Post recovery .... People with plates and screws.
Posted , 77 users are following.
Does anyone with plates and screws ever feel like they are pinching or biting your ankle? I get these sharp bites feeling a couple times a day. Pushing on it helps. I am almost 2 years post injury.
Also so still swells really badly when on feet a lot. Still???? This pic is of my swelling recently.
1 like, 124 replies
Pungibear natava
Posted
I had a screw removed from my ankle 4 years ago. My swelling didn't start until I began walking my dog 3 months later. I no longer have my baby but around 3 months ago the swelling started again and my ankle looks like it has a tennis ball on the outside. Now my leg swells and I have pain. Once I get off my feet for a brief time the swelling goes down but I have to take something for pain. The swelling come and go. Foolish me thought once the screw was out, I'd be pain free. The screw was in for 11 years. Is there a cure other then surgery? Oh Neosporin pain relief works really well for the pain.
10895 natava
Posted
Hello, I broke my ankle over 10 years ago and finally got an appointment for the surgery to get it removed.
My broken ankle has been painful if i walk a lot, up a ladder many times a day or when it gets very cold and humid. We can also feel the head of the screw on the outside of my ankle .
What i dont understand is the pain (either "biting" or constant) is mostly on the inside of the ankle, above my screw or on the outside of the ankle, also above the screw. Swelling is minimal but still present.
Of course, the doctor cannot guarantee removing the screw will stop the pain, but I am seriously wondering if something else than the screw is causing the pain since it's not directly where it's located.
teresa93024 natava
Posted
Hello I am having my hardware removed this month...any suggestions? I fractured my tibia and fibula in 2017. My ankle is still tender to touch but why???? Its my outside ankle just under it where so much pain is!!! ouch. I swell so bad since day 1. What do y'all think? Is there hope?
natava teresa93024
Posted
i am not sure i left mine init tool awhile but i dont know its there now sterroid shot could help
here is what i still have
michelle14213 natava
Posted
I am in very early stages only 17 weeks post Orif on the left ankle so I still have a long way to go before my ankle no longer resembles that of a baby elephant!! the swelling sure is a pain especially at the end of the day.
I have been fortunate in not experiencing any issues with the hardware of which there is a fair amount of. With the recent weather changes though this may change although so far I don't seem to be having any issues.
natava michelle14213
Posted
my doc told me after a year what swelling i have at that point would likely be my new normal so give a yearswelling is part of the healing process for bones
lynn03630 natava
Posted
i am 18 months post op on surgery for a broken ankle in 2 places i have plates and screws. part of the surgery was thru the back of my ankle . near achilles . ortho surgeon had to go thru all the tissue and ligaments and tendons to repair the broken ankle THAT IS where most of my problems stem from It is still very tender and sore and i can't even wear a shoe with a back. anyone else experience this?
natava lynn03630
Posted
i have had pain and swelling last several years and a sterroid shot helpedsee your ortho
Peatsol natava
Posted
Hi I'm about 8-9 years post surgery for fractured ankle. Titanium plate and screws on outer leg and screws on inner leg. Up until this month I've had a fairly pain free existence. But this past month my ankle has become sore and I've tried the exercises i did right after the surgery. It seems to be getting worse and has started to swell and hurt more and more when I walk on it. After 9 years why all of the sudden is it hurting. ugh
natava Peatsol
Posted
i would recommend visiting your orthothey cam make sure hardware is still in place and can pop some sterroid into the joint that helped me a ton
twister352019 natava
Posted
Hi I'm a pro wrestler in training.. I've been training since March 2019.. each day we worked on this move then each training evening we work on something different but on October 27th, 2019 we was working on a move it looked simple, but I came off the top rope and once I came down my foot went completely sideways and landing on my actual ankle bone with a loud pop and my foot folding over... once I arrived to the hospital they checked my vitals and 5 to 10 minutes they had me back doing x-rays then they rolled me back out to the waiting room because they didn't have a exam room opened then 15 to 20 minutes they came out to get me and prepared me for immediate surgery 2 days ago marked 1 month since injury occurred but I still feel small pinchy feelings with some swelling since off and on..
I was wondering if this normal??
natava twister352019
Posted
yesi found i had some twingy pinchy things for s little whilethey happen mow to years later but much more infrequenti feel like after time goes by, body tissue grows around the hardware and it becomes more accepted in your body
Munchie82 natava
Posted
hi I broke my ankle 13 years ago I had to have the screws removed just left with pins that was 10 years ago and it still swelling up now ankle and foot gets very stiff any ideas to get the swelling down
natava Munchie82
Posted
hii actually had a sterroid shot and it helped slot with pain but my doc said after a year had passed the swelling i had was going to be my normal
elevate your feet when you canyou can use compression sleeves, they help . i like the athletic style better than the old lady stocking style
tal30779 natava
Posted
Hi all
I just had my surgery 12 days ago
fractured my tibia and fibula they put a metal plate on one side with 6 screws and 2 screws on the other side the pain is so bad
every 10 -15 minutes i get that biting metal feeling is there any way to make the pain more bearable? tylenol does nothing for me
im in a boot now and i start physio in a week
can anyone give me any advice, tips ... steps and measures to take to make this process a bit easier ?
