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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not want to go to A & E but I can't put weight on my leg!

190 replies

Ibelieveinwitches · 25/11/2019 16:36

I brisk walk twice a day including a short jog too once. I've being doing this for months with no issue.
Today whilst walking normally, coming out of a shop, my ankle kind of went from underneath me. It initially felt like something needed to click back into place. I hobbled a bit and it kept happening until I couldn't weight bare at all. I had to hop back to the car where fortunately I wasn't driving. It hurts whilst resting from my Achilles tendon right up my calf. I literally cannot stand on it for more than a split second. What am I supposed to do?! I can't keep hopping!! Is A & E the only place I can get crutches?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
runningintothesunset · 25/11/2019 20:26

But the waiting time for you might not be 5.5 hours! That might be for the people who pitch up with a bit of a runny nose. Why would you risk doing yourself permanent damage by not getting checked out (particularly if you have tingly sensation). Pack a good book and go...

OctoberLovers · 25/11/2019 20:29

I dont take notice of the waiting times.

I know i will never wait that long....

If tingly, go now and tell them that

MyMushroomsInATimeSlip · 25/11/2019 20:33

Wait time was over 4 hours when I last went to a and e. We were in and out in less than 90 minutes including xrays and treatment

BeeFarseer · 25/11/2019 20:33

You're being an idiot. If you have pins and needles, that indicates nerve involvement. Sitting and waiting until the morning could be causing you real damage.

Go. To. A&E. You aren't qualified to say it's fine to wait. None of us are either.

If you were my friend, this is the point I'd be seriously shouting at you out of concern.

lljkk · 25/11/2019 20:34

What do you need to do tomorrow, does it involve organising small people?

I think I'd go in the morning, around 7:30 or 9:30am, assuming no improvement.

Please update us?

People I know who dislocated joints or tore ligaments were in horrendous pain, not what I hear OP describing.

MustardScreams · 25/11/2019 20:39

The wait time is for people turning up with a graze.

You have potentially broken your leg, so will be triaged correspondingly and be seen much quicker than that.

Just go ffs, you’re being really silly about this all. This is what hospital is for, to see if you have a broken leg or not. Unless you know someone with X-ray vision?

OctoberLovers · 25/11/2019 20:40

7.30 / 9.30 am ... Worse time to go

poppyrock · 25/11/2019 20:41

This is ridiculous. You won't be brisk walking again full stop if you've broken / torn something and don't get it treated asap. Why would you risk your mobility because you don't want to sit and wait for a few hours?

Pollaidh · 25/11/2019 21:00

If it's tingly, you need to go to A&E now, and mention the kingliness when you check in. It's one of the red flags for nerve involvement.

lljkk · 25/11/2019 21:18

I'm gonna be very amazed if OP broke any bones.

One time my neighbour knocked on my door at 10amish.
He'd hobbled home a mile the night before, having apparently broken his ankle but too drunk to notice.
I can't remember what help he needed at that moment, but shock gasp horror waiting 18 hours to have it seen didn't lead to extra damage. He was sheepishly laughing at his own stupidity.

Meh, the replies on this thread are making me think I'd wait until at least 2pm tomorrow if I were OP, if that is the quietest time (seemingly).

CurlyhairedAssassin · 25/11/2019 21:21

I would go. You will need crutches anyway. I fell late on a Sunday afternoon onto outstretched arms. Decided against going to A and E and would see what it was like in morning. In the morning I didn’t have full range of movement of my elbow and it was swollen. I didn’t think I should go to A and E with an injury I did the day before so I just phoned my GP who said to come in for the open surgery. She then referred me for an X day at minor injuries unit but honestly it was a bit o a shambles after that. It took a day or two for the x ray to get sent to the Gp who then rang me to say it showed an efffusion (build up of fluid round the joint) which was sign of an occult fracture. So I should go to the fracture clinic at the hospital for further investigation (she would need to send a letter and X ray to them first) so I should wait to hear from them with an appointment to go in. It could take a day or two, she said.

