Slept in my bed first time, now ive got some pain. Help!
Posted , 5 users are following.
I was feeling good enough 11 days post surgery to finally sleep in my own bed again from the couch for 2 and a half weeks. I'm not much for sleeping on my back, so periodically I would switch to my side. While I had no pain laying that way, today I'm having a bit of pain in the outside of my ankle. Wondering if it just needs to get used to being in its side again or if I did something wrong? I'm not in extreme pain, but it just doesn't feel good. I'm still in a cast and I made sure there were pillows under and between my legs. Should I call the Dr? My follow up isn't until next tues.
0 likes, 6 replies
mar038 jessica30344
Posted
patti123 jessica30344
Posted
I have always been a side sleeper, but after my ORIF could only sleep on my back with my legs up on 6 pillows, or I would get a pounding pain that would wake me up in the middle of the night, until about a month ago and I'm 23 weeks along. Just in the last 2 weeks have I been finally able to sleep without any pillows under me and for about the last month I could finally sleep on my side again. So, I think it is normal to feel pain when lying on your side. I learned to finally sleep on my back after a few weeks. It's actually probably the healthiest way to sleep anyway, so not a bad thing to learn. You do what you have to do. Remember, this is only temporary.
patti123
Posted
jessica30344 patti123
Posted
Thank you for that. I'm completely depressed about the whole situation. I had been sleeping on the couch for the past 2 and a half weeks. I'm so lonely sleeping alone that I really wanted to get back into the bed esp since ive been feeling well enough.
patti123 jessica30344
Posted
I remember that feeling!! You are not alone- we've all been there and we all TOTALLY understand your feelings. Did you have ORIF? I have a plate and 13 screws. It always bugged me to put weight on the plate side of my foot until at about month 5, but I know several people that did it months before I did, so I'm sure you'll get there faster. I wanted to be in my bed too, so I just slept on my back with six pillows under both my legs, with my legs way in the air, and I had a couple pillows for my head and arm as well. My bed was a sea of pillows and it looked more than ridiculous, but it got me through at that time. I also iced under my knee since I was in a cast, so it looked like a hospital bed for some time. When I felt sad for myself, I found pictures of people who had two broken ankles/legs with two casts and were decorating them up with their favorite sports team's colors, and I realized I could have it much worse, and if they were making light of the situation, then darned if I couldn't also. As they say...this too shall pass and it did. I also learned no one really wanted to hear about my problems (except for the kind people on this site thank goodness), so I just tried my best to smile my way through the months and that made it so people wanted to hang out with me in the meantime, which made the time pass in a much happier and less lonely way. The main thing is to figure out a way to get a good night's sleep without pain or pain killers if possible, so your body can heal up. It takes time and this is a temporary problem. Your body is working very hard to fix this problem and so you need to help it along by finding a way to laugh at a bad situation. Tituscanby1 is very good at this!! Being happy will make you heal faster. Find some great books and movies. Think of this as that special time just for yourself to do some things you've always wanted to do, but could never find the time.
daphne23784 jessica30344
Posted
Hi Jessica, I broke my ankle in February and had orif surgery in March. From the time I got home from the hospital I slept in my bed. My husband moved to the spare room for a few weeks. I slept on my back most of the time with 3 pillows placed under the bad leg at an incline, starting from just below my bottom to the highest level being under the ankle. I would also turn on my side for a while, but it was not long then felt the pain. I think lying on your side while in a cast presses against the surgical incisions and that causes pain. Do you still have your stiches or staples in, or have they been removed? I found once my staples were removed the pain from the incision was less. Take patti's advice it is great. Be positive and determined and you have already won a huge part of the process to your recovery. Remember we all heal at different levels, but we do get there.