Fractured foot, getting much worse, severe pain and swelling 6 weeks on. Can’t walk.

[Nosuchthingasover]

Hi!
So I fell down a broken step at work 5 or 6 weeks ago and broke the base of my 5th metatarsal and was given a walking boot, all was well after 4 weeks, removed the boot and chucked it, was still some mild pain but no need for the boot.
Then very very unfortunately I stubbed my toe on the corner of the sofa the day after I threw the boot away, went to a&e to make sure I hadn’t caused any serious damage, who said yes the fracture looks worse, not healed at all, but no treatment needed, as the area that the break is in usually heals easily.
Was sent away with a blue shoe support that looks like a sandal, and is next to useless, it’s made of soft material with no support at all as far as I can tell, it’s less supportive than my own shoes.
So after just struggling, and walking around on it for a week, the pain is suddenly much much worse, and had sudden swelling of the whole foot this morning which is still there and the skin feels right, and my calf is really painful, which I presume is because I’m walking funny on it. I didn’t have the calf pain before today.
I am a single parent, and also their carer (I recieve Carers allowance for one of the children) So it’s not an option to just not use the foot. I have to just carry on with pain that is worsening day by day.
So I was discharged straight from a&e with no follow up needed and was just given a leaflet for a virtual fracture clinic that I could contact if I needed to.
However, today I received a call from the hospital saying that the orthopaedic surgeon wants to see me, and I need to attend the plaster room on Tuesday. I couldn’t ask the reasons why as I was at work with a client at the time
I’m wondering what the reason could be for them to need see me.
With my appointment being in the plaster room does that necessarily mean I need a cast? I’m presuming now.
And if for some reason I do, am I damaging my foot by carrying on as normal.
is there anywhere I could ring to find out? Would an out of hours GP have access to that information?
Sorry for the long winded post, and for all the questions! I can’t think straight enough to condense the post into a shorter more intelligent one with the pain and also the codeine tiredness! 😅
I really need a walking boot or a crutch as this pain is making me feel like I’m going to pass out and I get lightheaded at times from the pain of walking.
I don’t know what to do, the pain today is worse than the original injury, and so is the swelling, and the calf pain is completely new.
I’ve been taking codeine but it isn’t helping much.
Is there anything I can do right now? I’m really struggling with the stairs so have been mostly crawling up them. Is it possible for me to request a supportive walking boot from a&e and collect it?
The shoe they provided last week is not firm or supportive at all, and my friend who is a nurse said that they are what they use to put over a cast, they’re not meant as a support. She thinks I need to go to a&e but I don’t think I need to be that dramatic!
It’s affecting my ability to care for the children and to keep the house clean as it’s so painful, especially now with the new calf pain.
what should I do? I need someone to tell me 😩

But I almost had a ceremonial burning of my shoe when I was told I could remove it! So I get why you chucked it. Bloody thing!

I think possibly need to ascertain whether you have anything to worry about eg bloody clots for example and go through those symptoms with someone, perhaps they can discuss pain relief and get you a better prescription. They might not fast track the plastering that still probably needs to be done at fracture clinic. I'm not a medical professional just mentioning what my experience was. A&E didn't touch broken bones at my hospital

They won't know details about your appointment but I second what other posters are saying, go to a&e

@endofthelinefinally Oh!…I didn’t realise that a clot could be related to a fracture! I was dismissive of the idea of a clot when it was suggested as I thought they were seperate issues, was thinking how very unlikely it would be to have a random blood clot appear causing pain and swelling around the fracture site as it seemed obvious (in my mind) that it was fracture related!
Makes much more sense now you’ve said that fractures can be a cause! Who knew!
I presumed the calf pain was caused by causing stress and damage to muscles by not being able to use my foot correctly.

@CatLadyDrinksGin I chucked the boot because the fracture clinic told me that as soon as I felt I could manage without the boot to remove it, as it would make no difference to the healing of my foot.
And I had no space to store it just in case I needed it in the future.

Is a clot only likely when the foot is immobilised in a plaster cast?

Go to A and E, apart from a clot you might have an infection. It can't wait until Tuesday if you have pain so bad it makes you want to pass out.

Reduced mobility can occur even when there is no plaster cast. Lower limb fractures are a known risk factor for DVT and any symptoms should be taken seriously, especially if they develop some days or weeks after the original injury. Swelling, calf pain and prominent veins in the affected leg/ankle/foot are all warning signs.

