Hoofing It

Last week I had my last (hopefully) appointment with the podiatrist regarding the issue I've been having with the second toe on my left foot. As I explained to him, from a pain standpoint it no longer feels as though I am walking on a marble. However, I do still have a burning sensation on the bottom of that foot at times. He performed his normal examination of feeling the toes and pressing on the bottom of my foot right beneath the toes.

orthotics

He is very pleased with the progress that has been made. He said it is nice and tight under the toe now, whereas before it was very loose due to the ligament being stretched out. In terms of the pain, he explained that it was to be expected as the healing continues. He does not want me to wear the toe splint at all, but wants me to continue to use the orthotic that they sold me on my first visit. In fact he said I will always need to wear them because I do not have any padding at all on the bottom of my feet. That is due to age and the bunions I have had forever on both feet. Because of that, I am never to go barefoot.

I actually had purchased a second orthotic from them at my last visit so that I always have a clean pair. I asked if I could trim a little off the front of them so that they would fit in all of my shoes, and he said that was fine.

So, overall very good news. I hope that eventually the burning sensation will disappear, but if not it is not the end of the world. The pain is very tolerable, and the fact that I did not need to have surgery is quite awesome.

Foot Followup

Wednesday I saw the podiatrist for a followup on my foot issue. When he asked how things are going, I told him that honestly I don't see much improvement in the pain despite the toe splint, orthotics, or Voltaren and ice treatments twice a day. He pressed his fingers underneath the second toe a bit, which was not pleasant. 

But surprisingly he said he could tell that my ligament has begun to heal itself. He said the pain is to be expected and is a good thing as it will keep me from doing things I should not be doing yet. I am to continue as before for the next four weeks. Then for the next four weeks he only wants me to wear the toe splint when I am going to be excessively active, such as walking for a long period of time or hiking. I presume that includes pickleball, thought I forgot to specifically ask that. I'll wear it then just to be on the safe side. I return to see him at the end of the eight weeks.

When I last saw him he asked me to bring my pickleball shoes in so he could take a look at them. I had told him that I wear Skechers, and he seemed surprised that they made a court shoe. I explained they are dedicated pickleball shoes. The problem is that I cannot wear the toe splint and the orthotic as there is not enough room in the shoe for both. I have been wearing my Acacias instead, as they can accommodate the inserts and the splint. So I brought in one of the Acacias and one of the Skechers to show him.

Skechers pickleball shoes

He performed a three part flexibility test on each shoe, and the Skechers passed with flying colors. The Acacias failed all three, and he said I shouldn't be wearing them. Visually we could see that the Acacias have more height in the toe box than the Skechers, which is why the added items work in the Acacias. 

My compromise for the moment is that I will wear the splint and the orthotics anytime I am not playing pickleball. For pickleball, I will wear the splint only in my Skechers as that will fit with the regular insert provided by Skechers. I may try taping my toe and not wearing the splint, which is acceptable to the doctor, and see if I can then make the orthotic work in my Skechers.

Overall, I am pleased with what the doctor had to say. I picked up a second splint from the office so I have a clean one to put on instead of always having to wait for the one to dry after washing. I also got a second orthotic so don't have to keep pulling the one set out of one pair of shoes to put in another.

Dragging My Feet

toe splint

My feet have never been pretty. Ever since I can remember the bunions have stuck out and the toes have curved sideways. My mom, my sister, and my sister's son all have/had the same thing - bilateral hallux valgus. It does have a hereditary component, and is more common in women aged 40-60. That is interesting since we all had them forever. In fact when my nephew was born, the delivering doctor asked who had the funny feet.

At any rate, none of us ever had pain in our feet or saw a doctor about them. But around 9 months ago the ball of my left foot began to hurt a bit. It felt like I was walking on a marble, and only hurt when I put weight on it. Oddly, when I would press on the ball of my foot with my hand, it did not hurt.

I wasn't overly concerned about it, but did notice that after I played pickleball it hurt more. Since that is a game where you put more pressure on the balls of your feet, that made sense to me.

