Cycling is my absolute favorite activity. That’s what I plan to focus a lot of this blog on, but for the next several months I want to chronicle my recovery from Achilles tendon surgery, both for myself and for anyone who can benefit from it. I hope to share tips that others in the same situation can use because I’m basically going in blind.

I’ve had insertional Achilles tendonosis for the past year and a half. It’s definitely been a drag. I’ve tried everything to treat this, but nothing’s worked. It’s been quite the journey to this point. I started seeing a podiatrist a little over a year ago, and from there I spent the months of November 2017-March 2018 in a combination of a walking boot, then a hard cast, then a boot again until it got worse, then a cast again and several weeks off work. The best thing the doctor I was seeing at the time did for me was finally having me try physical therapy. Until I started therapy, I was too sore to even want to try cycling, but after a couple of weeks, I was back on my bike again. I did therapy for 9 weeks, and while I improved 60-70%, the progress stalled and I was still in pain every day. It was also still a struggle to make it through a work day (I have a job where I’m on my feet all day). The therapist that I worked with recommended a different doctor to me after the podiatrist told me there was nothing more wrong with me and to come back as needed.

Switching doctors was the best move I could have made. I’ve been under the care of an orthopedic surgeon since June of this year, and it’s been a good experience. I appreciate that my surgeon didn’t rush me into surgery right away. He had me get an MRI done, which my first doctor didn’t deem necessary, and it revealed quite a lot of damage. He told me my tendon looks like it belongs to someone twice my age. With that information in mind, he told me I could try bracing again, but it would only have a 60% chance of working, or I could do surgery, which has an 80% chance of working. I wanted to avoid surgery as long as possible, so I tried the brace again, but it didn’t work and surgery was my only option left. So, after all this time, I have to do surgery after all. I know that it may not work, but I’ve been praying. If I put the time and effort into recovery and rehab, I feel certain it will be fine.

My surgery is set for December 11. My surgeon is going to take my Achilles tendon off my heel bone, clean up the damage, reattach it, and do a lengthening procedure. I won’t be able to put any weight on it at all for ten weeks, and then it’s going to be aggressive physical therapy after that. I don’t know when I can cycle again. The only thing I know for sure is that I won’t be doing 30+ mile rides for a long time. It’s going to be slow to get back into it. It’ll be even longer before I can play tennis again. I haven’t played tennis since my tendon first started hurting because I can’t even run thirty seconds without feeling pain. Cycling was my only option left for outdoor activities, and thankfully it’s something I’ve always loved. I’m hoping to challenge myself and do some shorter bike events, and a 5k at some point during 2019, but the soonest that’s likely to be is summer or fall.

I hope you will join me on this wild ride we call life. If you have any tips for me or any experiences you want to share, please do! I always love reading the comments on my blogs! I plan to update this at least once a week, so check back soon!