Post ankle steroid injection pain
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi, just wondering if this is normal or if other ppl have had similar issues.
I had an arthroscopy for a small fracture, arthrofibrosis and clean out and lateral ligament ankle repair in July 2015.
I had a steroid injection for pain, swelling and reduced ROM almost two weeks ago which was excruciating, I shook with the pain the entire and swore a bit... It just came out! The ultrasound report says my ankle joint is scared and thickened.
Since then, my ankle pain and swelling has been worse. It's so bad it aches constantly and my mobility has gone backwards. My surgeon says to ICE it and take nurofen.
My foot is thick and swollen and my blood pooling is worse. My range of motion hasn't changed, if anything, it got a bit worse.?My ankle surgeon doesn't want to operate because I've had hips surgeries too but this is very painful! I have a lot of pain if I put weight on it. I move it up and down etc but it just seems to flare it up. I'm not sure what to do. It's so sore and achy! My hands sweat etc and I have to take 30mgs of codeine three times a day.
I think I need it operated on again to clean it out but convincing my surgeon is so hard!
Thanks
Melissa
0 likes, 10 replies
dawn83397 melissa91009
Posted
Hi Melissa,
I was just at the dr's yesterday and everything went great. I am 11 .5 weeks post surgery. I have a little bit of local swelling around Mt ankle still but it is not major. He said if in like 6 weeks it's still there I could get that shot. Now reading what you wrote I don't think I would ever want it. Ouch! I hope it feels better for you soon.
melissa91009 dawn83397
Posted
Hi
Oh I don't want to cause ppl not have interventions done!
I'm not sure my pain is normal. It's been so sore and swollen! I've had injections into my hip and while they hurt, they worked and got rid of my pain. I don't know why my ankle is so bad.
melissa91009
Posted
My ankle was operated on 15 months ago and its still bad. I don't know how to make it better 😒
elwood melissa91009
Posted
melissa91009 elwood
Posted
Yeah... I was in the cam boot longer than anticipated because I had a hip surgery afterwords and had a huge bleed and haematoma. I had to have the cam boot for balance as my hip was so bad and my ankle was terrible so my recovery has been was delayed. I just don't know why it's taken over a year it have an injection! And now it's made it worse so maybe that's why he was delaying it. I hope he decides that enough is enough and clean it out with surgery. I have limp because I can't flex my ankle enough to walk which hurts my hip plus it really hurts to use my ankle. I also have really bad blood pooling so my foot goes dark blue and my skin gets really mottled and the pressure in my foot is horrible. He says he can't do anything about that. I use a pressure stockings for that but now I can't get the stocking on because my ankle is so bad. I'm tired of it aching all the time 😒
melissa91009
Posted
My surgeon is worried about operating because I had three hip surgeries and one ankle surgery last year and each surgery got harder and harder to manage. I was in hospital and rehab for 31 weeks and I don't want more hospital but I think he's over complicating it. Plus I've had a bleed and other issues but I can't be on pain killers indefinitely so there has to be a solution.
elwood melissa91009
Posted
Wow Melissa sounds like you've been through a war!!! I can understand the pain killer issue. I sure hope you finally get it straightened out. Once again best of luck
jamie95127 melissa91009
Posted
hi melissa,i had the same done to my ankle about two years ago before i had a fusion done,the cortisone hurt like crazy too but i walked out of the hospital 15 minutes later and was fine after,the problem was that it didnt last so i had the same keyhole as you and that only lasted a year,my surgeon eventually advised on a fusion and i just went for it and have never looked back,its the best thing that i could have done to such a damaged ankle,
my advice to you is to change surgeon,mine was perfect and said everything that you would want to hear,when i asked if i was going to be ok after the fusion he said "of course you will im doing it".trust me when i say that i did a lot of research on this fella and a lot of others before commiting to it,the advice i was given by a person that had allready been through it was if your not happy,change.this is very very very important and shouldnt be done by anyone with poor skills or a bad rep,so ask if you can speak to someone who has had the same problem and see who they used and where,
also a great tip to help with the swelling is to lie flat on your back with your legs up a wall,(so your body looks like an L shape),then gently massage from the inside of your knee to your crotch by pulling down with your hands,i was told by a very good physio that this helps drain the fluid from the ankle to the crotch area and reduces the swelling,when i tried it with her it worked amazingly well and i could actually see my ankle reduce in size when i stood up,i hope this helps.
please choose your surgeon carefully for future ops because when i had what you had done it wasnt anywhere near as bad,good luck to you and i will check in each day to see how your doing x
melissa91009 jamie95127
Posted
Hi Jamie
Thank you so much for your message.
Yeah I had a lateral ligament repair and arthroscopy for 'extensive arthrofibrosis'. I was in my cam boot longer than we thought because of hip surgery that resulted in a bleed. My ankle pain was so severe post op I had to use the cam the boot to help the ankle pain on top of the bleed into my hip which was horrendous. My ankle has never been right since it was injured.
I've had problems since my ankle surgery. A constant ache and swelling for 15 months. Finally got the steroid injection but my symptoms have been much worse 😒. My surgeon is very good but does not want to do another arthroscopy due to my hip surgeries.
It just aches all the time. It's horrible! I have hamstring tendinopathy on the same leg so having a PRP injection into that on Thursday. (Not looking forward to it...)
I'm seeing my ankle guy at the end of November. If it no better and still causing issues fingers crossed he decides to clean it again. Even my toes hurt now 😢.
I'll let you know what happens. I'm 34 and can't wear high heels which sucks cause I'm only 4ft 10!
I'll try what you said for the swelling. It just a bit hard cause of my hip surgeries but I'll give it a go. 😊.
Melissa
melissa91009
Posted
Hi all. It turns out I have moderate scar tissue in the front of my ankle causing my range of motion to be quite poor so I limp a lot. I also have odemea in four muscles in the inner part of my foot which they think is caused by denervation (dead nerves I think). I'm seeing my surgeon on the 29th and I'm going to ask him to clean it out because it's been too long and it's not getting better 😧. I also have a tiny bit too lunch ankle fluid behind what's normal but no signs of synovitis. (Having said that, hips showed no signs of synovitis on the MRI's but when they opened me up, I had "extensive" synovitis and capsulitis).
The other problem I have is where I've had the lateral ligament reconstruction I have a lot of pain up the side of my calf which I've had since surgery. Does anyone else have this and can you suggest what I do? I'm wondering if it's related to the lack of range of motion caused by the scar tissue? It aches ALL the time up my leg and in the front of my ankle where the scar tissue is. I pump my ankle up and down and side to side but I have no choice but to limp as the front of my ankle is very stiff. Sometimes, when the scar tissue moves a bit, I get a moment of improved range of motion but then it's back and even more sore.
Any help would be greatly appreciated ??