Adios cankles!

It’s been 3 1/2 months since my surgery. I have recovered completely and couldn’t be happier. I absolutely love the new shape of my legs and for the first time in my life I love showing them off. My activity level is back to running over 30 miles a week and going to the gym 4 to 5 days a week. I don’t notice any swelling; however, I feel like they are getting better and better each week. Being nearly 4 months out, the only thing I’ve noticed is that it seems harder to lose weight and easier to gain it. I think a lot of this is fluid retention, but definitely a change since I’ve had the surgery. I am back to my pre-op weight, but try to be more conscious of what I’m eating. I also try to add a lot more water than I used to. That seems to help quite a bit. Regardless of that small difference, it’s worth it to me to try a little harder at the diet to have these awesome legs!

The last month has been great. I’m definitely back to everything I did pre-surgery. I’m lifting weights, running, and swimming. Im keeping my running miles to less than 20 miles per week, but am planning on increasing that over time.
I think the major swelling is pretty much resolved. I have a little hardness around the inner ankle bones, but that’s really it. My incision sites are still pretty purple although some are starting to fade. If I’m feeling self conscious, I just dab a little dermablend on and they disappear. I’m still religious about using my ointments (epidermal repair in the am and mederma in the pm). I am still massaging the calf area just to flush out any fluids. The portion of my ankle below my calves is still a little sore. It feels like I’m rubbing a dull bruise.
I’m loving wearing skirts and have purchased so many fun shoes to wear! I love the way they look in tights and jeans too.
The only bummer I can see is that I gained serval pounds during the first 6 weeks of healing. It’s been harder than usual to lose them too. I’m also retaining more water than I used to. I just switched birth controls and it’s super hot here so my guess is it’s a combination of things. That said, try your best to keep your diet under control while you can’t work out. Its no fun to try to lose it with limited activity. Easy, right?!

I’m starting to get a lot of feeling back. It’s a little annoying and painful at times, but I’m glad to be less numb. If I’m on my feet all day and work out, I’ll will get a bit of swelling around the ankle joints - mostly the left. I still sleep in compression socks occasionally but only if I feel I overdid it during the day. The bruising is pretty much gone and the scars are slowly fading.

I attached my photos Dr. Su provided for me so you can see how close he came to his drawing. I still feel there is inflammation overall so I’m confident the definition will continue to get better.