Ankle TAR UPDATE

Hi @LauraC Pumpkin is absolutely right, at 2 months you are still early in the recovery process. At 2 months I still had a long way to go to really start feeling like I made the right decision. 9 years later I couldn't be happier that I had my TAR, it was life restoring. Hang tight, it gets better!
 
I had fracture blisters when a gas cylinder fell on my foot and broke my big toe.

I was told to cover them with sterile gauze if they burst but, fortunately, they didn't.
They took ages to go away and I couldn't wear any shoe at all on that foot.

I'm not sure whether it was the blisters or the fractures that ached. Whatever, the pain did go away slowly.
 
@Celle @FCBayern @Pumpkln Thanks all for the comments. I am being very patient, I originally planned on my recovery taking 9mos (before I could walk a couple of miles). I feel, with the progress that I am making, that is a very reasonable goal and hope to be pleasantly surprised with a shorter amount of time based on the stories in this forum. Thank goodness we have a pandemic, I have lots of time to recover!

I was asking about the fracture blisters because I could not find any information on them. It is a part of the recovery that is manageable, but I have to admit that the blisters have been more painful (perhaps resulting in more nerve pain?) than my ankle joint, and I kind of expected them to be healed a bit quicker. 8 weeks and although the surface is finally reasonable, the deeper tissue is still pretty tender.

I know that Drs don't want to really give timeframes because each patient heals at different rates, so it is so helpful to hear personal experience, so thank you all for your feedback.
 
LauraC,
Happy to hear your fracture blisters are healing, and you are doing well.
Healing takes time, your body heals at it's own good pace, and everyone is different.
Thanks for the update!
 
Glad to hear you are doing better @LauraC. Please come back and post often to tell us how recovery is going. As you have found member threads that talk about what you are, or are going to be experiencing is very helpful. As a TAR recipient as well I'm hoping that we can continue to build the amount of TAR experience here on the site. :happy-new-year-smiley-emoticon-4:
 
Hi LauraC! following your posts and wondering where you did your surgery and how you control pain? I am scheduled later this week for a TAR and am quite anxious. Also does anyone know how I can start a recovery thread?
 
Hi @Chanie
I had my surgery done in Mt. View California.

I have to say that the pain was WAY less than I thought it would be. I had a nerve block, and they allowed me to leave the hospital in the afternoon of my surgery. I liked that because i had no pain on the drive home. My ankle woke up about 24 hrs. later, and for the first few days, I took the medication as recommended. I did not risk getting behind, but in retrospect, the pain was very manageable.

My fracture blisters were very painful, and then I developed some nerve pain, but I had read accounts in this forum and i reported that to my Dr. who offered me Gabapentin. That was about 2 weeks, and now at 8.5 weeks, the blisters have healed, and the nerve pain is less, so I don't really need that (Gabapentin) anymore. I am taking melatonin to sleep and am doing fine.

i see the Dr. this week and believe that I will be out of the boot and into a lace up brace in a shoe. Lots of ice! lots of PT (started PT in the 1st week and am now in an outpatient PT with pool therapy). Also am massaging my incision a lot because I tend to scar really badly and don't want anything to get stuck.

Good Luck, keep us posted!

Laura
 
Also does anyone know how I can start a recovery thread?
I got some assistance from the moderators on how to start a thread. Check out the above (lower banner) Help/Info, or contact one of the moderators to start your own thread.
 
Glad to hear things are on the right track @LauraC :happydance: This recovery is slow but you are progressing well! Glad to hear the blisters are behind you. Keep us posted! :flwrysmile:
 
Thought I would post an update. 12.5 weeks out, and progressing well. I have good ROM, am out of the boot most of the time and in a lace up brace. I am doing long walks in the park 3-4 times per week for about 45 - 60 minutes with my walker. On these long walks I really try to walk as upright as possible, with even steps, and am probably using my walker for about 10-30% support on average. There are frequent 5ish minute intervals where I am walking at almost 100% weight bearing, and really just keeping my walker coming along more for safety and balance. In other words, I am working toward walking with a cane. I can tell that I am not quite there, because at 100% weight bearing intervals, my starts getting sore and I have to shift back to walker support. My ankle is pretty clear on its limits, so I am not rushing anything. I am pleased, and feel that I am right where I should be at this point. My balance is getting better, I am on a bike, leg press and stepper in PT 2x per week. I am currently scheduled for PT 2x per week through April. Pretty happy with my progress, and wanted to share that.
 
Glad to hear you are doing well @LauraC! :egypdance: Do be careful with that level of PT, if you are more swollen or painful the next day it's your ankle saying "Not so fast!" Slow and steady wins the race, if it takes just a little longer to get to the finish line it doesn't really matter, you will get years of mobility in exchange.
 
Yes! I am being careful. Thank you for your response. One note, my long walks include many rests. Managing the swelling, which is minimal. Lots of ice, elevation and resting multiple days if needed. My PT is giving me that same good advice about going slow.
 
That's great @LauraC! Ice was my friend for a good long while, and after a busier than usual day for well over a year. If you think there's any chance you pushed the envelope, icing afterwards can never hurt!
 
@LauraC Great update - you are really making good progress. Yes indeed, that ankle will tell you when it is ready to take full weight bearing. Meanwhile your approach is spot on. Well done!
 
I just wanted to check in. Sure enough, the last time I checked in, I was doing just great. I never felt that I was rushing it or over doing my walks, being careful to use my walker, don't go too far, ice and rest when I got home, following the recommendations of my PT (2x/week sessions}. About 3 weeks ago, my ankle started hurting in a way that it had not before, so I immediately cut my walks down by about 75% (distance, time and frequency). My medial malleolus hurt a lot, and I just ran that by the Dr. who had me come in right away for an Xray. All looked fine. Pretty much not doing anything but walking as necessary in the house, using a scooter most of the time, staying in bed and using the boot again, which seems to help, but even after this 3 weeks of almost nothing, the pain is still there. At PT today, he was saying to cut back more, and I really don't know what else I can cut.

I have a regularly scheduled appt. on Monday, and have to assume that I am OK, but this pain is so different, it has me a bit worried. Wish me luck on Monday.
 
You might try eliminating any walking besides activities of daily life @LauraC. Ice and elevate, and maybe you can get it calmed down. I had flare ups of pain and swelling for at least a year if I pushed a little too hard, and I seldom thought I had, but my ankle had other ideas.
 
@LauraC All the best on Monday. Please update when you can.
 
Hi everyone...I haven't posted in a long time, but am fascinated to read LauraC recovery process. I too had a left TAR Jan 8 2021 that's just 8 weeks and am doing Thank G-d really well. Much better than I had anticipated, being that I've had 3 precious fusion surgeries of midfoot, taylor-naviculus joint and heel. Those were hard recoveries. The Infinity replacement looks great on xray, scar healed really nicely, 2 weeks ago started PT. Wearing my boot except at night. Graduated from scooter to walker, now bout 75 percent weight bearing. transition wasn't easy but i am upright!! I roll around my kitchen on a rolling office type chair and prepare food and wash dishes and all. But still have lotsa tingling and funky sensations, especially below big toe like LauraC mentioned. Keep posting Laurs-you r a few weeks ahead of me and I love the encouragement!!
 
That tingling and funky sensations will eventually fade, the nerves that were stretched or cut take the longest to heal. When I had my ulnar nerve relocated the OS suggested 500 milligrams of vitamin C twice a day to promote nerve healing. Don't know if it really helped or not but I took it again after both TKR and THR, figured it couldn't hurt, and all those nerve issues have all healed.
 

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