I need to vent!

[AprilBaby]

I had ankle surgery on Friday for a torn tendon and I’m going nuts! I have a boot to wear which rubs on the incision and causes pain. The Vicodin for the pain causes itching so I feel like I’m crawling with ants. The Benadryl for the itching makes me sleepy. All of it together gives me a headache. Ahhhhh!!!!!!!

 

[kenny]

Aww, poor baby.
Gentle hugs to you.

Get well soon.

 

[Matata]

So sorry. Have you tried padding the area of the boot where it rubs the incision.

 

[AprilBaby]

Thanks Kenny, I’m just miserable.

 

[AprilBaby]

So sorry. Have you tried padding the area of the boot where it rubs the incision.

I have the padding but I’m sure the incision is swollen so the padding adds pressure to the cut.

 

[Ally T]

Ooh, the thought of tendon surgery sets my teeth on edge

I hope the swelling goes down quickly & it stops rubbing. Gentle hugs!

 

[minousbijoux]

Oh crap - I hate this for you! Sounds like its a no win situation. If you stay still and elevate your foot can you reduce the pressure on the incision?

On another note, love your gorgeous toes.

 

[redwood66]

Hope you get better soon. Those boots suck.

 

[PintoBean]

Try Zyrtec for the itching. If that doesn't work, see if you can get atarax prescribed.

Also find out if there's something else besides Vicodin you can take. Whenever I've had surgery I've only needed a prescription painkiller the first night and then used a higher dose of ibuprofen.

 

[AprilBaby]

I’m going to try the Zyrtec, thanks! I’m stuck here on the couch elevating. What would really help is taking the boot off but I’m not sure if I can.

 

[tyty333]

That stinks AprilBaby....sounds like you cant find any relief. Can you talk to your Docs tomorrow and see what they can do?
Dust for a quick recovery (I'm sure these things take time).

 

[Calliecake]

I was going to make the comment @tyty333 made about contacting the doctor on call. He/she may be able to prescribe a different painkiller. I hope the swelling goes down quickly.

Your toes look beautiful Aprilbaby!

 

[arkieb1]

I hope you are better soon!!!

 

[Elizabeth35]

You may be at the peak of your misery--not that it helps.
DH had ruptured quad tendon surgery and they told him the worst was about 2-3 days post surgery due to the swelling, and general reaction to the trauma of surgery. This was a true statement. Once he got past that 3rd day he gradually improved and ceased pain meds about 4 days post surgery.
He had compete rupture of quad tendon and had to have it re-attached via holes drilled in his patella.

Hopefully as your swelling goes down some of the discomfort will diminish.
Follow your post-surgical directions and elevate and rest if that helps.
Just give yourself permission to do nothing until you are ready.
Your job is to heal now.

 

[AprilBaby]

Great advice! I am absolutely doing nothing at all. Do you have any idea how boring that gets?

 

[Elizabeth35]

Haha---we are 8 weeks in.
I promise it will get better--the first few days were the worst as far as discomfort. You will adjust to a different reality very quickly.
DH has done pretty well--frustrated at times. And bored. He has gotten into Game of Thrones so has been watching that and caught up on some reading.

It is definitely hard being laid up. Once you are off pain meds you will feel much better---those side effects stink.

 

[Tekate]

So so sorry April.. sending dust for a quick heal!

I had ankle surgery on Friday for a torn tendon and I’m going nuts! I have a boot to wear which rubs on the incision and causes pain. The Vicodin for the pain causes itching so I feel like I’m crawling with ants. The Benadryl for the itching makes me sleepy. All of it together gives me a headache. Ahhhhh!!!!!!!

 

[MissGotRocks]

I am sorry too - can only imagine how difficult it is to be laid up like that. Lots of healing dust and best wishes that this time passes quickly!

 

[LLJsmom]

Don’t wear the boot and get crutches. That’s probably what I would do, and just disobey doctor’s orders. Probably very bad suggestion but I tend to just ignore advice if it doesn’t work for me.

 

[mary poppins]

Eek, that sounds so uncomfortable. Sorry you are going through that. How long will you need to be in the boot?

