Hi Tamsin22,
I'm sorry that your first day back at work was a jolt, and so exhausting. I hope you were able to sleep well and that today went a little better for you. I worry about the work/world reentry too, though still several days away from that. It seems like even under the best of circumstances it will be quite tiring, and without a real place to lay down, how can you effectively elevate your leg? Right now, I find even sitting at the dining table with my leg in another chair gets uncomfortable pretty quickly. Maybe you have figured out a good way by now...

All good wishes for a good report on Friday!

Hi all-
My 6 week post op appt today (sugery 9-7-09 for trimalleolar fracture and dislocation) and I get to start weight bearing. My instructions are to continue wearing my walking boot and put as much weight on my foot as I can bear using my walker (remember I was too dangerous using crutches) until I am total weight bearing and not using my walker. Once I am comfortable with walking around the house with my boot I can wean off to no boot in the house. I am to always wear the boot outside. I am also beginning physical therapy next week 3 times a week for 6 weeks. In addition, I am to work on my ankle joint flexion by standing against the walk and stretching my affected ankle back and holding the stretch like I am stretching my calf. That is to get the angle of bend back in the ankle so walking will be natural and no limping or putting foot out to the side.

For the discussion regarding ligaments and such, I questioned my dr today and he said any of these injuries involving dislocation, fractures, sprains, or major joint capsule injuries have ligament damage and require time to heal and rehab. He basically said I had a fracture and a major sprain at the same time.

So looking forward to seeing how quickly this progresses. Based on others posts, it should go fairly quickly. I have great optomism to at least be able to get around during the holidays.

Best wishes with everyone else's progress, keep us posted. As you can tell we all love to answer questions, keep them coming. Later.........

Hi all,
Welcome to bettyr and firsttimeinjury! Hope this forum helps you, i know it has been a gift to me over the weeks just knowing im not on my own with this and reading other peoples experiences!
Tamsin22. Glad to hear you have got back to work ok. Just getting out and about with crutches is exhausting enough so i so admire you for getting through a days work! Good luck for friday.
rn49,
Hi there. So pleased to hear you are finally starting to weight bear, i hope it improves quickly for you. You must be pleased im sure. It has been 2 weeks today for me since i started weight bearing and although i obviously have a big limp i very rarely use my crutches indoors now! I only use them for any distance or when i go out at the moment. My ankle still aches at the end of the day and swells back up again but its getting less and less. I hope yours moves as quickly! My next goal is to wear a pair of matching shoes, im getting closer! Lol Let me know how you progress.
Take care.

debbsg, I sure can't wait until I can rely less on these crutches. Do you still require pain medication? I am trying to gauge my progress as I still require medicine, but less and less each week. You are getting there. Hang in!

rn49, Hope your PT goes well!

Tamsin22,
Hi there. No i have no meds to take now and havent since about week 5!
The only thing i occasionally take is some tylonol at the end of the day. If i have been on my feet a lot my foot still swells up and aches but that is getting better by the day!
Im hoping that within a couple of weeks i wont need my crutches at all, of course first i have to be able to fit some shoes on!
Take care x

I wonder if anyone can address the difference between plaster or fiberglass cast vs. an "aircast"? I go in for a cast on Monday (currently at end of 2 weeks post surgery in splint), and am curious what to expect and how it is determined which is better. Is an air cast actually a walking cast that is only used when you are able to bear some weight (in other words, the same thing some have called a walking boot)?

thanks for sharing all your stories and advice!

Bettyr,
I believe that an aircast is the removable walking boot as opposed to the fixed cast. In England it is called a 'Beckam Boot' due to the fact that its what he wore when he injured his ankle! (Just a piece of useless information there. lol)
Also, although i think it seems to be very unusual i had nothing at all from week 2. The surgeon didnt want to cast it due to so much swelling still. He offered me the boot but said as long as i put absolutly no weight on it i could go with nothing... which is what i did! I preffered that, it felt easier and less painful having nothing pressing against it but i think that is personel choice, sum would worry about not having the protection!
Let me know how you get on and you what you get.
take care.

thanks for the info, debbsg! I will let you know what I get on Monday... seems like your choice, without cast, would have the great advantage of allowing you to bathe! Guess I am longing for a bath after 2 weeks...

take care,
bettyr

Hi there....
How is everyone doing??? My update.... Yippee... at last i am not using my crutches anymore!!! It is tender to walk on and with a bad limp at the moment but it is getting better day by day! By the end of the day my ankle is swollen and aching but its soooo worth it. I feel free again without the crutches. I know i still have a way to go but this is a major hurdle crossed!! I have a hospital appointment in 3wks so will be intersting to see what he says.
Hope you are all doing ok, take care.

Hi Debbsg,

Congrats on losing the crutches. I'm doing pretty good. On Friday (6 weeks) I get rid of my hard cast and get my walking cast!! Not a day too soon because my underarms are really starting to ache!! The doc says I will most likely still need the crutches for a few days and then I can ditch them when the pain subsides.

