After seemingly endless weeks of freaking out and studying, APs AND SATs are finally over. For me, at least.
Huzzah!
I had my Peroneal Groove Deepening procedure done almost a month ago, and I wanted to talk a little bit about that. I've done a lot of internet research on it, and the most helpful things have been reading blogs by people who have had the same or similar surgeries, so I thought I might offer the same help to someone, hopefully.
I know I haven't talked a lot about what the initial issue was, so here goes:
I've had ankle troubles for about three years. It mostly began when I started to play Ultimate pretty seriously. That sport is no good for your body- it makes you fall in love with it, and then physically tears you to pieces because of all the running, jumping, laying out, falling, colliding, sudden turns and bursts of energy. That's what makes it awesome.
We went to my doctor on several occassions over this three year period to check out what was up. I didn't have a podiatrist at the time, and was simply told that my tendons were inflamed and strained. I was told to ice, milk my achilles (this is a sort of weird massaging technique that releases fluid trapped around the tendon. It feels sooo nice), and wear a brace when I needed it. I took to using my brother's old ASO brace, which we've since found out was too big for me anyways. My pain persisted, and I tended to walk with a slight to pronounced limp, depending on the day. One of the issues was that I had pain and inflamation in both of my ankles and tendons. Sometimes they alternated seasons, and other times they would both hurt at once. Looking back on it, it seems like we should have realized something was wrong. This November, after doing the Acadia Challenge (nine peaks in one day- awesome!), one of my friends noticed the my right ankle clicked and grinded when I turned, pointed, and flexed my foot. This after having twisted and rolled the same ankle before donning my brace while hiking. He suggested that it could be pieces of cartilidge wearing down on each other in my ankle. We went back to my doctor two or three times after this. My doctor did a few ankle adjustments, which involved "whipping" my foot back into place, as it was sliding around to places it wasn't supposed to slide to. This would help for a very short period of time, and then the clicking would return. My doctor agreed that it could be a cartilidge issue, and so I was ordered an MRI in December. First of all, MRIs suck. I'm not clausterphobic, which didn't matter anyways, since I only had to stick my leg into the tunnel. However, I'm apparently very wiggly, even when I think I'm sitting perfectly still. Second of all, my MRI came back negative for any problems. According to the test, my ankle was perfectly normal. Even though it wasn't. For anyone going through ankle issues, listen carefully: MRIs don't always show an issue. If an MRI comes back negative, and you're still having pain, you need to pester your doctor, because MRIs can't always see what's wrong. I was told to take about 1600 Mg of Ibuprofen every day for inflammation, and after about three weeks of simply accepting that it was all in my head, a friend (and my mother) pushed me to call my doctor again, and take him up on his offer to be referred to a specialist.
I was incredibly shy and nervous going to see the podiatrist. I was worried that I would again not receive a solid diagnosis. I didn't want to waste anyone's time. At the office, after explaining my history of ankle problems and my symptoms, they took a few x-rays and had me perform a few strength tests. The podiatrist explained that the issue was most likely that the groove in my fibula where the peroneal tendons sit was not deep enough, and so the tendons were sublexing- popping and sliding in and out of place, which caused the pain, the clicking, and the grinding. I was given a new, better fitting ASO brace, and was told that while bracing it would certainly help for now, I was only one bad sprain away from completely sublexing. Full sublexation is when the tendons slide completely out of place, in front of the renticulum, which is a small piece that covers your tendons. We talked for a little while about surgical options, and I walked out of the office that day certain that I had to have the surgery at some point. It was made clear that the problem would not go away on its own.
My surgery went smoothly. I was put on valium beforehand, as I have severe needle-induced anxiety. Because of this, we decided to take advantage of my doped-up state, and we also took care of all of the vaccinations I would need before college at the same time. I remember very little from that morning, only that the shots were very quick, and saying a few very funny, very loose-lipped things to my parents. I also vaguely remember getting into the hospital gown, having the IV put in, and subsequently asking if the doctors put any "happy stuff" into my IV. They said no, but I definitely don't believe them. The last thing I remember, in an almost dream like way, is them putting a mask on my face, and saying, "Don't struggle, it's just oxygen".
The next thing I remember is coming to full consciousness, being told, "we put the chapstick right here, so you can have it when you need it."
My ankle had been wrapped up nicely in a splint-style cast, and the IV was still in my hand (which only freaked me out a little bit. I think I was too tired to care). I didn't feel any pain in my ankle. The doctor hadn't put a block into my ankle, as they often do with these types of surgery (a block is something that will block all nerve reception on the area for an extended period of time), but they did apparently give me some novacaine, which unfortunately wore off.
The next few days were hazy. I was on Percocet for about a week after, and it made me fall asleep constantly. I didn't feel like I was loopy at all, but visitors told me that I wasn't making much sense. Some people say that they were able to be up and about for a few hours at once just a couple of days after a similar surgery, but I took a little bit longer. I kept on having hot flashes, a sort of "hangover" I was told, from the anesthesia. Everything's better now, and I was able to forego any sort of pain medication about two weeks after surgery.
One note my doctor gave was that when he got into my ankle, they discovered that the issue wasn't that my groove wasn't deep enough. The problem was that there wasn't a groove at all. It was pretty much miraculous that my tendon didn't have any tears in it, and I got very lucky.
A couple of things about the post-op + FAQ, especially for anyone reading who has had/will have a similar surgery:
-I have temporary nerve damage in my toes, and also in my heel. I can't always feel things touching my toes, and it feels like pins and needles sometimes. This is caused by a few things, like the tourniquet they used in surgery, and also just general screwing with the nerve system in your feet. It's healing. Nerves heal at about 1 mm/day. So it takes a bit.
-How many stitches?
-I had about eight or ten. The scar/incision is about four inches long, and curved.
-Does it still hurt?
Well, yeah. But not nearly as much as it did. Now it really only hurts when I do stupid stuff, like fall on it (don't do that), or when I do my stretches
-How is the range of mobility after surgery like this?
-Not good. I'm doing the stretches prescribed to me by my podiatrist- I've been told to write the alphabet with my foot. The first few times, I got to around H and then gave up. The pain was excruciating and exhausting. But after just a few days of getting to Z, it got easier. I've also found that it doesn't hurt (well, it does, but figuratively it doesn't) to use your hands to stretch the foot a little farther than you're comfortable with.
-What about the strength in your surgery leg?
-Ewie. It's awful. My calves, which have always been incredibly muscular and bulky, are now mismatched so severely, they look like they came from two different bodies. I've heard this gets better, but for now, the chicken-legged flabby flob of muscle freaks me out.
-When are you getting off of crutches?
-I don't know, stop asking. I'm only weight bearing as of this week. I still don't know about my projected full recovery, as we're planning in installments with my doctor.
-How much do crutches suck?
-actually, the worst thing about crutches is how people like to take them and play with them. It's funny once. And then it's just annoying. Please, guys. At least ask first. Because I sort of definitely need those things to walk with.
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