 

[yssie]

Ugh!! What a miserable circle

Ditto on trying something other than Vicodin for the pain... Otherwise I'd probably do exactly what LLJ said - which is pretty much the opposite of what you should do - so I'm not much help either

 

[Arcadian]

Major healing dust from me to you. those boots suck. At least you can tolerate (somewhat) the Vicodin. That stuff makes me horrendously ill.

But feet up, if you're able to use icepacks try that to help with swelling. Frozen packs of peas are fantastic frankly....

If you're ok with zyrtec during the day, maybe ask your doc for hydroxyzine for the evening. you don't need much, its great for allergies, and pain, anxiety, nausea, etc. The side effect is that it will knock you the eff out , so you'll sleep great. Its non habit forming, will likely lessen the amount of vicodin you have to take for the pain. I normally take 10mg as needed but have taken as much as 50mg at once (had to because I'm severely allergic to mold so was necessary. Woke up with a hangover though).

 

[missy]

Aww I am so sorry AprilBaby. Sending you buckets and buckets of healing dust. I would keep your leg elevated and stay off it as much as possible and call the doctor telling him what is going on with the discomfort of the boot. It might need to be adjusted.

Boredom was a challenge when I was no weight bearing for 8 months and what I did to keep it away...chatting with friends via phone. Being on Pricescope. Watching lots of good (old) movies. Catching up on my reading. Love a good novel. And yes even playing some of those computer games whose names now escape me. After a while I started hating those games but they kept me entertained for hours while I was recuperating and I haven't gone back to them since.

The biggest challenge for me was the pain which was intense for a long time. It got better as each week progressed though it was slow going I saw real relief as the weeks went by. The pain meds made me so nauseous and the meds they gave me for nausea didn't help so as soon as I could I weaned off the pain meds and I started feeling better.

But please don't wait too long to take whatever meds you can for the pain relief because the pain itself will make you nauseous so try to find a med you can take with minimal side effects. And stay on top of it. I am so sorry you are going through this. It sucks.

Sending hugs and good thoughts with those healing vibes and we are here for you. Hopefully the time will speed by for you and the pain will become less each day to the point of no pain very soon. (((Hugs))).

ETA (just reading others posts here) please follow your doctor's instructions. A setback can really set you back much further than you are now. You will heal more quickly if you stay off your foot. Do not disobey without talking with your doctor. Perhaps he can find suitable alternatives but don't go it alone. To heal most quickly listen to what they say and if need be discuss options but don't do anything crazy OK?(((Hugs))).

 

[Queenie60]

Sorry for your pain. Get well.

 

[AprilBaby]

Thanks for the well wishes. I’m just taking Tylenol today, no scratching! I’m behaving with the boot because I don’t want to start over. Not sure how long I need to wear it. I called the dr to schedule my 1 week post op. He is gone till December 4. What???? I told them to give me somebody else.

 

[Octo2005]

Sorry to hear about your difficult recovery, wishing a speedy recovery.

Call the doc on call, you should be able to take the boot off for periods of time while resting on the sofa so you can put ice on it.

Keep it elevated to help with swelling, ice packs and ibuprofen will also help bring down inflammation.

 

[Dancing Fire]

AB...Get well soon.

 

[azstonie]

I'm sorry you're suffering, it sucks! When I broke my leg and knee, I developed a skin allergy t o the stoopid leg immobilizer The ortho surgeon told me to wear it as little as possible and still be immobile. I quit wearing it at home, used Atarax at night and triamcinolone ointment 0.01% during the day.

Zyrtec is better than benadryl when it comes to itch, and Atarax (hydroxyzine) is even better.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Aw, man, I am so sorry AprilBaby! All you are going through sounds like torture! I hope you can find something to occupy your mind while you recover. Maybe some kindle books-like the kind you usually wouldn't buy-for me it would be some mindless reads like Danielle Steel. So predictable but I can easily get into the story just to read how she ends it. Is someone there to take care of you?

 

[Karl_K]

so sorry to hear of your troubles.
Thoughts and prayers outgoing for a quick and pain free recovery!