Cheilectomy 9 months

Really felt like I turned a corner at 9 months. Walking is up to 8 miles - not every day, but still good. Foot is pretty good on that toe now, a little swelling in mornings if I've used the foot for lots of walking or on uneven ground or driving, but generally all good.

Only problem now is I've been struck down with plantar fasciitis 😱😱😱😱😱😱

Having suffered from this in the past - about 14 years ago on the other foot, it took 2 YEARS!! to clear up - you'd think I'd be prepared, but it's easy to forget when you're not in it.

I'm thinking that the causes of this onset in the post-operative foot are likely to be:

1. General loss of fitness and strength due to the long period of time from injuring the toe thru rehabilitation following surgery

2. Correcting the gait following surgery. Previously, I was rolling my foot along the outer side due to the pain from the bone spurs (supination). Once the foot was recovered from the surgery, I mindfully began to roll the foot more proportionately and this may have put extra stress on a shortened plantar fascia, causing it to become inflamed.

It's so disappointing to be off my feet again just a the moment I was gathering momentum and fitness. Plantar fasciitis can take months if not years to get better, so this all feels a bit devastating.

But I'm reminding myself of the steps that can be taken to help regress the condition and keep it at bay.

The pretty straightforward exercises to do are well documented on heelthatpain.com so I'd really recommend heading to their website for instructions and videos 10 Quick Plantar Fasciitis Treatments for Immediate Relief (heelthatpain.com)

Meanwhile, it's back to rest, ice, and stretches for me. And looking forward to the time I can get out walking again.

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Cheilectomy 5 months

As each month milestone approaches, it feels like the toe is worst than the month before, but when I read back, I can see that's a fallacy. I guess, as it gets better, I just measure its progress day by day, so some days it feels worse and some days it feels better. And that's kinda the lesson learned in this post. For example, the last couple of weeks we've had a cold snap in the UK (temperatures down to -2 in the daytime), so I've had to swap the trainers to more suitable walking boots (something I couldn't wear last month). I've been in the walking boots every day now for a couple of weeks. It feels roomier than when I tried the boots last month, so that indicates the swelling (from Covid probably) has gone down. It's more comfortable to wear the boots now, so clearly that's progress. I've been doing around five miles in them, but do find that it's a matter of one day on, one day off. So if I do a five mile walk one day, I'm not up for a...

Cheilectomy - Day 14

Lots of mobility now - whizzing around doing everything for myself, except shopping and walking the dog. Can walk ok in the surgical shoe and do stuff like preparing meals and washing up, getting up and down stairs, walking to the car. Still icing the foot just to ward off any swelling, wiggling the toe and stretching it. Sometimes, without warning it has a sudden ache - similar but not as intense to the pain I'd experience often before surgery. Went out to the local tea rooms for a couple of hours with the Sunday papers, so feeling a little more normal. Looking forward to tomorrow when I have my post-op appointment back at the hospital, and to losing the surgical shoe and the bulky bandages.

July 2022 Cheilectomy Day 1 - the surgery

Day 1 - surgery Arrived for a midday appointment. It's important to make sure you have someone who can take you to (and more importantly) collect you from your appointment. You CANNOT (nor will you want to) drive after the surgery. And trust me, you ain't gonna be taking public transport either. I was advised that because I was having a local anaesthetic, I could eat and drink normally, to bring something to eat and drink and a pair of shorts to wear under the hospital gown and a dressing-gown to wear over the top. I changed and ate my lunch and drank my flask of tea and discussed the pain meds that I'll be taking for the first three days after surgery (my worse fear - way worse than the surgical procedure - and the point of all my questions). I do not get on with painkillers - namely, my stomach doesn't. I took ONE co-codamol tab for the knee when I did it in. OMG! The cramp in my stomach was abysmal. I took FOUR ibuprofens the following day, and by day three my inside...

cheilectomy-diary

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