Franca13 tal30779
Posted
Hi there,
i an surprised that your doctor did not prescribe any pain medication. I was on morphine & that barely helped. Try elevating your leg with pillows and take Advil as it is an anti inflammatory, until you see your doctor. Tell him you need a prescription for something strong enough to manage the unbearable pain.
I know that you are in a dark place right now but it will get better. You will have to pay attention to what works for you; whether that is more rest or move movement, elevation, baths etc.
Physio helped me tremendously. It's been 10 months since my surgery and I still have days or nights where I get sharp stabbing pains or throbbing in my ankle.
I hope this helps.
Good luck.
P.S. I would strongly suggest that you see your doctor and insist on getting a prescription for pain medication. If that doesn't work, go back to him and get another prescription for something else. No one should ever live like this.
natava tal30779
Posted
in my case it took some time after you heal you can press on the site a little that helped me i couldnt take the good pain med so i was stuck on tylenol too didnt do much
time does make the biting feeling better i think tissue grows over the hardware and your body accepts it better
natava tal30779
Posted
your stuff looks so much like mine does
natava Franca13
Posted
my doc said no anti inflammatoryinflammation is necessary as part of bone healing process
tal30779 Franca13
Posted
the dr prescribed me dilaudid and a form of oxy but i really dont like what it does to me i took the oxy for the first 3 days after the surgery and then stopped them
for now ive been taking novo gestic 500mg but i dont think they do much.
im definitly gonna ask my doctor to perscribe me something else cause yes i should not have this much pain its insane !
you would think that in todays day there would be many options to rid the pain
im in Canada and yes lucky that we have medicare but on the negative side it takes forever to get an apt and the system is so over flooded with patients that if you dont take strong initiative your left to suffer
again thanks for the reply
vanessa1979 tal30779
Posted
hi, my doctor initially prescribed pain meds for me but I didnt like the way they made me feel so I just interchanged between tylenol and ibprofen if i had pain which oddly i didnt have a lot of pain after surgery. he later told me he will no longer prescribe pain meds because a new study shows they constrict the blood vessels making recovery longer and there is a danger of addiction just isnt worth it. also this, it will get better and the biting feeling will lessen. physical therapy helped me so much and because my wounds were healed i took aqua therapy and i recommend that once you are able to take it. wishing you the best!
tal30779 natava
Posted
wow ya very similar injury hows your pain?
and ya my dr said inflammation is normal
as well
it just gets super uncomfortable in the boot
i still have stiches in and getting them removed in two days im wondering if it will feel worse or better not sure what to expect
were you in or are you in a boot or a cast?
tal30779 natava
Posted
ya i cant take the pain meds either
i just hope this pain goes away soon or atleast gets a lil more bearable
my issue is mostly when i go to sleep
i cant gets comfortable with this boot on me and the sharp pains come and go every 10-20 mins
mark19591 tal30779
Posted
Looking good friend same as you plus lateral fracture six monthes in it do get better promise.
4 monthes in fealing changes for better.
I used paracetamol, ibrofene.
Elavated foot above hearl leval it settled within a hr..
Stay in tutch feal free message me kind regards Mark.
vanessa1979 natava
Posted
i probably only took 1 ib, I wasn't in a lot of pain.
Franca13 natava
Posted
Are you sure he is licensed? Sounds like he may need a refresher course.
Franca13 tal30779
Posted
I hear you. I am also in Canada and yes the system does suck but make a trip to the ER if you must and insist that you get something else. I was ready to blow my brains out from the relentless pain. I also did not like the effects of morphine and oxycodone besides the fact that it did s**t. My orthopedist gave me supeudol; another waste of a drug. Worked for about an hour and that was it. Don't give up and hound them if you must, but make sure you get relief, because it is easy to fall into depression.
natava Franca13
Posted
Of course he was. He actually has a bunch of special trauma training which is why they called him in particularly for my case.
Franca13 natava
Posted
Yes inflammation is part of the healing process, but twelve days post surgery is just too fresh of a wound to tolerate that kind of unbearable pain. The anti inflammatory in combination with pain killers makes a huge difference in pain management.
natava Franca13
Posted
i took the pain med dr prescribed for the first 3 days after surgery bc i has the nausea patch from the surgery . The day that came off i had to swap to Tylenol which was sort of like taking air. It did not do anythingbut i didn't want to slow the healing. The pain was fairly heavy for a couple days but by 12 day i was not taking anything . and it was ok if too bad i would have called and asked for another option but i did not because i knew it would be another scrip
i just know i dont ever want another pilon fracture, so if i ever cannot stand on my leg after falling, i will hopefully choose not to get in the car and drive both kids to different schools and then drive to the walk in clinic using that broken leg to drive