Recovering From Foot Surgery

So, my foot surgery (plantar fasciotomy) was yesterday. Everything went well and I was back home within a few hours. The anesthesiologist was a lovely, lovely man! My feet are all bandaged up and I am having to wear my moon boots if I get up and walk around anywhere. Yes, I am surprisingly able to walk - just a bit slowly and unsteadily. I am using crutches that I borrowed from a friend. The pain isn't too bad. I was expecting excruciating pain, but it's more like the usual plantar fasciitis pain that I experienced prior to the surgery. I was given Percocet for the pain and it is working like a dream. I slept most of yesterday and am surprisingly still awake after having taken some about an hour ago.

Here's a picture of my Betadine covered, wrapped up feet with my swollen little toes. Pretty, huh?

10 Month Bandiversary

Yesterday was my 10 month bandiversary! I am officially down 115 pounds! Here are the pictures from before and 10 months post surgery. I'm wearing my semi-new SIZE 16 jeans and my new size 7 Privos (since my feet have shrunk significantly).

Holy crap! I'm a fraction of my previous self! And look... I have a butt!

In other news... I'm ready for my foot surgery tomorrow. Well, I'm not mentally ready, but I'm as close as I will get. I will report back when I am out of my drug induced stupor. Wish me luck, a fast and pain-free recovery, and happy drugs!

Pumpkin Protein Muffins

Look at me... posting two days in a row! I'm on a roll!

I told you yesterday about the Maintain No Gain challenge we had at work... Well, we had a potluck breakfast yesterday for those who participated. I enjoy baking and decided to try something new, so I tried Eggface's Pumpkin Protein Muffins. They were delicious! Everyone was surprised that they were so healthy, yet tasted so good. If you haven't tried any of her stuff, get over to her blog and try out some stuff. Here is a picture of my yummy muffins-

Surgeon Check Up

I went to my surgeon today for a scheduled check up. He said I'm doing very well, having lost 16 pounds in the last 2 months. He said the least I should be losing per month is 4 pounds. (We had a "Maintain No Gain" challenge at work recently that started right before Thanksgiving and just ended this week. The point of it is to maintain your weight within 3 pounds over the holidays. Well, I lost 12 pounds. Not sure how that happened, but it did.)  I told my surgeon about the occasional productive burping episodes and he confirmed that those are stuck episodes. I chew like crazy so I didn't think I would be stuck. But I guess I'm eating too quickly and it's backing up. He thinks my band may be on the tighter side so he said he didn't think I needed a fill. He even asked if I wanted an unfill. Since now that I know I need to slow down I declined the unfill. I also told him about how one of my medications is causing me to have acid reflux every time I take it. I was able to handle the medication just fine up until my last fill. But since this last fill every time I took it it gave me acid reflux. It went down just fine a number of times when I took it with food, but not every time. He suggested crushing it and eating it with yogurt or something so that it passes through my pouch quicker. I'm not sure if that will work or not, but it's worth a try. I've also spoken with a pharmacist at work who suggested trying a different medication all together, or taking Prilosec or another acid reducer daily. I go to my regular doctor on Monday for a pre-op check up for my feet surgery, so I will ask her what she thinks then. ...That's about it for the moment.

Plantar Fasciitis

Most of you who know me personally know that I have plantar fasciitis and have had foot pain daily for a number of years. I have tried what seems like every possible non-surgical treatment out there including stretching, extracorporeal shock wave therapy, physical therapy, cortisone injections, wearing cast boots, night splints, taping, orthotics, and probably a few more in the 7 or 8 years that I have had it. I have even had x-rays and an MRI. For those of you who don't know what plantar fasciitis is and would like to know please check out this link. (I am lucky enough to have it in both feet). Weight has a lot to do with plantar fasciitis but apparently losing over 100 pounds wasn't enough in my case to make it any better.

Having plantar fasciitis has made it very difficult for me to exercise (which I really should be doing more of since my surgery). For example, when I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in November my feet hurt so bad by the end that I was hobbling and saying ouch with every step. This is a daily occurance for me though. It hurts every day when I wake up and all throughout the day. It hurts when I am on my feet for too long (which can be even a short period of time), it hurts when I get up after sitting for a while, it just hurts a majority of the time. I have not been all that great about excercising since my surgery mainly because of this. Even walking hurts my feet.

So, after years and years of pain, I have finally decided to have surgery on my feet this month- the 21st to be exact. The surgery consists of one incision on the inside part of the heel of each of my feet. They then go in and cut 2/3 of the plantar fascia at the base of my heel and sew me back up. Where the plantar fascia has been cut, new tissue will grow to lengthen it. I'm just hoping that it won't keep hurting on the side where the doctor doesn't cut the plantar fascia. They don't typically cut the whole thing at once since there is a greater risk of having your arches fall. I'm sure there are a lot of other good reasons too. But anywho, my doctor doesn't just cut the whole thing at once. After the surgery I will have to wear some lovely cast boots for several weeks. I have worn them before for about 3 months. I call them moon boots. Seriously, they look like something from the lunar landing.

....see????? I am also going to have crutches for the first few days or so too. Apparently I will need them to steady myself. Yea! Fun. : ( Luckily I was able to borrow a pair from a coworker.

So, that's the fun and excitement around here. I hope to God this surgery works! Wish me luck.