Possible Achilles Tendonitis, 25yrs old

by Sandra
(Texas)

see the achilles tendonitis lump? above the wrinkly bent part of the ankle

see the achilles tendonitis lump? above the wrinkly bent part of the ankle



Hi, my name is Sandra. I'm 25 yrs old and currently live in east Texas.

One day I noticed my right ankle was making a popping sound when i walked but it didn't hurt. I felt it but it didn't hurt so i ignored it.

About a couple of weeks ago, my right ankle started hurting a little and I ignored it. That was on a Saturday. By Sunday it got a little more intense but not enough to keep me from walking.

Tuesday morning I woke up and I had to limp to walk but the pain wasn't on my ankle, it was on the back of my leg between my calf and heel (about 5 inches above from where my tendon is attached to my heel). I kept walking on it all day because I work.

On Wednesday I went to the doc (general MD). He checked for a clogged vein by moving around my foot and applying pressure to my leg (didn't hurt)so he thought it was a muscle strain.

Gave me meds (anti-inflammatories) and a sheet of paper with the RICE method. I didn't take the meds and only rested my leg when I could.

The pain seemed to be going away on it's own. I had to work on Saturday that week and did a lot more walking and standing than normal because we held a special event at work.

By the end of that day, I got home and couldn't walk (I could but with a lot of pain and discomfort in that same area). So I decided to lay on the couch for the rest of the day.

On Sunday I took it easy, but went with my husband to the store, and found my self limping badly on it so we decided to go home. I sat down and layed around for the rest of the day.

Come Monday morning, I could barely walk on that leg when I got out of bed. Called in to work and went to the doctor(the same one).

By the time I got to the doctor I could walk a little better on it. He told me to take the meds and again gave me the same sheet. I asked him if he thought it was my tendon and he said no.

I took the meds that afternoon and Tuesday morning seemed to help but had to stop taking them because they were hurting my stomach, my heart was spreading and I felt week.

Called the doc and he prescribed tramadol which is only for pain, which I'm not taking because I don't want to eliminate pain and hurt my leg even more.

Wednesday I borrowed a crutch to be able to move around. I was able to walk more but might of overdone it because today it's worse. To top it of, my other leg is now starting to bother me the same way my right leg started.

I don't see any visible inflammation and when I press on my tendon it doesn't hurt until I get closer to the calf muscle and apply significant pressure. My calf muscle doesnt feel sore. But if i apply pressure with my thumb on the back of
my calf and push deep that does hurt, but i don't know if it's normal or not.

When I pull my heel into the back of my leg I see a lump on my Achilles tendon. Is that normal?

I'll try to send a picture if I can. I asked my co-worker to do the same and I didn't see the same thing happen.

When I first get out of bed the back of my leg between the calf and heel feels stiff.

Throughout the day it hurts when I walk. Pain goes away when I rest and stop walking. After resting it doesn't hurt as bad when I initially start walking but the more i use it the more it hurts.

More info. I don't exercise regularly. I didn't do anything or don't remember doing anything to injure my leg. I eat like a normal person, but nothing special. Chicken, red meat, some vegetables not so much fruit, fiber cereals for the am and pm. My big meal is at lunch. My height is 5'2" and I weigh 136 lbs.

I recently had a kidney stone removed and I drink more water now than what i did before but it might not be enough. (2 litters of water) The doc that removed the stone wants me to drink 3 or more.

I really hope you can help me and I'm sorry for the long LONG e-mail. I just wanted to provide as much information as possible. I'm scared to walk on it too much and cause a rupture. Thank you so much for your help in advance.

----

Joshua Answers:

Hi Sandra.

No need to apologize. The longer the better, the more detail the better. You have given me plenty to digest.

It sounds like Achilles Tendonitis, but....I don't think repetitive motion is the culprit.

Certainly there is a big Pain Causing Dynamic and Process of Inflammation.

Let me think about it as you answer the below questions.

Some questions:

1. Any other health issues?

2. How much time do you spend getting actual sunshine on your skin?

3. History of any other medications/anti-biotics? (there's antibiotics out there that cause tendon degeneration and rupture.)

4. Describe your work, it sounds like a lot of walking and standing? How long have you been doing that?

5. Do you have a history of running types of sports?

Age 25 is theoretically WAY to young for this, but the U.S. diet and lifestyle is causing this kind of injury to show up earlier and earlier.

