New here and need some fellow trauma advice

Sorry you are going through this. I am afraid that I am not going to be much help to you, I am a few months behind you. Just wanted you to know that this group is amazing and I am sure there is someone here who can help you. Good luck!

Hi Melanie 

lim sorry to hear of your injury. I'm 65 and broke e my ankle with dislocation Nov 25. I'm not walking either and got diagnosed 2 weeks ago with RSD or known as CRPS.  Here's what I have 

locked up foot 

shiny skin, tight as a drum, hot to the touch but feels cold

limited range of motion

pain24/7

dfferent colour from other foot

heres what I started this week from my Dr who is a functional  Dr. 

Gabbapentin/ ketamine cream on spine three times a day

LDN - low dose netrexone to boost immune system

massage daily on foot and leg from husband 

hydrotherapy bath every other day 

Physio twice a week

daily exercise routine at home 

vitamins including but C, d, b 

pain clinic referral

 mirror therapy not to mention meditation, great support and low key stress free as possible, stress triggers it more. 

what I've  learned in two weeks is the earlier treatment the earlier for hope of remission. It has been a hard pill to swallow but it is the central nervous system that is in overdrive. Hang in there but I must tell you aggressive treatment is needed if it is indeed RSD or CRPS.  

I hope this helps you Melanie- im here if you have questions even though I'm a newby to this disease.  

best of luck

jannie 👣

 

I imagine your ankle is still swollen.This may be pinching your nerves If so elevate as often as you can Do you have hardware for the repair?. My ankle is still swollen after 16 weeks.  In the morning it is pretty normal.  Try ice and compression stockings during day. I use topical Voltaren (diclofenac gel)  I think it is over the counter in UK. Sorry to hear of your exteneded pain

Hi mel.

I'm six months post op. I came out of the cam boot only on 5 months post op. I've had a very hard time, due to a very complicated broken/ dislocated ankle. I am walking/hobbling very slowly with a limp and at times I don't walk in a line. I am restricted on how far I walk and for how long. Not walking at four months doesn't seem abnormal to me. When I get out of bed in the morning I feel crippled and it takes awhile to get the ankle and foot moving. I too have pain in my FOOT and I could swear I'd broken that too. I have physio once a week and the physio says she has seen plenty of ankle breaks but not one like mine. I ended up breaking down. My emotions are up and down and I feel no one understands apart from the other ankle breakers in this group. My life has completely changed but I'm staying positive. I can only go down steps on the bad foot and ankle one step at a time. I have limited movement in both foot and ankle. I've come a long way in the last 6 months and it's been a long, tiring haul. I'm believing to fully recover with time. I hope you recover well too.

Like you I am also four months post op. I also hobble and basically feet as though I forgot how to walk. This week I have seen some improvement when physiotherapis finally got me to start and use crutches. Before this I refused after a nasty fall on them. I only see PT once in every three weeks due to high demands.  This week I was told by physio I must push through the pain to unleash the tightness. In between appointments I am left to do exercises at home. 

Pone thing I have learnt it a long process and patience needed. There are good days and bad days, but hopefully in time we have more good than bad.

Dear Melanie- It's only been 14 days post injury for me, but I've already begun to wonder whether I'll eventually return to my life as I knew it -active.

Even though I've recently become completely-NLP-blind in one eye with compromised vision in the other, until the ankle injury I felt no real grief over the loss of vision. I was enthusiastic over training my new service dog to assist me. Now I 'm fighting the loss of that activity and wondering how I'm going to overcome that loss.

I don't know what RSD is.

I keep reminding myself that this too shall pass, but like you I'm not sure it will. Listening to others on this forum, I'm beginning to know that 14 days is nothing and even 4 months is considered early days so I think there's hope in the long run, but I'm not a very patient person and pain definitely clouds my reason. Not being able to walk IS downright scary !

Thank you everyone so much for all your help and thoughts and stories. I appreciate it so much.

Do not be dicouraged and try to keep positive.  I broke my ankle in 2 places and dislocated it too 2 and a half months ago. It is plated and screwed.  Nobody knows the pain it causes until they have experienced it and I was on strong pain relief initially but for the 6 weeks in plaster and wheelchair bound the pain was not too bad.  I have been on crutches for nearly 3 weeks and each day gets better.  I was told by physio. to work through the pain and take pain relief to get the ankle working again and I am  making good progress.  I never thought I wouldn't walk again and you should have positive thoughts too no matter how hard it is.  I hope you see improvement in mobility very soon and keep exercising.