Broken ankle-2 years later

Posted on June 2, 2008 by Christi

Well I just thought I would let everyone know that almost exactly two years ago I had a trimaellor ankle break which I never thought I would walk again from. Slowly over the past two years I have re-learned to walk and run on it. It has gotten better with time. Two weeks ago I decided to see how healed it was. We went to Disney World. Which if you don’t know you walk ALOT….. As I told my husband this was a great test to see how it would hold up to all this walking. It did amazingly well. There was only one time that it twinged enough with pain that I took an hour break to put it up. Otherwise I just kept going and it was fine we went to all the park (even some twice all day long for one week and it held up really well. It still gets swollen here and there and it still lets me know its not perfect but I figure since I still have metal down there and since it was hanging off my ankle at one point I can’t complain.

1,654 thoughts on “Broken ankle-2 years later”

lois on September 20, 2008 at 11:54 pm said:

Hello everyone.

I have been wondering if warm wax treatments would help to stop achy foot (not severe pain) feelings??? You know how you can have hot wax treatments with a manicure or a pedicure. Well I to got wondering if this would help feet and broken ankles. Yes, its true, I do have an achy foot tonight. Not in pain but d…n its annoying. I spent the afternoon walking around on lumpy ground on a horse farm where my daughter and granddaughter were both competing in a horse jumping competition. So this achy foot serves me right I guess, but really– I am just trying to do normal things and live my normal life. Anyway, I am sitting here thinking of going to a spa and asking for a pedicure to include the hot wax treatment. Has anyone heard of anyone doing this for ankle breaks??? Any comments or concerns with respect to metal in there and hot wax??? I should mention that it is really just my foot that feels so achy, and is sort of nagging, not my ankle.

Anklequest, I had been wearing my old regular sandles and flat shoes at home. So I was quite surprised when I went to buy a new pair of flat shoes today, only to find that I had to go half a size larger to fit my bad foot. No big deal, except this means that the shoe on my good foot is now too loose. Perhaps us right anklebreakers will have to make a deal with the left anklebreakers so we can all get shoes that fit both feet. I sure don’t feel like having to buy two pair in two different sizes. lol. It is so good to drop in on line and see all you guys chatting away… with such good advice for each other. Karen, Tammy and Pam it’s nice to see you guys back around more again. Night everyone.
Tammy on September 20, 2008 at 8:06 pm said:

Lee~

It sounds like you are experiencing the exact thing I am. I can’t say that it hurts when its touched but it is a very strange sensation. Also on our vacation we went to a water park and I found that water falling on it steady did cause excrutiating pain and I couldn’t hold my foot under the running water.

My doc has said it was RSD. Have you spoke to your orthopedic about it? It took a while for my therapist to say it was RSD but so far they have both been in agreement.

It will be interesting to see. When yours is rubbed does it feel like little fireworks or sparks all over the affected area and toes? Even the three toes sounds like the same thing.

Keep me posted.
Tammy
lois on September 20, 2008 at 7:20 pm said:

Have a very Happy Birthday Lee.
Liz on September 20, 2008 at 6:28 pm said:

Hey Gang,

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

DENVER, I have to agree with Anklequest, you do “sound” alot better. Haha, I used my 1 crutch the same way. I’d just carry it around as my personal security blanket. Soon you’ll find you don’t even need that.

ANKLEQUEST, you’re so right about thinking my life was over as I knew it! Looking back, I see how far I’ve really come. I need to go back and read through my old posts to see how desperate and depressing I really sounded. lol

PAM, it’s good to hear from you. I’m a few weeks behind you in the healing process. Sorry to hear your having such pain with the pin. When will you get to have it removed. My ortho doc informed me on this last visit that I have to keep my hardware in at least 6 months and then can take it out if I have problems. Other than that it can stay in for life. Not sure what I’ll do yet.

LEE, I am definitely ready to get back in the work routine. I’m hoping I’ll only be in the office for a few weeks and then can get back to teaching. I think my doctor is just trying to ease me back into it. WOW, I’m impressed… 15 seconds?! I can barely last 5 seconds balancing on my bad ankle! Although it is getting better I think.

The one think that I absolutely cannot do is stand on my bad leg and raise up onto my toes. My heel will just not leave the ground. If I have both feet on the ground I can do it, but not if I’m standing on one leg. Tiptoeing is still not an option either.

Well, enjoy your night everyone. Oh, and LEE, Happy Birthday! Have fun with your family.

Stay Safe,

~Liz
Denver on September 20, 2008 at 5:37 pm said:

Hello everyone.
Anklequest,
Thank you for the post. Your right, I’ve had to just take the rest when I can get it. Its not always when I want it but sure enough I have to listen to my body. I was reading the RSD sites & even if I don’t have it there was a real good point. It said you have to explain to others this ‘process’ & how your not always going to be able to completely do as every1 else & sometimes you have to rest as your body lets you know. & your right.. I have to keep looking back so I can see the rollercoaster the meds had me going through & how, though in pain, I am a lot more in my mind. lol, but at the same time the lack of sleep is causing some memory skips or blurps.. thOSe r actually funny if u just sit back & admire how much is going on. I muffed up a couple balancing errors w the check book & it kinda cost me quite a bit in late fees..BUt, once it happened I realized the ‘damage’ was already done sooo ‘oh well..lol..life goes on’. so good sound advice Anklequest.

And for the update, last night I didn’t have to take 2 or 3 advil PMs, w flexiral, w ultram~ then pop a hydromorphon on top to finally sleep. Instead I took the Rx Tyl3 w codin & it relaxed me quite a bit. I showered, used the TENS & eventually took advil because I felt the swelling from riding the bike (mtn bike) other than that, ya.. 4 hrs =) shoot I’ll take it..
I’m having a bunch of our friends come over tomorrow because my wifes little sad thinking about what this could mean. Its not like all this is BaD..its just..different..like someone dropping a dog off on the doorstep. Here I am still me, still able to be active, entertain, enjoy & work..just I have this anklebiter that sometimes nips at me & requires attention & needs walks & proper food so he doesn’t get aS angry..
anyhow.. I’ve got to go DJ a high school homecoming. wellll..actually my wIFe will do all the DJing.. my minds a little loopy here or there.. I can hook up DJ equipment in my sleep, I’m good for sound checks & good on the mic..she doesn’t like the mic, lol

PAM that’s amazing – u on heels… I watch girls on heels & am astOnished thinking of their ankles & yA.. GrEaT job
& AnKlequest – RuNNing WOW! that’s so cool..

I finally got to that stage some spoke of where they were walking w 1 crutch & kept forgeting it. I found myself walking around (slight achilles gimp) & thought ‘wait, where’s my cane’ lol.. & even now when I carry it I don’t use it, its like a personal security blanket in case my legs run out of energy. My calves are builing back from the step heal raises & using the wobble board during work outs. little steps at a time.
Thank you for being a great support everyone,
Wes
Lee on September 20, 2008 at 5:31 pm said:

Hi All – Wow, I thought I had lost everyone last week. I was actually panicked and wondered “where will I ever see them all again – Oh no!”. It’s amazing how we can be so involved in each other’s lives without ever having met. The internet is pretty cool, huh? Anyway, I’m glad to have everyone back in my life and am now caught up on everyone’s doings.

Pam – nice to hear that all is going well and you’re moving toward metal removal. Keep us posted. I’m eager to hear how it goes, as I think I may be next. I know how hard it is to take care of yourself with the kids around, but boy, do you ever need to. To help others, you need to put your own oxygen mask on first….

Wes – I’m afraid I’m not much help in the RSD department. I know I have some odd nerve thing going on too. When I rub the top of my foot and ankle, my toes tingle and twitch. PT says it’s likely the compression from the boot and cast, and will likely go away with time, but in the mean time, it’s weird. I can’t say it hurts especially, but the nerve thing is tricky. I hope you find something to ease it. At the risk of sounding crunch, have you tried meditation? I found that it really worked wonders for me when I would wake in the middle of the night in excrutiating pain from a twitch in the cast. Mind over body can often be quite powerful. Even if it only relieves it a little, it would be worth it.

Anklequest – sounds like the running is good progress. I can’t quite imagine that, but I guess it’ll happen some day. My tibia screw is also quite painful – always black and blue and achy. Wonder if that’s the way it will be from now on? Hmmm.

Liz and Lois – hi. Good to see your updates. Liz, glad that you’re going back to work. You’ll feel more of yourself once you get going again, and I bet you’ll only be in the office for a short time. I’ll be thinking of you.

My update: going to see the Dr. on Friday for an X-ray and *hopefully* permission to begin driving again. That is the hardest thing for me right now. My helper is a bit flakey and she’s left me stranded a few times. Not good. I need to move past this arrangement and back to the freedom to drive. I’m now walking outside in my boot with 1 crutch, and inside in my new NB extra wide stability shoes with 1 crutch. The heel stretches in PT are a killer, but they seem to be helping with the progress of normal heel-toe movement. I’m doing all my exercises faithfully 3x per day, and wonder if I will be doing them for the rest of my life? They had me stand on my right leg and balance at PT for 15 seconds yesterday and I thought I would die. My heel is oddly the most sensitive part. And the toe push ups were near impossible. I guess they will come in time.

So, my next odyssey will be the search for 2nd opinions before I even consider further ligament surgery. I’ve found a few foot and ankle guys in town that have great reputations. I just don’t want to do this all over again – repairing the ligaments means another 6 weeks in a cast, 6 in a boot, and PT all over again. On the same leg. That just seems unimaginable to me right now. Then they want to do it to the left foot. Arrrrgggg. I sure don’t want to be facing broken ankles when I’m in my 60’s or 70’s, but I also can’t seem to face more now. The PT thinks I can rehab enough to bypass that. We shall see.

So, tomorrow is my 41st B-day and we’re off to spend the day doing something fun with little walking, I am promised by the kids and hubby. I’ll check in with you all again in a day or two. In the mean time, take care, happy hobbling and be safe!

Cheers,
Lee
Pam on September 20, 2008 at 9:08 am said:

Sorry for the duplicate message, was having problems posting so I had to re-write it.
That is what I get for not writing for so long, ha ha!
Pam on September 20, 2008 at 9:07 am said:

Hi Ankelquest,Karen, Tammy,Lois, Louise, Wes and anyone else I may have missed!

It has been a while since I’ve written, but I have been pretty good at keeping up with everyone’s postings. It sure seems like a lot of good progress has been made, which is very encouraging. Set backs as well, but sounding like people are staying focused on getting better, which is what I have been “trying” to do.

I’m just over 4 1/2 months post op & still having pain/swelling in the area where the pin is. Looking forward to having the hardware removed so I’ll have some relief. I’ve stopped going to therapy because I just didn’t have anytime to get there but have really been trying to do my exercises at home.

Still really busy with my job,kids & hubby but trying to manage taking care of my ankle & making sure it gets stronger & stronger. I was able to finally put on a pair of my small “fat” heels & where them to work. At first it felt weird but then I got used to it. Prior to breaking my ankle, I was a shoe queen with nothing but high heels & to go from that to flat shoes was a big change for me.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

The weather in WI has been awesome, hitting almost 80 yesterday!
Pam on September 20, 2008 at 9:01 am said:

Hi Anklequest, Liz, Wes, Lois, Karen, Tammy and anyone else I may have missed.

It has been a while since I’ve written, but I have been keeping up with everyone’s posts. It sounds like so many are making such great progress!! That is awesome & very encouraging as I’m still recovering.

