Trimalleolar fracture = WORST PAIN EVER!!!

Hello.. firstly so sorry your going through this and feeling this way. Ive also endured and am still recovering from a trimalleolar fracture (16 weeks post surgery) but you sound like yours is worse than mine which again im sorry about.

The pain, i hear you on that. its excruiating! i did take the heavy pain meds and they helped me through the worse bit but i came off them as soon as i could.

The one thing i will say to you is what your going through now is the worse bit, the healing of the bones take time, so patience is needed. (easier said than done as i didnt want to be patient but i had no choice)

One you get the go ahead to put weight on it, whether it be in a boot or straight to shoes things quickly get easier. Dont get me wrong there is alot of stages of pain ( or so there was for me, im just speaking on my experience) Im 16 weeks out and can do mostly everything i could before. My range of motion isnt 100% but id say its about 75-80% back. personally i still have alot of swelling, the surgeon told me this can last anywhere from 6-18months to get better!! BUT and i mean a HUGE BUT is i was pregnant when i had my accident 21 weeks and 22 weeks when i had surgery. im nearly 38 weeks now so obviously everything is swollen so im hoping things drastically improve once the baby is out.

I really wish you a smooth recovery, if you have any questions feel free to message back.

Hi Nella

sorry to hear what your going through. i empathise with the sleepness nights and feeling helpless. i had a trimalleolar fracture and dislocation on 26 April 21 and surgery on 7 May 21. Try to keep going it will improve and get better. Ive got plates and about 10 screws. i had the stitches out 2 weeks after surgery and was given an air boot. This was a lot lighter etc and I could take off to begin with for 5 mins and begin to move toes and gently ROM. At first i felt extremely vunerable with the boot off but gradually you gain confidence. Now i remove at least two times daily and do 15 mins ROM exercises. I am 57 and i was v active before my accident, walked dogs daily for an hour, did a gym session every day. In fact I had been sailing all day when i broke it! So being on the sofa all day is tough! i left the hospital with crutches but soon realised they werent for me, I use the combination of a walker(and dont care about the "granny' puns as its much more stable and so much easier! i also have a knee scooter ( wheels than can go over grass etc). It is the most frustrating thing ive ever gone through and if you need a good cry let it out! I feel so much more mobile now and on Wednesday see my surgeon, i should get all clear for PT to start and weight bearing. im calling this stage 3 and i know it will be tough but its my next challenge. I slept with a pillow between my legs on my side after a while as sleeping on your back is hard. I can take the boot off now to sleep which is scary at first but after a couple of nights im sleeping well. Take one day at a time, Happy belated birthday, hope it wasnt to bad! Please talk if you want or ask me any questions.

I fractured mine, same trimalleoar, on May 27th at a campground after rained. Stepped in slick mud / hole. They tried in ER to set it until could have surgery but it wouldn't work. They put an external fixator on it to stabilize it until swelling went down. I go in tomorrow, June 18th, for surgery to plate and screw ankle.

This has been 3 weeks of pain and bed boredom.

I do crochet so that helps. But it still sucks.

reading the post of the injuries from everyone. i understand and feel your pain and discomfort. july 12 2017 so that about 4yrs since trimalleolar fracture and dislocation. i can honestly say the most challenging time of my life , cant do anything, in pain all the time, family has to do everything for you, but be patient. listen to your doctors and listen to your physical therapist. i would encourage everyone to write a journal of their weekly progress. it was very helpful to me , i was able to see my progress and that helped me mentally.

im going through this now. like you ive also suffered a trimalleolaur fracture with dislocation. i didnt wait for surgery, theyve considered mine as a emergency. ive slipped on the dance floor at a club after someone spilling beer on me. im 31 as well and praying that ill be walking normally by my birthday in June.

i know this reply is months later but hope youre doing better now

I was having a great day skiing and hit an ice boulder the size of a fire hydrant I didnt see coming at around 80km/h (50mph) and separated my foot from my leg and cartwheeled 4 or 5 times to a stop... I didnt think it was broken but it was definitely a very bad break, I had pushed the tib and fib down into the malleous and done some real damage...

I was half casted(wrapped around just the back of my leg and under my foot) and told I wasn't able to recieve a surgery immediately as the ortho surgeons are very very busy. I got home from the hospital and immediately took the plaster cast off as it was causing me more pain than it was worth.

I did a ski boot style wrap (around the shin with x pattern across the ankle, open heel and wrapped under and over foot) with tensor bandages until i felt it was stable enough that I could move while holding it.

Rough 6 days of not much sleep, and finally got to North Vancouver hospital. Opted for spinal tap injection instead of breathing tube... woke up during surgery which they told me may happen as I have a naturally very high tolerance to painkillers regardless of type... cyclobenzaprine's and dexadrin seems to be the best way to sleep with slipped discs from years before... Perkacett's(dilautted) did nothing for my pain really, the morphine 5m statex ones seemed to work very well although I had to double up on the recommended...

After my surgery was done I left the hospital within an hour on crutches... big mistake. the two hour drive back home was increasingly painful ending with me getting to my house and seeing that my toes were black. I immediately(do not recommend this for any reason, this was a serious situation) cut cast off and blood flow returned to my foot and the pain subsided to about an 8/10. Surgery resulted in 3 metal plates, one on each side and an L shaped plate on the front. 15 screws and 54 staples to close it all up...

I am at 5.5 weeks after surgery and have little to no pain unless I am standing up without keeping my knee near my chest... takes about two minutes with my foot near the ground for it to turn purple and throb with pain.... I have very minimal swelling left, just around my achilles.... did not put any polysporin or anything on the incisions until the scabs were completely gone...

I cleaned it alcohol soap with a cloth once around 10 days, and then with benza something med-kit wipes and waited for it to dry before re-bandaging. Incision scabs were 95% gone before staples were removed.... foot off the pillow or edge of the bed in the opposite direction of the break helps sooooo much. Good luck with your healing everyone. Watch out for kids in the grocery stores who laugh to their moms about kicking you... LOL