I tried resting it and also purchased shoe inserts. Some days were better than others. Obviously it is not a debilitating pain as I could walk and play pickleball. It just hurt all the time I was upright. With a break in our travel schedule I saw a foot doctor last week. They took x-rays to rule out a fracture, and the doctor poked around on it a bit. When he pressed the area where my toes meet the bottom of my feet, I sure felt that!

His diagnosis is that I have predislocation syndrome, which is a slowly progressing condition where the structures that hold the joint of your second toe stable begin to degenerate. He said because we are catching it early he is hopeful that wearing a splint on my second toe (taping the toe is also an option, but since I am allergic to adhesive that won't work well for me) as well as better orthotics in my shoes will fix the issue. I am also to use a diclofenac gel on the area twice a day, and ice it. He will see me again in six weeks to check on improvement. 

Honestly I thought this doctor would take one look at my feet and declare that I needed surgery done to both of them. To be able to go a non-invasive route first with no limitations on activities is quite the gift. Several people in my neighborhood have gone to this guy and sing his praises. I will be adding my voice in song. Especially if this approach does the trick!

Unfrozen

ready for surgery

Yesterday was my arthroscopic surgery and manipulation to free up my frozen shoulder. I didn't get the call to tell me what time to arrive until 6:00 p.m. the night before. Wow, I guess none of us needs to plan our surgical day or anything. I was told to arrive at the surgery center by 8:00 a.m. That was actually a pretty good time slot since I was not allowed to eat or drink anything after 10:00 Monday night. I also had to shower with Hibiclens Monday night and again on Tuesday morning, so at least we didn't need to leave our house at 6 or anything.

It was raining, so we allowed 45 minutes to get to the center, arriving at 7:50. I had been told that Jim needed to be masked and stay in the waiting room the whole time. Surgery was scheduled for 9:30, and would take 1/2 hour, then I would be in recovery until 11:00. When we got into the waiting room, it quickly became apparent that the mask mandate was not being enforced. Some people had no mask, some wore them around their chin or under their noses, and a few were compliant. Jim looked around in dismay - as did I, frankly since I was having surgery. 

A couple sat across from us without their masks on. The man looked like he had on a long black skirt, and she had on a skirt with a slit so high it left nothing to the imagination. Including her cellulite. It was very unpleasant. My mask stayed firmly in place until I was taken in the back and they exchanged my cute smiley face mask with the generic hospital mask.

I was taken to the back on time, and gestured to Jim that there was an unoccupied, small consultation room that he could sit in to get away from the unmasked. I would have gone to wait in the car, as the registration lady said that was an option since they had his phone number. He was given a number so he could follow my progress, so he elected to stay in the waiting room.

In the back I was taken to the area where the surgical patients are prepped. I had my own cubby space with three walls and a curtain across the front. I was asked many questions, my temperature was taken, and then I was asked to put on a gown and some bootie slippers. As time went on, it was apparent they were running behind. I was thirsty, hungry and had a major headache from not sleeping much the night before. Fortunately, pre-surgery prep included two Tylenol - yay!

A nurse tried to insert a needle for the IV into a vein on my right hand, and she must have struck a nerve. I yelped and about came off the bed. I told her that hurt worse than my shoulder! She was so apologetic, and took the needle out, but had to press hard on the spot to stop the bleeding and to help prevent bruising. Then she tried for a second vein, which thankfully went much more smoothly. But to show how bad it was, she spent a long time cleaning the blood off my fingers and the floor.

I was able to keep my phone with me so I could text Jim with updates. He said he could see on the board that I was still in pre-op. I was able to let Jim know that unmasked black skirt guy got the cubby next to me. He was asked if he had a negative Covid test, which he did, and then asked if he had been vaccinated. Of course he hadn't!

Finally the anesthesiologist came in and explained that he would do a nerve block on the shoulder. I asked if I would be under when he did that - thinking how ugly the steroid shots are - and he said no, he needed me awake so I could answer questions. They did give me what they called a "margarita" through the IV, and honestly I never felt the nerve block at all. I didn't even realize he had done it until my hand started to go to sleep. Finally the surgeon came in and explained he would make two or possibly three holes in the shoulder, depending on what he saw when he got in there.

