Ankle Replacement and Subtalar Fusion Updates

As some of you may know, last January I had subtalar fusion in my right foot...this is after having a total ankle replacement in the same foot a year prior (Dec 2013). I also had total ankle replacement in my other foot prior to that (June 2013). To read about my ankle replacement journeys, please click here. Below are my updates...

A short summary of the Ankle Replacements...

Going into my ankle replacements, I was very hopeful. My surgeon told me that the replacement surgeries would take all the pain I was experiencing in my feet away. Did it? Well, not really. The best thing to come of the surgery is that my “bounce back time” has greatly improved. Meaning that if I overdue it today, I usually get a restart tomorrow. Before the surgery it would be days. And a couple times I overdid it so badly that it actually took several weeks...meaning that I either could barely walk on it, or, on better days, I was using a cane to get around. So that's the major pro of having the total ankle replacements.

The negative effect of the ankle replacement surgeries is that I can only stand or walk around for about 10-15 minutes before I'm completely done for the day. This is extremely frustrating and severely limits me.

Subtalar Fusion time...

Because I was so limited, I went ahead with the subtalar fusion in my right foot in January 2015. My surgeon said that I still have a lot of arthritis in the rest of the foot (really, both feet) and this may give me some relief. I wasn't as hopeful going into this surgery, but I was trying to remain optimistic. I knew it would be a much longer recovery time, but I also knew I could soldier through if it meant making a difference in my pain while walking/standing. The plan was that if this worked, I would get the left foot done after the right was was completely healed.

When I saw my surgeon last, in September, he told me that I needed to give the fusion a full year to heal before passing judgment. Well, in another week it will be a full year. This is my judgment...I've wasted the last year trying to rehab from the subtalar fusion and it is no better than before the surgery. If anything, it's more painful when I walk.

I've been putting this blog post off for a while now. I guess I was hoping that things would turn around and my ankle would suddenly start feeling better. I hate sounding so negative, but I need to be honest in hopes that it may help someone else.

Not every surgery is going to be a success for every person, and I know that with my SED it makes everything way more complicated than the average person. Up until this point, I've been very lucky with my surgeries. But the past three surgeries (both my ankle replacements and now the subtalar fusion) have been a let down for me, especially the last one. To think that I've wasted the past year is a hard pill to swallow and it depresses me whenever I think about it.

But, things could be worse. At least I have my feet. At least I can walk. I have a supportive family and a husband that is a superman for me. And my kids are 90% of the time, pretty awesome (they're teenagers, so that accounts for the other 10%!)  And I have this squooshy face to cheer me up... 

What does the future hold? I'm not sure. I know I won't be having subtalar fusion in my other foot, unless all of a sudden that foot starts to hurt worse than the other. I may have to look into a scooter sometime in my future (God help my local public!). 

Mostly, I'm hoping for a miracle breakthrough in medicine...where they can grow bone back and instead of giving you metal and plastic replacements, you'll get a new and improved bone instead. How cool would that be?

Sub-Talar Fusion 4 Week Update

Not surprisingly, my first week post-op I experienced a bunch of pain, even though I went home with a lot of medicines. On the good ole pain scale...which is probably different from the average person...my pain level would vary from a 4-7. The best news is that the only real pain that I had from this surgery lasted about a week. After my first six days of feeling not myself because of the prescription meds, I stopped taking them and haven't looked back. They were definitely messing with me and making me feel not myself. This is the first time I've ever had this kind of response to prescription pain meds before...and all of them were meds that I had taken before. It was kinda scary, but I'm glad that I was able to recognize what was going on and take myself off of them. Oddly enough, after I stopped taking them, the pain in my foot stopped too.

The only pain I did feel during that first week was in my heel. I was able to ice it mildly by putting my foot on an ice pack, since the heel part of my foot was mostly just bandages (I went home from the hospital in a temporary splint). Sometimes I'd place the ice pack behind my knee, which also helped. At my 2 week post-op check up I had my stitches taken out and a cast put on. Because I had really only experienced pain at my heel, I was surprised to see that I had four stitches...one in my heel, and three on the outside of my ankle. After they removed the stitches, they put some steri-strips on the incisions, and asked me what color cast I wanted.

This cast that I have on will be an extended part of my body for six weeks total...so I have another 4 weeks to go from now. The hardest part has been that I'm NWB (non-weight bearing) until I get this cast off. At that point, this cast will come off and another one will put on...but I can start putting weight on that one. They call it a walking cast. My doc says that they leave you in a cast to keep the fusion stable, but the weight bearing encourages bone growth.