I fractured my fifth metatarsal and had a cast for a week, then took it off to walk on it because I lost my job as a result (new Camden pub job) and six months later I had to have an op to pin it.

And it was nowhere near like you describe yours. Yours sounds really horrific in comparison.

Fingers crossed for you.

Hi,
NHS 111 got someone from out of hours to ring me, who could only advise A&E. She doesn’t think I have a clot, but she does think I need another X-ray. She said the only thing that out of hours can do for me is prescribe pain relief. They don’t have any supportive boots or anything like that.

And she thinks that I could probably do with an X-ray really, which can only be done at the hospital.
She said that if I’m attending the plaster room on Tuesday then it sounds like there is something that needs fixing or supporting, but she couldn’t even try to guess what, as it could be anything (She had no way of finding out what the problem is unfortunately, I was hoping it would be on my medical notes or something) So she advised A&E.
However…my children are in bed fast asleep, and if it’s not life and death I’d rather not disturb them. And I’d rather not leave them tomorrow while I go and wait for hours and hours sat in the same seat in A&E if at all possible, the thought is actually making me really anxious! (I have Adhd alongside the ASD, prolonged sitting isn’t my favourite!)
I think I would prefer the pain to having to sit still for so very very long, especially long as it’s the weekend.
If it actually is important I will go, but I’d really rather not. And I didn’t notice any urgency for me to act from the out of hours GP (or nurse, not sure who rang actually) just a calm recommendation of A&E would be a good idea.
Would it make any difference, really, in the grand scheme of things if I just waited for my appointment on Tuesday? (Other than comfort)
It isn’t looking like it’s a blood clot, I’d clearly not hesitate going if they had suggested that was a possibility!

I do however seem to have some more swelling, on the underneath part of my foot, I can feel it while standing.

Never mind, just checked, and I can’t actually see any swelling under my foot.

Go to A&E as advised by NHS 111, you need an X-ray.

Yes, I will go once the children are up.
I’ll end up there in the end anyway no doubt, no point putting it off.

Glad to hear you’re going to go to A&E, perhaps take some snacks/drinks/fully charged phone/charger and earphones to distract you whilst you wait.

in the meantime elevate your foot and put an ice pack/frozen veg or what ever on it

You definitely need to go to a&e, a dvt needs to be ruled out, also compartment syndrome given the intense pain and swelling. I think you were given a plaster shoe instead of a rigid sole boot. I'm a theatre nurse and we give rigid sole boots out to support the bones after foot surgery. You should have also been given crutches with this kind of shoe. Good luck and hope you get some relief soon.

@Dolally34 It sounds like I was given the wrong shoe then, you have said the same as what my cousin said at the time…that the shoe I have been given is for wearing over a cast.
Why on earth did they give me that! I wondered why it was so very much less supportive than my regular shoes!

The boot that I got when I initially injured my foot was really good, significantly less pain while walking.

@endofthelinefinally By prominent veins, you do just mean NEW prominent veins don’t you? Just that I have a cluster of strange varicose type veins on my ankle on that foot with swelling around them (which is always present)
I’ll see if I can get a pic. I’m my entire left leg is full of EXTREME varicose veins, they are honestly quite shocking to other people for my age, cause no pain though, so never got them looked at. The ones on my ankle are mild in comparison. I’ve never actually seen veins like the ones on my legs on anyone else!

These are the ankle veins, aren’t I lucky! They looks much more bulgy in real life too!

Photo was taken earlier this week, just zoomed in to get a close up of them!

Really sorry you’re going through this OP. I’ve got pins and a plate in 1 foot and fractured the other ( which wasn’t diagnosed till 6 months later following a MRI ) so I’m well aware how painful and debilitating this can be.

Just to say you can get crutches etc on Amazon which may help in the few days before your plaster appointment. The ones that I got from the hospital were really painful on my hands so I got special hand grip ones. I’m not suggesting you don’t go to A&E in the interim though to rule out blood clots etc.

A and E this morning,don't leave it and don't wait until Tuesday.

Any update from today? Hope it is more tolerable at least!

Could be compartment syndrome, caused by swelling. You must go to A&E. if it IS compartment syndrome it is limb threatening.

How did you get on OP?

@Nosuchthingasover How did your appointment go today?