Question on achilles tendonitis

I'm on day four of the recovery program and have already experiences some pretty amazing successes. I've also read every post on achilles tendonitis since that's been a biggie for me.

The worst of my leg issues started over 10 years ago with a shin splint. It was quite debilitating and it felt like it kept growing....pulling in more tight muscles. (I recognize all that as TMS by the way.)

The grand finale though was the day my achilles swelled to the size of a walnut. I followed all the usual protocol: PT/podiatrist/orthotics, blah, blah, blah. THe host of experts I consulted on both the leg and the achilles could only guess as to what the cause is.

That was over 3 years (the acute achilles swelling) ago. Since reading the book a few weeks ago, I've tossed the orthotics and have had several long walks *mostly* painfree.

This morning, I woke up with tightness on the right side of my foot and of course the "Oh, oh!" rings through my head. (I told it to shut up.) While I still get a little swelling in the achilles AND, as of several months ago, a little bit in the OTHER achilles), it is nothing compared to the dramatic swelling I had before.

Even if this *weren't* TMS, I'm so through with doctors I wouldn't see one about it anyway; no one ever had any answers. (One day if I find myself with nothing to do, I should tally up the amount of professionals I saw. Ha.)

So my big question: Could TMS cause such dramatic swelling? I'm thinking "Yes". (Btw, nothing structural ever showed up on the studies.) But I don't want to be a fool either...if this could be considered structural. One of my fears is that the swelling returns. I honestly thought at one time I'd be sentenced to a scooter, so great was that pain.

The achilles stuff has probably been the most mentally torturing symptom because I've always been very active...walking/hiking/aerobics, etc and the tendonitis has made my world very, very small.

I welcome your input!

 

MontanaMom,
I'm no TMS expert by any stretch of the imagination. However, I refuse to let that stop me from weighing in . I know that I am amazed every day by what the unconscious brain can do with our bodies. I have personally seen an amazing array of symptoms and reading this forum has enlightened me to a few thousand more possibilities. I know there have been times when I've had rashes and water blisters that no doctor could figure out. So if the brain can create a rash, it seems logical that it can create swelling. But since you are "through with doctors" and they didn't help in the past or find anything structural, I'd just dive in to the whole TMS explanation and see what happens. You're already seeing results. Swelling is a very dramatic symptom and your tricky unconscious brain knows it is hard for you to ignore. Tell it "your gig's up, brain"!

 

Ellen, thank you SO much for your encouragement! Because this is all so fairly new to me, I appreciate getting some perspective from someone a little farther along in the journey.

And now...the drum roll please....

HUGE success today. Not only did I walk THREE miles today with very little pain, I also walked probably a two more miles up and down a golf course cheering on my son's cross country. By the end of that though, I was concerned. Both of my achilles were REALLY tight. And I thought "uh oh" here we go again. Gads...I feel like I have the good angel/bad angel over each shoulder. I started muttering to myself, "Your ankles are FINE." I did a few stretches...only stretches that I would have done back in my running days...nothing from PT. Anyhoo. We just got home (the meet was out of town) and I peeled off my socks...and my achilles look as normal as ever. A very small nodule on one, but it's smaller than it's "normal" size.

What a day. My son ran his first varsity meet and I'm thinking about taking up jogging....a love that I forsook many, many years ago. Victory for both of us! YAY!

And thanks again to this forum. The encouragement, wisdom and knowledge is so empowering.

 

Good angel/bad angel-- that's hilarious. But so true for me. I like this forum because it gives me access to a whole host of good angels reminding me not to focus on what's "wrong!"

 

Oh yes, Tarala! Lots of good angels around here. I've been part of other forums and this is truly the kindest and most helpful.