Broken ankle?

[kaytee87]

I think I've broken my ankle, at first I thought it might be sprained but the pain is getting worse and is unbearable even whilst lying still. I know I need to go to hospital but how the hell am i going to get there? I wouldn't be able to manage into a taxi, what do I do??

I had a relatively straightforward ankle break 4 years ago and hired a wheelchair which I used to get round in the house (and outside when necessary) It made my life so much easier! Could scoot about in it and get so much more done than I could on crutches (which I never got the hang of). If you can, get hold of a raised toilet seat frame. I didn't have one but would have made going to the loo so much easier. Your local Red Cross may be able to help.

You'd be epbest leaving the ibuprofen for a week or two. - its antiimflammatory which is normally great but when you have a bone healing, that's an inflammatory process and actually needs the inflammation to occur. Therefore, ibuprofen will delay healing.

There is lots of research into addiction and opiates and if you are in pain it's actually very rare to become dependant on pain relief, it's when you keep taking the meds when you don't need them anymore that the addiction keeps in. Tramadol was a very good painkiller for me when I fractured my tibia and had spinal surgery. Hopefully you'll get along well with it

I'm so glad to be put straight about PIP. I was beginning to feel a bit cheesed off that I might have missed out on a small fortune

I'm that accident prone, I'd be bloody loaded if PIP was available for short-term disability!

Imagine if it was though. People would be throwing themselves down stairs and stuff when they were skint.

And the Red Cross do hire wheelchairs. With leg supports too.

*"The muscles waste really quickly"

Heck, yeah. I swear my lower leg was the size and shape of a kitchen roll tube when my cast came off. Just tiny, thin and wasted. Don't recall any particular bad smell, though.*

I had my leg in plaster from arse to ankle for 10 weeks. When the cast came off, the flesh looked like a scrawny frozen chicken that had just thawed out, but hairy. It had been a lovely hot summer, and my other leg was all sleek and firm and tanned. I looked ridiculous

It was the first time I'd ever had a plaster cast and, not realising that my leg would be very weak, I hopped off the couch, hit the deck like a sack of shit and gashed my forehead on the frame as I went down.

When I got out of the taxi, minus plaster cast but with sutures in my head, my flatmate nearly pissed himself laughing. I got no sympathy whatsoever.

So you'll sit and suffer for days but you won't hang on to the phone? Get a life! If you've broken your ankle they'll call an ambulance for you - or invite a pal round and THEY can call an ambulance if you don't have the guts. Lots of really nasty complications can develop with a broken bone, so get it treated asap.

Jeez, Kaytee! That must have been freaking agony. Glad you finally got seen - don't ever leave it this long again - nasty things can happen with sharp bone ends knocking about inside flesh.

Sorry - didn't realise this was an old (and remedied) message. Apologies - and glad you got help.

Fickle Usually reading the full thread is advised. Less likely to make a total tit of yourself that way

@ExtraSpecial1 the doctors said I was to take the ibuprofen so can only go on their advice. I'm not worried about becoming addicted to any painkillers, as you say if I need them for pain then I should take them. I actually don't like the way they make me feel so will stop taking as soon as I can function without them.
I already have a wheelchair from Red Cross which my mum kindly had delivered the day I got home from hospital :)
I hope to be able to get out the house for a couple of hours tomorrow which I don't think I could manage with the crutches yet.

I second the purchase of a grabber stick, OP, if nothing else you'll be able to put your own pants on. It's amazing how quickly you get adept at lassoing your foot with your knickers with a grabber stick.

The pain should start to ease now that the ankle is immobilised and you'll soon find all sorts of inventive ways to manage stuff. I found that a big shoulder bag was really useful for carrying stuff around the house, wide-legged yoga pants are really easy to get on and off, a thermos flask is indispensable and a box of wine by your chair means you don't have to keep getting up when you need another bottle. (Of course, the wine won't be of the quality you're used to, but after the first 6 glasses you won't care much)

If your DH continues to be grumpy and unsupportive, order a large sledgehammer online. When he asks you what it's for, tell him it's so that when you're fully recovered, you can break his ankle really badly so that he can appreciate how difficult the simplest thing is when you're unable to use a limb.

(Much of the above is meant lightheartedly, before anyone has a go)

Kaytee Yes you CAN get PIP for a broken leg if it is likely to take a while to recover. Pip is for how something affects you and is not awarded for the cause of this - just how you're affected. My best friend got it for months & Months after she snapped her leg. Then it got reduced to the lowest amount once she was walking properly again then 3 months later when she was back to normal she stopped it.