I have very little pain now except for some soreness and twinges every now and then. No meds. I anticipate I will need pain meds again when I start PT which will be after Friday. I never thought I would look forward to PT but I really do!!

Hope everyone else is also doing well.

Hello
I am new to this forum and would like to add my husband's story because I would be really grateful for any info or support from anyone who has had a smilar experience. How do I go about adding a post, please?

Hello again. Well I think I've answered my own question!I'll try and write my stuff here.

My husband, Brad, had a Trimalleolar fracture of his left ankle with complete dislocation of tibia and fibula on 7 August this year. On 17 August he had ORIF surgery and was given various screws and a plate etc, put in plaster cast and was told NWB for at least 6 weeks. On 28 August he went to fracture clinic for post op check, xray, have sutures removed, plaster cast changed etc and was given a poor prognosis - was told he had sustained a horrendous break and would have a limp and undoubtedly have arthritis.

Feeling a bit down, he struggled on. What the doc that he saw didn't tell him was that the bones had not been put in the right place during the op. Then on 10 Sept his leg suddenly started to swell and tighten. Back to fracture clinic - different doc this time. He took one look at xray done on 28 Aug and said surgery would have to be done again. Basically, the first op had not been done properly. On 18 Sept he had 2nd op - re-opened wounds, took out metalware and replaced it and also added a wire to pull bones together. In hospital for 10 days, recovery much harder 2nd time and after discharge wounds didn't heal until at least 4 weeks after surgery.

30 Oct - 6 weeks after 2nd surgery and 11 weeks after 1st surgery, he had plaster off and was given air cast - known here in UK as Beckham Boot. He has to wear this for 6 weeks, can remove it to sleep and is supposed to be gradually putting weight on the damaged foot. The problem is the OT that fitted the air cast didn't really give him proper instructions about how he should go about this and the doctor he saw just said 25% weight bearing to begin with. Because he was in plaster on and off for 11 weeks during the course of the two ops and his foot was not at a 90 degree angle, it's very painful and difficult to push his heel right to the back of the air boot in order to wear it properly. Has anyone else out there had similar experience? He's afraid to take pain killers when he's wearing the boot because he thinks if he can't feel the pain he may damage his ankle. I feel that at this stage he won't damage it if he's just gradually putting weight on and the painkillers may help him to push his heel to the back of the boot.

Sometimes we feel completely lost, having to find everything out for ourselves and fight for answers all the time.

This forum looks great. I've ploughed through some of the stories and am amazed at how many people have suffered this type of injury.

I can't believe how this has impacted on both of our lives. Brad's been really good about trying to deal with this but some days he gets a bit down. He feels like he'll never walk again. He hasn't been offered any physio and we are not sure whether that's because it's too early or whether we need to try and organise that ourselves. He's got to go back to the fracture clinin on 20 Nov so maybe they will discuss it then.

I would be very grateful for any suggestions or advice.

Many, many thanks.

Patti

Hi Pattiw,
I am from the UK but now live in Canada and when i had to gradually start weight bearing (4wks ago) i was told to do it this way... get your husband to weigh himself and if its 25% weight he is to be putting down that would be 25% of his body weight! Then get him to walk over the bathroom scales with his bad ankle on the scales until the weight hits the 25%. Then as he feels comfortable he can gradually increase that. That was how i did it and it worked well. I was told that to experience some pain was normal due to rebuilding the ankle again and i did need to use some pain killers for the ache that followed. It is scary, i was terrified of doing more damage! I was offered PT but to be honest because its an hours drive from where i live i havent bothered. Its been 4 wks since weight bearing and i am now limping around with no crutches. I was told the limp could be with me for 6-12 months yet so dont give up on that.
Im sorry you had such a bad experience over there with the op. Its sounds like you are on the recovery home now. I was told that it is a long process and i too will suffer atheritis in my ankle. This is apparently due to cartlidge damage more than anything else but it will be controllable with medication. I was assured that i will be back to normal given time.
I hope that helps. That is just my experience over here, as you can see by this forum there are many other stories too.
Take Care.

Hi Patti,

Sorry for your ordeal. You will find support here.

I don't know anything about services in the UK, but I would seek out some kind of support. I would press the MD for physio, and seek a referral to a local support/info group that could provide information as well as emotional support.

As for me, I had my 6 week post-OP yesterday and was really hoping for an air cast that I could remove, but I was given a walking cast, which is a regular cast that sits into a rubber shoe-like thing that is removable (just the shoe part). Best news is that I am fully weight baring, and crutches are optional! I am finding that I use the crtuches scarcely around the house, but I still need them outdoors. I limp terribly, but I was told to just make sure I got a good heel strike when I use the affected foot. My foot aches enough for about one strong pain killer a day (split dose). Perhaps your husband could re-think the painkiller option. I know that when I use the medicine, I can still feel my foot perfectly well, just not as much pain. This way I can utilize the foot and restore muscle function as is warranted at this time.

I hope the road clears for both of you; it surely sounds like it's about time.

Good luck and check back often!

