u/OrganicBones

Hey all—
Just had bilateral fasciotomy on my feet and am 24 hours op.

I have a lot of tingling in my feet and was the told the nerve block was only supposed to last 12 hours. My feet feel numb, buzzing, tingling. Has anyone felt this way and how long did it last?

Thanks. And yes, I have contacted my doctor already about it.

Hello all.

Today I got my bilateral fasciotomy in my feet for CECS. I am in the hospital now, and I woke up about an hour ago.
I just posted a couple of days ago about how to prepare for surgery. Thank you all for the help.

The surgeon did give me a nerve blocker in my feet, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough so they’re getting me more pain meds. I feel pretty OK, but the pain I would say is somewhere between a 5 and a 6 out of 10. Bear in mind I consider myself someone with a fairly high pain tolerance.

The surgeon said no complications occurred. Will update this thread when I am out of the hospital and have more information.

Thank you.

Hello all.

I have posted a couple of times—most recently about whether to do unilateral or bilateral surgery— and I’m getting my surgery scheduled soon.

I will be getting a bilateral fasciotomy in my feet, and I am wondering how to prepare. This would be in terms of things I might need (since I’ll be on bedrest for a little over a week) or items that are nice to have, that I might forget I need, etc…

How did you all prepare for surgery? Anything I should be thinking of? Feel free to, and please be, as honest as you can since this is my first surgery. I’ll have family in the house to help me.

Thank you.

Hello.

I am looking to a fasciotomy release of both my feet.

Is it recommended to get one side done first and then the second done later, or do most people do both at once? I’m leaning more towards the bilateral surgery because both legs would recover at nearly the same time, and I don’t want to have to go through surgery twice. I’m concerned about not being able to walk for at least two weeks and with the possibility something going wrong with both feet.

What are all your thoughts?
Thanks.

Hello. Just wondering if anyone has gotten Botox as a non surgical treatment for CECS in their feet. What was it like? Did it help? Any downsides?

I am looking to schedule surgery, but it is likely to be in a couple of months due to my work and school schedule, and I am not sure if I can continue until then. I think the pain will worsen.

For anyone who has had the surgery done in their feet, what was the recovery time like? Many of my classes for university are in person labs, so I am struggling to fit in a date for surgery.

Thank you.

Hello!
As the title reads, I will be sharing my experience getting the CECS testing done in my right foot as a 19F. I hope this provides reassurance and insight to anyone who will be getting the test soon or is looking into/has trepidations. Hopefully this helps.

I had the testing done yesterday, and I was very nervous. The nurses made me feel at ease, and the doctor did a verbal and physical examination before doing the test. I will include the time everything took and the pain I felt on an ascending pain scale from 1-10. Please note everyone has different pain tolerances. My pain tolerance is moderate to moderately high, but I have a lot of anxiety, so I did tear up.

Here is how it all went for the stationary exam — no running:

1. Verbal examination of my history (30-45 mins, 0 pain)
2. Physical examination of my feet (15 mins, 2 pain)
3. Lidocaine injection — arguably the worst part, they put a needle into your affected area and inject the numbing compound (30 second injection and 3-5 minute rest for drug to fully engage, 6-7 pain (felt like a pressure and very slight burning)— note I had around 5 ccs injected, so if they gave you 10 ccs, this would take longer)
4. Catheter needle injection — fluid is injected to measure pressure in the compartment. This was unpleasant and it was uncomfortable, I can’t put it any other way, BUT it did not hurt as much as the needle for the lidocaine. This feeling was more of a very deep pressure, as if someone was pressing into your skin as hard as they could. There were some audible clicking noises. I was able to control my breathing and sit through it after 30 seconds. You will be okay, too. (~1-2 minutes, 5 pain, note my doctor had me flex my foot which caused the pressure reading to increase, also note I have CECS in both feet, but the test was done only on the worse foot at the doctors discretion)
5. Needle removed and bandage applied (1 minute, 0 pain)
6. Post-Op — soreness and slight pain at area of injection. I did limp for a little, but I think that was more of a mental blocker where I thought I would feel pain if I walked normally. Bandage removal after four hours (1-2 days of soreness, 2-3 pain)

My pressure was a 50 at stationary and a 60 flexed (not sure what the units are, I am assuming psi). The metric of comparison to a ‘normal’ individual was 10. This was enough to confirm my diagnosis, so I did not need to run. For the running test, you run on a treadmill until your pain is at a 4 or a 5, and then you are disinfected quickly and the catheter needle is injected. This was explained to me by my doctor.

Yes, the experience was unpleasant. I was anxious because I did not know what to expect feeling wise, although I had done research on the test. The test, honestly and genuinely, did not hurt as much as I thought. It seems scary, and everyone has a different pain tolerance, but it definitely went better than I expected. Bring someone you trust with you to hold your hand if you’d like! That’s what I did. Please note I do not have a large fear of needles, but I also opted to not look at the needles and instead just sit through it.

All in all, you will be okay. I hope this helps someone.
I will be sharing an update on my soreness soon, and I will likely post about my history and next steps in terms of surgery. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you.