To not know where to turn for help with this?

[ihowlforyou]

I fell and fractured my ankle a week ago. I was told it’s a stable fracture to be treated like a sprain. I also really tore up my knee, which has been very slow to heal.

A week on and I’m still incredibly swollen, bruised and my ankle is becoming more and more painful. My knee is still very sore, the actual skin is numb but I have pain at the base and top of my kneecap. It also feels a little unstable and I am getting sharp stabbing pains to one side of my kneecap.

My GP isn’t interested. They say that I have to go to physio if I need, as it’s a muscular injury.

Physio has an eight week minimum wait for a video consultation.

This obviously isn’t an A&e situation (shamefully I did go to A&E for the initial injury because it had a very short wait time, it seemed to be a quiet time of day!), and they wouldn’t take a look at my knee anyway as it’s a “superficial injury”.

Minor injuries is now by appointment only in my area and appointments are gone within a minute of opening.

I’ve tried the pharmacy for the graze that isn’t healing but they just say to dress it and keep it clean and it’ll heal “eventually”.

I feel like I’m being turned away at every turn but I’m in so much pain, I’m left feeling sick by lunchtime because my ankle is that sore, and by the end of the day I can’t stand walking around. I have basic physio exercises from my last sprain years ago but I can’t do them, but I can’t be seen by anyone.

Please don’t suggest a private physio assessment, it’s not within my budget at all. AIBU to just feel despondent and like I can’t get help anywhere?

No you can't. Too many variables (as you are experiencing). Things can get worse as well as better.

OP this is bonkers, I’m a COO of a company, if you’re sick, then of course you can call in sick, I’m pretty sure it’s against employment law to forbid you. You’re genuinely making yourself worse by not getting yourself seen to and causing more hassle all round in the process.

At the very least a GP practice nurse should be able to clean and dress it for you. Are you able to get to an appointment if you get offered one?

Here…

You have a confidence issue.

You're scared of work and think you'll be in trouble for being off sick.
Now you won't go to A&E and have a look because you are worried you will be a nuisance.

And yet you're here, saying you have nowhere to turn and don't know what to do?!! Put your big girl pants on (I mean that kindly) and take control of your situation. Nobody else will do it for you!

Getting appropriate treatment is not making a nuisance of yourself.

Sometimes you just have to. You are at risk of making your foot much worse and ending up with a limp! You really need to go back.

It's not making a nuisance.
You have an injury that needs treatment.
If you work in a hospital then your entire job exists because people require medical treatment.
Are they all a nuisance too?

I give up.

What a nightmare. Honestly I think the responses indicate almost no one thinks you’re being unreasonable to feel this way. It seems like you do need to revisit the GP or local assessment centre for minor injuries to ask for crutches at least and request an up to date assessment. It’s not worth risking long term damage and you can be assertive without seeming like a complainer given your symptoms have worsened. You’ll need to advocate for yourself here to get the treatment or support you need

Well, that’s a whole other kettle of fish but it would potentially be feasible. Sadly the AI powered form doesn’t let you by pass it. If you phone up they just do the form with you on the phone! It really makes me angry sometimes

It is not typical to give a cast or boot for an avulsion fracture and she has crutches at home. A&E have advised per NHS guidance rules for the pain and bruising.

@ihowlforyou i really do sympathise but if calling in sick isn’t an option and there is no appropriate further treatment, I really don’t know what you can do except minimise putting weight on it and eating painkillers. It’ll just take time. Shit, I know.

I just don’t know how to do that without making it seem like I’m challenging the nurse I saw. He was so, so dismissive and rude, it’s almost scared me off going to a&e ever again

Since my DD sustained a bone injury which worsened with time and required a moon boot for 3 months, I'd always try to insist on a scan with something that's not healing as planned.
They are visible on scans.

Go back to A & E. Something isn’t right here, you need to be seen. (Nurse)

I just feel so worked up with it all. Can’t walk properly so I can’t get out and clear my head in nature like I love to. My knee hurts like a bitch, I’m stressed about why the skin is numb, it’s looking disgusting and I’m stressing about every little thing to do with that. Do I feel cold because I’m cold or because I have a fever? Am I feeling headaches because I’m tired or because I’m getting an infection? Does my leg feel warm because I’m under my duvet, or because I have an infection? I’m just so fucking fed up of all of this

You have 2 choices:
• put up with it
• go back to A&E for the reasons you describe
I don’t see a middle road

Repeat, go back to A & E.

What answers do you want op? EVERYONE is saying go be reseen, rest it. You just keep saying I can't, I won't, they were dismissive. So what else can anyone say?

You’re just acting like a martyr now. On the one hand you’re saying it’s not serious enough to ring in sick, and on the other hand how you’re infected and desperate.

Are you saying people will die if you don’t go to work?

If you are the same youngish poster who tripped on your way to work last week, and then out of some misplaced sense of presenteeism hobbled in to work for the rest of the week --- THIS is why everyone told you to take the week off and rest!!!! And now, when helpful PP are telling you that you shouldn't be putting weight unnecessarily on the foot, you're saying, no, that's fine because no doctor or medical person told you that you couldn't just act like everything is sort of normal. I'm sorry, but you aren't being kind to your body and if you don't go back for something like a boot or cast, then you're most likely going to end up with an arthritic ankle that's going to give you grief as you age. And no matter what you think, you absolutely ARE dispensible, even if you're a brain surgeon (which it didn't sound like that's your role). So if you're advised to take it easy, please take time off work (it doesn't matter that you only just returned from your annual leave either). Your "concern" about getting a "flag on your medical records" is absurd and a rather stupid reason to not seek out help.

I’d go to back to A and E and say I feel faint with pain , don’t play it down. That you’re worried about infection or something ( have you taken your temperature ?) Maybe take someone with you to advocate It’s disgraceful that you’ve been left like this.

I'm sorry but that's rubbish. If you got run over tomorrow, there team would manage. You will end up taking longer off work, or maybe even unable to ever return, if you damage your ankle further.
I too have experience of a diagnosis of a sprained ankle, which, when the xray was reviewed by a competent practitioner, was actually broken.
Go back to a&e tomorrow.

OP, I have done my ankle in and it looked like yours and it took many weeks to feel normal again.
These were ligament tears and sprains.
I really think you need to be seen again.
You poor thing.

Get a thermometer and take your temperature properly. Trying to guess won’t work.

I didn’t see your other thread but i’m guessing you’re young. You certainly lack confidence. Can you see it this way: whatever advice you were given, your injury is getting worse not better. If you continue as you are, there seems to me to be a real risk that you will do worse harm to your body that will take longer to heal, may cost the NHS more to treat and might result in longer sick leave. That nurse was wrong to make you feel you can’t return. You need to be looked at again ASAP. The advice needs to be updated to reflect the current situation.