u/Bright_Actuary

TLDR: For chronic, mild ankle pain where nothing else seems to work, is arthroscopic surgery worth it?

Background: I've been dealing with mild ankle pain for about 25 years. Mild pain is almost always present and is elevated by running and tight shoes, among other things. It's not terrible, but it is limiting and can cause a temporary limp if I push it. When shoes wear out, it's sometimes a months-long process to find shoes that don't make my ankle to ache. MRI shows basically nothing. I've just finished 3 months of PT that helped other things, but not this specific pain. A cortisone shot in my subtalar joint hurt like hell and did nothing. A cortisone shot in my ankle joint actually provided relief, but only for a short while, with the greatest effect in the first few hours and any relief lasting about 1.5 weeks. My Podiatrist has offered arthroscopic debridement surgery as a final option to remove scar tissue and whatever else is causing it. We don't expect it to be somewhat minimal due to the clear MRI.

Concern: My concern here is recovery, particularly driving. I have two careers, one of which requires a daily drive. The other is as an Army Reservist and requires me to be at a reasonable fitness level. I also have a family and 3 kids in elementary school, so I can't just do what I want. I'd get time to recover on the Army side of things, but the driving restrictions might make this a no-go. Other situations regarding this surgery I've found on Reddit seem to be from folks with more severe conditions that would take additional recovery time anyway and their recovery stories make it seem like this wouldn't be worth it for me as, while I have pain, it's not super limiting, just very annoying.

If you've gone through this surgery with a somewhat minimal condition like mine, how was your recovery? How long did it take you to drive? Did you end up better in the long run? Would you do it again?

I've been approved, and I'm awaiting a shipment of compounded terzepatide (through Ola/Drug Crafters) and will likely have my first injection this week. I've read plenty about what to expect physically, but I'm curious how folks have dealt with the mental transition to this new lifestyle.

It may sound a bit silly, but I find a lot of comfort in the sugar, carbs, and fats that I often eat and how much the taste of food and drinks really brings me some comfort, relaxation, and, honestly, a bit of joy while often being a key part of social gatherings. While I don't know how I'll react to the injections, I find myself pre-mourning the loss of that relationship with foods, despite knowing it's not a healthy relationship.

I also have concerns that the discomfort I might feel regularly as a side effect might lead to some personal withdrawal of things that I enjoy and, as a result, could have a negative effect on my mental health.

I'm sure that there are other mental aspects of this that I'm not thinking of. I'm curious to hear what you've gone through and how you've dealt with the mental side of transitioning from an unhealthy diet to beginning meds and a serious change in diet while dealing with uncomfortable side effects.

Hello everyone! Just saying hi. I'll probably be pretty quiet after this.

I just completed my questionnaire, and I'm in the waiting phase. I'm not entirely sure that I'll be approved, as my BMI is below 30, but here's to hoping! Unfortunately, I'm in a situation (Army) where I need to lose some inches around my waistline or lose some serious benefits, and my past efforts haven't worked out in the long term, as I understand they often don't.

I found my way to Ola via Reddit, as I'm sure most do. I had been leaning towards Sema through Trillium, but when I found that Ola had a great online community with a responsive owner and policies that appear to help patients, rather than exploit them, along with Terz prices in line with Sema prices at other trustworthy sites, I had to come here and give it a try.

Assuming I get approved, I'll be on Terz/glycerine. I ordered the ripple pack. Any advice for someone who has never been on this type of medication before or used Ola before would be greatly appreciated!

After mixed success with intermittent fasting, but ultimately falling back into the land of constant/routine snacking, I'm considering joining the GLP-1 community to try and silence the food noise. After some research, Trillium would be my preferred telehealth platform, assuming I was approved as my BMI is only about 27, but as an Army Reservist, I would not pass the new waist-to-height standards and would be removed from service if I could not meet them in a short period of time. Dad bods do not fare well with this new, unfortunately.

However, I want some control over my dosage. I understand the need to titrate to the lowest therapeutic dose, but I'd want to stay there if it is effective enough to help me reduce my snacking and portion control. I'm not interested in being repulsed by food, as I've seen might be the case. Would I have this kind of control if I were to go through Trillium, or would Trillium only work to supply the dosage recommended by a provider?

I'd like to find a provider and stick with them. I'm old-school and want to do it right and stick with it the first time, rather than constantly playing the "find the best deal and switch" game.