My Achilles ... a cautionary tale

That photo over there?
Yep, that was me earlier this fall.

I still have the boot.
Because it's so stylish and functional of course.

Let me tell you a short story about walking, antibiotics, Achilles tendons, and pain. Lots of pain.

Last fall I decided (again) that I need to get off my butt and starting "exercising." It should be noted that I hate to exercise. I find it boring and it really cuts into my "sitting on the couch playing Words with Friends" time.

Anywho.

I bought running shoes. $125 running shoes. I was going to train for a 5K race. And yeah, I thought I was going to RUN THE RACE. Then, as I'm prone to do in the fall, I got bronchitis. Knock me on my needs-to-exercise butt bronchitis. My doctor prescribed the antibiotic Cipro (also know an Ciproflaxin). This is where things went really wrong.

See, what I didn't know then (but oh do I know now) is that the leading side effect of taking Cipro is that you can either (a) develop tendinitis or (b) suffer a tendon rupture. And yes, I'm sure that information was listed somewhere in the possible side effects but I don't read that stuff (really, who does?)

(It should be noted that my foot doctor said a full Achilles rupture is usually what happens when one is taking Cipro and that I was "lucky." I'm not sure I like his definition of luck.)

So, last fall as I'm out walking one day I suffered a partial rupture of my Achilles tendon. I didn't realize it when it happened. I do remember feeling pain one day while walking but it wasn't enough to knock me down. I just kept walking and figured it was just muscle strain. By mid-November last year I was in serious pain. I stopped my "exercising." And then it got cold and I had no desire to freeze while walking.

Then I walked the 5K in February and was in pain. I was in pain pretty much every single day for months and months and months. I kept putting off a visit to the foot doctor, hoping it would just go away.

Look people...a good rule of thumb is this: if you're in pain, go to the damn doctor. I will admit that what I did was stupid. And now I'm paying for it.

I did finally go to the doctor - hence that very sexy walking boot up there - but it was a total waste of my time. One set of X-rays, one walking boot, three weeks of physical therapy and one MRI later I'm still in just as much pain as I was in August. I still have a lump on my Achilles (which according to my foot doctor is scar tissue and will never go away). And I still can't walk for any extended period of time without pain and swelling. I also can't stand for any extended amount of time without serious swelling.

And so here I am.

In pain. Unable to train for that 1/2 marathon I so wanted to do for my 40th birthday. And headed to a orthopaedic surgeon in two weeks. My regular foot doctor basically sent me off with "I can't do anything else for you, but here's a prescription for Celebrex." So, I'm not sure what the surgeon's solution will be. Maybe surgery is my only option - which would put me in a plaster cast for about 6 weeks and gosh that would be so much fun.

And so I leave with you a few nuggets of wisdom: If you think you might have hurt yourself, don't wait to go to the doctor. Just go. And, if your primary care physician wants to put you on Cipro the next time you need an antibiotic, just say no. Your tendons will thank you for it.

What I know is this: I need to find some sort of solution. I'm tired of living with this pain all the time. And there's a 1/2 marathon out there just waiting for me. But I think it's going to have to be for my 41st birthday.

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming....

What the heck?
How is it already Friday. Again?

I swear to you I go to be bed Monday night and suddenly the week flies by in a blur of homework, laundry, physical therapy, work, and last minute dinners and then BAM! Just like that it's 2 p.m. on a Friday afternoon and I'm sitting in my kitchen baking cookies and thinking "hmmm...guess I have some blogs to write."

Geesh.

So, how has your week been?

Mine has been just dandy.
[insert minor note of sarcasm]
No, really.
It's been a mix of good and bad. 

Monday I was diagnosed with bronchitis.
Again.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me.
I will get bronchitis MANY times again between now and May.
I really think moving to Florida would alleviate this.
Now to convince my husband of the same.

Monday was also the day that I applied to the Walt Disney World Moms Panel.
Again.
For the sixth time.
But hey, sixth time is the charm, right?

In all seriousness though....this Moms Panel has been a dream of mine since September 2007 when they first announced the panel's creation. Over the years I have been lucky enough to build incredible friendships with people I've met during the annual application process. And back in 2009 I was lucky enough to move on to "round 2" ... and if I'm being totally honest here, I'd really like to make it that far (and beyond) this year. We shall see what happens.

As the week comes to a close, I'm also nearing the end of my physical therapy for that pesky Achilles tendon issue. Long story short - the PT is not working. I'm still having pain. And I still can't walk for an extended period of time without pain and swelling. So...I go back to the foot doctor next week and frankly, I'm dreading it. He said he would consider putting me in a cast if the PT didn't work.

Really?
Me. In a cast?
For several weeks?
No way, no how.
We'll see about that.

 So yeah that just about sums up my week, if you throw in some random stuff like "what's for dinner tonight?", the job (that really doesn't suck so much this week), cleaning out the "plastic container cupboard" (I had to before "Hoarders" showed up at my house!), and other fun things like that.

Ah, the fishbowl...it's not always exciting, but I just keep swimming.....

So much for that 1/2 marathon...for now

Yes, in case you're wondering that IS my foot in the walking boot.

Here's the story behind the boot...

Last fall I signed up for my very first 5K. My initial plan was that I was going to RUN the 5K (despite the fact that I had not been "a runner" since I was in law school, about 15 years ago). I started "training" ... which was really just me walking 1.5 miles a few days a week. And then, at some point last October I started having excruciating pain in my right ankle. I stopped walking/training and thought "oh it'll go away."

It didn't go away.

Fast forward to the 5K in February. I didn't wrap the ankle, I "toughed it out" and by the end of that day I could barely walk. (But I still managed to limp my way through the Magic Kingdom that night!). As the months went by the pain would get worse and then better and then worse again. Every time I tried to start my walking routine again the pain would get worse. Ice, Motrin, wrapping the ankle ... nothing helped.

A few weeks ago I noticed there was a small lump on my Achilles tendon. So I Googled it. Because Google is where everyone goes for sound medical advice, right? Yeah, from what I could find on the Internet it seemed that I had an issue with my Achilles tendon - a possible tear, tendinitis, something. Then we went on vacation and a week of walking on the sand (and the pain that followed) convinced me that I needed to see my foot doctor.

Last Friday I had my appointment.

The diagnosis: a partially torn Achilles tendon and Achilles tendinitis.

The road to recovery consists of (1) wearing that God-awful boot when I'm at home, (2) wearing my running shoes WITH inserts when I'm going out, (3) three weeks of physical therapy, three times per week, and (4) pain medication.

After the PT, I have a follow up appointment to see how things are progressing. Apparently the goal is to stretch my Achilles tendon (which seems odd, since it's already torn) so that it doesn't tear completely. Because a full tear would be bad. Really bad. If the PT isn't doing the job, I could end up in a cast for a few weeks. Which would be awesome. In a totally not awesome way.

Guess I won't be training for that 1/2 marathon anytime soon. 

A word to wise dear readers, if you're in the midst of a new walking or running routine and you suddenly have terrible pain in your ankle, don't wait TEN MONTHS to visit the doctor.