So that's where I am today...just waiting...luckily, without pain...waiting until March 17^th, the day I get my second cast on and am told I can walk again. It's getting very boring just sitting around!

Any suggestions on how to pass my time?

The Seated Scooter—Non Weight Bearing Option

As most of you know already, my whole body suffers from arthritis, and recently I've been having problems with my right thumb. When you are NWB (non-weight bearing), your upper body really has to do a lot more work than usual. There is increased pressure on your hands, elbows, and shoulders when using a walker or crutches to get around. In anticipation for my surgery next week, and having to be NWB for 6 weeks after my sub-talar fusion surgery, I ordered a scooter to help me get around and take some of the pressure off my upper body.

 This is what I ordered... Roscoe Medical Gemini Scooter With Padded Seat  I ordered it from Amazon (shocking, I know...seriously, I buy everything from this place!) for about $340, which is more than the wheelchair I bought a couple of years ago! Most people that have to be NWB for some time get knee walkers to make getting around a little easier. Here is an example of a knee walker: Roscoe Knee Scooter  Those are a great option for many, but because I've had my knees replaced, it would cause me a lot of pain to use one. This seated scooter is a similar idea, except it has a seat instead of a platform for your knee (fyi...my scooter has a knee attachment, just in case you want both options).  Many thanks to the person who originally posted about this option on my ankle replacement forum several months ago...wish I knew about it sooner!

So, fingers crossed that it helps! And if it doesn't, well, my son thinks it's the “best toy ever”, and has been riding it around the house for the past few days. The night my husband put it together (it took about 5 minutes—no tools needed), my son's response was: “This thing is epic! ...can I have one?”

You think he'll let me use it? You know, for medical reasons? I'm hoping I can get my wedge back...currently that's being used as a back prop for easier tv watching while in bed :)

Ankle Update and Sub-Talar Fusion Surgery

About a month ago I had my 1 year check up for my right ankle replacement, and my 18 month check up for my left replacement. My surgeon says that the replacements have healed nicely and are doing great. Of course, this doesn't explain why I still can't be on my feet for longer than 10-15 minutes without being in an incredible amount of pain. My orthotics have helped some, but not to the extent that I was hoping for. I told him that my goal for the ankle replacement surgery was to go grocery shopping again. Something as simple as walking around the store for 40 minutes or so and coming back home and unloading my groceries isn't too much to ask. I really thought that the replacements would give me the ability to do this...that never happened. 

Apparently I have too much arthritis in my feet joints and bones (there are a lot of them in there!), and this is what's causing all the rest of the pain. The sub-talar joint is one of the large ones, and by fusing this, there is the hope that most of the pain I'm experiencing will be relieved. I'm very skeptical, mostly since I thought that the ankle replacements would be the solution to all my foot/ankle pain. Oh well, let's just all pray that this surgery isn't too hard on my body and that it really does help. I'm not asking to run marathons...I just want to go grocery shopping! God, I'm so easy to please :)

The biggest question (other than, “will this really work?”) was, “how much movement will I lose from the fusion?” Doc says that the sub-talar joint allows minimal movement in the foot and that any movement that I did have is probably gone due to the arthritis. Oh, goody. He said that I shouldn't notice a change in my gait or my walking, and, if anything, my walking should improve since I will have less pain. As it is now, I really feel like I start limping a bit on my right foot when the weather is bad or when I've been on my feet for about 10 minutes...pretty much whenever it hurts...which is often.

The surgery itself is a 20 minutes surgery, and isn't as invasive as my replacements were. That's the good news. The bad news is that I have to be nwb (non-weight bearing) for 6 weeks while in a cast, and then in a walking cast for another 6 weeks after that. Fuck my life. I hate being nwb. And I hate casts. And this is only for my right foot. And I'll eventually have to do this again for my left. Fuckshitpiss

Mini-rant over.

My son says I need an exo-suit. An exo-suit is an exoskeleton suit that allows people to move and have superior strength powers. Sadly, these are only available in the virtual world of video games! However, I think he has a great idea with this...medical community, ARE YOU HEARING ME? I NEED AN EXO-SUIT FOR THE REAL WORLD!

If anyone has any other questions that I haven't addressed, please comment down below. I have a public blog, so don't ever feel like you are prying. I want to get as much information out there in hopes that it will be helpful to someone someday!

Wish me luck, send me some good vibes, and keep me in your prayers!