PAIN!!!

I am in excrutiation pain right now and have been since yesterday mid-morning.

I don't know what happened. Wednesday I had a different therapist since my gal is out on pregnancy bedrest. This substitute was from another clinic and was picking up Cara's appointments.

Lisa is the third non-regular therapist I've had in the past few weeks. The other two (men) actually helped my situation even if their massages hurt like hell. Lisa concentrated on the toe pain which I thought would be good. She really massaged the foot in different spots than Cara and the guys did. It felt good.

By Thursday morning, there was quite a bit more swelling than usual in and between the big and second toe bones (the long bones of the foot). I noticed as I was talking with a client after she picked up her dog that the foot hurt and was real tight in the shoe. Walking on it was painful, but only in the toe area. I could bear weight on the heel and the side of the foot, just couldn't put any weight on the ball or toes.

After I was finished with grooming for the morning, I went inside and put it up on ice. The skin was hot to touch and so tight with fluid that it was shiny and looked ready to burst. And pain!!! I've not been in that much pain since the first few days after the surgery. Just the weight of the ice pack was causing a lot of pain. And the ice didn't really do much to alleviate the pain.

I kept it up and on ice all afternoon. When it came time to go out and put up the ducks, I couldn't slide my foot into my slip-on boot but finally managed to get my shoe on. I was crying so hard but managed to get the chores done and the foot back up and on ice.

I decided that when my Motrin wore off I would take some Vicadin. Glad I did. It controlled the pain for about 4 hours overnight and I took a second one at five hours and got a second stretch of sleep. I am almost at 5 hours again and will take another one soon. Can't wait.

So I'm going to call the doctor's office and see when she can see me. Hopefully today but I think it's her Friday on the nursing home circuit which means no office hours. But she does have Saturday hours so perhaps then. Got PT this afternoon. They are going to be shocked when they see this foot.

What Can I Say?

So this past weekend my little herding club held its annual trial. Since help is hard to find (most of the members don't want to work the trial, only compete in it), Saturday morning found me trying to finish up the A course for the sheep and the ducks. Walking on uneven ground is still rough on my foot and rough terrain like in the sheep pastures is just TOO much. But someone had to do it. We started 45 minutes late as it was.

After the trial ended on Sunday afternoon (and it was an early, early ending thankfully) we did get a bunch of help tearing down the sheep holding pens while the duck runs were going on, but once again, as soon as the trial ended everyone disappeared and it was up to Peggy (who'd gotten run over by a sheep on Saturday), Lisa and me to haul the wooden panels, metal T-posts, and snow fencing up to the barn. It took us about 90 minutes to finish up and I was home by 6:30 which is the earliest I've been home after that trial. But it could have been sooner if people had stuck around to finish the job. Guess I shouldn't complain as generally we have to tear down the sheep pens ourselves.

Thank doG for little favors and whatever help we got.

So I came home, put my foot up and iced it. I then did an E-stim treatment and fell asleep.

Monday morning found the foot tender and the ankle stiff. I did some stretching and then again put the foot up on ice for the majority of the day until PT. Then my friend, Judy, called and asked if I could come to Peoria and pick up her puppy as she was in the hospital again. So by the time I got home, I was mentally beat and the foot was still tender. More ice and an E-stim treatment.

Tuesday, the toe joint was puffy still and sore. I had a dog to groom and so I put my compression band on the foot to help keep the swelling down and out. By the time I finished and got back inside, the shoe was snug but I had kept most of the fluid out. The ankle, too, was swollen. More ice and rest. Then I had to drive over to meet my other friend who will be caring for the puppy until I have room for her here (if/when Emma finds a home). Again more ice and an E-stim treatment after supper.

The good news is that the tendon itself is not sore at all. Very tight and not accepting stretching but at least it's not sore. I'll take whatever good news I can find.

This morning, the swelling is all but gone from the foot. Still no soreness in the tendon. The fused toe joint is still extremely sore. Looks like I'm going to have to take that steroid injection from the doctor after all. Sigh. I hate needles, especially in my mouth and in my foot.

I have a cocker to groom this morning so we'll see what it looks like after I'm done. I should have time to ice it before I go to PT at 1:00.

At this point, I am no longer hoping for any resolution of this pain. I am resigned to living the rest of my life with some level of pain in this foot. Not what I'd hoped for before the surgery, but an idea that I'm going to have to wrap my head around now. If the injection works to relieve the pain, then perhaps that is what I'll have to do on a continuing basis in order to function better. I'll have to discuss this with the doctor in ten days.

Foot Update

Saw the doctor a week ago. She is not satisfied with my progress or the lack thereof. Go figure. I'm not either.

I am currently not experiencing any pain in either the toe or tendon when at rest. This could be because she insisted I start back on the 800mg of Motrin three times a day. She wants to keep at the inflammation that builds in the tendon. I'm worried a bit about my liver, but she says I should be okay -- that 2400mg is not that much. Sounds like a lot to me.

She did more x-rays to be sure everything was where it should be but found that when she fused the big toe joint she set the toe a bit low of the ball which is what is causing me the pain when I walk. We are currently working on 'tweaking' my orthotic device to try to alleviate this. I think I'm getting close to where it needs to be, but will give it a while to be sure I'm walking properly on it and not compensating.

She loaned me a T.E.N.S. unit which uses electrical stimulation to reduce pain and inflammation and I am doing some at-home treatments along with those I get at PT. The stretching is getting better but still not where I was a month ago. I'm trying to be patient.

The doctor and I spent an hour and a half discussing my foot, the pain and the options for alleviating it. She mentioned surgery again to break and realign the fused joint. She also mentioned unfusing the joint but had to research and see if this has ever been done before. She also wants to to a steroid injection at my next appointment so that I am 'comfortable' for the holidays. Mike will be coming to my next appointment since I am so bad about injections and needles. We'll also discuss the surgical options since he is involved in this as I am. I really don't think I'm up for doing any more surgery.

I hope tweaking the orthotic is the right track here because I don't like the alternatives.