2.5 weeks after ORIF and foot still goes purple when i put it down.

Hi thank thanks for reply. I'm already on the books but very restless. I got an outpt apt on Fri just felt really low today so i thought i'd try this.

Hi Carol, thank you! Nice to hear about some improvements.

Hi Andrew thank you so much, this was really helpful. I feel much better now.  

You are wright about the horror stories, there are quite a few out there. I have totally stopped looking for info online re my injury, it's too depressing. Happy to get some positive feedback from here!

After my op i was told apart from that it went really well my talus bone is 70-100% likely to die. Also every time i see my surgeon he comments on how bad my injury is.

The swelling went down fairly quickly after the op and i got a cast after a week. Had an xray at the same time which they were happy with.

I jump around a bit on crutches but have to sit down and elevate fairly quickly. 

Was acctually thinking today that maybe i should as you said train my foot by having it down for longer periods. 

I try to do some exercises with the rest of my body, sitting or lying on the floor with my leg elevated on a few pillows. Found that it helped a bit with my mood. 

 

Andrew I too want to thank you for your email you have helped me already.  I have been laid up here now 5 weeks, 4 weeks since surgery and I have been so worried about the swelling and discoloration, when the foot is down.  Reading your testamony really brightened my day a bit. I had the cast taken off 2 weeks after surgery and told to wear the boot cast that I had been wearing on the left foot due to a bad sprain on that ankle at the same time and breaking the left.  This was from the last step and falling 3 inches to the floor with foot on side. Amazing I thought I was the only one who could do that but apparently there are a few of me.  Reading on other sites are horror stories and glad I didn't look before surgery at pictures of extremely upsetting photos.  I am retired, just need to get back to the way life was before.  We have a lot of plans that are on hold.  Thanks again.

 

Hi Andrew.

I have the same problem and its driving me crazy. Did you go thru the pain of the nerves healing and if so how long did it last ? Also its unbearable to even lay my foot on a pillow due to the sensitive skin on my foot.

Thank you Andrew. I am almost in tears of relief after reading what you wrote. Everyone keeps telling me I should be progressing so much faster than I am and that I should be able to start walking around already. I'm just two weeks post op and my stitches aren't even out yet. I am going to keep showing everyone your post. Thank you so much for making me feel better and more hopeful. 

Hi Catherine, I recently did the same as you with the steps. I was running late for work and had something in both hands, I thought I was on the last step and fell down and hurt both feet. It was 5 weeks before I got an appointment to see specialist and had a back slab on while waiting, he put plaster on for 3 weeks and then I have to go back for scan and get a moon boot altered with an arch. He said probably be another 12 weeks before I am getting around without anything. I have fractured my 1st, 2nd and 4th ??? I forget what it's called on my left foot and fractured my right ankle. They said if they had of seen me earlier I would have had pins and maybe a plate. 7 weeks off work now with no pay. I can't wait for them to get better.

Hi Angie, hope your recovery is progressing. I have been scouring the internet for positive feedback and cam across this post this morning. I had a stupid fall off a step on the 27 April was taken by ambulance to the local government hospital where they diagnosed Trimaceolar fracture right and operated on the 28 April. Pain like I have never experienced that I would have given birth 10 times over instead LOL 😆 Anyway long story short, government hospital messed up, I went to see a private surgeon and had surgery on the 23 May to basically redo the op, plate and pins removed and replaced correctly!  Started physio yesterday, still have terrible pain and as soon as I put my foot down it goes a purplish color and swells with pain. It has been and is a frustrating process, I would give anything to be able to just get up and walk and drive. I have to keep telling myself that there are others in a worse position than me. Reading this today has made the light at the end of the tunnel shine brighter. I have tried to sit with my foot on the floor ... lasted about 3 minutes before I looked like the elephant man but I will keep trying. Take care

The more you try to sit normally the longer the recovery will take. Elevate your leg so it's above your heart line. I did this by staying in a recliner chair for with two firm pillows under my knee/leg/ankle so my entire leg was fully supported. I lived in the chair until my Orthopedic surgeon told me differently. It was the most arduous process I've ever experienced. I used theraband to stretch my calf as instructed by my surgeon to prevent extreme muscle wasting.

Hi Andrew, Thank you fory our post. I am almost 4 weeks into po. Still in pain and have purple/brown ish discolored ankle and foot. I feel so much better finding this threads and your post. 

Anyone has/had contracting kind of pain? Now I am worry about screws coming out....  

i had this surgery the 12 th of September and my nerves have been on pins and needles since the 16 of September and it hasn't stopped as of today (10/27/18) . I am on meds but not making a difference. How long did it take till it stopped? 6 werks post-op!

Aloha Andrew: I am so glad to have found this forum. I am thankful for the wonderful synopsis you gave on your experience. I am 70 y.o and was very active and strong before my bilateral fracture on the left ankle. Was bedridden and had complications of pressure sores from the splints and casts and was very discouraged. I am on week twelve post op and am using a airpump cam boot and dressing the remaining pressure sores which are responding to my home treatment. I was concerned about the swelling and discoloration and all of you here have reassured me that this is normal and that it will go away eventually. Starting rehab next week and have been using a knee scooter for 2 weeks which has given me new found freedom and gotten rid of the depression from being bedridden with my leg elevated like a ballerina frozen in mid dance for so many weeks. So grateful for the testimonies here. Thank you Andrew and all of you writing here.

Hi Carol my name is Jennifer and on April 9th I had a wreck totalling my truck and broke my ankle in 2 places as well as dislocating it. I was transported from one hospital to another one (and like yourself it was a county hospital ) to have emergency surgery. I was released and sent home from the hospital the morning after surgery and was in excruciating pain for several weeks. The orthopedic surgeon nor his office informed me of anything to keep an eye out for that may indicate possible complications only telling me I was to be total non weight barring for 6 weeks from the date of surgery, fitting me for a boot after removing stitches and sent me on my way. I too have been experiencing major discoloration when my foot is positioned any way other than being elevated. I turns a deep dark purplish red. But on top of that my toes (even when elevated) will sudden feel like they just came out of a deep freezer and they get very cold to the touch. but the non injured foot feels perfectly normal. This is something that is starting to happen more and more frequently plus my heal is still completely numb and I cant move my last 3 toes. I've tried keeping my foot down toward to floor for longer periods of time and it just makes the swelling and discoloration worsen the longer it is down and actually has started taking long to regain color. I'm concerned that like yourself the Dr who did my surgery didn't do it correctly. So I was curious if you had any of the same issues or just what prompted you to get it looked at by a different Dr.

I had exact same feeling of screw coming out but was really cramp making my foot go in one direction.... Horrid. 8 weeks post op still have purple foot that feels full when foot down. Worse at certain times of day. Now trying pitting it down for short time... 5 mins... And then elevated for 5 mins to try and get circulation back... Also quite painful at times still. V glad to read these comments as now getting paranoid with friends saying it's taking so long and thinking I should be up and about by now.....

i had surgery on my calcaneous 4 weeks ago tomorrow. was just put in a boot. my foot turns purple and also my very lower leg above my ankles! its very uncomfortable. but the nerve pain has been unbelievable . weird twinges and burning. how long does it last