As for me, just over 4 1/2 months post op & still having swelling daily, alot of pain/discomfort where the pin is, but looking forward to having the hardware removed so I’ll have some relief. I did stop going to PT due to not having time to get there so I have been doing my exercises at home( but not very faithfully). I was FINALLY able to put on a pair of my dressy high heel shoes, at first I was scared to walk but got used to it. It is a pretty “fat” heel so I think that made it easier.

Life has been busy with my job, kids & hubby but I still manage to “try” and take the best care of myself/ankle, even though sometimes it is hard.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Pam
anklequest on September 20, 2008 at 1:10 am said:

Denver,

THINGS WILL GET BETTER!! You are making excellent progress..at least your doc thinks so, so believe it. And RSD; great that you might not have that either. You can not rush this healing process. Especially if you have bone/joint compression, which it seems to me that you might have. That’s just a guess and there’s no way anyone can ever really know what exactly is causing your pain.. Trying harder to stretch, walk, etc.could make things worse, as you already have found out.

Doubt that the HBOT will do much but worth a try. I sure hope it works for you. They make money on it but it works for very few people with broken ankles. We on this blog keep supporting you and encouraging you to stay on the right path with the pain meds. there you have made great progress.

For what its worth, the first week while in the hospital I didn’t sleep at all. I didn’t sleep much for several weeks after that, perhaps only an hour or two and was a mess, managed to get to work and do a few things there, gradually things improved. Months later I actually got a bit more-3-5 hours and now I’m doing better.

You have been given great sleep advice. Try to stay calm and relaxed. I’d sometimes fall asleep in the lazyboy for a while. I decided early on, after the 3rd or 4th week, that I would have to take things as they come and just try to “rest” in bed rather than sleep. Occasionally I used Tylenol PM. My sleep problems were complicated by a lot of stress as well, but what good did it do..all that worry I had? Nothing. Accept your situation for now.

Denver,here are some encouraging words!!! You “sound” a lot better than before! You might not realize it but you do. So hang in there and things will turn around. Notice everyone here has made tremendous strides!! All others here have also moved from the basket case & shock stage to a much better place. I remember Liz & Louise practically thought their lives had ended as they knew it, and I doubt they think that way now.

Trac, all the best as you start a new phase of healing!! This must be a great thing for you…to actually be on your foot!!!

All the rest of you; Thanks much for all your progress reports, the PT reports, the shoe reports, the activity reports, etc. They are all very helpful and encouraging.

Here’s my latest little report. The other day it poured and I RAN to my car in the parking lot. So the last three days I’ve been “running” a little (200-300 feet at a time alternating with walking) with the dog. I don’t land full force on my feet but use the “curve” in my ASCS to spread out the impact. So far so good. My ankle hurts as usual but it is not any worse either than usual. My progress seems to be in 2-3 month increments after 2 1/2 years. But I think it is progress.

PS: Lois, as far as shoes, you are already ahead of me. I still wear oversized and wide ASCS with thick socks. I can not stand to have hardly anything touch my inner ankle. It is still black and blue, I guess from being smashed. So regular shoes and boots are definitely still out for me. I do wear crocks around the house and yard.

All the best to everyone,
Anklequest
Denver on September 19, 2008 at 10:52 pm said:

thank you for the prayers, thoughts & for the info on things to try.

I notice the more active I am the less it is noticable too. same as you said, its when youstart to relax. hmm
So my brother told me hed pay for me to go try one of those HBOT treatments (hyper beric oxygyn treatment…I think.. shoot, I’m so tired my brains having hard time remembering even the simplest things). Every1s been reading what to do. We keep running into people thatve had serious problems w nerves after accidents & surgeries & as long as they let the body work on itself & just stayed healthy w food & activity all either quit bothering them w/in 8 months to a year or was back to proper feeling. It was the cases where they kept doing shots & pain killers that they just masked the problem & made it harder to be able to heal properly on its own.. through it not functioning for even a longer span of time. anyhow, the HBOT cost $250 & is a natural non invasive treatment where majority notice the difference w/in 30mins – 3 hours post treatment. I figure it can’t hurt anything & bros sponsoring, & its just down road from me bout 10 miles. I don’t know.. Dr called me again today & just crossing fingers saying he really doesn’t think I have RSD. so trying Tylonal3 w/ codin & on my neurotin.. & prayers.. I’m tired.. hopefully foot gets the msg & goes 2 sleep too 🙁

Wes
Tammy on September 19, 2008 at 6:28 pm said:

Wes~

My sensation and burning is on the top of my foot….i includes the three center toes up to about the base of my ankle. I can go almost all day without noticing when I start to relax is when it starts to fire up. I can avoid most things that bother.

That being said…the Dr. wanted me to go on medication to help with. The medication is called Lyrica…if you can see if your DR. will prescribe it. I have heard it helps. I started taking and then fell off the wagon so to speak. Dr wasn’t very happy with and as the RSD seems to be getting worse I am sure I probably won’t have much of choice.

Therapy really helped. The used the FLUIDO..its warm and sends ground corn husk all over the area. Then I would unload the nerves by putting an ankle weight on my foot and swinging it back and forth for 3 minutes. Then I put on a towel on a smooth surface and rubbed my foot back and forth for 3 minutes putting as much pressure on my foot as I could. Next they would rub the affected area with fabrics of different textures for about 5 minutes. Start and end with something that feels ok. Then they would use the tens at a level as high as I could stand placing the pads on the most sensitive areas.

See if any of this helps. I am not sure where Diane is I haven’t heard from her in a long time on here but she would be an excellent resource too.

They can’t tell because RSD is caused by trauma to the area the break and the surgery were both traumatic to your ankle.

Hope it helps…I can only imagine the pain.
Tammy
Liz on September 19, 2008 at 5:26 pm said:

KAREN, I will definitely take your advise and continue with the exercises at home. I’ve been diligent about doing them twice a day, every day so far and have seen good results. I have been really lucky with my therapist. He has helped me SO much. I have grown rather attached to him over the past few months, lol, and really hate to leave. He’s like having my own personal trainer for my ankle. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him. He did give me his email address so I can keep him updated on my progress when I go back to school. I’m not sure if they will refer me to therapy up there or if they’ll just release me all together. I could do the exercises at home, but it’s the ultrasound, deep-tissue massages, and other various treatments that I’ll miss out on if I discontinue therapy. I’ve never been to a chiropractor, but something I will keep in mind for the future.

WES DENVER, Sorry to hear that you are having such a difficult time with this burning in your foot. I was hoping that it would clear up or the nerve medication would work. I don’t know much about RSD, but hope that Tammy or some of the others who have experienced this can answer your questions. I know it must be super frustrating not getting any work. I hope you can get the assistance you need. I’ll be thinking about you.

Well I’ve had a really good day… did some shopping for a few hours at the mall and the foot held up well. Hope everyone else is having a good day as well and seeing progress, however slowly.

Stay Safe,
Liz
Denver on September 19, 2008 at 3:59 pm said:

TAMMY
& all others who’ve had problems w RSD..

…I’m stuck 🙁
Surgeon has done all he can do & his assistant was told I have progressed excellently so his part has gone good. And he told me no one can ever tell if RSD came from the actual accident or from the surgery. I’ve been reading last night and this morning. Its kind of scary… I didn’t see much that has deffinates? Work cut us back so far I’m not even able to pay the rent or get food. turned to church for help & trying to figure out how to get help from govn or state while being told by the Drs that there is no sliding scale. guess since they know I’m suffering so bad they’ll charge so much. I asked if they do any type of scans or what the initial pays for. They said just to taLk & possibly give me a shot 🙁
I don’t just want to bury this pain w meds… I truly tried them & know they didn’t work, so I stopped seeing it was just masking the reality of what’s going on. Pharmasist asked me to try Darvaset? or Ultram.. told her wife has Ultram for Indometriosis so Dr told me to try it. Tried it, after 2hrs had to add flexiral (to see if it would help me fall asleep), another hour and a half & I had to take 2 sleeping pills (advil PM) & they had me testing myself to see how much it would take to knock me down.. said lay down as restful as possible, even shower or take warm bath to relax body and go at least an hour to 2 hours to see if there was remotely a chance. Sadly after 5hours as a gini-pig I took 2mg Dalotted (hydramorphon) & it knocked me down.. at least, my ability to move or respond.. I still was aware of the burning the entire night.. they’re wondering if Tylonal 3 (w codien) would work.. but thats surgeons ‘guess’… while I feel its just hiding it. I’m scared.. going to fill the nerve medication I guess. It doesn’t feel like its doing anything .. but readin about RSD.. if this is, I need to keep on top of it so it doesn’t get worse. Families looking for anything they can find. my niece found something called HBOT (hyper beric oxygyn therapy) they claim good things but I haven’t looked into it yet & just called the # she sent – they’re in Florida..
anyway…
anything any1 could help in the way of TENS settings or therapies as I am unable to get any1 2 help here as of yet, would be greatly appreciated…
Wes
Karen on September 19, 2008 at 3:03 pm said:

Liz,

Your therapist sounds like she or he was a gem, trying different ways to help your ankle heal (aqua therapy? – sounds wonderful. The therapist I had during last winter did the same routine each time, and looking back on it, probably could have just gone a few times to learn the exercises and done them at home. Nothing innovative was ever done there, to me, at least.

I just want to stress to keep doing the exercises even though you are done with therapy. When I finished therapy, I was told to get on with it, wondering months later why every step hurt. I just went about my life the best I could thinking and hoping that time alone would help (I just passed the 9 month mark)

Today my chiropractor can’t believe the improvement in my ankle finally after all of these months since I started back faithfully doing all the exercises, along with the ultrasound followed by massage. She said what happens often is extra calcium builds up in there causing pain and people think they have to live with it, but it’s so unnecessary. Keep up the exercises twice a day and treat yourself to at least once a week concentrated foot, ankle and calf massages. I found a massage therapist who will do that for me for 15 minutes, charging $15. She breaks up the calcium deposits and scar tissue in there.

Keep moving and plugging away and it will get better!

This injury is a bugger, but things do improve with an effort on your part. Keep working!

Back in June, I found an ad in our local paper about this chiropractor who treated extremities as well as necks and backs, and that is how I got on the road to recovery. We all have to find our own way unless somebody is lucky enough to recover without effort (like my Dad, broke his ankle years ago and got on with life painfree after cast was removed)

Karen
lois on September 19, 2008 at 11:36 am said:

Good morning to all walkers, limpers, hoppers,, etc. I have nothing really new to say this morning except: hello high energy LOUISE. Keep working on that physio. LIZ, I’m glad you have the okay to return to work, cause like Lee, it’ll be good for you to get back to a normal routine. But, much as you don’t like it, I think your doctor is right. Moving back home and having all your own shopping and other chores to do as well as a full time job with special needs children would have been just too much for you all at once. You would have quickly become exhausted and upset. Better to take it step by step… its not just your ankle, it’s also that (at least for me) it took between five and six months to build my stamina back up. TRAC, I hope you realize just how much we appreciate having you on this blog. You are just such a wonderful, positive little sweetheart. You inspire us all. We will keep praying for you, and we will “walk” through every step of this with you. And WES, you just sound so much better on your last post. It is not what you said, but how you said it. You are just such a good source of positive support for Trac. And by the way, your written description of the hurricane damage was so interesting, I read it aloud to my husband. He does not usually take any interest in this blog, except to be vaguely suspicious about who I am talking to on it and why??? (I have never talked on a blog before) Your account really had him interested. I feel so bad for your grandma and other relatives who are going through this. Yes, we on here struggle for normalacy after ankle breaks, but yes there are far worse things. Just so many traumatic events in every person’s life. I still think about Melanie daily, and since we have heard nothing further from her, I am fearing that the outcome was less than pleasant. I hope that when she is able, she will let us know. In the meantime, prayers and hugs to her.

