To boot, or not to boot (at night)

hey there! 3 breaks here with a dislocation. my dr told me i had to sleep with the boot until i was completely weight bearing and then i could start sleeping with a ankle brace. Sleeping is a total pain with the boot so i started wearing a thick fuzzy sock that would cover my incisions as well as use a thick pad that came with my boot to cover the inside incisions. that helped me a bunch

Hi Diane hope its going well for you. i will be glad hen I am your stage I am only 11 days post op. I couldnt say for sure but wouldnt have thought it was necessarry to sleep in the boot. it could rub as you say. Perhaps someone else at your latter stags could advise you. This ankle injury is the biggest inconvenience ever to me and the most painful. my fiberglass cast is causing rubbing on both sides of my ankle, well it seems it is perhaps its just the healing snd nerves. i send love and hope to you and everyone in this awful position. WE ARE STRONG, we will get through this. x

I am 10 days post op from flat foot surgery, a tendon lengthening procedure and removal of the artificial joint pmaced in my big toe last year. On Wed, after a week post op, i was telling the nurse how much pain i was in at night. She told me i could remove my boot at night, but to make sure i put it back on when i got up. I haven't been brave enough to remove it in bed, but I've loosened it considerably

I would take it off.

With my first surgery I was told to sleep in it. Second I was told I didn't need to, so didn't. At my last appointment my surgeon said, you can stop sleeping in your boot....Thanks, I haven't been! I bet you still struggle to sleep. I always felt it was the cast or the boot but in reality it was just my ankle.

i did no boot at night after a day or two

Hello again. So far, it looks like the no boot is "winning." I do know for a fact that I have not been successful at keeping my dang foot elevated all night.

This is a tough road.

Hire a bolster from a mobility aid place or from an ortho practise. You can't go wrong with them. No one told me about them for my first surgery but I asked the second time and it cost me $20!

@@'m not sure if this is relevant but I had Archillies Z-lengthening surgery end of November, 2018. I still sleep with a boot as the tendons around my foot contract and pull it into abnormal positions when I have the boot off. I take it off for a few hours every day but within 2-3 hours, the position is way out of normal range and I have heaps of pain. I had a back slab for a month then a fibre glass cast for a montu, now a moon boot. I've tried weight bearing with and without the boot and end up in crying agony. My foot puffs up like a big red ballon. My surgeon doesn't know what to do. He's done two arthroscopic surgeries for a small fracture and scar tissue and a lateral ligament repair. My foot does not look right so am getting a second opinion. I think you should keep the boot on until you see your dr or email him and ask him.

Take Care Melissa

I have had my aircast for a week or so and they told me I can take it off to sleep and when resting at home, but I must put the boot back on when walking.

I found it strange to sleep without support so have purchased a Tubigrip bandage to wear at night for some support, which compress very lightly and give me assurance if it was to be knocked.

You must make sure you put on the boot when walking about at home and when getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom - so if you're desperate it will take a few mins to put the boot in (try not to drink alot of water before bed)

Hi Diane,

Sorry to hear about your painful circumstance. This forum helps me realize I'm certainly not alone and that my injury is not as bad as others among us.

With regards to the boot question, I had to sleep with my boot for one week after the cast. It did irritate and rub my ankle where the tibia break is. I have not slept with boot for a month now. I do still sleep with two pillows propped up and then I snuggle the bad leg behind a couch pillow and try to keep stable. I been on couch for 4 months now its just easier than trying to hop off bed. Maybe ask your doctor if you can sleep w/out boot or just try one night but cushion your leg with pillows so you dont somehow twist your leg in your sleep.

Well hope that insight was helpful. Have a great pain free day.

i slept without my boot on week 3 post ankle surgery. i wrapped it with an ace bandage, elevated it on some pillows and made sure it was sticking outside of the covers. you dint want your foot getting caught in the sheets if you turn in the night.