Foot Ankle Problems following knee surgery.....

[deejay30]

My OS office called today - the doctor received my MRI results.  I will be going tomorrow to have my foot put in a cast until I am able to see a specialist on the 20th.

Seems I have not one, or two...but  three tears in my tendon.  One of them is big, one very small and one is at the attachment to my toe and it is partially torn from the bone and has taken a small piece of the bone with it.

Very discouraging. 

[hopalongcasualty]

not good at all 

[deejay30]

So, I've been bragging about how my knee has been fine and the pain I have had in it since this foot thing began has been relatively minor.....

WELL....today my knee is throbbing, my shin is throbbing and my dang foot is throbbing. 

I decided I would try to do some simple leg lifts, just to see if maybe the problem was that I haven't exercised in about a week..so the first lift I felt some discomfort but not really pain so I continued on - I quit after a few and decided I was going to massage my quad and the scar area - that was when I noticed that I have ALOT of swelling in my knee and the length of the Fulkerson scar.  My foot and ankle are also very swollen but that's no surprise really. 

I dont go to the specialist until next Monday. I really hate waiting, I'm so darn impatient. 

So I'm icing and elevating - I sure thought I was done with all of this.  I really believed that I'd get a good 6 - 8 years out of the Fulkerson and not have any other complications like this until the inevitable TKR. 

Not really seeking advice this time - and I know there are alot of you out there with worse pain right  now.  I guess I'm just really frustrated with setback and need to vent.

 

[deejay30]

One more thing I forgot to mention....
I refused to let them put a hard cast on my foot.  I'm afraid I will end up doing serious damage to my knee - at this point I'm not sure it's going to make a difference.

[hopalongcasualty]

did you get an air-cast for the foot/ankle instead?

[deejay30]

I have a boot - which I have already quit using because it was killing my knee.

I figure I've been walking around on this torn tendon for probably a year - what's another week going to hurt.

[buffie]

I  broke my  tibia and fib in the knee joint 7 mos ago, my ankle was very sore but recently I see improvement but now my foot hurts,between the big toe and the arch, when it first started hurting it would eventually crack and pain would go away,  now it just hurts, but not as bad with shoes on. Im trying to walk better and trying to follow through and push off and I thought maybe that was working the tendons and muscles. I hope so.....good luck , keep us posted

[deejay30]

Just a note for the other foot/ankle sufferer's out there....

Nike now has a feature on their boxes that lets you choose the type of shoe that is right for you.  So the other day I was able to buy a pair of shoes for overpronators, a wide width, and a firm sole.

Then when I was in Walmart I decided to get myself some new socks (when I'm stressed and upset I shop ....this leg pain really has me on a roll)   Anyways....Daskin makes a sock with arch support.

Maybe these things have been out there for a long time - but I just discovered them.

Now the other side of this story ....

The shoes are GREAT for my unaffected foot. However my other foot and leg is killing me! 

Regarding the socks - not good if you have swelling in your foot/ankle - by mid day I had the darn things off and was walking around in my new shoes with no socks on - I felt like they were cutting the circulation off. 

[deejay30]

Hi Ya'll,

Wish I was here to share good news  but I'm not.

My appt. didn't go so well.  I have a bone scan and some blood work scheduled for Monday and then I return to see my doctor the following week. 

I'll keep ya'll posted -

Deej

[dmturner]

Hi Deej,

I'm so sorry to hear about this, and I wish you only the best.  It never ends, does it?

Take care.

Donna T.

[deejay30]

Nope.  Doesn't seem to.  Guess I was pretty naive to think I was all done with this crap, eh?

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about it - hoping for the best with the bone scan and not making assumptions until I hear the results.

Deej

[deejay30]

I had the bone scan done on Monday and I return to my doc on the 3rd.  I have the pics of the bone scan, not the report just the pics - but ..... I've seen scans before and my OS explained the pics of my knee and Tibia to me before.  My entire foot is a "hot spot".  Then, when you look at the opposite foot (they do both so the doc has something to compare to) it's not quite as bad but I was surprised to find that it was affected, too.

In the process of tests and waiting for appointments - the pain is becoming pretty severe.  I am now unable to do any exercisie - and because I am walking different my knee and hip is hurting, too.

Really tired of this already.  Trying to stay  upbeat but man am I ticked!

[hopalongcasualty]

so how did the appointment go...

[deejay30]

Diagnosis:
1.  Posterior Tibialis Dysfunction Syndrome
2.  Plantar Fascitis
3.  Heel spur
4.  Bone spur on the top of my big toe
5.  arthritis
Right now I am in a boot and trying physical therapy to relieve some of the pain caused by the plantar fascitis and flexion, strengthing exercises - am going to have orthotics re-evaluated to see if they were made properly and I will be making an appointment to see a rheumatologist. 

The PT isn't a fix but just an attempt to manage the pain until I can get time off work to have surgery to repair the tendon. The PTDS is a major concern - I go back in three week and we will see how I have progressed with the boot. 

That's about it. Very frustrating. 

[deejay30]

Well .... some more to add to the story.

First of all - there was no improvement with PT.  My doc wants to do surgery - I asked him if we could wait until the summer was over (too difficult for me to take time off from work) - was there some sort of brace I could use to protect my ankle/foot from further injury.  He said we could try a Supramaeollar AFO - well the insurance refused. 

As my foot/ankle gets worse - my entire leg seems to get worse.  I've been taking it pretty easy - until today.

I decided to help carry some equipment up the steps at work.  About 4 steps up - my knee dislocated.  I was trying to hang on to the equipment so my co-worker didn't get hurt - and in the process my knee went right back into place. 

This is the first time I've had this happen since my Fulkerson - with the exception of a little bit of movement I have haven't had any dislocations since then. 

Another co-worker grabbed the equipment and finished helping with it - then helped me down the stairs.  I went to my office and someone got  me some ice.  I kept it on for about 20 minutes and then got up and tried to walk around.  I don't really have any pain when I walk but it's a titch achey.  There is a little swelling but nothing too bad - actually nothing more than I would expect after a long day at work. 

I tried calling my OS - 3 weeks before I can get in.  I could go to the hospital and have them take some x-rays I suppose but they'd just tell me to go see my OS. 

Like I said - it's not painful when I walk.  A bit achey and tender around the top of my knee cap - I have full ROM.  Anyone had this happen and then just been OK???