They finally wheeled me to surgery at 11:00. I helped shift myself from the bed onto the table, and the next thing I knew they were asking me to take deep breaths through the oxygen mask. I was woken up in recovery at 11:30, and was given some ginger ale. She said my mouth and throat might be sore. I said, "Oh, I guess I was intubated then." She shot me a quick glance and replied, "Where did you learn a big word like that?" I figured it wasn't the time or place to explain that I worked for a medical malpractice insurance company for 15 years. At the end of an hour I was helped to get dressed, put into a wheel chair and taken out to the lobby. They had already called Jim to let him know I was ready. In fact the doctor called him at 11:30 and the recovery nurses called him to let him know when I was there and how I was doing.

We got home and I first hydrated, and then tried a little soup and a few soda crackers. I repeated that for dinner, and was feeling okay. The nerve block was still very much in place, and I have to say having a dead arm is really weird. It's like grabbing the hand of a corpse, except the skin is warm not cold. Jim had gone out in the afternoon to get the two prescriptions they ordered. One was an anti nausea pill and the other a generic Percocet. They repeatedly advised to stay on top of the medicine the first few days, setting the alarm every four hours to take the pain pill. The anti nausea was only to be taken one every 8 hours. I took the first pills at 7:30 and felt okay. The second pill I took at 11:30, and that was okay but I just could not fall asleep. It was almost like it had caffeine instead of codeine in it. By the 3:30 alarm I was feeling sick to my stomach, so I took another anti nausea pill. I held out until 4:00 for the pain pill, hoping my stomach would be settled by then. I also had my first physical therapy (PT) scheduled for 10:00, so I wanted some pain medicine in me before I undertook that. But I continued to feel more and more nauseous, and was throwing up by 8:00.

Jim called the doctor's office as suggested if you felt dizzy or nauseated. It took forever for his call to be answered, only to be told that the doctor's assistant was with a patient and would call him back. In the meantime I was due for a pain pill at 8:00 (stay ahead of the pain, they emphasized) but there was no way I was putting another of the Percocets in me again. By 9:30 we still had no call back, so Jim phoned again, another holding period, and the assistant still wasn't free but would call him soon. I went ahead and called the PT office and said there was no way I could make a 10:00 appointment. I hated to give then so little notice, and I know how important it is to do PT the day after surgery. I was hoping they could get me in during the afternoon, but the best she could do was 2:00 tomorrow.

When the assistant finally called back, he said to just take 3 ibuprofen pills every 4 hours. I can alternate those with Tylenol if I want, which is what I am planning to do. The greatest thing is I can plan for 2 Tylenol PM tablets as my last for the night, so hopefully I can get a few hours of solid sleep tonight. Once the nerve block totally wore off, I removed the sling which has been on since the end of surgery. The doctor doesn't want me to wear it, instead he wants me to move the arm as often as possible. I will only wear the sling when I go out, mostly to let other people know to stay away from that arm. I've been icing the shoulder with the shoulder pad I bought as well to keep the swelling down.

So far the pain is bearable, and I've been doing some minor exercises and arm movements so it doesn't re-freeze. Hopefully this pill regimen will work and I won't need anything stronger for the pain. I'll find out after PT tomorrow!

The "Eyes" Have It!

Having put up with the stye in my left eye for 3 months now (despite two visits to the ophthalmologist) today the doctor's office decided to open up the stye and scoop out the contents. It was every bit as painful as it sounds. The doctor described the instrument as a mini ice cream scoop. Yum.... It took four shots in the eyelid before I no longer felt the clamp they attached to my eyeball to hold the eye open. I always have a problem with the anesthesia not taking, even at the dentist's office. After he was done, the doctor dropped the bombshell on me that it might be a tumor. He said it didn't drain much, and that it was hard when it should have been soft. I need to go back in on Friday, when he hopes he will see a significant reduction in the size. This would indicate that it was indeed a stye. If there is not significant reduction, then he will send me to an ophthalmologist who specializes in plastic surgery to remove the whole thing and send it off to pathology. Wow - talk about being thrown a curve. I am going to continue to be optimistic because this thing did drain when I first got it, so hopefully it is just calcification of the stuff which didn't drain. The anesthesia wore off before we even got out of their parking lot. The pain in my eye shot right up my forehead, sort of like an ice cream headache that would not subside. Where are my pain meds, man?