Maybe it's classic Achilles Tendinitis, maybe it's partly degeneration from not enough nutrition.

Answer the above questions, and let's get this figured out.



Joshua Tucker, B.A., C.M.T.
The Tendonitis Expert
www.TendonitisExpert.com














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May 21, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		PART 2 - Levaquin and Possible Achilles Tendonitis, 25yrs old
by: Anonymous

I'll answer your questions...

Health issues?? Only my kidney stone. Kidney is still recovering.

Sunshine?? In the last five to six months, not much exposure, except when i drive home in the afternoon.

I have no history of running sports.

I work at a Humane Society. I'm an animal care giver. I clean cages in the morning for about 2 hours, then the rest of the day we assist people interested in adopting a dog or cat. I worked 2 consecutive years doing this, then worked for a vet. for about 7 months. With the vet it was way more walking, way more standing. sometimes i didnt sit all day except during lunch. Then came back to the Humane society where i have been working for about 4 months.

History of medicines...I think this is where my problem is. Towards the end of Jan. I started with what i thought was a UTI. Got prescribed anti-biotics for a week. Went back because the problem persisted, got stronger anti-biotics even though my urine results were negative. They did a culture. Took Ciprofloxacn 500mg 2x's a day for 2 days and stoped because symptoms got worse. The culture wasnt ready yet, the doc suspected Clamydia or gonorrhea.

I've been married for 3yrs. Tested me and gave me the option of getting treated before the results. I was scared, mad, confused, stupid etc. and accepted.

They gave me two very strong anti-biotics of 1gram. Levaquin and someother one. I threw away the bottles but im sure they've got the records. I thought my problem was fixed but symptoms kept on.

I went to Mexico and after tests done,a kidney stone was found. I had surgery on march. After that I was on more anti-biotics for a very long time. I was on Macrodantina which i think it's called Macroditin here in the US. I was on that one for over a month.

If my tendonitis is due to medicine, does that mean I cant fix it?

I think that the one time dose I took of Levaquin was either 500mg or 750mg. I don't remember. Do doctors release that information to me if I ask for it? I know I was given a 1gram dose of something because i remember thinking it was a very strong medication.
May 22, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		PART 3 - Levaquin and Possible Achilles Tendonitis, 25yrs old
by: The Tendonitis Expert

Ok Sandra, let's see.

1. Yes, your doctor must give you any information about your visits/treatments that you want/request.



2. You probably have some underlying health stuff, but lots of people do and they don't have Tendonitis or Achilles Tendonitis.



3. The Levaquin is a big factor, from what I've been reading about it. I suggest that you start doing a lot of research online. Even www.Levaquin.com states that Tendon damage and rupture is a side effect.

I will look into this more and see what might be available to get the damage potential out of your system.

I can't say that that's the culprit, but it's been a big and fast and as far as I can tell, a clear bad guy guilty of causing tendon damage.

You said you threw the bottles out. Did you use the antibiotic?

Start investigating.




4. In general, increase you protein intake by a lot.



5. Definitely start spending some time every day in direct sunlight on your skin. And get some Vit D supplement. You are for sure deficient, and just that could explain much of your pain and overall problem. Vit D3 is VITAL for health, and the US is horribly deficient. See the Vit D pages on www.easy-immune-health.com



6. If there is Tendon damage from Levaquin, then you can heal...but you have to make sure the effects are all out of the system, and then it's a process to not only heal but to get rid of the entire dynamic of inflammation and Pain Causing Dynamic surrounding the injury.



Does that all make sense?

Joshua
May 23, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		A page on Levaquin
by: The Tendonitis Expert

Here's a page I put together on Levaquin.

Levaquin Side Effects.

Again specifically for you, I'm not saying it's the culprit (I don't even know if you actually took the presecription), but if you ingested Levaquin, it can be a factor.

Also, I forgot to say, the swelling in the ankle is from Inflammation. It is a good clue. I wouldn't worry about it necessarily, but it is a good idea to get it out.

Icing, elevating the ankles/legs so they're above your heart, and self massage draining the fluid up your leg are all good options.

And if it continues over time...well, the longer it's there, the more of an issue it becomes, so get that fluid out of there.

Joshua
May 27, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Collagen soup for faster Tendonitis healing
by: The Tendonitis Expert

Hey there.

I just made this new page, which you will find useful.

Bone Broth as the best Tendon Supplements

Eat it up. It will help whatever damage heal.

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