Diary of an injury

hunnymonster

So I'm injured and not training. I've had little niggles before but this is my first full blown injury that has put me completely out of action. How have other people coped with this type of thing before?


2-3 Feb Town2Tring2Town 80 mile ultramarathon


8 Feb – back running, tired but not too bad


11th Feb – Getting the distance up, 20 km today. 1:55 so very slow but I deliberately want to keep things easy for remainder of February. I’m going to be training hard until November so this is my rest period.


14th Feb – legs a bit sore, joints achey, think I’m coming down with the flu


16th Feb – Restless night last night, can’t seem to find a comfy position to

sleep in. Can’t tolerate any weight on my feet in the morning and crawl downstairs on my bum


17-21St Feb, - Have a very big week in work so put off going to the doctor and hobble around the place. Over the course of the week my right ankle gets more and more swollen with red blotches and this only adds to the pain. I’ve honestly never experienced this level of pain in my life.


21st Feb – Finally get a 2 hour break in my schedule and head to my GP. I only realised just how manky runners feet can be when he asked me to take off my shoes to look at my feet. There are several blisters in various states of repair and a missing toenail. Not that the missing toenail is that much of a problem. The remaining nails have a funny yellow tint to them that is not entirely pleasant to look at. GP sends me straight to A&E where I spend the rest of the day. The first doc I see in A&E has no idea what is going on so orders xrays and blood tests. Xray of ankle comes back ok but he has found a fracture further up my leg that I had no idea about. Blood tests not saying a lot either. He consults with another doc. The second guy comes in and says “you’re a runner, must be arthritis take these antibiotics just in case and come back in a week for a review”. My medical boyfriend nearly lost the plot and the three of them disappeared off to look at xrays and test results but the registrar was still insisting on arthritis with possible septic ankle. For some reason no one will accept that I routinely run long distances and have never had so much as a gentle ache before. I know there is something wrong but they have pigeon-holed me.


25th February – Haven’t taken time off work on the assumption that, as I have a desk job, I will actually spend more time with foot elevated in work than I would at home. I’m now not sure this was such a good idea. Ankle is about the size of a melon and I’m in agony. I don’t trust myself to drive so BF comes to pick me up from work. We decide to head back to A&E. This time they take the problem more seriously. The anti-biotics obviously are not working so they admit me for IV drugs and to see consultant in the morning. The consultant and his team are great. They figure out what’s going on, what needs to be done and better still they talk to me and tell me about it. They warn me that I’m going to be very sore for about 2 weeks, that I need to stay off my feet completely and take the drugs and that my legs are going to go through every shade of redness and bruising but when this goes down I should start to feel better. Turns out that I got the infection through either a blister or the broken toenail from the race.


Today – Still can’t walk properly and steps and stairs are almost impossible but the pain is the worst bit to deal with. I still can’t get much sleep at night. Legs have moved from a red colour to deep purple of a new bruise. No reduction in the swelling today but I did get short periods with less swelling over the weekend so I think things are improving. I’m taking the anti-inflammatory painkilling drugs like clockwork which is supposed to help.

--amadeus--

Ouch, thought you had been a bit quiet lately. Goes without saying you have all of our best wishes

What's the story on how long recovery is expected to take?

A P

Jaysus - that sounds nasty. Hope you're on the mend soon.

Abhainn

Terrible, terrible.
Get well. All the best.

Odysseus

God sorry to hear that HM, hope you get better soon. I'm sure you will be back out there in no time.

Racing Flat

Just remember all those stories about runners running PB's after maternity leave, coming back from injury/enforced rest etc. Just take it easy when you get back first. Even after just a few weeks out don'e expect to do the same intensity and volume of training when you get back - respect this and hopefully you will enjoy the benefit of rest. Good luck.

hunnymonster

thanks for the good wishes. I'm still in a lot of pain. I've always considered myself to have a high pain threshold but this is worse than anything I've ever experienced.

thirtyfoot

Injury, one of the most testing times for an athlete. I've had a fair few down the years and quit/retired due to injury only to make a 'comeback' (of sorts) years afterwards. I 'd say once an athlete gets past the initial drop-out years of 16-20, the biggest reason why people stop is injury and it may not be that the injury is so bad that they can't go on, but simply that the constant niggles or injuries get so frustrating.

Injury management is key and there have been some great examples. Kelly Holmes was plagued all her career and even in the run up to '04 she had a tough season, yet through pure determination and great planning got through it all and got the glorious 800/1500 in Athens. Nicola Sanders last year had the high of being World Leader and champion indoors in March only to get injured soon after and her outdoor season was in doubt. Yet she managed her injury so well (think it was an achilles) and ended up a super 2nd in world outdoors.