If there is nothing else in this life, one thing worth more than riches is the love and support of others. How wonderful it is to be able to share back and forth with others… those in different countries, different states, different ages, different sexes, different experiences in life and yet to know somehow that we are all so similar in many ways. One blogger once referred to this site as “chicken soup”… I think that is exactly what it is. Chicken soup for the anklebreakers soul. Take good care everyone. Lois
Liz on September 19, 2008 at 9:17 am said:

Hi All,

TRAC, it’s good to hear from you and glad you are seeing some progress with your leg, putting your feet flat on the floor. 🙂 I can’t imagine having to contemplate the decision you’re faced with. I will definitely keep you in my prayers. It’s amazing everything that our ankles involve, I always just took it for granted. I hope all goes well at therapy and you start to see some real progress. I know you didn’t feel you benefited much the first time when the therpist came to your house, but I’m hoping you’ll have a better experience this time. I know my therapist has helped tremendously. I’m wishing the same for you. Keep us posted.

WES, I’m sorry to hear about your grandmother’s house. How terrible. I have relatives that live in Houston and just returned home. Luckily they had a few minor damages, but nothing that can be fixed. I guess the positive is that your grandmother is safe and has family to stay with. I hope all works out for her and that she doesn’t take the news too hard.

As for me, I had my ortho appt yesterday. The good news is the bones are healed. The x-rays look really good. He said the various pains/discomfort that I have occasionally are normal and that I just have to “give it time” (as they always say! lol). And the bad news is (well I guess it’s good and bad) is that he gave me a work release for limited duty. 🙁 I say good and bad because it’s “good” that he’s releasing me to work, but “bad” that it’s only for limited duty. That means I’m going to be stuck in the office pushing papers and not in my classroom teaching. I’d rather either stay at home and continue my therapy or go back full duty to my classroom. I guess nothing ever works out as you envision. I’m taking things as they come though and I know that everything will work out in the end. My foot feels okay today, but odd… it feels like it’s halfway between a sleep state, like it’s trying to go to sleep, you know the numb feeling you get when your foot falls asleep… well mine feels like it’s halfway between asleep and awake… weird and worrisome.

LOUISE, I think we will be ending therapy about the same time. My last appt will more than likely be Monday, and then I’ll be heading back to my home (2.5 hours from where I’ve been staying with my parents). I don’t know if I’ll get a new therapist there or not. My therapist had planned on doing some aqua therapy but it doesn’t look like that will be happening now since I’ll be leaving to head back to work. Nevertheless, we’ll get through this together. I think getting back to work and into a routine will do me a world of good. I’m just sad to leave my therapist.

Anyway, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Stay safe.

Liz
Denver on September 18, 2008 at 11:53 pm said:

TRAC
good to see you back & good to be able to have your foot flat on the ground again. like you said, you’ve got some time to soul search, pray & excersize & we’ll see where it takes you. We’re here.
I was wondering, what do your Xrays look like.. I find myself periodically looking over mine seeing what could move & what won’t move anymore..do you? I find myself looking over the xray pointing specific areas out & praying for them inparticular.

Hope all those that were near the huricane made it through ok.
My grandma on my moms side lost everything. storm surge had her house under 9′ of water. my uncle went to look at it & they haven’t told her yet.. afraid her heart can’t handle it. the water line inside the house is to the ceiling, her brand new side by side fridge was on its side & had been forced around into the living room, couch was in the kitchen etc etc… it tore up everything & the water is sea water & sewage backed up so bad they’re saying nothing is salvagable & it should just be condemned.. They’re going to move her in w my mom. My Uncles house was spared but his close friends he grew up w shared the same experience as my grandma & now my Uncle has 4 families living under his roof to try & help out. The beach I grew up going to is nothing left of it or the houses there. & there are coffins floationg around too. hmm
its sort of sureal still.. I go down for thanksgiving.. I’m sure it will hit hard then…

Feel helpless & as if my problems aren’t that major when I see the damage & loss.

Wes
trac on September 18, 2008 at 10:07 pm said:

Hello, all! Yes, I, too had wondered. Whew! Glad to see everyone back. Thank you for your prayers and wishes, I believed it helped. On Tuesday, we took off the cast, and for the first time in 14 mos, I could put my foot flat on the floor. Just something so simple seemed amazing. And, the swelling was lower, and circulation was back. So, my dr wants me to do PT 4 times a wk for 6 weeks. I met with my PT, she is great. I feel like I might have actually found my way back onto a path. However, that being said, here it is 2 days later, the swelling is back and the pain is back, threefold. My dr told me I will not ever have movement back in my ankle. I guess I don’t have any metal (I do in my arm from the same accident) but, they had to do “creative” work w/the bones in the ankle to save the leg. So, if we do get me back to walking on a natural leg, it will be w/a pronounced limp, and some of my activities that I love and live for will not be happening. So, he said, to work hard over these next 6 weeks, and while working hard, to think — is it more important to keep my natural ankle and leg, thus, rendering some activities off limits, or since I am relatively young (39) would I rather have a leg that will allow me to continue the activities I love? He said it without bias and said, “It is not ethical for me to push you towards removal, nor can I assume to know how difficult it is for you to ask.” On a good note, he did giggle when he saw how much healthier it looked.
So did I.
So, I go back 10/28. Guess I have some soul searching and praying to do before then. You know, I never realized how important our ankles are.

Thanks again to everyone — and I love reading how other people work towards their progress. It is sad there are so many out there, but, wow, how it helps!
Prayers and Peace to all of you —
trac
Denver on September 18, 2008 at 3:51 pm said:

HEY everyones back!

ya.. I thought maybe we made some1 mad lol & they took our site away like kids not willing to share a toy..

I started trying to set up another forum site =( hoping to find all who searched =(

anyway, not much time to talk, have to go into work. Had Dr Asst call me back because I refused to just jump back to Vicoden – even just half a pill last sunday night helped me fall asleep-BUT the next day u would have thought I was on the emotional roller coaster express.. I was so depressed & all over the place.

Asst recommended a couple different Drs to check me for RSD & the other stuff too.. they want almost $350 just for a 1st visit & to prescribe what’s needed. The Dr took me serious when I said I couldn’t wait 8 months to see how this felt because 2 weeks w out sleep was so long that its damaging my work & if I have to go w out sleep any longer in this ridiculous pain I’d just take an ax and chop off the foot because I have to be able to support this house of 6.

They started believe it was a serious problem & that it wasn’t just about pain meds. they & every1 else keep missing that I kicked the meds & have been resting a LOT & still running (well limping into rather) the same nerve pain.

Work may still be using me but that’s just it for now, I’m being UsEd.. little work here little there, trying to get as much out of me for the lowest dollar instead of even making a good offer that might put food on the table or even give enough to fo in for ONE Physio session or check for RSD.. work sucks.. have to find something soon & hard to do looking like I do w no sleep..hmmm

glad to see everyone here.. hope TRAC & the others figure out how to get back.

As for me Ill throw my email out there so I don’t wind up disappearing into the abyss of google space.

[email protected]

I don’t check it as iften as I should, but if this goes down I deffinately will be looking there & once I can confirm who’s emailing me I can give out my real tight nit email adress that doesn’t have 2k messages from solicitors 😉
Wes
Louise on September 18, 2008 at 12:10 pm said:

Hi everyone!!

Yeah…I came on here to post the other day, and everyone’s comments had gone! I was a little confused I have to say! hee hee.

So much to read….. So I shall just say hello to everyone. I have read all the comments, but I am rather sleepy, and do not have the mental brain capacity to do much! ha ha!

I had a lot of pain on sunday. No reason really…I was at a party, I was stood up, then I sat down, and when I stood up again, the most amount of pain in my ankle for AGES! I could hardly walk on it. That lasted all monday, and most of tuesday, then on weds it was ok again! So odd!!!!

I had physio yesterday, which was not as good, as they have some new junior physio’s in, and they just didn’t run the session as well. Bless um…they did try, I just personally found them rather irritating and patronising! Oh well. I also asked one of the more senior physio’s what happens when I have done my last session (which is next week!) and she basically said that is it, and i would have to judge myself when I am ready to do things again (such as netball, and doing properly at the gym etc!) Not the best physio care ever is it really?? Hmmm….

Oh well! I shall see what happens anyway!

Have a good evening everyone!

Louise xx
Liz on September 18, 2008 at 11:46 am said:

LOIS! It’s so great to hear from you. lol I had the same sinking feeling when I saw all of our comments were gone. I thought I had lost you guys forever… how would we ever find each other again on this world wide web? *hugs to everyone!* 🙂

Look at you… struttin’ around in your Italian leather boots. lol That’s GREAT news for us women. You are only a few months ahead of me so it’s neat to see where I may be in 2 months time, although I know we all heal at different rates.

I have my ortho appointment today and for some reason I am super nervous. I guess it’s because I’m so torn about going back to work… half of me wants to go back and the other half doesn’t. I’m just so anxious to see what he will say. Also, I have been extremely emotional the past few days. I don’t know what’s come over me. I thought I was past the ‘depression’ stage but I have cried myself to sleep the past two nights. Ugh, I hate feeling like this. Anyway, I’m so glad that I found you guys again. 🙂 I’ll give you an update tonight after I see the doc.

Take care all,
Liz
lois on September 18, 2008 at 11:19 am said:

Sorry, last message was mine but somehow my name did not get attached. Lois
c on September 18, 2008 at 11:16 am said:

Good Morning, Liz, Lee, Don, Wes, Anklequest, Susan, Louise, Karen, Tammy, Trac,,, and well just EVERYONE else too. What a relief to see the comments back. I had been left with the sinking feeling you get when you are somewhere in a crowd and realize you have inadvertantly become separated from your friends. The feeling where you start mentally running through your options – oops no cell phone, don’t know where the vehicle is parked, did not bring money for cab fare and …what… am I supposed to do now??? You know where you could just kick yourself for not pre-arranging an alternate meeting spot. Anyway, whew… thank goodness you guys are back. Dose of seperation anxiety for sure.

Okay, so at six months and one week post break any new successes I have are pretty small in comparison to the progress being made by you guys just out of casts and boots. So, I had told you that I ran about 30 paces about a week ago… which was a first… so now I want to tell you that for the first time in six months I actually wore something other than flat shoes. I went out for a social evening and wore two inch chunky heeled italian leather boots. I have no doubt this sounds insignificantly silly to men but for me and to encourage other women – this was a wonderful feeling of returning to “pre break normal”. Even with the chunky heel, I was cautious and careful and it did feel slightly “odd”, but I experienced no pain or discomfort either while wearing this footwear nor afterwards. It did wonders for my ego though to dress up and feel like a woman again. Yes even at my age. I don’t expect to even wear spikey style heels, but to know I could wear something smart and dressy was huge. Hugs to all of you…(and don’t get lost again okay?)
Liz on September 18, 2008 at 9:48 am said:

Wow, that was really weird. I’ve been coming here for the past 2 days and all of our comments had disappeared. I was beginning to think I had lost you guys… but then I commented above and then ALL of the previous comments suddenly appeared. WEIRD! Are you guys having the same problems? Hope to hear from you all soon.

~Liz
Liz on September 18, 2008 at 9:45 am said:

Where did all of our comments go? This stinks. 🙁
Tammy on September 16, 2008 at 6:41 pm said:

Wow…it has been awhile since I posted. I tried after I returned from my trip but it didn’t go through and I didn’t have the energy to retype.

