Broken Fibula, when can I walk?

Thanks Kim. Week 14? Wow! I'm going nuts after 3 weeks. I find it a struggle as a sole carer to 2 four year olds but I definitely don't want to risk further damage. Thanks for your reply.

I hear ya, I feel bipolar, lol. Sad, then ok, it's just total confinement. I have two kids, my house is gross, and they are close to no help without arguing because they are accustom to a mommy that caters to them...roll my eyes! Showering, oh my gosh what a nightmare, I've never been so dirty in my life, haha. Be safe don't risk it, you'll get there soon. 

Thanks Freddy. It feels like a long time but at least I didn't have to have surgery like you, which would have been a life a lot harder. I'm not sure if I get a boot after the cast comes off. Nothing was mentioned at the hospital and they don't want to see me between being plastered up and cast removal.

Everything I have read and heard says it is a long time and to be patient.. I struggle with the patience now I am doing a lot better than I was.

Obviously I can't say for sure as I am not a doctor but most of what I have read and heard suggests you will have an air boot.

They are ok because you can take them off although I have found my foot/leg gets really hot and sweaty in this weather which isn't nice but thankfully after 2.5 months of no showers I can now shower and feel properly clean.

It might just be a surgery related thing but I was recommended to get a sock /tubigrip type thing to wear inside the boot and it helped me but as I say might be surgery related.

Sorry to read below your leg got kicked, they really should have been more careful as I think that is unnecessary but am sure t was accidental. If it still hurts I would definitely get it checked as the last thing you need is it to have moved, hopefully though it will be fine.

When you get the boot you then also get the joy of physio.

Hope you get a good one. The lady I see is amazing although the experience from my side of the table is quite a bit of pain but 8 weeks in a cast with no movement is going to stiffen up the muscles etc. but the pain goes and is only there when stretching so can cope with that!

Hope the pain goes away again!

If I get a boot, I can handle that if it means I can walk and shower properly. I was using a garbage bag over my cast until I bought proper cast covers for the shower. One thing I'm grateful for, it is the middle of winter here so no sweating or itching.

 I cannot wait until I can drive again (broke my driving leg). I hate having to rely on others to get somewhere. 

Nothing was mentioned about physio either so hopefully I won't need it but we'll see what happens I guess.

Getting kicked was definitely accidental and she did apologise. I've made an appointment to see my gp tomorrow so can hopefully get an xray by the end of this week or next week,

You're absolutely right Jennifer. I had my cast put on at the fracture clinic in the hospital and was told to come back in 6 weeks to have it x-rayed and the cast removed. No mention of a boot but who knows. I might go to my doctor and get him to refer me for some x-rays before then though. I had a mammogram today and the lady doing it kicked my broken leg when she walked round me. It wasn't hard but it was enough to twist my leg around and make it hurt all day. I'm worried she may have done something to it so I'm definitely not going to put any further stress on it now! Thank you for your reply.

Hi, I know this is a while since your post but hope you can help. At 5 weeks when you started to put weight on your ankle, did you experience any pain. After 4 weeks in a cast (4 and a half weeks since injury) I am having pain when trying to walk. Don;t know if I should just walk through the pain or take this as a sign my foot isn't quite ready for weight bearing. To confirm the doc said its okay to weight bear and Im in a cast and shoe not walking boot unfortunately. 

Hi Mic, 

I have just replied to your other post. I'm sorry you are going through this!

I was very lucky that I had hardly any pain after the first 3 weeks in a cast but I was still supposed to be nwb until the cast came off (6 weeks). I started walking on it at the 3 week mark but my advise to you is don't walk through the pain. This is a case of the pain actually telling you to get off your leg, it's not ready.

Scroll down to see my last update which has more detail in it. 

My doctors instructions were to go gradually and to let my pain be my guide. He told me not to push through the pain but to back off when it hurt. I’ve done this and feel that I’ve progressed very well but it has to come in stages and you have to be patient. I began with partial weight bearing. I know it sucks to keep those crutches but it’s worth it. I began gradually putting weight on it and using my crutches to still support some weight. Yes it hurt if I tried too much. And the tingles in the bottom of my foot were such a strange sensation. So I first worked on getting through those weird tingles. After that I listed to my body and put as much weight as I could without pain. I would experiment often to see where my pain level was and little by little I could add more and more weight until I was walking full weight. I kept the crutches handy. You’d see me carrying them into work lol because if the day became too long I would revert back to partial weight bearing to keep from doing too much at once. Then my doctor graduated me to a stiff ankle brace and I began the process all over. I pulled the crutches back out for support and began gradually adding weight to my ankle in just the brace and this went much quicker but it kept me in control and allowed me to follow my doctors orders of not letting it hurt. I have now started walking around home with a naked ankle. I make sure I put my brace on if I leave the house or when I’m doing bigger stuff at home like chores. My next appointment is in a week and I expect to be turned loose for the final stage of walking with nothing on my ankle and working on getting the rest of that mobility in my ankle back. It’s gradual. I’m at 9 weeks now so The point I’m at now is 4 weeks since I started weight bearing. It’s gradual. It takes time. But the time flies by much faster once you feel like you’re starting to make progress because each day gets a little easier and you can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know each persons healing process is a little different but I hope my experience helps you. Best of luck in your recovery. You’re “over the hump” and it just gets better and better from here!