Broken Ankle (what is going on)

[Texas Ag 93]

wkate,

I am sorry you are having such a difficult time with your recovery. My husband is an Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle surgeon. He spends all day, every day fixing complex fractures and lower extremity problems, including those that have failed previous surgery. A lot of people think "Oh, it's just your foot", and the reality is that the human foot is one of the most complex anatomical structures of the body and it is often hard to come back 100% from any injury. Fractures tend to be very severe and the complication rate is higher. My husband always tries to impart this on his patients by setting realistic expectations.

I strongly encourage you discuss your concerns with your surgeon or his assistant. The NWB thing can be very difficult to adjust to. Don't let anyone make you feel like these are minor issues. They are not. You had major surgery.

[wkate54]

Thank you Texas AG,

I don't feel that I was well-prepared for the surgery or the recovery. Each time I see my surgeon, I ask more questions and the answers are discouraging . . . seems like whenever I ask how long I will be NWB, his response is "another 8 weeks!" On a positive note, I am now in a boot, which at least allows me to take a shower (sitting in a chair, of course) without having to wrap my leg, and I am able to do some range of motion exercises while my foot is elevated. One foot in front of the other, LOL.

Thanks for responding. It is always nice to receive a little positive reinforcement.

Kathy

[Cleonidas]

Originally Posted by wkate54

Thank you Texas AG,

I don't feel that I was well-prepared for the surgery or the recovery. Each time I see my surgeon, I ask more questions and the answers are discouraging . . . seems like whenever I ask how long I will be NWB, his response is "another 8 weeks!" On a positive note, I am now in a boot, which at least allows me to take a shower (sitting in a chair, of course) without having to wrap my leg, and I am able to do some range of motion exercises while my foot is elevated. One foot in front of the other, LOL.

Thanks for responding. It is always nice to receive a little positive reinforcement.

Kathy

I had a similar experience with a traumatic wrist injury, although the frustration of having a hand immobilized with a bunch of pins was probably less than something preventing me from walking around like normal.

Aches, deep itches, shooting pains, "humming" and all manner of weird nerve input kept me awake at night no matter how tired I was. I did have a bit of depression during that period. I felt crippled and I had no idea how well my hand was going to work when it was all said and done; lots of nagging worry.

I'm about eight years down the road and barely notice that I have a "good" hand and a "bad" hand anymore. I probably regained 98% range of motion and functionality and I don't have any pain... But it isn't the same as it used to be and I can't do everything that I used to be able to. I wasn't really prepared for that and I have no idea how to prepare you for it other than to say that you'll know about how good your ankle is going to get in two or three years. It takes a LONG time.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Originally Posted by wkate54

I broke my ankle on Sept 6th, had surgery on the 25th. This is a painful, frustrating injury! My break was severe, surgeon put my ankle back together with 8 pins and 2 plates. He removed the plaster splint this past week, so I now have a boot, however I am NWB for another 6-8 weeks. My questions to those of you who have dealt with this:

Is it "normal" to feel so exhausted? A trip to the kitchen seems insurmountable at times.
For me, the pain is most severe at night and it is difficult to sleep. Any suggestions (I am allergic to NSAIDS including aspirin, ibupropen, etc).
My emotions are all over the place. Does anyone else feel depressed? How are you handling it?

Many thanks for the opportunity to connect.

It's normal to feel depressed and exhausted. Get the pain under control and that will help with the emotions. What has your doctor prescribed for the pain? Usually they don't even want you taking NSAIDS before the surgery or while the bone is trying to heal, so they should have prescribed something else for you.

Are you elevating your foot at night? That may help somewhat with the pain and it will help with the swelling which you may have for a year. When I broke my leg, I was elevating it with a stack of pillows. That's a miserable way to do it. A foam bed wedge is a lot better. Some have a cover that won't slide on the bed, if not you can put a piece of non slip drawer liner between the wedge and the bed.

[convextech]

Originally Posted by Seraphim7

Long story short, I broke my ankle December of 2011. It was so bad, the bone snapped in two and came out the side of my ankle. Flash forward thru a total nightmare of surgery and recovery time, 12 months later, I was told the swelling would go down within a few months, the pain would go away, etc. It's now almost September 2014. The pain has never gone away. I take ibuprofen like it is candy, my ankle still is swollen, it locks up and hurts constantly. Running or even walking fast is a forgotten memory. I do a lot of light walking, just to maintain an in-shape figure. It is actually amazing I am not overweight or huge. I have been told the trick to being 'normal' again is to have the plate and screws removed. Others tell me the surgeon must have botched the job. I will say that surgeon told me that it was the worst break he had seen in 30 years of practicing medicine...and before anyone helpfully suggests I should go for an X-ray, I plan to, when I visit the U.S. in 2 months.

I just want some input from people who have had ankle breaks and what they experienced... thanks...

None of what you described is normal. But especially the part about waiting three years to decide there might be something wrong. If you had gone in earlier, like within the time your doctor allotted for swelling, they maybe could have fixed it easier. Now the bone has probably grown wrong and it might even need re-breaking and re-setting.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Originally Posted by convextech

None of what you described is normal. But especially the part about waiting three years to decide there might be something wrong. If you had gone in earlier, like within the time your doctor allotted for swelling, they maybe could have fixed it easier. Now the bone has probably grown wrong and it might even need re-breaking and re-setting.

Actually it's pretty common to have to have hardware removed years after the initial injury. And pain is pretty normal too after an injury like that...basically once you break it, it's never going to be as good as new. Usually they tell you that you have to give it some time and wait for it to get better and they won't even consider doing anything to it for a good while after the initial surgery.

[Ceece]

I had a trimalleolar fracture with a plate and pins back in 2007. I still have the hardware and occasionally, when I do a lot of walking, my ankle still swells a bit because the screws rub against the soft tissue, or something like that. I don't have pain now, but there was nerve damage and there are spots on my foot that are still numb. I was optimistic and planned a vacation 11 months after the initial break and I regretted it. I managed, but all that walking made me swell like crazy. I'm amazed at people who recover so well and take up running again within months of a break. But everyone is different and the nerve damage in unpredictable.

[wkate54]

Thank you for the suggestions. It has now been 7 weeks since I broke my ankle and almost 5 weeks post surgery. I have not yet been cleared to put any weight on it but I am doing range of motion exercises and it is great to be able to sleep without the boot. Pain has lessened, which has improved everything else.

Cleonidas, I too have the aches, deep itches, shooting pains, and feeling like I've got electricity buzzing in my foot and leg! I've also got a section on the left side of my foot and ankle that is totally numb where I can feel the outline of the plate. Good to know that someone else has experienced some of these crazy aftereffects!

This experience has given me a new appreciation for my body . . . one never thinks it will happen to them. At this point, I am taking it one day at a time and each day I find that I feel a little better, I can move my ankle a bit more, and sleep is more restful. Good thing because it sounds like I've still got a long way to go.

Kathy