My..there has been a lot of banter on here. Its hard to keep up.

However..I thought I would comment on a few things. First…it is important that we remember why we all came here…support, comfort, reassurance that things are normal or NOT!

Denver/Wes if you continue to have that burning sensation I would definitely speak to your doctor and even get a second opinion regardig RSD or CRPS (Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome) It is very real and can be for some people extremely painful. It thats the case self-medicating with Vicodin simply won’t do…you need more than that. (At therapy they were using the Tens Unit on me for treatment of RSD)

I am back to school with many new students to deal with…my RSD is still there but I don’t have the pain other do. Lots of swelling but I can get through the day with little pain because there just isn’t time to feel it…about 3:00 though and the aching starts.

I hope everyone is healing…and looking forward to progress no matter how small 🙂

Tammy
Don on September 16, 2008 at 3:24 pm said:

Greetings Ankle Breakers

Ankle Quest

It is indeed great to hear from you and yes I would love to get together again unfortunately this weekend is out for us as we have some running around to do with the kids. I will check my time table and see when I can get free and hopefully we can co ordinate a day for us to get together again.

As for my ankles and a sundry injuries? They do improve with time but unfortunately never seem to go away. My right ankle which was damaged the worst is still affected by the weather and both my ankles and legs are affected by overuse or by lifting too heavy objects. My hip gets affected by the limp and by pressure and strain or physical activity as well as my arm. So I guess that I can say yes I get better with small improvements but will never return to how or who I was before the accident nor will my Wife. We struggle to get through on some days and others are like a breath of fresh air so we take the good with the bad and hope there are more good then bad days. The one thing I do know for fact is that I thank God every day I open my eyes in the morning and for letting me still do what I can do. One of my favorite sayings is “Every day I get to get up and annoy the hell out of someone else is a good day for me and I am good at what I do. “

In truth with all the limping, aches and pains life is worth every minute. With all the struggles to get better and trying not to fall into that category of (Feeling sorry for myself or just folding up and quitting). LIFE, KIDS, WIVES, HUSBANDS, FAMILY and FRIENDS make every day worth waking up and pushing forward as best we can
So keep pushing forward everyone do what you have to and when you are told . Yes we all like to push the envelope, or believe we all heal the same so we try what others tell us they did or how hard the lifted weights or ran or exercised. Remember everyone we are all different with different rates of healing. Some of us may never get to 100% but we can work at getting as close as we can in OUR own way.

This place is still that spot we can come back to even after we have been gone for awhile and the people here still know about what you are facing and maybe not exactly but we have all been down the same road and can be here for advise or just for laughs by telling the stories of OOOPPPS I did that too and let me tell you what happened when I did the stupid thing. We all have them we all tried to do dumb things and look back and go it sounded good at the time. So none of us are alone or different or Odd we are all in the same boat just different seats because of who went first in breaking their ankles. Hmmm What a prize to win you win because you slipped first or fell first.  Ahh well in time we will all get better and then we should all get together for a Giant BBQ and Dance party.

Talk to you all soon

Don
Denver on September 16, 2008 at 3:17 pm said:

& TRaC, all praying for you here.. let us know =)
Denver on September 16, 2008 at 3:13 pm said:

Amen Liz

&I sound the same going down stairs too. My achilles tendon only has so much motion for now so having that knee bend far enough to a normal spot isn’t happening for now. one day it will though. Going up is a piece of cake.. strawberry shortcake with whipped cream & a nice glass of milk.. mmmMMMmm ..that’s how the mind goes sometimes, you just take anything to get your mind off the pain or just to escape the reality that this is Me? what happened? will I ever be back to a point I don’t worry & don’t think about what happened or worry? & until that point comes… guess we in one way or another are all rambling, but @ least we all understand what eachother are going through – pain confusion, fear, doubt loneliness in a crowd of people, or friends..knowing they think ‘just get moving’ while we’re telling our body parts that exact thing & its poking along..& we accept it & I as many others have said, appreciate this place to come where I have friend who understand.

I started using a portable TENS unit.. its nice.. helping wake back up the stubborn nerves that were bothering me.. actually may be able to sleep in the bed instead of the floor tonight for the first time in about 4 days. Confucious may say thats rambling, but to all caught still in the reality of the gaul of bitterness & emotional pain as well as the physical & the little meaningless things, like being able to lay down beside my wife instead of on a lonely hard floor… just wanted to let others know.. its not all easy & I’m glad you care and are here for me as I am able to be there for you all as well in other areas too.

KAREN, that pain you had, was it nerves? wondering if a good ultrasound session by a pro might do the trick. I feel the TENS alliviate momentarily & hopefully it keeps wakening the nerves so I can get more and more sleep, but maybe if I just cook the foot it won’t be so ‘hypersensitive’ I guess I’d call it…

anyhow, Hello Triple G, Louise moving along so good, Don good to read from you & hope alls going well with the teens, & to all coachin me about the Vicoden, thank you..& my wife thanks you too. to all, its good to see so many writings & ramblings.

I received an Rx for 4-6 weeks PT Dr said if I wanted it since he felt I was doing so well. He doesn’t know who to recommend & I’ve been swinging by a lot of different places & calling.. eVeRy1 mustve gotten hurt here this summer – they’re all BooKed! 3 weeks out..hmm.. but one was nice & gave me the TeNs pads for I was looking for,..for free..

til later,
Wes
Lee on September 16, 2008 at 11:58 am said:

Liz and Lois – I love that that image of a “hefalump” while going down the stairs. That’s basically how I feel all the time now, though I’m not yet walking down stairs outside of my boot. It brings back great memories from my childhood and I think gives me a little chuckle when I stand back and look at myself lumbering through my daily activities. It helps to laugh at myself, rather than get caught up in the self-pity I was feeling weeks ago.

I have to add my vote that everyone on this board has helped me tremendously in getting over myself, understanding the reality of this long healing process, and just being supportive and understanding of the issues we all face. My husband and kids are trying, but they don’t know and can’t – you all do. And I really appreciate the support, words of encouragement, answers to my silly questions, and willingness to share in response to my curiosity about your particular circumstances. Sharing the mundane of our life is also a part of virtually getting to know each other. I I also look to this blog as a place to share my small triumphs – those that the rest of the world things are silly and insignificant. But you all celebrate them along with me. Let’s all keep on and forget about negativity. I thank each and every one of you for what you have brought to my life these past 2 months.

Trac – I’m waiting anxiously to hear how your appointment went. I’m glad that packing your cast in ice worked some.

cheers to all.
Lee
~ Liz on September 16, 2008 at 11:08 am said:

I too had chose to ignore the post by Confucius, but since others are commenting I would like to add that perhaps these “ramblings” have become less meaningful to you over time Confucius because you are past the initial “shock and awe” of your injury, have had time to process it, come to grips with it, and perhaps have already healed from it? Many of the new posters (including myself) are still feeling our way through our injuries… trying to discern what’s normal, and reaching out to those who know the pain, fear, and uncertainty all too well. All of our comments are meaningful. No matter how insignificant some comments may seem to you, to someone else it may be just the answer they are looking for. With that said, I too would love to hear from the old posters and get their perspective on life after an ankle break 1 year, 2 years, 3 years down the line. If you are one of those older posters (which I assume you are) please “enlighten” us and do not fear embarrassement. If there are posters who offend you or who you just do not enjoy, feel free to skip over their posts.

TRAC, good luck at your appointment this morning. Please do give us an update when you can.

LOIS, wow, running?! 🙂 That’s great! As for stairs… My therapist made me practice them at therapy yesterday (the right way) and said I was bouncing too much going down. I was basically just plopping down onto my good foot and not really supporting myself through the down motion with my bad ankle. So I guess I sound like a “huge hefalump” going down stairs too, as Louise recently put it. lol Anyway, I’m getting anxious for my doctor’s appointment on Thursday… hopefully life will return to some sense of normalcy soon. *sigh*

Take care everyone,
~Liz
Karen on September 16, 2008 at 11:06 am said:

I continue to have good progress with ultrasound and they carefully go around the metal, getting all the torn ligaments and tendons, or whatever else is in there that continues to be sore! I think if your doctor OKs it, don’t worry!

The criticial comments remind me of anger way beyond the infraction. You know, like when you’re driving and make the very slightest “error” like going too slow and somebody goes ballistic on you? I’m always fascinated to see such anger, can’t figure it, maybe I’m just way too low key.

Karen

Karen
lois on September 16, 2008 at 12:19 am said:

Just a quick hi and hope everyone is well. Extra Special wishes are sent to Trac.

I was originally going to ignore that (offensive) post but since others are commenting on it, I have changed my mind. I am not the Confucius author. I am not afraid to question or criticize when I feel it is warranted, however when I do I am also willing to “own” my comments by signing my own name. I do not place credibily in criticism made by those only willing to do so if they can remain anonymous.

I enjoy hearing from both “old” and “new” bloggers. I would like to point out: 1. the old posts have not disappeared and are easy to access through “pingbacks”. 2. in re-reading the old posts yesterday, they do not appear significantly different from those currently posted. 3. some bloggers also chose to discontinue posting on the prior posts. Were they also embarrassed by “off topic” rambling?

I was always of the impression that the people on this site had suffered broken ankles not diminished mental capabily. I think for Confucius to suggest otherwise is beyond rude. If Confucius believes he/she can improve the meaningfulness of this blog, than he/she has every opportuntity to do just that.

I do however have a question for Confucius. Why in the world would you describe T Rex as “fearful” (ie cowardly)??? What was he afraid of – extinction??? Did you mean this as a deliberate attempt at a freudian slip??? lol Do you believe that he felt his own impending demise?? Oddly, I would have described T Rex as “fearsome”, (causing dread or terror) but then I was not there.

Interesting quote in Webster’s Dictionary by none other than Confucius (which incidently is apparently spelled this way.) “To know is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.”

Anklewise, at six months, I continue to see small improvements daily. I still limp at times, unless I remind myself to “walk through it”, but stairs are become easier and descending is becoming much smoother. I actually ran (about thirty paces) yesterday which was a first. So,,, time heals all wounds,,, or else it wounds all heels. Whichever comes first I guess. Night all, enough meaningless rambling for tonight.
Denver on September 15, 2008 at 9:00 pm said:

ok..
my post must be too long to actually be read, so I’ll keep it short and to the point so its clear.

I had done n o t h I n g @ all when burning started & began to get worse over the course of 4 days. No medication would work, so I called the Dr left him msg.

-Only thing Dr said on my voicemail was- try to get the blood flowing as best you can to wake back up the nerves
-I was good to walk by Drs call 10days post surgery, but due to athritis problems that could occur he said I’d be best to let it heal lifted postion for 6 weeks. 6weeks I waited then started walking.

waLkiNg sLLLOOOOww, geNtLe, with crutch & or cane
only 1-3 hours a day then resting lots & only walking OR working it a few days 2 days off, 3 days, 2 off etc..

the burning is separate & in a spot they say may be linked to my sciatic nerve being pinched from using 1 leg too much & I need to get balanced out.

As all have said & I aGree- that takes time so I don’t damage it.

And that’s where I am.. 12 or 13 days unable to sleep had 4 days off last week & Sunday.

