4wks post ankle surgery w nightly pain and hopeless
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hello everyone. 42yo woman broke my ankle in 3 places while roller skating last month. Today makes 1 month since the break and I'm still having nightly pain. Some nights I can't sleep unless I take 10mg of pain meds. I've never broken a bone and I'm afraid because I'm a paramedic and from reading numerous posts(thank goodness for this forum) I'm afraid I won't "fully" recover. My diagnosis is partial reduction of acute trimalleolar. I have plates and 16 screws 😔. My last visit (stitches removed, black soft boot) my surgeon prescribed home pt(2wks in so far). I've been doing "okay" with pt but in my mind I feel like I should be further along(pt told me to be patient because I did a number on my ankle). Sometimes depression gets the best of me because I'm used to being independent. I'm thankful for my hubby but it weighs on me how much he has to help me and still help me when he gets off work. I fell twice trying to do too much to avoid him having to help me (back fired on me). I'm just a ball of mess and really can use some advice... how to get rid of the night/bed time pain(I'm icing and elevating), I do my ROM and stretches, but I'm guilty of not consistently wearing my soft boot(my toes are numb when I wear it). Please help me...
Hurting and feeling defeated
Lela
1 like, 7 replies
jenny57742 LelaJ
Edited
hello, sorry to hear the way your feeling. im 6 weeks post op (orif) for trimalleolar fracture. My pain on a night lasted about 3 weeks post op. what type of pain is it? i still get burning sensation ( which is apparently nerve pain) but nowhere near as bad as it was. ive just had my cast off on wednesday gone and put into a black 'moonboot' , it was a strange feeling at first my ankle was so stiff. ive been doing ROM excerises since and everyday ive seen improvement. im supposed to start partial weight bearing on wednesday (tiptoe) he said but i dont know how im going to do that in this big boot, im also scared. when can you weightbear?
Regards to the low mood/depression feeling i totally get you, im definatley in some state of depression but trying my hardest to keep positive. i have good bad and really bad days. ( i should mention im also 7months pregnant) they do not tell you anything how it effects your mental health, i defo feel like they should be information/help for you to seek while dealing with this trauma. im in the uk are you?! feel free to message me anytime. Jenny x
LelaJ jenny57742
Posted
Hi Jenny. First, congratulations on your bundle of joy. Please be careful (praying you don't fall). I was scheduled to have 15 fibroids removed this month but had to push it back 2 months so I wouldn't hinder my initial pt(we're ttc).
I can't describe the pain, it just hurts and I'm very uncomfortable. At night is really bad especially with the spasms feeling like I'm getting struck by lightning (okay, maybe that's a little too dramatic but 😖). My 6wk follow up is on the 12th so maybe my surgeon will tell me to start weight bearing then.
Fighting this depression is so hard especially because I was fine mentally prior. This is just so much.
Aaaw, that's so awesome (the UK). I'm in the states. I made my account yesterday after lurking. I'll try to figure out how to message you 💞
Sazza47 jenny57742
Edited
hi jenny i cant private message anymore its stopped us from doing so .see if you get this message ok? if you do ill give you my email address x
jenny57742 Sazza47
Edited
ive tried to reply with my email address but i dont think they let you give it xx
sara83927 LelaJ
Edited
I totally understand how you feel! I had a trimalleolar fracture,, dislocation and complete rupture of the ligament. ORIF done on 1/31. I'd say what you're feeling is exactly how I felt. I had the nighttime zaps and twitches for at least the first 6 weeks. depression some days was really awful. Did you know it's actually a surgical side effect? I had no idea until my husband suggested it. Researching that and realizing it was normal made me feel much better. I kept needing pain meds at night for probably six to eight weeks.
I was actually non-weightbearing for a full 8 weeks due to the ligament. I've just started physical therapy and partial weight bearing. Some days are really good! Other days (like today) I'm ready to throw in the towel.
Hope it's helpful to hear that you're not alone. I'm 10 weeks out from surgery and after PT days I'm definitely still sore. And still sometimes frustrated.
Happy Healing!
LelaJ sara83927
Posted
Hi Sara. May 4th will be 2 months for me. I've been going to outpatient pt and now they want me to go to aqua therapy twice a week and regular therapy once a week. I've only had aqua therapy once but was able to do so much more than regular therapy. And, I'm the swelling seemed so much less too. PT is making me put some weight on my ankle. It's not too bad but at night, ooooh Looooord, I'm crying because of the pain. My foot is 95% touching the floor (my heel is being stubborn) so no shoe on it yet. I'm still in the grey walking boot.
Thank you so much for your advice. I truly appreciate you. I often feel alone even though hubby have been right by my side. I try not to let him know that I'm depressed and feeling like a burden. It's so hard.
I hope we recover fully 💞
anne68234 LelaJ
Posted
Hi all. I am 4 wks on from ORIF. Totally get it re being fed up and being useless and putting SO much onto husband. We are both 70. Hospital was v vague about the wearing of the boot in bed. I am at the mo but think I would sleep better without it..... What do you all do?