Encouragement for those newly out of surgery and for others with nerve pain

Hello all,

I am 1.5 weeks out of surgery. I had a Trimalleolar fracture while hiking in the Tenerife, Canary Islands. I went to a public hospital and had a splint placed on the ankle after waiting 15 hours for treatment. I had to fly home over a 3 day period to California with the broken ankle for surgery in California. I had to be carried out and in of my 3rd floor walk apartment by Firemen to get to the hospital. Xrays were taken, I saw the doctor and I was splinted again. Surgery was scheduled for 4 days later and went well but the pain block did not work and I had great pain pain post op. I was prescribed Tramadol, Tylenol, Meloxicam and blood thinners and sent home.

My doctor is not prescribing any more pain killers and thinks I can get by with Tylenol. I think this is an unrealistic expectation but I do understand where we ended up after the Oxy crisis and the mess we are still cleaning up. After complaining of pain she added Gabapentin to the drug protocol, she also suggested I unwrap the ace bandage to loosen it which helped with the pain.

I wanted to share things that I have found useful for pain and swelling that were not specifically discussed after surgery.

~Elevate the ankle above the waist level when resting to drain the leg of fluid

~Ice every hour for 15-20 minutes, behind the knee. I am using an Iceman machine and keep frozen water bottles in the freezer to swap out if the water gets warm. These are expensive but you could probably just use a water bottle. Make sure to cover the ice with a cloth to protect your skin.

~Unwrap the upper ace bandage, for about 3-5 minutes but keep the dressing and the lower ankle ace bandage in place to relive strong nerve pain.

Sleep on your back with the leg elevated to releive pain and swelling during the night. It should be above the heart when sleeping. Keep the other leg at the same height level to avoid back pain and gluteal spasms. I use a soft pillow so the ankle is nestled in which prevents movement.

Use a wheel chair if available while splinted to avoid knocking your ankle into anything and if you find crutches unstable, which I do. I was able to rent mine for $12 a month and I find I move around quite a bit because I feel secure. I also purchased a second hand scooter on Nextdoor but will not use this until I am in a boot to avoid re-injury. Falls are common on a scooter.

Last night I took 300 mg. Gabapenitin and an over the counter Benadryl and slept well waking only once during the night. I awoke with tolerable pain.

I am thankful for this forum and to be able to share. I am hopeful for a full recovery to return to the things I love, hiking, traveling and Zumba. I am scheduled to get the staples out in 5 days and get my short cast on.

Wishing you all well and more as things progress.

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