If I use the bucket – its room temperature to reduce any swelling if any for 1 or 2 workouts a week

Anyhow, I’m tired.. & BTW, COnFucIous seems kinda dual minded.. I believe if Confucious was the bright one in the bunch – would be able to spell ‘meaningliss’? & spell ‘older’ with an ‘O’ instead of a zerO…

I just figured confucious was talking into the Vic.. hehe
trac on September 15, 2008 at 8:31 pm said:

Lee,
Thanks for responding to me about the swelling in the cast. I had thought I read that in the previous postings. When I discovered these postings and the ones on the other site, I almost started a notebook, it was so exciting to find answers from people who (unfortunately) were or are experiencing the ankle problems. I put an ice pack in around the top of the cast, it has already begun to help. I see the dr at 8 tomorrow morning, or, I would be definitely scheduling.

thanks again to all of you —
and the prayers. We have a very lovely spiritual retreat chapel here in Eastern Nebraska, and I spent a nice amount of time there today, not only praying for my own situation, but thanking for this site and the advice.

Peace,
trac
anklequest on September 15, 2008 at 8:23 pm said:

Don, thanks for your post!!!

First, are you up for a lunch on Saturday? Let’s get together again.

Second, you don’t mention your ankle. Is it getting any better?

Third, The Confucious Post is an attack on (some or one?)current posters. For certain it is someone very tired of Denver’s disjointed ramblings including his bowel movements related to drugs, which, as Confucius states, don’t mean much even to current posters. This, along with perhaps some few others who were going on about some minutia in daily life. Read it carefully. There is a longing for past posters. I’ll post it below just so it can be read again for those who might be interested. PS: I am not the Confucius poster, nor do I know who did post it, although I have some ideas.

Comment by CONFUCIOUS
September 13, 2008 @ 2:23 am
THESE WONDERFUL POSTINGS, ONCE MEANINGFUL,
NOW CARRY RAMBLINGS OF MEANINGLISS WORDS!
THOSE ONCE INJURED, THEIR WORDS LOST TO THE PRESENT,
ARE SENT TO THE LISTINGS OF THE PAST!
AND THEIR 0LDER RAMBLINGS NOW GONE, REPLACED BY
MISSIVES OF VICODIN WITHDRAWL AND BOWEL MOVEMENT
MISFUNCTION? TEE HEE, TEE HEE!
ONE WOULD HOPE NOT, BUT TO GET THE “GIST” OF TODAYS POSTINGS, ONE MAY AS WELL WATCH “DAYS OF OUR LIVES” OR THE “BEVERLY HILLBILLY’S”!
AND BE JUST AS MOVED! (NO PUN INTENDED!)
AND ONE WONDERS WHY THE ELDERS, NO MORE ADD WISDOM?
PERHAPS TO AVOID EMBARRASSMENT, ONE COULD SAY, BASED ON THE BAR SET SO LOW OF TODAYS BLOGGERS.
BUT NOT WRONG, OR BAD, AS EVOLUTION SETS NO MINDERS!
T-REX WAS ONCE FEARFUL, BUT IS NOW NO LONGER MEANINGFUL,
AS ARE WE, THE ANKLEBREAKERS NOW PASSED OVER!
ENJOY THE MEANINGLESSNESS OF YOUR WORDS, IMPORTANT
ONLY T0 YOU!
WALK CAREFULLY!
Don on September 15, 2008 at 3:55 pm said:

Greetings Ankle Breakers

Lee
We are still around, but at times we are dealing with a few of our own set backs in our health. Mine is dealing with retaining fluids and troubles with blood pressure from the fluids. For me it was fortunate that I caught it in time and it did not progress into congestive heart failure that I had in the Hospital. So for right now I got one pill DiovanHTC with a combined water pill. Seems to be working, well at this point but it looks like I will be on it for the rest of my life.

As for metal being removed Sorry I did no and can not have mine removed Just to Dang much inside for me to ever think of such a thing. Pam did have some of hers removed Clark went back in and had more stuff done (Fusion) on his ankle. As he put it not the best idea unless you have no other choice but he will work his way through this too he always does.

As for confusion? Sorry to me it is nothing more then drivel. Here is someone that is saying that the old ones are in with drawl or having bowel problems. Well any time they want to step up and switch places with some of the old people that are out here I would gladly let them take my place. It would appear that the person talking has no clue as to what problems we all face. Or will face in the future?

Denver

Take your time as we OLD people have said in the past (yes we repeat ourselves over and over) Take your time. PAIN is not good, there are times when things hurt because they hurt and are stiff and sore because they are stiff and sore. BUT PAIN IS NOT GOOD. If it hurts too much you can be doing just as much damage as you can be doing good.

Why would anyone want to risk reinjuring themselves and starting over. Reason is that we are all human and want to believe we are indestructible. Or that we heal faster and better them others and that we can get back faster because (so and so did it) Sorry doesn’t work like that do it in the motions sorry no skipping ahead just cause you want to. The other thing to remember is you are not only working and recovering for yourself, most of us have others that are also in this with us and have just as much work and dedication and sacrifice as we do. So remember not only yourself but the rest of the group you live, work and are friends with that put themselves out just like you are to get better as quick as you can. But take it in stride don’t rush be safe and follow all the steps not just some.

Ahh well my rant for the day Be safe everyone and look forward it is safer then backward.

Don
Lee on September 15, 2008 at 12:58 pm said:

Hi all,

Wow, so many new post ion the board in just a few days. I can hardly get through them all.

Liz – I’m glad to hear you’re out and about and thinking about getting back to work soon. I’ve been back 3 weeks now and it has made me feel so much more normal. I’m still in my boot, but have my co-workers around me to support me and well, I just feel like my life is mine again, and not all about my ankle. Take it easy though with the kids, especially the lifting. I have a desk job, so very different than a classroom. You may need a little support from the admin office to help out at first. And I also came back 2 days the first week, 3 the next, and now I’m back to my usual 4 days. I was apprehensive at first – worrying I came back too soon, but realized that I could go back out if I needed to. I’ll be thinking about you = keep us posted.

Denver – I’m with Anklequest and Lois. All the pushing, self-therapy, and pain are not right. My PT says that the recovery process is not supposed to be comfortable – it will be a bit painful, but no one ever benefits from pushing too hard and too fast to the point of extreme pain. that’s called a setback, and it only slows the entire process down. I’m no expert, but I think you need to slow down and see your Dr.

Trac – my thoughts are with you as you see the Dr. I had that swelling problem with my cast – I had to pack it in ice to get the swelling down and with 2 of the casts, had to have them cut open b/c they were too tight when swollen and the ice wasn’t helping. Watch it carefully – if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t Ask a professional.

So i had a great week at therapy last week. Added a few new exercises to my repetoire to get my muscles and tendons moving. I’m finally down to one crutch in my boot (when out of the house), and two with light pressure when I’m in a shoe (in the house and at the office, where it’s safe). And my PT sent me to a running store they often refer to for a new shoe fit. They found me a nice wide New Balance, with a wide heel and good roll at the ball of the foot to help as i return to heel-toe walking. I went up a half a size! Maybe it’ll go down as swelling goes down, but I wonder if this is my new size forever – yea…. all new shoes for me! ‘Course, they will all be tennies for at least 6 months. But what girl doesn’t love the chance to buy all new shoes?

So, not sure who Confusious is, but I have to agree a little that I’d like to hear back from some of the old posters who are further along and have experience. Everyone’s contribution is valuable, but I miss some of the old experts – where are they? Pam, are you around? I’ve been watching your progress carefully, as you’re a few months ahead of me and looking at metal removal just a head of me. Don and Clark – are you around? i learned a lot from reading your posts too…

Take care all. Stay safe,
Lee
Denver on September 15, 2008 at 12:09 am said:

& TrAC,
I should lend u my toy for the dog there 😉
We used to train dogs, til they were green broke we’d call it. And they’d be so used 2 little attention, so they would listen real well & be very obedient, taught different phrases as commands so others couldn’t confuse them & even learned hand signals. Its been since my accident because difficult to teach if they’re side tracked by ‘hop-a-long-wes’ & they deffinately could sence things were different. So though the’d know the commands, this 1 would purposefully try me as he found I couldn’t catch him. so when I still believed this was just a real bad sprang (lol) & didn’t realize it was such a long road of healing, I ordered a nifty toy. (bet some here may not like me for this one..but) its a top of the line ‘training collar’.. oughta let u borrow it to show that cast wetter who’s territory your space really is 😉
(& for those that see that as meAn..it also had good tones so I could reward the dog..& when he still wouldn’t give, I gave him to a gOOd coworkers home who he’d already met & loved & his dog was getting older & he loved this dog) half Shepherd half Mastif.. too big for this injury deffinately 😉
anklequest on September 14, 2008 at 9:53 pm said:

Trac,
Your leg should not really swell that much..maybe a little would be OK. Keep it elevated!!! The swelling is symtomatic of an excess of interstitial fluid, the fluid that collects between cells after it leaks out of the cells. Not all the fluid is getting back into the lymphatic vessels and veins so it accumulates in the broken areas. This can cause further tissue damage and all sorts of complications. Normally walking returns this fluid but in injured tissues a lot more of it leaks out of cells and then walking can make things worse at times (depending on how far you walk). You can prevent or reduce this excessive leaking by not being so active and by elevating your leg a lot until the tissues heal. Tissue healing can take quite a while, as folks on this board are slowly finding out. Pain killers, ice, and all that only mask the symptoms. The underlying issues and damaged tissues have to be dealt with and that’s probably what the doc wants to talk about.

To everyone on the board, please, please be patient. All this healing takes time.

Liz,
I am shocked to think your shoe would not let you wear sneakers. All schools should allow teachers to wear the most comfortable and safest footwear. Teachers are normally very active & busy people. In our labs we require that students wear safe footwear. People drop chemicals, glasswear, ETc. and so feet must be protected. I sent students out who wear flip flops, etc. They know this so we never really have problems. Your sneakers are probably good, but the ASCS gel are more comfortable for me, as they reduce the walking impact and so I have less swelling. The cost, however is over $100. It is worth it for me.

Denver,
a question for you..
Could you have had a “compression fracture” as part of your injury? By this I mean your bones were slightly compressed and crushed. The crush would not necessarily show up on the xrays. Such crush fractures can be very painful, more than a more ordinary fracture that might dispress the energy sideways. You had the boots on which protected your soft tissue but perhaps also moved compression forces into your bone, and not so much the tissue. The crush could also have affected your joint. At a microscopic level changes would show up. If you did have this happen it could account for the pain. Once again, not pushing thing and being patient would be a most helpful course of action.
Denver on September 14, 2008 at 9:19 pm said:

TRaC
that doesn’t sound good 🙁
but still praying. It could be a new thing they want to try. & if its the worst, I remember seeing a magazine this last year where a guy had some weird disease that came on as fast as the flu & w/in 12hrs he was in the hospital & they had to amp both legs because they were already gone. He was an outdoor lover too & they fitted him w these awesome, I guess they were some type of, prosthetics that allow him to run.. I couldn’t explain it but it was almost like a bow shape with tread @ the bottom. He said he was happy about not having the pain anymore & seriously more agile & mobile than ever before & had the record to prove it.. lol what was that show?? reminded me of?? I want to say the 6Million Dollar Man but think I got the price tag wrong..lol like u said, HE needs to bring the tea & YoU can bring the leg right 😉
feels like a neverending $$$ on us..

and Liz I believe u were asking what those shoes were?

pretty sure the shoes she had were Asics Gels because I’ve been watching closely as to what every1 suggested too & only recall those (since I used them before accident) & TRaC mentioning TeVas for the sandles.. & my wife got me the Nike Equalons I believe.. they could be scary @ 1st glance because they’re low cut, so if that gets ya..mm.. but I like that they stay low enough that they don’t even touch the stitching on both sides. think its more that I don’t like feeling it bump or rub against the metal. they are wide at the base & the asics too are real nice

Wes
trac on September 14, 2008 at 6:50 pm said:

Good Evening! Just checking in. I went to the Nebraska football game yesterday, which is always a crazy good time. Fortunately, I had my younger brother with me, a big brute of a boy who is strong enough we were able to manipulate the throngs of people easily. The only problem is, whenever I keep my leg down for more than a couple of hours, my leg swells to the point of over the cast, I joke that it feels like it is trying to break out of the cast. I don’t know if swelling on this level is normal or not. I will ask my surgeon on Tuesday. He called to check on me on friday, told me to bring some tea, as we will have to “spend some time having a talk”. I don’t think it is ever good when your doc calls to say that…I responded how about he bring the tea, on what I pay him — I’ll bring my leg. Sounds fair to me. Right? I’m glad to see you all working again, and that really boosts me. Hopefully, in the next few months, I’ll be able to log on with a “guess what? I walked!!” who knows? Right? Oh, and today? Jake, my friends dog (a wiemereiner – the hold a lot) peed on my cast before I could stop him…
“sigh”. Ha!

