoes with a high level of cushioning. Anyway, I found that they also make a black leather shoe that I can just get away with wearing to work (Hoka Infinite). I ordered a pair and we'll see how they do. I think in the meantime I'm going to try to wear the right Clifton on my right foot to help it out (I'm dressing down at work still until I can comfortably switch to shoes).
Wednesday also brought another sign of progress: cautious steps down some steps. I was a bit nervous about trying, but it ended up going pretty well. One step at a time in a slow manner and neither up nor down were a problem.
Thursday was an unavoidably long day. I wore a Hoka Clifton on the right foot and I think the foot appreciated it. As the day drug on into the evening, I glanced at my tracker watch and noticed I was over 3,000 steps. The foot was not happy. It was ready to be done. I wound up getting home with close to 4,000 steps and a bit too late to bother with hooking up the ice machine. Way too much of a load. Swelling was noticeable. Ouch!
The foot and ankle were still sore on Friday morning, so I eased up quite a bit throughout the day. It was a work day, but I sat at the desk a lot. I get pretty tired of doing so, but what am I to do? Steady doses of the ice machine during the evening while the wife and I picked out and booked a Mexican all-inclusive vacation for July.
The Hoka graced my foot all of Friday. It makes a difference. Pain is lower in the right foot. I knew in the back of my head that I needed to equalize the load/height; I don't know why I didn't. I paid the price for the ignorance.
I'll be switching to the Meloxicam over the weekend. I figured it is good to try it while not working in case it gives me some sort of problem.
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 in terrible pain. Ice, ice, and more ice! In my running days, my feet (both) would feel similar to this after a longer (10+ mile) run: very worn out and tired, but not debilitating for sure. The primary differences are that this is just in the one foot, and the Achilles is a different kind of twinge that I never had prior to the spur. The Achilles is feeling it as I stretch it out more and more. Over 2,000 steps today.
On another note, the right foot is still demonstrating a low level pain along the upper back of the heel. Am I concerned? Slightly, but hopeful as I transfer more of the burden on the left this will ease up. No need to plan for surgery #2, God help me, yet.
I've also started preparing for the transfer to shoes. I have a pair of Hoka Clifton runners that I purchased just prior to my journey toward surgery. They were a last effort to try to keep my run/walk regimen up. Obviously, they didn't work, but it wasn't their fault. They are shoes with a high level of cushioning. Anyway, I found that they also make a black leather shoe that I can just get away with wearing to work (Hoka Infinite). I ordered a pair and we'll see how they do. I think in the meantime I'm going to try to wear the right Clifton on my right foot to help it out (I'm dressing down at work still until I can comfortably switch to shoes).
Wednesday also brought another sign of progress: cautious steps down some steps. I was a bit nervous about trying, but it ended up going pretty well. One step at a time in a slow manner and neither up nor down were a problem.
Thursday was an unavoidably long day. I wore a Hoka Clifton on the right foot and I think the foot appreciated it. As the day drug on into the evening, I glanced at my tracker watch and noticed I was over 3,000 steps. The foot was not happy. It was ready to be done. I wound up getting home with close to 4,000 steps and a bit too late to bother with hooking up the ice machine. Way too much of a load. Swelling was noticeable. Ouch!
The foot and ankle were still sore on Friday morning, so I eased up quite a bit throughout the day. It was a work day, but I sat at the desk a lot. I get pretty tired of doing so, but what am I to do? Steady doses of the ice machine during the evening while the wife and I picked out and booked a Mexican all-inclusive vacation for July.
The Hoka graced my foot all of Friday. It makes a difference. Pain is lower in the right foot. I knew in the back of my head that I needed to equalize the load/height; I don't know why I didn't. I paid the price for the ignorance.
I'll be switching to the Meloxicam over the weekend. I figured it is good to try it while not working in case it gives me some sort of problem.
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