A Christmas Miracle!!

Daily Tip: I'm in love with the fuzzy slipper socks from Dollar Tree!  They work GREAT under your walker boot when you are in the stage where you are out of an ACE bandage but need cover. And they keep that foot warm in the winter!

So the bustle and hustle of the holidays delayed me a little from the blog, but I have awesome news to report!

I had my Week 5 doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I was a little nervous, because I've tried to follow all of my doctor's orders to a T.  Seriously hoping that means something!

I had x-rays at this appointment and it felt like forever before the doctor came in.  He sat down all serious, and said, "Well..." AHHHHH well, what?!

He told me that my x-rays were BEAUTIFUL. Everything is still exactly where it should be and that the foot was healing superbly. SO great in fact that the bone growth/fusion of the joint was presenting as if I were at Week 7 instead of Week 5!  The doctor seemed to think that my age and health, along with my dedicated use of the bone stimulator AND following all of the rules has lead to a swift and successful recovery.

I was ready to just ditch the scooter right then and there--but just to be cautious, he asked me to complete the week and would let me start walking at the beginning of Week 6. 
Guess what day that is....CHRISTMAS!!

Yes, folks, it's a Christmas miracle. I will be ditching the scooter and starting to weightbear 2 weeks early on Christmas day. It is the best gift ever.  I do have explicit instructions to ease into walking and if I do have some type of extensive plans with lots of standing and walking in the next week to definitely have the scooter as backup. I'm going to follow those instructions, too!!

Everything is else is progressing well, too. No actual pain to report other than some tenderness at the incision site, but my doctor says that is normal and part of the healing process. I continue to use the silicone scar strips for 14 hours/day and the bone stimulator for 2 20min treatments a day.  I'm also not elevating my foot while sleeping anymore unless it starts to feel tight during the night.  

I'm sure when weightbearing starts, there will be a whole new set of feelings and symptoms to report, but for now, I will enjoy this middle stage with minimal pain.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!

Using a Bone Stimulator for Recovery

Daily Tip: If you are using a bone stimulator that doesn't come with ultrasound gel or you are somewhere in a pinch and need to use something quickly, hand sanitizer, plain hair gel and lube are acceptable substitutes!! You're welcome. :o)

One of the treatments that I have used for previous foot surgeries and for my current fusion surgery is bone stimulation therapy.  I've gotten several questions about it, so I thought it might be good to explain it and to talk about the pros and the cons.  I'm not endorsed or anything for writing my blog, so I'll just talk about my experience and what science has said about it. :)

A lot of times, whether because of habits, nutrition, age, etc--fractures have difficulty healing. This can cause a non-union in the bone where it doesn't fuse together. Bone growth (osteogenesis) stimulators use pulsed electromagnetic or pulsed low-intensity ultrasonic energy to "jumpstart" bone cells into growth. They are also prescribed to healthy patients with fresh fractures to encourage accelerated bone growth. They can be strapped to an arm, leg or other body part—over a cast or brace and used daily at home. You don’t feel the energy or anything that the machine emits. Here's a good video by Dallas Podiatry that shows how to use it:  
https://www.dallaspodiatryworks.com/how-to-use-a-bone-growth-stimulator-for-fracture-healing/ 

I use my bone stimulator in two 20 minute treatments a day. I usually just strap it on my foot while I'm reading or actually, right now as I'm blogging. :)

Do they work?  The science is out there, but like most things, is "inconclusive". When bone stimulators were first studied in clinical trials years ago, they were shown to accelerate healthy bone growth by 36 percent, and non-unions by over 80 percent.  Since then, there have been additional studies that have suggested that those numbers aren't as high.

Did it work for me?  Well, I began bone stimulator treatment in 2009 for my bunionectomy. At that time, they were relatively new, and unfortunately, my insurance didn't even cover the cost. The machine was over $1000 out of pocket for me.  I was NWB for 6 weeks, but after using the stimulator for 3 weeks at 20 min/day, I was able to reduce my NWB time to just 4 weeks after x-rays showed that my healing process was ahead of schedule.

Fast forward almost ten years later, and insurance companies are almost always covering the machines, especially in the case of non-unions. This surgery calls for me to be NWB for 8-9 weeks, and I started the bone stimulation at 3 weeks, so I'm anxious to see what the results will be.  I have x-rays tomorrow for my Week 5 checkup, so we will be able to have some type of indicator.

At the end of the day, all studies done have shown that the devices definitely don't have any adverse effects, so they are definitely worth a try if your insurance will cover them with a doctor's prescription. 

My bone stimulator is an Exogen system, and it still works

great. For this surgery I had it checked out and had the lithium battery inside replaced and it was as good as new!

Will report what we find out after my appointment tomorrow!

Week 5: Happy Holidays from my feet to yours!

Daily Tip: Get Amazon Prime or find a nice friend that has an account if you are stuck inside at during the holidays!! I've done alllll my Christmas shopping! 

Happy holidays, everybody!! Here we are in Week 5, and I'm continuing to make good progress!!The pain that I have now only comes from overexertion. This week, I have tried to branch out and take on some activities.  I went to my sorority's Christmas small getogether, and while I used my scooter, sat the ENTIRE time and elevated my foot, I found that I was exhausted when I got home.  

