Has anyone sprained an ankle?? Can't believe how much pain I'm in...

[JaneEyre70]

Walking the dog this afternoon in a silly old pair of fit flops (that DH has thrown in the bin!) and dog pulled suddenly - I went completely over on my one foot, bending it to the outside and nearly falling. I had a very short sharp intense pain that took my breath away, and somehow managed to hobble home with my shoes off. Thank god I was nearly home.
SInce then, it's swelled all around my ankle and the pain is making me feel sick....I've had ibuprofen, have covered ankle/foot in Movelat gel and have just had 2 cocodamol as the pain is so bad. I can't weight bear on it and have hobbled into bed with some help. I'm assuming I've sprained it according to NHS online but am worried by the pain more than my ankle itself..... has anyone else done this and can reassure me??

Please go and get an x-ray! I sprained my ankle badly and tore all the ligaments too and ended up on crutches for 2 weeks. I then had 3 months of physio to be able to use it properly again. 9 years later I still have occasional issues when it's cold or over exercised. Don't underestimate how serious a sprain can be. Hope it feels better soon.

You definitely do need an X-ray. That said, having both broken and sprained an ankle, I feel able to say that a sprain can be worse of you have actually bust the ligaments. I've broken bones and torn ligaments, the latter is always the worst.

Hope you get some sleep tonight.

I did that just before Christmas I was shocked how painful it was. It was 3.months before it went away.

Sympathies op it really bloody hurts

Keep it iced and elevated. Maybe get it X-ray ed if still bad in the morning. I've been there!

Been up since 4am in agony, so spent a long time in our local MIU today - thankfully a torn ligament and no break but still in a lot of pain with it. Told lots of rest, rotate ankle and should be better in 7-10 days. Poor dog already looks suicidal with no walk today so good job he didn't hear that . Thanks for all the reassurance, I still can't quite believe how painful and utterly miserable it is .

I broke my elbow and sprained my ankle at the range time, and my ankle was more painful and took longer to heal than my broken arm. The advice I was given was to keep it elevated and to keep using cold compresses. Hope it feels better soon

I'm glad you got it checked. Always worth getting some physio as well. I sprained my ankles loads when I was a kid and last year discovered some of those sprains had been breaks... Ah well. Ten years ago I sprained an ankle again and it has never really recovered. I am waiting to get the results of an MRI scan to see if there is anything they can do, because the pain and swelling is quite something. I hope it heals quickly for you.

I sprained my ankle badly, so painful. I went to a&e and it was a sprain. It's still weak and painful 2 months later. I also fell over walking the dog and restrained it and twisted the other ankle. When the swelling has gone down get the elastic strapping from boots. You can wind it around your ankle so it's firmer than the usual elastic tube strapping. There are exercises too.

I did this last year and it was so so painful, the swelling lasted 2-3 months and I had to mainly wear my crocs, for work and everything and keep putting my foot on a chair to ease the swelling. It took 6 - 12 months to get properly better

I'm glad you got it checked. I hurt my ankle years ago. Didnt get checked. Turned out I had actually fractured the ankle. Still gives me trouble. Damaged ligaments too. Ouch.

I'd go and have it checked out with X-ray.

I had what I thought was a sprain ignored it carried on exercising on it for good two months.. one day was particularly bad went gp off for X-ray as precaution turns out its broke - fifth metatarsal so sometimes even when you can get about with niggly pain it's worse then you think

I fainted when I sprained my ankle walking the dog. I thought I was quite hardy, but apparently not! Elevation was the only way to stop it throbbing afterwards- I lay on the carpet with my leg up the wall, watching my iPad

I sprained my ankle 20 odd years ago (tripping over a front doormat) and OMG it was SO painful. My GP sent me the hospital 3 times requesting an x-ray,but they kept refusing as they insisted that if I'd broken it,I wouldn't be able to bear any weight on it at all,or walk. My doctor said this was rubbish. I was in severe pain with it for about 2 weeks,nothing that I took helped it. It eventually subsided but was painful to the touch and twinged and ached if I walked or stood a lot. Even now,all these years later,it still 'reminds' me now again that it's there. I do wonder now whether I HAD actually sustained a small fracture,as I'd had ankle sprains before but could not recall them being so bloody painful,for so long!