As has been mentioned, patience is the key. I haven't been injured in past two seasons (touch wood) apart from a combined 4 week layoff with foot and groin problems last season, but when I am I always set a 'baseline' session that I gradually work back up to. For me it might be 6 x 300's in xx time and when I have got back to this I know I am back and ready to train at 100%. This can take 2 weeks or 4 weeks or more or less, depends on the layoff. Best of luck, stay patient, set a baseline and a target to get back to it.

damianmckeever

Hey HM,

Sounds terrible, hope you are back running soon!

Best wishes,

Damian.

911sc

How are you getting on today?
Wishing you a prompt recovery (weather is crap anyway, so you may as well watch TV:rolleyes:)

hunnymonster

Last night was particularly bad, probably because I overdid it yesterday. Because I can't drive with the ankle joint infection, I am reliant on lifts everywhere and last night I couldn't get one out of work until 9:30. I had something to eat and went straight to bed but didn't get much sleep because the erythema nodosum part of the problem has now spread to the rear of my legs and up over my knees making it impossible to find a position that isn't pressing on the nodules when I lie down. Fever was also pretty high so the bed was soaking with sweat. Of course, the sweating, dehydrated me so I needed water but my wrists were too sore/weak to open the bottle so I had to wake Mr HM to get a drink. I am a complete and utter wreck. Ponstan forte really helps but only lasts 2-3 hours and can only be taken every 8 hours.

Racing Flat

Downside of a systemic illness in comparison to a local injury is that you feel totally awful. Upside is that once it's cleared up you'll be flying, with no lasting effects hopefully. Whereas a niggly little hamstring injury that you barely notice might prevent you from going flat out for years...
So, chin up young lady. You'll be back in the saddle in no time, all the better for the rest.

hunnymonster

Thanks Racing Flat. I'm trying to stay positive but although I'm normally a half-full type of person, it's tough when I'm sooooooo sore. I've been back to hospital for lots more tests. Thankfully this time they also gave me lots of drugs and steroids so I'm in happyland. Still no definative diagnosis. Xrays have shown up granulomas on lungs and lymph nodes but need to wait on blood tests to figure out what this means. Possibly sarcoidosis which would not be too bad (98% start to get better within 6 months - apparently thats the good option! - 6 months, does disease not understand what a reduction in QoL that is!) I'm being admitted to hospital again on Tuesday for effusions (not sure what they are effusing, it must mean something different in medicine than in chemistry) Also need lung function tests. Other than that, I just have to keep taking the drugs and stay in bed.

Racing Flat

hunnymonster wrote: »

I'm being admitted to hospital again on Tuesday for effusions (not sure what they are effusing, it must mean something different in medicine than in chemistry)

I would imagine it's just drawing away the excess fluid in the ankle - swelling, blood oedema etc. can be drawn out to relieve the pressure and let the healthy inflammatory/healing materials do their job.

thirtyfoot

http://www.colingriffin.ie/blog_mar%206th.html

Colin Griffin is a race walker who is going to Beijing Olympics, he has recently got an injury (not too serious) and details regarding it and how he has reacted to it are on his link. Interesting that he has re-focussed his diet while injured.

How Strange

hey hunnymonster, sorry to hear about your illness. I hope you're back on the road to recovery very soon.

hunnymonster

Still getting the wonder steroid shots which make me feel amazing. Missed a dose of difene on Sunday and really felt the pain coming back so I guess I'm not quite as good as I feel.

Saw consultant yesterday who was talking about when I get back to training which was music to my ears. It was the first time since all this started that someone had confidence that I will run again.

Chest x-rays show some stuff that needs attention. In one way I'm relieved, I've a terrible history of chest infections and pneumothorax that never had an explanation.

Odysseus

Glad you hear that your getting somewhat better, nice to hear that your now looking at when you may start back. Best of luck with your recovery.

hunnymonster

thanks Odysseus, I'll be cutting it fine for Ironman France (22nd June I think) but I've the trip booked so even if I'm not back training by then I should certainly be ok to travel as a supporter. It's just as well this happened now, rather than in the desert next year.

hunnymonster

still feeling great from the wonder drugs. I went to a yoga class last night and survived but was tucked up in bed about 30 minutes afterwards as it took quite a lot out of me! Worryingly the nodules have started appearing on my arms. They were confined to my legs up until now but the consultant did say this was a possibility and that he is not particularly worried about it.

hunnymonster

just thought I'd update my tale of misery! Legs and arms have pretty much cleared. Getting IV steroids for lungs a couple of times a week. I'm having some difficulty breathing with any kind of exercise but I think it is getting better. Ironman France has now been 100% ruled out.

messed_up

Hi HM,

Sorry to hear that IM France is a no-goer now. Wishing you a full and speedy recovery.