Broken Fibula and ankle (fracture, pain, depressed, surgery)

[Taz&Lana]

Hi,

I feinted and fell, breaking my fibula at various places, tearing the ligament next to the fibula and breaking various bones in my ankle. It is now 3 days after surgery where steel plates, wires and screws were used to attach the broken bones and keep them in the correct position. My leg has been placed on a concrete backslab and has been bandaged. I can only walk short distances with my crutches.

I am home now and what I am suffering with most is the toilet. I can get to the toilet but once I am sitting on it especially trying to clear my bowels I experience extreme pain in my leg, this has led to me experiencing terrible constipation.

Another problem is the height my leg should be at while I am lying down. Is the same height as my heart ok?

Also I get troubled, sad, angry so easily at the thought that I will be so incapacitated for the next 8 weeks. Does anyone have any advice for me? Most of all does anyone have advice for using the toilet that wont cause so much pain?

Going out of my mind
Taz

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Take a chair or a step stool in the bathroom and prop your leg on it. Don't brace your foot on the floor while you're trying to go to the bathroom, or allow yourself to put any weight on it. You may not even be aware that you usually do that, but you probably do. You can also prop your leg on the edge of the bathtub, if it's close enough to the toilet and on the right side for your leg. I was in a wheelchair after I broke my leg, and I would prop my cast on the wheelchair to make sure I didn't push on my foot. (If you think trying to have a BM with a broken leg is bad, imagine trying to use a tampon while you have a broken leg...my period started three days after I broke my leg and I remember just crying and screaming in frustration because nothing was working the way it was supposed to.)

You're probably taking vicodin or lortabs or something like that, and all of those kinds of painkillers will cause constipation. You can take stool softeners to try to counteract the effects of the medication, and add more fruit to your diet. Don't take laxatives unless you really have to, but the stool softeners should be safe to use for the next 8 weeks. If you look at the post-surgery instructions the hospital sent home with you, there's probably something suggesting using a stool softener.

It's pretty normal to be hurting and depressed after an injury like that. Having surgery when you weren't expecting it is always traumatic, and you're probably wondering if your leg will ever be the same, and how long it will take to feel normal again and what kind of scars you will have. But you'll be okay again, you just have to be patient with yourself while you're healing and don't try to do too much too soon.

To prop your leg, I was told it had to be higher than the heart to be helpful. I had a hard time keeping pillows in place to prop it. A few years later I bought a foam bed wedge and realized it would have been absolutely perfect for propping my leg. You will probably have some swelling in your leg for up to a year and may find elevating your leg helpful for that swelling even after you're done with the cast and crutches, so buying a foam wedge would be pretty useful.

[Sciameriken]

Sorry no advice for the day to day pain - but there is evidence to suggest you might help expedite the healing process by taking vitamin D (if you aren't taking supplements now then take 10K daily for 5 days then 2K daily thereafter, otherwise 2K daily), vitamin C (Better Bones | Can Vitamin C Speed Up Fracture Healing and Reduce Fracture Risk?), and calcium.