Ten to Eleven Weeks Post-Op [second foot] and Fifth Checkup

May 2018

I am writing this post one week after my checkup, just over 11 weeks post-op.

Ten weeks post-op checkup

I had hoped to get rid of my surgical shoe after this visit; however, the doctor is having me wear it three more weeks. Before my visit, I had been having some pain that was different than I experienced during my recovery last year; pain on the top of my foot and inside my foot to the right of the incisions. He said my foot was also more swollen in this area than he expected. He felt my foot while asking me questions, and he had X-rays taken. My doctor said the X-rays look like the bone is fused; however, he wants to have me back in three weeks for a visit with the other doctor in the office to get his opinion. 

Although I was disappointed, I had read stories about patient X-rays showing that the bone had fused when it had not. So, I guess I am glad he is being cautious.

Pain and swelling

My ankle is still a bit swollen at 11 weeks, although my foot swelling has gone down some. The picture I took at 11 weeks looks the same as the one I had taken at 10 weeks. The stitch that did not dissolve in my left foot is still there.

11 weeks post-op

My doctor had wrapped a compression bandage around the swollen part of my foot while I was in the office. He told me to wrap it like that until the swelling went down. I had not really noticed that the top of my foot was swollen more than usual before my visit. I had mainly noticed my swollen ankle.

For the next week, the wrapping made my entire foot frequently throb and itch. The first night, I took the wrapping off expecting to see that my foot was all red. I thought maybe I was having a reaction to the material. My foot was not red at all, so I put the wrap back on. After about a week with the bandage, the throbbing and itching subsided. I am still wearing a compression wrap, and I get a bit of throbbing in my toe every now and then; however, it is not like it was a week ago. The top of my foot also still itches occasionally. The pain inside my foot has gone away for the most part. 

As odd as this sounds, it almost feels like the bandage encouraged the healing, and it was making my foot itch and throb while healing. I also wonder if the screws are causing some of the problem because of my metal allergy.

Activity

I rode my bicycle a few miles at nine weeks before my checkup, which was a tad painful. After my visit, at about 10½ weeks, I rode seven miles without stopping, which felt great. My doctor had said that biking would be better for me than walking.

I walked a mile in 23 minutes at 11 weeks; 1½ miles total. I am hoping to increase that this weekend since my foot is starting to feel better.

I have done quite a bit of yard work and outside walking on uneven terrain the past couple of weeks, which has not been a problem.

Healing thoughts

I did a couple of things differently after my surgery this time, and I wonder if any of them had any affect on my healing.

• Last time my foot was wrapped or in a cast for 6 weeks, so I could not move it at all. This time, I wore a removable boot, so I frequently took the boot off to exercise my ankles and toes before the end of the 6-week period. I had thought this would aid with the healing; however, now I wonder if it actually slowed the process.
• Last time, I was super diligent about consuming bone healing foods--fresh parsley, turmeric cocoa, and more. This time, I was not as obsessed with that.
• I had more pain this time, and the Norco pain medicine I had been given did not relieve the pain. I had some ibuprofen 800 from a previous ankle injury, so I took one of those pills three different times before I went to bed. (I know we are supposed to dispose of prescription medicine if there is any left!)  😰 I figured it was okay since it had been prescribed for a broken bone injury, and I know I could have taken three or four Tylenol with about the same amount of medication. When I was reading some information online after that, I read that some doctors think ibuprofen can hinder bone healing. They think that only Tylenol is safe. There is some controversy about this right now with no definitive results from studies. Even so, I quite taking the ibuprofen after I read that, just in case!
• As I mentioned earlier, I wonder if the screws in my foot are causing more swelling and pain because of my metal allergy. I am not sure why it would be worse this time, although I do plan to talk with my doctor about this during my next visit.

Hopefully, I will be walking in my own shoes next time you hear from me! If anyone has any questions, please let me know.