What have I done to my foot- very painful (picture)

[Neverletmego27]

I tripped over thin air after having pins and needles...landed on the side of my foot and now it's swollen up like a golf ball on the side. What have I done to it? Anything I can do to help it heal? I've got a 40 minute walk to school in the morning.

Haggis - haha! I wasn't trying to insult; I was taught RICE PAD for sprains and breaks - it's a bit of an incongruous acronym as RICE tells you how to treat (rest, ice, compress, elevate) and PAD how to identify a break from a sprain...

I'm sorry it was broken Neverlet! I hope lots of people come to your aid, especially if the weather turns.

Taxis are your friend if you can scrimp elsewhere to afford it. Don't listen to people who are NOT in pain tell you how to tough out your pain.

Definitely don't struggle on through the pain. I did that last July, it took nearly a year for the break to heal and it's still not as strong as it should be. It's a pain, I couldn't bear not being able to do things, but you don't want to end up like me, I wish I'd just not used it! Four weeks feels like nothing compared to a year.

I'm on benefits so I can't really scrimp elsewhere, though university said I might be able to claim my cab fares back. I'm in agony today, struggling with the painkillers as they are giving me a dodgy tum and the painkilling gels aren't doing much . I feel like crying in pain :(

Pepto Bismol will help with painkillers upsetting your stomach - the new formula has some issues with Aspirin, I believe, but it starts working quickly.

Does uni have a hardship fund? I'd get an application in, that should fund taxis for a while for you.

You really don't want to overdo it. Be careful. Have you got it elevated at the moment?

I'm really sorry. I got used to the pain and just pushed on, the frustration is unreal. It wasn't worth it, though!

Yeah I've got it up as I'm supervising dd (7) with her homework. I've had to tend to the rabbits, the cleaning, laundry and lots of other things today. I think I'm making it worse walking on it and I've just been sick with pain.

hooray for your dd.
you must be very proud of her!

keep taking it easy, keep it elevated.
I wouldn't leave the house tomorrow, until the swelling has gone down a lot and it's not throbbing anymore when you had it down for a few mins.

Well, she let one of the rabbits out earlier vegetable soup and I wasn't about to hop after the thing, so we had an hour of rabbit craziness in my front room (they are house rabbits).

In a really bizzare twist of events, the friend who was telling me to just get on with it has broken (well, suspects she has broken) her right foot now! She put on facebook last night that she was going to have an x-ray, but has now said that she won't be going to get one as she has orthotic boots at home. I think she's a bit daft and could do with an x-ray, just to confirm it and get the right treatment, but that's just me. The only reason I waited so long was because dd was in bed.

All of those who have broken a foot before- am I meant to be in this much pain still, after a few days?

I've been sick twice today, either from pain or from my painkillers reacting with my meds. Feeling very sorry for myself :(

I have a non union malunion of the 5th metatarsal. I broke it in April 2014 its never healed and I'm waiting to have a screw put in it.. OP please rest, rest and rest some more. I walked on mine frequently, tried to carry on as normal, and it stopped the healing process.

REST!

Oh that sounds painful !

You really really must not walk on it at all, it needs to heal and walking on it will just cause long term issues. Try and keep it elevated whenever you can, it is so important.
I do know how hard it is, I broke mine very badly just over a year ago and I was total non weight bearing for 15 weeks, 6 in a cast and the rest a boot. I had two children to care for and was mostly home alone, I spent a lot of time crawling and hopping.

As for the pain, yes expect it to be very painful for a good while.. Keep up with the pain meds, it's still early days and keeping it elevated really will help with the pain.

Thanks. The Dr said I can be weight bearing as tolerated, but I'm struggling on my own with dd, preparing food etc.

well, as you don't tolerate it atm, then don't

as soon as the swelling is down the foot will feel much better, but for that you need to rest it and elevate.

Yeah it's so hard to rest it as a single mum (and of course, I've got the masters going on!) I've been trying to get a Dr's appointment this morning, but with no luck. I want to see if I can get some painkillers compatible with my other medication- and prefferably a bit stronger! Might go to out of hours if I can't get in to the doctors later.

When I had a grade 4 ankle sprain, I ordered a shopping delivery of stuff my children could cook for themselves, which was very easy
Some of it was crap :o but I guessed it was a temporary situation. Could you do that?

Ha :) she's only 7 so we'd be eating chocolate spread sandwiches and nothing else she does help with the animals and washes her own plates up etc

chocolate spread sandwiches are fine for a while.
time for her to learn to use the kettle for some cup-soups and the microwave for ping meals.

she might over eat on them and crave broccoli

Don't take any chances. I broke my foot after stumbling and thought I was fine because I could walk on it. Took me three weeks to get it checked out.

Oops sorry just seen your update. That's the same break I had OP. I had a weight bearing cast for about 5 weeks. I doubt it would have been quite so long if I hadn't stupidly left it for 3 weeks beforehand!

My cast is for 4 weeks, maybe 6 depending on what the clinic say. Hoping to have it off before Xmas !

I was supposed to have mine on for 6 weeks but negotiated it down as I was going on holiday. They can be surprisingly understanding! For showering etc if you can't get a limbo cover, a bin bag with a thigh elastic band will help, even if it isn't completely waterproof - you just have to be quick. The pain will ease up as the swelling goes down. The first week (at most) is the worst.

Sorry I should have said, it's an air cast boot thingy I'm wearing. Very fetching! Have been go the gp today and got codeine, the swelling is going down gradually.

It still really hurts....is exactly a week since I did it. Should it look like this ?

no it shouldn't.
but you didn't really give it a chance to settle down, did you?