Thank you so much Debbsg and Tamsin22. Your replies have been very helpful and supportive. I think fear of damaging the ankle is the biggest problem but you've both confirmed my feeling that painkillers would help. I hope you both continue to make progress and improve. Once again thanks. I'll definitely be back to this forum.

Patti

Hi everyone. im so glad i found this forum. ive searched and searched and here i am. i fractured my ankle in two places on 9/19/09 and had surgery on 9/28/09. which was a very long time (i think). when i went to the hospital(which was a weekend) there were no orthopedics on call, they gave me a boot and some pain pills and sent me on my way....monday i had to make an appt. the doc saw me tuesday.. and that following week was when i had my surgery because he was booked.i now have a plate and 9 screws in my left ankle on the outter part. well it was supposed to be an outpatient surgery but the pain was horrible so i stayed for 2 days. i dont know how an ankle surgery can be outpatient... i had my cast on for 9 days. and the pain was just so unbearable that i would just lay and cry all night long until i cried myself to sleep. the cast came off on day 10 and also the staples and that was painful as well....ive been in a air boot since and up until las thursday 10/29/09 im light weight bearing and i also started PT 11/3/09. im very happy to start any type of weight bearing and pt.I also went back to work 11/2/09 i have a desk job and it can be a pain walkin with the crutches. everyone at work is so helpful. but i wish i could do things on my own. mentally this injury took a toll on me but i am regaining my sanity. to all of you that is going through what i am. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, keep your head up and be strong. God will see all of of us through.

Pattiw,
Let us know how you get on. Take care.

TiffanyNix,
So glad you have got through the worst of it. Sounds like you really had a rough time of it, that was a long delay before your op. I waited 3 days and that was bad enough and then i was in hospital for 4days until they could control the pain relief. Not that i think they did, the following 2 weeks were hell! I agree though that the hardest thing was when the deppression set in and that lasted for a couple of weeks after i came off the hard pain relief.
I would like to agree with you and say to everyone that may be experiencing that... Hang in there!!... it does get better! I can vouch for that!
Take care everyone.

Hello, all--
Good to hear updates and welcome to new writers.

I have been in a fiberglass cast for 2 weeks now, 4 weeks post surgery. I began going back to work part time after getting the cast, greatly aided by a knee walker: I highly recommend this over crutches, though you need to have someone to help you load and unload it from a vehicle (unless you find a light folding model). It's like a scooter that you kneel on with the injured leg-- it gives you a lot more freedom and mobility, and also feels safer than crutches to me. My insurance is paying for the rental, after some haggling and perseverance. But even without, I think I would spring for it for a month-- huge difference and you don't feel *quite* so helpless!

I've actually experienced more pain in recent weeks than I did initially, and don't know why, but still not enough to need heavy duty pain meds. I am using ibuprofen to manage the aching and swelling, which always seems to come on in the afternoon and evening. 3-4 hours up and about at a time is about all I can manage without ill effect, even with my desk job and keeping the leg kind of propped. There seems to be no substitute for rest and elevation, the best medicine as far as I can tell. I will get stitches and staples out this week and hope that will give some relief, too.

I was told by someone who had a broken leg to expect a case of plantar fasciitus when I begin walking again, due to the prolonged relaxed state of the foot/heel. Not looking forward to that, if true; I know it's a very painful condition. Have others experienced this? And for those told to expect arthritis in your ankles, is that a temporary or lasting prognosis?

Best wishes for continued healing to all,
bettyr

It hs been about 3 weeks since my last post. I have had 7 sessions of physical therapy and my range of motion is getting better. My weight bearing is improving although I am still using a walker. I don't know why but I am having a lot of pain with full weight bearing to the point of having to take pain meds periodically.

debbsg-congrats on giving up your crutches.

Pattiw-I would tell your husband not to worry about taking pain meds and not feeling if he has a sore or not. My pain meds never took ALL the pain away. I still felt pressure on my foot so that I could tell my doctor and get a larger boot for a couple of weeks and prevent a pressure sore. That was during the firt 4 weeks after surgery. (and I thought that hurt-LOL)

Maybe my current weight bearing pain is a combination of many things - the plantar fascitus that bettyr mentioned, my bone spur on my heel that has flared up, and the sever sprain of the ligaments/tendons on the inside of my ankle that were stretched for 5-6 hours while my ankle was dislocated before it was fixed in surgery. All I know is as much as I like being more mobile I am not enjoying the pain of it. I am glad everyone else is not experiencing this discomfort with their recovery. I am definitely thinking it will be the 6 month estimation that my doctor told me before I go back to work. But who know, maybe by my next post I will have had a sudden improvement and be walking without the walker and way less pain.

On a brighter note, the physical therapy is doing wonders for range of motion. I am working hard to walk with a regular gait and try to make every step as normal as possible when I am out of the boot.

Until next time. God's speed and my prayers for all of you to heal well..............

bettyr,
I believe that whether you get artheritis or not depends on whether you had any cartlidge damage. Not sure how correct this is?! On a personel note i have been told that it will be permannent due to the fact that they had to drill out a lot of my cartlidge due to bone fragments.

Has anyone else got any info on this???