Have a good evening!
trac
~ Liz on September 14, 2008 at 4:11 pm said:

Hi All,

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday. I woke up this morning with a little soreness around the ankle/foot in spots that haven’t been sore before. I’m guessing it’s from all the use yesterday. I have just been taking it easy today and it’s gradually easing up.

LOIUSE, I guess getting the 6 weeks vs. your mom’s 8 months could be taken as a positive thing… they think you’re doing GREAT! 🙂

Thanks ANKLEQUEST… I thought about half-days to ease myself back in… I do know that, if nothing else, I am going to suggest that he send me back towards the end of the week instead of on Monday. I’d rather start on Thursday or Friday, get a feel for what it’s going to be like, and then have the weekend to prepare myself for 5 full days on my feet. I’m also going to make sure he indicates on my work status, that I be allowed to wear tennis shoes. We’re not supposed to wear them at school but I’m not really comfortable wearing anything else right now. I’ve been wearing my New Balance tennis shoes with my ankle brace, and they feel pretty good. What brand are the gel shoes you have?

Take care everyone,

~Liz
Denver on September 14, 2008 at 1:34 pm said:

I hope all here do know I dOn’t like ice or use it much.. its OnLy used to reduce the swelling Long enough to have mobility for maximum blood flow. if its overused or used to often u can’t heal due to lack of blood flow where its needed.

I only brought up the bucket since it is the fastest way to actual ice every angle quickly w/out having to move an ice bag round about the entire leg,ankle or foot as it keeps getting closer to room temperature. The idea is to get fresh blood in. only had to ice for first day to 3 days and have no more swelling now without ice at all. This due to fresh blood circulating in immediately after getting old pooling blood out.
Susan TX on September 14, 2008 at 11:56 am said:

Be Careful With The Ice:

“repetitive application of ice freezes and coagulates the myelin (fatty tissue insulating large nerve fibers) exactly like ice freezes and solidifies melted butter. As the ice freezes the large nerve fibers, causing freeze damage to the myelinated nerves, the patient develops sensory loss and pain due to permanent damage to the large sensory nerve fibers.”

http://www.rsdrx.com/rsdpuz4.0/puz_102.htm
Denver on September 14, 2008 at 9:23 am said:

quick update this morning

awkward & difficult to lay on floor & keep repeating stretches as pain would come & go…

But slept 5.5 hrs w only tiny amount of medicine (not vicoden) to ease some of the pain.

lots of split v positioning of legs laying arms & upper body down to floor & holding, then to left leg holding & then right & holding. some standing split leg & leaning down over same as when sitting & through night as needed left good leg straight & pulled knee of bad leg to chest held under knee then lifting calf as if trying to look like a balarina touching shin to forhead. got nowhere close but felt the hamstrin stretching & as I would release it would aleviate the pain for awhile.
Couldn’t find the sweet spot under the back still.. almost need to have someone physically show me .. like a chiropractor.. then will know exactly small area to focus on..

oh I’m so tired now just getting more rest sometimes pulls that one on you too

chat w all later..
Thanks guys..
and I AM takin a break as needed

Wes
Denver on September 14, 2008 at 12:00 am said:

hey guys.. thanks for the good ideas & the care and concern

I’ve been so busy today haven’t been able to even open the phone to send a message.

I was real up front with the Dr about the burning & the walking etc. If all recall though I had the burning start prior to the walking. Its actually what bugged me to the point I needed blood flow to get it to wake up more or stop burning.

Anyhow had my mall walking friend call 2day and talked awhile. Somewhere in talking about being off the meds (which I am.. I detoxed til the bowels were square, paranoia left, body shakes gone & headaches over.. erbals were to get through that so I’ve been off everything.. here/there n middle of night last few nights tried different things to sleep but to no avail) going off subject bit there, my apologies. So talking w older mall walking friend I met he heard bout sleeping loss but hadn’t mentioned the burning & he said he had burning after his surgery that felt like athletes foot. I’m hoping this is right as it does make sence & would be nice to feel as good resting as I do while out and about. He had back surgery & went to 3 Drs all saying different things from; damaged this or possible time til it goes away. the last Dr he went to said simply- Its your Sciatic Nerve (my apologies for bad spelling) He explained that even if your not feeling it in your back you rotate your hips differently & could pinch it.

sigh: As much as it sucks its a weekend & I’m stuck not able to find a chiropractor or Dr around til Monday … well.. if that’s what’s wrong it would be nice to have a calming.. sOmething anyway. I called a Chiropractor friend but they’re out of town. While my sister knows a friend who married one I called & he called back just a bit ago & gave me a test to see over the phone (reminding me the whole time he technically can’t diagnose me over the phone & can’t guarentee he can do all the work necessary & it may be this or that from the surgery etc etc..) so he had me stretch my hamstring.. sigh.. u wouldn’t believe how retarded I felt.. in about 10 seconds the burning stoped after I’d stretched it. He told me I hadn’t noticed any pains in the back because I’d gradually been rotating my hips from using crutches for so long & probably wouldn’t notice the difference even though once I thought about it,itd make sence, then he let me know that’s just a temporary fix and surely the burning would came back.. oh YeAH! I thought.. surely while we continued talking it came back. He had me on the floor lay down pair of tennis shoes upside down toes touching heels to the outside, had me lay down flat on back on floor with the wedge created being the spot I placed just above the meat of my but (tiny bit above hip/lowest part of tailbone) & once again it would feel almost like a TV going in & out of reception w an antana. You know its working but just can’t quite get it in the exact spot needed. Anyhow, pees on the lower back and try this position w the shoes this evening YuCK! but will try.. if the ice doesn’t ‘chill out’ the pain said have heatin pad on hand because that works for some others. Anyhow, I have a portable TENS unit w No pads yet 🙁 that doesn’t help me.. have to get the pads from amedical suply company & even if theres 1 nearby its not open tomorrow !Ha

sigh..
I’ve always been a firm believer that your body will tell you what it needs if you’re paying attention.. well, even many here’ve said the same & understand this.

(i swear my workout program is not pushing it.. I’m pokey,slow,rest often aside from the lack o sleep issue,stretch properly,take breaks just as should be when rebuilding muscles,working the body, stretching the tendons & healing at the proper rate…only difference is I am able to get the swelling to stay away more often for longer periods of time & have fresh blood circulating which in turn allows mobility to come along nicely)

that being said.. listening to the body I look back & kindof chuckle (of course this as I knock on wood & pray this is truly an answer and not a fake out). a list of things that kept coming to my mind
-I mentioned that if you positioned your lower back just right you could free up the pressure on the main nerves that control your sinuses & how I had practiced so much to do it & how it truly worked & then I rambled on believing my body was telling me this because it had to do with some way I positioned my foot to get the blood flow propper when hmm could my body been saying HeLLo! something needs to be sitting just right in your lower back to release pressure off of a nerve..
-I metion to people how my bodies craved surtain foods & later we find out that’s a food that would rebuild, strengthen or repair exactly what I’d been looking for. Even my wife was getting lite headed @ work & wondering why. Sure enough she also had been craving steak. @ 1st I thought she was just harpin that I’d been cheap lately & she was missing gOOd food. come to find out I stumbled onto info about people w anema and how if their iron levels are low they have the reactions she was having.. I took her out for steak 1st w out telling her til later & just watched as her health dId increase.. go figure..
-when trying to get off of that V crap I (not a big popcorn fan) found myself grabbing crunch & munch left and right. I thought it was just a phase that’s just popped up recently. Then as I was looking/researching what would help get me energy while getting off of Vicoden I ran into readin ‘popcorn’ helps tremendously in easing addictive tendancies & desires..

List goes on but you all see patterns here or have seen them possible in your own lives.

Lol.. I mentioned that to my daughter 15, & she said, “so I crave candy bars, that means that they aRE good for my body!” I explained its telling you what your body needs. And since you take in sugar and caffine so regularly, when you don’t for awhile then your body does remember the tiny bursts of energy & wants it again. She always asks what’s the 1 food to eat that healthy and she won’t gain weight.. I laugh because I keep telling her the key word is moderation, explain shes NoT fat, then tell her to just stay active..

anyhow.. headed to bed.. wait, I mean headed to the floor with my tennis shoe wedge (eyes rolling while secretly hoping it works)

night all,Wes
anklequest on September 13, 2008 at 5:48 pm said:

Denver,
How about stopping all meds and all ankle activity for a few days. Even that cold ice water stuff could be making things worse.

I know of a freind who had back pains for years after two back surgeries and was addicted to meds and was “disabled”. Even tried “cold” therapy. Finally, this past year, she was taken off all meds completely, antidepressents, sleeping pills, methodone, tylenol, etc. and went to detox, and behold (according to her husband who works for me) she turned into her former self, has far less pain, goes to the gym and PT, and can do anything. He feels that, in retrospect, she lost several years of her life on account of the pain killers. She’s now back in graduate school trying to get a new life for herself.

All the best,
Anklequest
anklequest on September 13, 2008 at 5:38 pm said:

Liz,
It seems that you made so much progress that getting back to school will work out just fine. Just make sure you wear very good gel running shoes with ankle brace or support. Maybe you can start out for a few part time days and see how it goes. You may be surprised. At the end of the day you may need your leg up with some frozen pea packs but that’s par for the course.
Good Luck and I am so glad that things are going so well!
Anklequest
~ Liz on September 13, 2008 at 4:04 pm said:

DENVER, I agree with Lois and Anklequest (very well said, Lois). It doesn’t seem that you should be experiencing such pain and unrest at this stage in your recovery. Perhaps you are overdoing the rehab and need to give your body rest, or perhaps there is some underlying medical factor, such as RSD that Lois mentioned or some other cause. Please do seek medical attention if the pain is as severe as you describe.

I will say that in the 2 weeks between my ankle break and surgery (I had to wait that long because of swelling and a huge fracture blister that formed over my ankle), I developed an awful burning sensation on my heel, even while taking Percocet. I would wake up every 20 minutes like clock work with this awful burning. I made several trips to the doctor about it but they could never see anything wrong. Finally during the actual surgery they found that I had developed a nasty pressure sore on my heel from the splint. It eventually turned into an open sore and took over a month to heal. I’m not saying a pressure sore is what you have because I know you haven’t been wearing a cast/boot or anything, but something is causing that burning and you need to figure out what the cause is.

