Broken Ankle, What to expect ?

Hi there, i had an ice skating accident and crashed into the barrier. I had double dislocation and required ORIF surgery. Ive got a plate and 11 pins and i had frectured a bone so built up with another screw to. I had surgery 29 September. I'm down to walking with one crutch but I limp and its still swollen. Some days it can be very purplish in colour. I haven't had any physio yet and my consultant still deciding if they're going to remove the screw. I'm totally fed up of being off sick from work and impacting on my life. I've had days where I've felt very low, not really because of pain but I think frustration that it's stopping me from doing what I want to. Sorry I can't offer advice, other than you're not alone.

You are no different from the rest of us....it'lll seem like forever when your foot will look normal again and it will seem like forever when you be able to walk again. I always thought you break an ankle put a cast on and you're good to go...NOT! Depression is normal with the injury especially when you have to be dependent on others. Every task takes longer than normal. The good thing is you are not alone and it's par for the course regarding recovery. You have to have patience which I don't have and that can be a downer, GL..in time you Will get better !

I'm 3 weeks post-op after falling off my bike and having a plate and 9 screws, including 2 syndesmotic. I so far haven't been suffering too much with depression, i think partly because I'd been looking ahead to what would've been a stressful few months at work. Instead my boss is encouraging me to take lots of time off and work from home, and I'm seeing my family much more than i had been doing.

Having said that, i did suffer from quite severe depression and anxiety for a number of years, and one of the things which really helped me was exercise, particularly running. I asked a doctor the night of my accident and he gave me the impression I'd be back to normality within 6 weeks - it's nearly 5 now (as i had to wait a week and a half for the swelling to go down before surgery) and I'm still on no weight-bearing so that was wildly optimistic. My worry is that much of what i read suggests months, years or literally forever before doing impact exercise again, so that's a big worry.

Also, is it normal to have lots of pain along the outside and top of the foot? I get this, particularly towards the end of the day, when it all seems more painful. I'm not due back at orthopaedics for another fortnight otherwise I'd ask them, but am not sure whether it's normal or that i somehow damaged my foot too?

I have pretty much the same injury as you. All I did was step off a curb and i broke my ankle in 3 places. I was lucky to pretty much get my surgery done in 3 days after i broke it. By the sound of it you are really lucky. I still have another week in a hard cast and im already 5 weeks post-op. Im not even sure if I will have a boot on my next appt but I really hope I do. I already suffer from depression so this injury just makes it worse. I can understand exactly how you feel. My best friend had the same surgery so I am able to talk to him about what to expect which helps a little but everybodys recovery is always different. What I have found is that doing crafts while Im sitting helps to keep my mind off of my ankle. A trimaleolar fracture is really bad and its going to take a while to heal right, but just hang in there! From everything I have heard it does get better with time and before you know it your going to be back to normal. I know everything is nerve wracking cause its a lot of what ifs and unknowns but like everyone said the worst part is over. I think the worst for me was the first two days after surgery I was in so much pain. Im also not very good with pain so i can be a bit of a baby lol. I hope this helps just a little for you and your not alone at all! Everything is going to be ok and this will all be in the past before you know it!