Severe burning in foot 14 days after ankle surgery

  It was bad enough it was the first time I had to use the pain med doc gave me.

Hi Jane my name is Reyna Im 23 years old. i am wondering if the burning in your foot ever went away??? i just had surgery two days ago on my ankle tore two ligaments and broke a bone im not sure which one on new years eve. i am also  experiencing  the severe burning sensation. it hurts so much i wake up in the middle of the night and just want to scream i just want to kill myself ive never felt this much pain in my entire life idk what to do my mom thinks maybe its burning becauses its healing but its a different type of burn not of the norm and it keeps me awake at night.

I had surgery on 12/26/17 and have been and still am experiencing much of what everyone else has and wanted to share some information I received today. Before I do, just a quick recap of my situation. I am a middle aged male and suffered a Trimalleolar Fracture and dislocation of my right ankle. Two pins, a plate, a hinge and from what I can count on the X-ray at least 6 screws. I slipped on ice. Very glamorous, I know.

?Two weeks after surgery the sutures, staples, splints and cast  were removed, I was wrapped in an Ace bandage and put in a boot by the surgeons PA. I was given Hydrocodone for pain. Almost immediately after getting home, I started feeling a constant and a majority of the time, severe burning pain on the inside of my ankle. Most noticeably in the evening and through the night This is still going on to THIS DAY. However I have news. 

?Continuing on, I saw my surgeon about 5 weeks from surgery date and told her of the severe burning. She said that was normal and part of the healing process. Told me to come back in one week as I had developed some pressure sores. Bone pain was minimal, I had very little aching. The burning pain did not stop. I was still using Hyrdocodone but it did nothing for the burning pain. 

?Back the following week, no improvement. When I say burning pain I mean really bad someone stabbing me with a sharp knife type of pain. I was in utter misery, especially at night. So on this visit I am prescribed Gabapentin as a treatment. It's a nerve drug. Sores healing and scabbing but the inside ankle where the sutures were was very reddish and raw still. Scheduled to come back again in a week. 

?Week 7, still no improvement. I was told to stop the Gabapentin if it's not helping and I may have an infection. So I was prescribed a 7 day supply of Bactrim, an antibiotic. Told to come back in a week. Low and behold, 3 days later the burning pain starts to subside. I'm thrilled. 

?Week 8, I come back and I'm feeling better, I can deal with the burning pain and am now scheduled for PT and to come back again in 2 weeks.

?Three days after my Dr's visit and a day before my first PT appointment, the burning pain starts to come back and get bad again. After my second PT appointment I am told by the head PT that he thinks I may still have an infection and to call my Surgeon, which I do. She gets me back on the Bactrim.  

?So I've been on the Bactrim again and on the 5th day of seven the pain is getting moderately better but still enough to keep me miserable at night. To compound matters, I have had a tingling in my foot and toes of my injured foot and noticed my foot is swelling again, turning a dark red and my toe nails are turning darkish blue. This is happening about 5 - 7 times a day. I sent pictures of this to my surgeon over the weekend before seeing her today. 

?When I get in the office she tells me straight out she thinks she has figured it out. I have a rare disorder called RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy). Its pretty much untreatable and was triggered by the surgery. The symptoms are all a result of the nerves in your foot going insane, I was told. They are telling the body something is really wrong and not listening to the body's healing process and are acting on their own. I was told that once I beat this infection, she prescribed 7 more days of Bactrim, she is confident the symptoms of the RSD will subside and possibly be gone. I am trying to remain optimistic.

?The reason I posted this is because most everyone on this subject never seemed to have an answer or resolution. I was so discouraged and felt so helpless. There was no way I could have any quality of life with this burning pain that I was getting no answers on. I feel for you and still in the same situation you were. So whether it's an infection or the possibility of this RSD syndrome not being as rare as they claim, I sure hope I get better. If you are feeling the same, maybe have your Dr look in to an infection or this RSD diagnosis. 

?Good luck to all of you. I will follow up after next weeks appointment to let you know. 

?Again, hope this helps as I can imagine what your all going through.

Jane, I found this site about a year ago...14 days post ankle surgery the night time burning started. Not much helps but it does subside in a couple weeks. Good luck.

Dear Jane. I didn't have surgery lately on my foot but broke my left ankle nearly 3 weeks ago. But this morning, I woke up with terrible burning on my heel. A few hours ago,

it went away. I know, it sounds weired that the pain was on the heal and my broken bone is on the ankle ! Hang in there !

Thank you so much, Jane, for telling me about possibly having RSD or an infection on my heel. If the sharp burning pain I have doesn't go away, I will call my Doctor. Yes, the sharp burning pain on my heel comes and goes. I thought it was part of the healing process, but it is apparantly not the case. One thing I found out is when I put a extra layer of sock at night, the tingling gets better. Good luck. Keep in touch and thank you again ?

 I see this is a three-year-old post. But I am having the same issue and a bit relieved  to hear others but still hurting.  I just had a simple broken fibula with a plate and six screws. Surgery went fine and after I got my splint off in two weeks I started getting random horrible burning pain in my foot. It’s excruciating. The top of my foot and three small toes.  It’s been three weeks since surgery and I have two more weeks till my appointment  where I am supposed to get clearance to be weight-bearing. Seems as though my episodes have been coming more regular and I made an appointment to see the doctor earlier. I will go tomorrow, 180 miles. I don’t know what they can do but  I was in a loss. I am taking hydrocodone every four hours. Trying to do ibuprofen every other time. I don’t feel I need it but when I get an attack  I feel like it may lessen some. It is usually at night and ice will make it go away eventually. His years finally gone away or are you still having issues?