LOIS, Yes, I was and still am anxious to return to work. I miss my students, my coworkers and just being in an everyday routine. I’m nervous at the same time though about how my ankle will handle the physical demands of it all. I teach students with severe/profound intellectual disabilities so I’m on my feet alot. I have 3 students in wheelchairs that need to be lifted during transfers in and out of their chairs, I have 1 student that thinks it’s funny to snatch away from you and dart down the hall (I definitely won’t be able to catch him now! lol), I have another student that doesn’t understand personal space, is very clingy and steps all over my feet. I take my students on community trips 2x/month, Special Olympic events about once a month, and various field trips that require lots of walking. I’m hoping my ankle will be able to handle it all.

Thanks for the exercise suggestions, by the way. It’s nice to hear so many of you had the flat-feet issue too. 🙂 My therapist has me doing some of the exercises you mentioned but there are definitely a few of them I could add. I can go up stairs pretty normal now, but not down.

Well, I just had to share briefly about my great day… My sister and brother-in-law were traveling to a nearby town today to go shopping (much better malls than our rinky-dink town). lol Anyway, they invited me to tag along but I was worried about my ankle. I haven’t really been on it for any significant amount of time since the break. I was just so ready to get out of the house though I decided to go. It went really well. I’d say I was on my feet a good 3 hours browsing the stores and my ankle held up much better than expected. YAY! Actually the bottom of my feet hurt worse than my ankle (I guess they got lazy from the 3.5 months break!). Anyway, I’m home now and about to go elevate and ice.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful afternoon.

Stay Safe!
~Liz
anklequest on September 13, 2008 at 1:04 pm said:

Denver,
Perhaps you should put a halt to all that “therapy” you are doing for a while, and maybe halt all the medicines as well. You may just be making things worse. Let me quote from the FastRehab thing that you posted. This statement was right up front!

“If you start rehabbing your ankle and you have torn ligaments, cartilage, or tendons you will only make your injury worse and make your recovery more complicated and extend your down time”.

You maybe have pushed things too much. Your pain should be deminishing, as Lois says, for sure, if it was following a normal course of healing. Instead it is intensifying possibly due to over use.

Lois
On the critter front, one of the young chukies was sunnying himself flat as a pancake on our deck when I cam home yesterday. Our elderly dog Rufus is blind and deaf now, and has a hard time chasing things away.

Cunfucius is looking down on us and is concerned about some of the blather on the board.
lois on September 13, 2008 at 12:41 pm said:

Denver Wes, Your situation is truly becoming increasingly sad and depressing for all of us. You simply should not be experiencing the kind of pain you are describing at this stage of your recovery. Although you might still experience some discomfort, this should not be to the point where you cannot sleep. Frustrating to me, is that you advise us how well you are doing, how far you have walked, how you are able to push yourself physically and tell us what treatments work best, but then later you complain about the extreme pain you are in. Wes, either you have a further as yet undiagnosed complicating medical factor such as RSD, (which Tammy and Diane discussed in prior posts)… or you have a major addiction problem which you are rationalizing by claims of “but I am in pain”. I think I can speak for the others on this site when I say that we are all very fond of you and we are all rooting for your full recovery, but Wes you really do need to go back to your physician and be very willing to engage in very open and honest communication with him.
Denver on September 13, 2008 at 3:09 am said:

2:10am
🙁
has anyone here ever hurt so bad you wished you cOULd just cut it off so the pain would stop
🙁

have pumped body full & even tripled up on everything from meletonin,advilPM,TylonalPM,Ambian,flexril of which I could (or had to rather)cut a 5mg pill in half & now even the 10mg doesn’t work,cross mixed flexril because that usually means lights out,& the nerve medication did sOmething w my body in lulling it somewhat, but not my burning hell on foot at all. It burns so I tried & ice cooling circulator but the cool feels like fire,tried heat pad & YA that was the assistants reverse therapy thinking..didn’t work doesn’t even begin 2 describe it,dunked it it room temp water, cool water,ice water but even then it still burns & is getting worse..or maybe its like chinese water torcher – where its not getting worse but here after 8nights of hell its kiLLing me. I’m the guy that just needs 1 advil for a headache or 1 for a LoNg day heavy manual labor maybe twice a yr, the guy who made it 7 days after the break sleeping and getting around not realizing it was a trimalleolar fracture until I couldn’t sleep on my advil PM..

They say listen to your body…

I’m stuck
-Vicoden= @$$ hole because of brutal honesty, and short fuse not good dealing with kids pushing for no boundaries that refuse to use their ears & when they acknowledge they are working they use their mouth to, what’s that called, reason? no wait, talk back, that’s it. so NoT a good combination. & atop it all the drug coats the receptors in your brain so your body stops producing itself so when the drugs not in your system you truly are like a dear in an open field during hunting season where its gonna kill.

-coming down off the narcodic I get sick, weak, nauseated can’t funtion properly or work & best of all (all sarcasm included) I’m paranoid dellusional about stupid things & push away those I need most.

I’m running through the cons & the MoRe cons of this F!@#ing drug because I’m stuck heRe now w reality being I can’t function like THIS either =( the burnings gotten so bad I’m gritting teeth til they’re about to break & can’t drive anymore because I’m either to jerky from the anxiety or lack of sleep and or both truly.

I even resorted to taking the 2.5hydromorphon 2night because I believed since I’m F@#!ed at least make it a tinier dose of narcodic .. unfortunately it only took 3 hrs til it worked where it was needed & only got 1.5hrs sleep…
I have to DJ tomorrow.. hard to bail on a DJ gig..actually its something you never get to have the luxery of a sleep day (hi, could you move your wedding date, I’m gonna need a little time, thannnnks)
hmm

I’m being shoved in a bad corner & I hate, don’t want this norco, know how much it does & yet this is post withdrawl talk now. its realisticly a true pain that’s untouchable by everyother drug & has me praying for death.
If I don’t do something as of this last week I’m out of job, house, & family starves & may not be with me anyhow..

soooooooooooooooooooo tired isn’t even the half of it.. I’m soooooo beat in this set praying for something to miraculously happen to change the outcome to the match.

My wife wanted me to come out w the kids tonight to watch the hot air balloons in the dark @ the park this evening.. She doesn’t realize how hard it is to walk (if that’s what it is that I’m faking is possible) on uneven surfaces.. she said follow me & walked up a hill on wet grass.. mmm I don’t even have to tell all here what that means… I waited at the edge of the sidewalk while my family was 100feet away.. ill tell how little I enjoyed my evening later..the hydrowhatever is finally sort of relaxin where gonna try sleep again 🙁
CONFUCIOUS on September 13, 2008 at 2:23 am said:

THESE WONDERFUL POSTINGS, ONCE MEANINGFUL,
NOW CARRY RAMBLINGS OF MEANINGLISS WORDS!
THOSE ONCE INJURED, THEIR WORDS LOST TO THE PRESENT,
ARE SENT TO THE LISTINGS OF THE PAST!
AND THEIR 0LDER RAMBLINGS NOW GONE, REPLACED BY
MISSIVES OF VICODIN WITHDRAWL AND BOWEL MOVEMENT
MISFUNCTION? TEE HEE, TEE HEE!
ONE WOULD HOPE NOT, BUT TO GET THE “GIST” OF TODAYS POSTINGS, ONE MAY AS WELL WATCH “DAYS OF OUR LIVES” OR THE “BEVERLY HILLBILLY’S”!
AND BE JUST AS MOVED! (NO PUN INTENDED!)
AND ONE WONDERS WHY THE ELDERS, NO MORE ADD WISDOM?
PERHAPS TO AVOID EMBARRASSMENT, ONE COULD SAY, BASED ON THE BAR SET SO LOW OF TODAYS BLOGGERS.
BUT NOT WRONG, OR BAD, AS EVOLUTION SETS NO MINDERS!
T-REX WAS ONCE FEARFUL, BUT IS NOW NO LONGER MEANINGFUL,
AS ARE WE, THE ANKLEBREAKERS NOW PASSED OVER!
ENJOY THE MEANINGLESSNESS OF YOUR WORDS, IMPORTANT
ONLY T0 YOU!
WALK CAREFULLY!
lois on September 13, 2008 at 1:45 am said:

Hello everyone. I wrote earlier today but my post seems to have disappeared into cyberspace. So I am trying again.

Louise, Boy was I ticked off when I read that your doctor did not even bother to read your chart and realize he had already taken your screws out. It is a good thing that did not happen to me, because I likely would have blurted out that he seemed to have a few screws loose himself. I had a doctor a few years ago who did something similar … I say had … because I switched doctors pretty fast after that. Some of these guys can be just so impersonal that one would think they donated their brains for research when they graduated from medical school.
I don’t understand the problem you are having with your knee. Mine still feel mildly weak, but that is not what you seem to be describing.

Liz, yep holding out for new stainless steel appliances… lol, but we were planning to get them anyway when we remodel our kitchen in the next year or so. Surprised to hear you say that you are having mixed emotions about returning to work. You seemed so anxious to get back. I suppose though that you will be experiencing some fear over slippery floors etc though. It took me long enough to become less afraid of stairs. The feeling of a flat foot, seems to gradually disappear with time. The cannot walk on toes,,, is the problem I returned to the physiotherapist for. Bet you cant climb a ladder either. That is a weak calf muscle not your ankle. Try: standing at something like the sink or counter (just in case you have to grab ahold of something). Raise up onto both toes. Now shift your weight from foot to foot. Its hard at first, but I now do this many times a day, and it gradually is becoming easier and easier. Also, if you have access to a tread mill start putting it on an incline so that you are walking uphill to build up the calf muscle. Also, stand with your heel on a telephone book (about 2 inches high) and raise and lower onto your toes. Also trying to walk normally up and down stairs, not going up sideways like I had been will help to build up the calf muscle. Oh yes, and also step up (and down) onto a small stair, but with only the front half of your foot, not the whole foot. These are the things that my PT showed me to do to strengthen the calf muscle. I only had three or perhaps it was four PT appointments in total, and the gist of all of them was just to show me what to do so I could do it several times a day at home.

So yes Jodie, and Louise, just try your own PT.

Denver Wes, I am so glad that you have stopped the vicodin. Your family really does need you. The stuff I was given but never did take was called Tramacet which is also an addictive synthetic narcotic. Lol… Polished Cobalt Chrome… sounds like you should glitter and sparkle in the dark… or at least in moonlight. Yes, get matching rims… but maybe not for your motorcycle wheels.

Trac, I am so glad you found us and joined us over here on this site. You’ve had some really good things to contribute. We really appreciate it and I just wanted to say that you fit right in.