After a few days I didn’t hear anything so called the fracture clinic who said they hadn’t received anything from the GP. I called the GP who insisted they HAD sent referral. Round it went like that. So by the time I actually saw a fracture expert at the hospital it was a week after the initial fall and I’d had to manage at home alone with 2 kids for the week, just holding my dodgy arm still with my other arm as that was the position it felt best in. No sling was given to me at the initial minor injuries or any advice or anything apart from the GP signing me off work for a week and telling me to keep it still for a week. It’s quite hard to cook one handed! Grin

Anyway, my point is that had I known there was going to be such faffing about and lack of communication between the 3 different depts I would hVe just gone to A and E in the first place. As it is, I ended up with pins and needles and lack of feeling in my thumb for a bit. Whatever bit was broken has healed but it still gives me trouble sometimes in winter and I often wonder if it’s because I didn’t just get it seen to properly in the first place. I guess I thought it might just be sprained or whatever.

Go, get someone to drive you and let you lean on them and get it seen properly straight away.

AnyFucker · 25/11/2019 21:28

It sounds very possible you have ruptured your Achilles tendon.

You need to attend A+E who will give you crutches and if they cannot order a scan to assess whether you need the tendon repairing they will tefer you to orthopaedics who can

AFairlyHardAvocado · 25/11/2019 21:41

You can't walk currently. You're literally going to either sit somewhere there is help or sit somewhere there isn't help. Not going to A&E to avoid waiting doesn't make sense, if you go tomorrow you'll have waited an extra 12 hours just waited at home instead of in hospital!

It's not a first come first served policy - patients are seen in order of priority and it is their job to prioritise correctly.

My local A&E average waiting time is 5 hours but I have epilepsy so when I have had a seizure, I obviously am not made to wait for 5 hours because mine will be more urgent than many patients but still much less urgent than others.

Just go in, you're wasting time for no good reason and it's not really clear why at all.

Toddlerteaplease · 25/11/2019 21:50

Done be so stupid, you could have been seen and dealt with by now. We had a girl at work who had been walking round (with her dads crutches) with a broken leg for 3 weeks. What was probably initially a non displaced, simple fracture required surgery as it was very displaced by the time she went to hospital.

acatcalledjohn · 25/11/2019 22:51

I wasn't expecting to come back to this thread several hours later to find you are still being a martyr.

poorstudent1010 · 26/11/2019 01:23

I absolutely understand that A&E waiting times are awful - I once waited 9 hours to be seen! (Minor issue but 111 insisted)

However if you went earlier, you certainly would have been seen by now and you wouldn’t be suffering without treatment.

You have tried resting it but that doesn’t seem to be helping. I would hate if my reluctance to go to A&E caused me any longer term issues. Get it checked out.

Original poster
Ibelieveinwitches · 26/11/2019 08:14

Well I've woken this morning after taking ibuprofen and the discomfort was all around my knee too. I've had a bad knee for ages and have to wear a support bandage when walking. I can just about weight bare but hobbling. No bruising or swelling. Once kids are at school (luckily hubby is here to take them) I will go get checked out. It cant be torn or anything really bad though surely as wouldn't I be in agony? I'm limping and cant put full weight on it but i can move foot around in a circle (a little precariously). I'm just unsure as to what the hospital can or will do.

OP posts:
EleanorReally · 26/11/2019 08:18

they might give you a boot? or some sort of walking aid, they will x ray
just GO

ClientListQueen · 26/11/2019 08:18

@Ibelieveinwitches I walked on a broken ankle and foot with not very much pain for a week
Go. To. A&E

Ringsender2 · 26/11/2019 08:26

Are you annoying yourself yet, OP?
Stop faffing!
Just.go.to.A&E.

happymrsc · 26/11/2019 08:29

You're an idiot (in the nicest way possible!).... go to A+E!!

LittleCandle · 26/11/2019 08:30

I've walked on broken ankles (several times according to the x-rays) because we were unable to get to A&E and I have been left with problem ankles and last year had to have surgery on a ligament that had been damaged 10 years before and was giving me constant pain. You need to get seen now - you really needed to be seen last night. I hope you won't regret being a martyr over this, as it sounds like it could be serious.

RiftGibbon · 26/11/2019 08:37

OP a friend of mine was dancing, felt fine. Tripped on her way home and had the same issue as you with something not feeling right. She then had discomfort and pain. Wouldn't go to A&E, couldn't walk.
In the end her DH nagged her into going and she discovered she had broken her ankle.

lljkk · 26/11/2019 08:40

I suspect it will be soft tissue injury & will take ages to get better. Loads of treatment but not in A&E. Sorry, bone breaks are actually better than some soft tissue injuries. Glad to hear it's not being horrendous. Please update us when you can. x

OytheBumbler · 26/11/2019 08:40

I know everyone's going to hate me but it's weight BEAR.
Sorry. Hope it's not broken opSmile