I shouldn't a done that... re my foot problems,

[ShiroKuro]

So, I made the mistake of joining a FB group for people with the foot problem I have (haglund's deformity plus achilles tendonopathy).

So ... yeah.... I shouldn't have done that.

I already didn't want to have this surgery, but now I really don't want to!

I've read that the recovery is long, and I feel like both foot surgeons I see minimize that. Well, reading on this FB group... just convinced me that the recovery is loooonng and very uncertain.

In other news, I'm holding steady or maybe even getting better. I don't think I "need" the surgery right now. I have an appt in the beginning of May so we'll see what the doc says....

Sigh.

[Daniel]

Oh, SK. I'm sorry. BTW, I've gone on forums about medical problems myself and quit them because they put me in a despondent mood instead of leaving me feeling empowered with knowledge. It is true that specialists sometimes overreach. The last specialist I went to failed to give me what was in fact my diagnosis, and referred me to an oncologist for infusion treatments for a medication that was only meant to be used if all others failed and had a red label warning saying a possible side effect was death. I had no warning and was initially given no explanation of the reason for the oncologist's call. It was only I called their office that I was able to track down the diagnosis from the proposed treatment.

I think you're right to proceed with the utmost caution.

Virtual hugs! ️

[ShiroKuro]

@Daniel thank you!

The thing that’s hard is that I feel like I don’t have enough information — like, how likely is the surgery to be successful, as defied by “pain free” or full return to movement etc. Another thing that’s frustrating is that I feel like the doctors are minimizing the post-op recovery.

So it’s very hard to evaluate and make decisions…

[CHAS]

@ShiroKuro Hope surgery is not needed. Also hope you recover soon.

I clicked something to reply and got SK's first post to edit. I was able to add a question mark, think I could have changed or deleted her post.
I closed the site and opened it again to post this.

[wtg]

@CHAS said:

I clicked something to reply and got SK's first post to edit. I was able to add a question mark, think I could have changed or deleted her post.

Is it possible you clicked on the Quote button (") on her post? That would copy her post into your reply, and you would be able to edit her quoted post that's embedded in your reply. But it wouldn't allow you to edit her actual post.

I can set up a test user with no superpowers for myself and check it out when I have time...or if someone else wants to try to edit another member's post, maybe you can report back your results...

[ShiroKuro]

@CHAS said:

Hope surgery is not needed. Also hope you recover soon.

thank you!

I have a follow up with the foot surgeon at the beginning of May, so we'll see...

[Mik]

Yeah, surgeons especially tend to downplay the tough and often painful recovery, but that's what they do for a living and some are not above selling it. "You may experience some discomfort" is a euphemism for "It will be a sneak preview of the fires of Hell.". They are also reluctant to tell you about the percentages of patients that are truly helped. I hope this resolves successfully for you.

[Mik]

Shiro, did the surgeon say whether or not he'd have to detach the achilles tendon? Apparently, that will determine whether you will have the very long recovery or a much shorter one.

[ShiroKuro]

@Mik said:

some are not above selling it.

Well that, and also, the further out a patient gets post-op, the less the doc sees them, and I suspect that influences even the most conscientious of surgeons (i.e., those who don't push surgery when not necessary just because they'll make a buck). Also the definition of a "successful surgery" is not necessarily the same for doctors and patients, and maybe to some extent that's inevitable.... but it's still frustrating on the patient side.

"You may experience some discomfort" is a euphemism for "It will be a sneak preview of the fires of Hell.".

Ugh! That reminds me of when covid first started and the reporting about "mild" cases would mention that a doc might describe it as mild (e.g., because the patient isn't in ICU), but the patient would not (e.g., because they are so sick they can't function)

[ShiroKuro]

@Mik said:

did the surgeon say whether or not he'd have to detach the achilles tendon? Apparently, that will determine whether you will have the very long recovery or a much shorter one.

Yes, the surgery that has been proposed (same by two different doctors) is to detach the achilles, remove the haglund's deformity that's at the top (ish) of the heel and also remove the enthesophyte (bone spur) that has formed right where the achilles attaches to the heel.

Which is why I'm suspicious of their recovery estimates and directives about length of time totally NWB -- IOW, I think they're underestimating it. And I'm worried about the cascading health ramifications of prolonged NWB, and I think they are underestimating that as well, and it's super frustrating.

[ShiroKuro]

But I should add that I feel like I'm getting a lot better and I'm wondering if I can stick with my "wait and see" approach. The problem with that is, I can't really do the surgery any time except in the summer, so not doing it this summer means I won't do it until next summer....

[Mik]

Foot surgery can be odd. Last May I had a large benign myopericytoma (say that three times fast) taken off the top of my right foot. It had been there for several years so was very tangled in nerves and blood vessels. It healed OK although I still have a little nerve pain at the incision site from time to time. the odd thing is ever since then I've had a slight limp on my right side that comes and goes. No one can figure out quite how that happened.

[CHAS]

@wtg I must have clicked the Quote button.
Thank you

[ShiroKuro]

@Mik said:

I still have a little nerve pain at the incision site from time to time.... the odd thing is ever since then I've had a slight limp

I'm sorry you're still dealing with it, although thankfully it was benign and sounds like the removal went well.

Here's another thing I wanted to vent about..... sorry!

So, I asked both foot surgeons if there was anything I should be doing in preparation for the surgery. Both said no.

Well, reading that FB support group, a lot of people talk about how hard it is to be non-weight-bearing on one leg and having to rely completely on the other leg. One lady was talking about how she has a very hard time getting up and down to go to the toilet.

And another person pointed out that this should have been mentioned as part of "prehab" -- that anything you can do in advance to strengthen the non-surgical leg will be incredibly helpful.

In most cases, this surgery is elective -- which is not to say that it's not medically necessary, but just that there's some flexibility in the timing and most people have the surgery after months (or years) of trying other treatments which didn't work.

Given that, having patients do prehab exercises as part of their pre-op preparation seems like a no brainer. But no one has mentioned it to me.

As it happens, I can't do a single leg sit-stand without using one of my arms. But I'm trying to build up my muscles to get there.

I would be a lot less cranky if an actual doctor discussed this with me, rather than me having to hear about it on Facebook!

/vent

[Mik]

Janet had been doing Pilates for a couple years before her hip replacement. It helped a LOT in her recovery. I think prehabbing is very smart.

[ShiroKuro]

@Mik And I bet any surgeon, if asked about prehabbing, would say "oh absolutely, do that."

So, it should be something they tell you about....

I understand hip replacements are quite difficult, was she working at the time?