Been following- sorry you’re having such a crap time- aspirin and ibuprofen are both NSAIDS- anti inflammatorys. They are not recommended to take regularly together because of that. If you’re only taking the aspirin once a day, that may be why they’ve said it’s ok. Regular aspirin and ibuprofen basically means you are overdosing on NSAIDS. Hope things start to improve soon.

God is it normal to feel so exhausted after breaking your ankle /leg? All I want to do is sleep all day. I'm forcing myself to stay awake to play with my wee one and read him books but I can hardly get out of bed!

Yes. Apart from anything else the shock would have really taken its toll.

Yes. Your body has not only had a shock and trauma, but you've had a GA and several nights of broken sleep.
Plus healing uses a lot of energy.

Be kind to yourself and listen to what your body needs.

It's absolutely normal. Really, don't underestimate the seriousness if what's happened to you. Your ankle and lower leg have been snapped and mangled and now your body is working all out to repair the damage done to your tissues and bone, healing which as pp say takes energy and time. Go easy on yourself and make sure people around you help. I hated being a "patient" myself when I got home from hospital, so I know it can be frustrating. But you must give it time.

I remember being exhausted when I had a broken ankle, OP.
For the first few weeks after surgery, I had a sleep morning and afternoon, as well as sleeping right through the night.
I don't even sleep well normally, and this was lying on my back, with my leg elevated in plaster.
As others have said, it's a combination of trauma, anaesthetic and medication.
Your body knows that it has to rest and sleep for you to recover, so follow what it tells you.

Oh, I'm sorry I only found this thread now. So glad you got the help you needed.

When I came home from hospital after a serious car accident, my DH was rather weird. He had been a rock during the 6 months in hospital, but all of a sudden he was huffing and not really helping me.

I was (and still is) in a wheelchair.

The day he watched me roll outside with a cup of coffee in my lap and didn't get up to help me, was the day I snapped. I obviously spilled the coffee and then he said a feeble: "oh, do you need help?"

I told him in no uncertain terms that I was doing absolutely everything for myself and that I will not take 'advantage' of him. But Jesus, if I was walking with coffees and struggling, he wouldn't have thought twice about jumping up and helping. Not WATCH me struggle and then OFFER.

Things improved after that. I suppose he had a hard time and a shock too and was worried that I would just sit in my chair all day and shunt him around (which I proved very quickly I wasn't doing).

Sometimes it's hard for other people to imagine being in your shoes. He'll come right.

I hope the pain is better now, it takes a little while and you think its never going to end but then one day you wake up and it feels great (compared to before).

Hang in there

Hi op, I just wanted to tell you that I had what sounds like the exact same injury some years ago - in fact while pregnant with dc1! I remember how I was so fed up/in pain etc etc. I thought I would never feel normal again. It did take a while but now I run, dance, do martial arts etc. You will get better, it just takes time.

Your body is also processing through all the anasthetic drugs and pain killers, that tires you out as well. Drink lots of fluids, get lots of sleep and hopefully you will feel a bit better soon.

Totally normal. I thought I would work from home but for the first couple of weeks I could just about check emails. Most of my time was spent watching Netflix.

Rest as much as you can. Recovering from the injury and op will take time.

Hi, how are you ? Don’t worry about the ibruprofen, I relied on it, I can’t touch codeine as it knocks me out, the result was they gave me nothing apart from injections that my husband had to give me in my tummy daily to avoid blood clots. They left terrible bruising.

When I moved hospitals, ( I suffered my fracture a couple of hundred miles away from home) , they moved me to tablets which prevent blood clots instead , I can’t recall the name, but a pharmacist friend went “oh, these are about 150 pounds a pack, I’m surprised they prescribed them” which is quite shocking really.

ibruprofen was also recommended by my consultant as it reduced swelling, I doubt it delayed healing, I was lucky as although I had non displaced fractures I saw the lead orthopaedic surgeon and he saw me throughout and was lovely, if a little optimistic. As said, he told me to take ibruprofen. So I’d agree go with the doctors advice and not some anonymous poster on the internet.

You are getting there. Every single night that passes, youre a day closer to walking. 💐

I'm ok bluntness thanks, the pain isn't too bad now and under control with the meds. Might try cutting them down tomorrow depending how sore I am in the morning.
I feel like I've lost weight even though I've been sat doing nothing. My stomach looks a lot flatter. Maybe there will be one good thing to come from this!
My plan tomorrow is to have breakfast in bed, have a wash with dh help then have a long morning nap with my ds snuggled in in the afternoon watch dh, mil & bil decorate the Christmas tree!

Hiya OP, I haven't been posting but I've been reading. Glad the pain's a bit more under control. I hope you plan to instruct on the Christmas tree decorating as you can't help! There's no way I'd be able to watch without instructing!