Fast forward an extra day, and I made the most major outing I've made since surgery--a CONCERT.  Now granted, not a rock concert! I am a longtime fan of Harry Connick, Jr. and before the surgery, my husband got me front row tickets to his show.  I had a lot of anxiety going into this because I started to worry about parking, ADA accessibility, being able to elevate. My heart goes out to those who are living with daily mobility impairment challenges--even though the venue was ADA accessible, it was exhausting wheeling from the parking lot to the ramp, and then up the ramp to wait in a line, and then to the concert floor.  I wasn't allowed to put my scooter in front of me to elevate (that was my plan) so I had to alternate with having my foot down and resting my foot, boot and all in my lap.

It was a GREAT show,  but I am now starting to feel the aftereffects. I've used muscles last night that haven't been getting a lot of use, and so I'm generally sore all over. When I got home, my foot and leg were very cold, despite it being 64 degrees outside. No discoloration, but there was a LITTLE swelling--nothing major.  I'm up this morning and elevating, but my foot is a little tingly and buzzy, if that makes sense. I've learned that at this stage, I still need to elevate when I can.

In terms of looks, my scar continues to heal very nicely!

5 weeks post op!

I usually take a hot towel and wipe my foot down and try to get some of the dead skin off, but yesterday was the first time I haven't used the waterproof shower protector. I wanted to make sure that it was as healed as possible.  I decided to go with the silicone scar strips, as I used them last time and had great results.  

I also continue to use my bone stimulator.  I've had lots of questions about the bone stimulator, so I'm working on a separate post right now to talk all about it, how I use it and the success I've had.

My 5 week appointment with the doctor is tomorrow! I'm hoping for great news, and I will be sure to post about it!

Week 4: A little stir crazy....

Daily Tip:  Diabetic skin lotion is like, manna from heaven. Rub it on your foot (carefully and avoiding the incision) before you wrap your foot up.  It helps keep your foot moisturized and helps defeat the dry skin!

We've made it to Week 4!  Definitely able to place my the foot down more for longer and longer periods of time without the immediate discomfort.  Still, moving around for large periods of time, especially with the foot down tires me out for long periods of time. For example:  I managed to get up and take down the little Thanksgiving decorations around the house (candles, placemats, etc) on my scooter.  I felt fine--and slept 4 hours afterwards.  I think my body is still getting used to lots of activity!

The incision continues to heal.  The dead skin is beginning

to finally peel off and there is new, fresh skin underneath. I debated on whether to post a picture and decided not to.  If you can visualize kind of what your skin looks like after you've gotten a burn and it peels, you're pretty close. The incision has no localized pain and it no longer itches.  Hopefully in the next week, most of the dead skin will be gone, and I will start using the scar treatment as well as my bone stimulator. I'll definitely have a separate post on that, but using the bone stimulator has been a staple of each of my foot surgeries, and has been shown to effectively quicken bone growth and shorten the period of time needed to be nonweightbearing.

While the more intense pain is gone, my nerves must be hard at work trying to figure out what to do. I have some tingling that's pretty constant between my 1st and 2nd toe, almost like a humming sensation.  My foot continues to be tender right below that point over the joint, where I presume the majority of the new hardware is.  It's not enough of new pain to take a prescription pain killer, but it is definitely noticeable.

Cabin fever has definitely set in.  I've watched all the shows, read all the books, colored all the pages and crushed alllll the candies on my phone, lol.  This seems to be the magic point where things start to get mundane and well....boring. I start to wonder why I can't just do what I used to do..and then once I sit up on the edge of the bed and put both feet on the ground, I remember only one of those feet work.

My next doctor's appointment is in 8 days, which will be a little over 5 weeks.  Hopefully I'll be able to report on the bone stimulator before then!  Onward we march! :)

Week 3: We're still here!

Daily Tip: If you are using a knee scooter, invest in the Knee Pillow that goes on top of the knee seat. It's comfortable and it takes some of the pressure off the knee from all the riding around that you have to do.

We've made it to Week 3!

It may be really good that I actually don't have anything major to report!  I have no swelling to report.  The foot looks great.  My pain is in a great, manageable place as long as I'm not attempting to do too much. I can do longer periods of time not elevated, such as sitting in the shower, and even brief times at the kitchen table to eat. 

Interestingly enough, the pain is tricky in that I can feel relatively fine while doing all of the activity during the day,  but if I have done too much, my foot will let me know during the night!  I can only describe it as a nagging pain that I can feel mainly right at the fusion site that is tight and burns a little. When that happens, there's not much I can do to get comfortable other than take a pain pill. I'm still putting NO pressure on the foot, but I'm not feeling the same pressure when I place my foot down to put on lotion, etc.

My incision continues to heal.  It's flat and there is no type of swelling. It's in a weird stage where it's not open or anything, but it's not completely well. It kind of just sits there.  My doctor advised that I should be able to start using some type of scar therapy now (cream, gel, silicone strips) but I'd feel more comfortable waiting for the scar to heal up even more. I will probably give it another week.  Currently doing my research on the best scar treatments, so I'm sure I'll do a post about that!

Still working hard to keep moving the other parts of my body. Things are very stiff and tight.  You don't realize just how much you AREN'T working body parts until you move the wrong way and it hurts!

Here's to an even Week 4 ahead!