Anklequest, Yep,,, all you guys are going back to work and yep I am still lulling around with my two puppies. Well, not lulling entirely. I seem to be as busy since I retired as I was before I retired.
I’m too sleepy tonight to explain all that I am involved with but the majority of it centres around clearing and landscaping this property (before winter sets in), getting reno’s started inside the house… and helping my husband with his business. The puppies earn their room and board by helping in the yard. (after all life is not a free ride) Their job is to move sticks and branches around and help me dig holes. What they cannot seem to quite grasp is that even though Shih Tsu’s are of oriental ancestry, we are NOT trying to dig our way all the way back to China. Oh well….. and how are your little backyard visitors doing????
Denver on September 12, 2008 at 7:07 pm said:

i know some will not like to see this but some here dOO like this info

If you’d like promising PT & proper rehabilitation within the proper time frame,
Call Local University near you (hopefully there is one near)
the key for healthy appropriate sAFe PT is to use a Sports Ortho Dr. calling the university is because they kNow the best to use & fuel them with money to have the latest up to date equipment & knowledge of injuries & newest best materials & understanding at their disposal.. & they have a greater Liability than finding who the pro athletes use that may short cut to get them moving faster to bring the $ in for their short career …
Ask for the ‘Head Athletic Trainer’.. you’ll most likely end up leaving a message as they’re real busy but even the Assistant Athletic Trainer will know which ‘Sports Ortho Dr’ they use & have there #

Once you get ahold of them they can acess your position, where you’d like to be as you let them know you’d like to get back to normal routine life as quickly as possible without doing any long term damage. they’ll have aggressive therapy while at the same time the knowledge to Not let you push it too quickly. they may be a bit more than regular PTs but 2 points are as TRAC said the proper massage by the more well understanding person makes aLL the difference & is a LoT better & second is you will know & understand your ability the body is ment to handle & can learn the best techniques in a 2 or 3 visits be on your own if need be with the tools to work it out on your own.

anyhow.. out for the evening- oh & one of my god friends is a Sports PT 😉 hehe
He’s going to bring by his TENS tonight so we can hopefully get this pain to start reducing through waking things up a bit more.. you know, cooking the meat 😉

Have a good night all

oh ya, & TRaC if that medicine is the same they RXed me I found out a funny detail. Remember I just told every1 about those erbal meds & one should be illegal because it relaxed me so well? ya.. its called Gaba – the generic version Neuron..however u spell that.. the RX haha hilarious.. but I didn’t know the proper doses when using the herbal.. of course Rx says start low increasing over 3 days then as needed to get it built u in the system as your body gets used to it pretty quickly. That’s why it worked sometimes but not always. hmm

Bye for Now goin limpin, because after all, a limp sucks, pain sucks but if I look back there was a time I wasn’t NEAR this far along, right?!
😉
Louise on September 12, 2008 at 4:36 pm said:

Liz. I went through a flat foot stage for a while (although I have flat feet ANYWAY), but yes, I had to really think about my walking and think to myself “heal, toe, heal toe” and almost chant it to myself as I went along.
And yes I am now able to walk around on tip toes, although my calf muscles are not quite strong enough to do it without a limp! I have been doing calf raises on a step at physio, which KILLS my calf muscles, as my physio makes me stand with my toes right on the edge of the step, so my heels dip down, but it is obviously working! (well hopefully anyway!!) hee hee. I am wondering what happens at “the end” which will prob be 2 weeks time for me!! eek! The physio only gave me 6 sessions…nothing to do with insurance, but thats what I got. My mum pulled a ligament in her shoulder and she got physio for about 8 months, and that wasn’t even as bad an injury as mine….really confuses me to be honest as to how they magic up these things! Hmmm…..

And Jodie…I sound like a huge hefalump going down the stairs…goodness know’s what downstairs must think, and when I go down like stone stairs with an echo, especially in flip flops, it is rather embarassing, because one of my feet goes slap, and the other goes thump, so it sounds very odd! hee hee. I hope that does go soon!!

Anklequest. yes I know it IS very silly of me to put my total faith in doc’s and expect them to know what they are on about!! I know it takes time…it’s just rather frustrating (which I’m sure everyone is familer with this feeling here!) good to know you managed to get back to bending and doing things again. I have seen such a difference in all the other areas of it…the swelling, left to right movement and up and down etc, and it starting to be able to take impact, but it’s just this dam bending of the knee which I have seen basically no improvement since I had my cast off!! Oh well…lets just “give it time!”

Wes. Great to hear that you are walking (sort of!) hee hee! 🙂

Anywho…have a great weekend everyone!

Louise xx
~ Liz on September 12, 2008 at 3:06 pm said:

WES, That’s great news! Thanks for all the info from the doctor. Glad to know he laughed off the cooked meat story. lol I will definitely have to ask my doctor next time about what type of metal I have. I guess, like you, I’ve been lucky. I get right in and out at the doctor’s office and he takes the time to answer any questions… it probably helps that I used to work there in college and my sister still works there, so I’m what they call a “back door patient.” I just walk right in the back door and into x-ray… I’ve never even been in the waiting room. 🙂 Anyway, I’m so happy for you that your ankle is progressing so well and that things might work out after all for your work situation. Don’t worry, with your drive and determination, you’ll be beating grandma and grandpa real soon. haha

Anyway, you all must be alot stronger than I am or something, because I love my physical therapist and couldn’t imagine not having him for support right now. I don’t feel like it’s overrated at all, but I guess in some cases it could be? One of the main reasons I think I enjoy it so much is, not only for the stretching exercises that the therapist gives me because yes I can do those at home, but for the overall workout I get while I’m there. Before my break I was working out 6x/week at Gold’s Gym and I miss it very much. At least at therapy I can get on the bike, stair stepper, and cross trainer and at the same time I’m getting his expertise, ultrasound treatments, and as much as they hurt deep tissue massages (those are things I couldn’t do at home on my own). Anyway, I guess everyone’s experience with PT has been different. But I know personally it has helped tremendously and I’m really going to miss my therapist when I go back to work and back to my hometown (right now I’m staying with my parents, 3 hours from my home). I’ve already got his email address so I can keep him posted on my progress.

Anyway, have a great afternoon everyone.

~Liz
trac on September 12, 2008 at 1:24 pm said:

Good Afternoon!

I wanted to give Jodie a thumbs up. I’ve been doing my own PT for awhile now, and actually making more progress than when I had a PT coming to my home, as he didn’t have me doing anything I couldn’t do for free. Keep asking around for ideas, and working at it. You will keep getting stronger.

Wes — Congrads! Good news from the dr! YAY! Oh, and I, too, went through major Vicodin issues. I don’t have much of a temper(although, I AM a redhead…ha!)and one day, I lost my temper, badly, got very sick – physically — couldn’t stop crying — couldn’t eat. All these symptoms and more, that weren’t me. My doc concluded it was indeed due to the Vicodin. I switched to Neurotin. LOVE IT! I have not had any problems with it, plus, it helps a little with my situational depression. I think you will be very happy with it. It does not kill pain immediately like the narcs — but, it evens it out over time. I’d rather have some pain, rather than that emotional wreck of a roller coaster the vicodin took me on.

As far as the massage, after practicing for well over a decade. I can tell you, the healing properties of the massage are worth pushing through the pain. I am glad it was your PT who performed it, as unfortunately, there are too many MTherapists out there practicing that do not know how to work with injuries or swelling. But, if you find an experienced LMT, esp. w/ sports or pain management, it can help in what becomes a relaxing manner. Some insurance will even pay for massage if you can get your dr to prescribe it under your pain management treatment.

Good healing to everyone!
And Lois, thanks for the article, it was needed reading.
trac
Denver on September 12, 2008 at 12:44 pm said:

ok.. so here we go

Just left my Dr appt.
(& I had a list of questions on my phone so I wouldn’t forget or leave anything out because this Drs REALLY good & has done work on a few close friends of mine so he spends the time chatting with me)

1st I DON’T want to get back on my bike lol.. that’s like Lois was about those stairs or so long. I’m sure Ill ride again someday but NO hurry at all.. at LEAST a year.

I am now 7.5 weeks post surgery only had splint on for 10 days after surgery then was ok to go with nothing on it, just keep it safe & don’t fall or have to start over. They weren’t sure if it was bimalleolar & just found out that I had a trimalleolar fracture. I had the initial pains,sensitivity,super tenderness all over so I had called Dr asking if I could stretch any (considering whenever my foot would jerk, as it was dreaming I guess, it would hurT BAD!!!) so he cleared me to stretch as needed as long as I waited to weight bare still.

So after the sensitivity eased up I still have had burning front side of arch & tip of toes as if the nerves are waking but stuck in limbo. Haven’t slept but 30min – 2.5hrs a night for 7 days now

Vicoden has pissed me off so bad that I will do my best to keep safe & PrAy I don’t have to get another surgery because I love my family too much & hate the crutch of it screwing w my head making me think little feelings I’m sure I had prior to any accident that were just funny & no big deal were now scary feelings that need the drug. LOIS I read that article its sad.. makes me nauseous. That’s why I wanted off. My brothers story isn’t so much like that articles well written one. he was taking 25 @ a time & I’m not stupid to think my dose is any less dangerous. they had me taking 20mg and that article he’s doin 7.5pills & they run his life.. hello sCaRy..
Ok tryin to get back on track.. its the talking through sleeplessness not ‘talking into the vic’ 😉

-metal he used in my ankle is polished cobalt crome. lol wonder if I can get matching rims Lois 😉 just his personal preference he said he likes and has had the fewest complications for him personally. said every Dr is different what they feel is best

-about the pain- I’d called yesterday & his assistant called back @ which point I’d let her know I was off the drugs and want going to takem anymore because what it was doing to my family and my mind. I told her I was trying to find out about this horrible burning that’s keeping me up all night & how (w out vicoden) I could sleep or get it to stop. I let her know I tried to get the blood flowing so that’s why I started walking & trying to wear myself out so I would possibly fall asleep. So talked about it today w Dr and he prescribed me a nerve medicine (Neurontin (Gabapentin Cap 100mg)) that doesn’t work like the V and has me gradually introing it into the system over 3 days until I get a chance to get n2 Physio where hopefully the TENS may help it 😉 & I can stop the nerve medicine.

-then I asked about the ultrasound & he said same as all have.. not dangerous and you’d feel it. he laughed about the cooked meat.

-so when they went to take my Xrays he said,”have you been weight baring?” I said yes, since tuesday I’ve gone full weight baring because I couldn’t sleep & needed to get moving. He said,”I mis marked how long you were post surgery,I looked at the chart from the time I removed your splint & marked that date instead of the 10days prior so this actually works out better.” He took full weight baring xrays & was exstatic. Said he was VeRy ImPressed! He showed me how it has all healed closed perfectly & had me walk around the room. said lose the cutches & lose the boot this is exactly what he wanted to see, and asked what my method was to keep the sweeling down & be mobile so quick. I told him & he explained its brilliant & vERy safe. said he wished he could get more people to use a bucket of ice water but they’re usually too sensitive. I told him how I overcame the extreme sensitivity by gradually putting the ice in after ankle was already submerged & he said he’s going to have to have patients try it that way so they could heal at a better speed that the bodies capable of.

-brought up next question- How long, what’s normal etc…
He said the body naturally as you stay mobile and use it probably about two years but if you treat the body properly, keep the blood circulating,the swelling down & keep stretching it could be weeks just as long as you get rest in there as it rebuilds.

(side note, that’s what I was explaining about the workout is keep stretching more than what you’ll need for daily use will make less soarness as the muscles & tendons wouldn’t be pushed to the limit every time we go out of the house. Instead theres a Lot of extra leway & the opportunity to be pain free)

-I wonder too, what’s that slush bag recipe because I don’t always have buckets everywhere I go either 😉

-he prescribed me 4-6 weeks PT & a follow up w him in 6 weeks.

so up to now I push my stretches & wobble work outs hard & its made it so the walks don’t cause me so much soarness. that’s the only area I push real hard. I walk slower than molasis. My niece said I’m real slow . So I told her I’m just like an old grandpa. To which she replied,”no,ur even slower than grandpa”.. I forget, my grandparents are old but her grandparents are just my mom and dad lol.

still no work @ the office. it kinda came to a stand still as he let every1 take a day break which means the work won’t get to me til mon or tues. I mentioned I could do other steps in the assembly line style they work, as I have done it before in TX when they tossed me an extra $5 per unit.. if he was just going to have to send it out then have it come right back to me anyway… possibly could save him some money. he said he LIkeS that idea.. hmm possibly may wind up back on track sooner than later hopefully. And as they get more work in over next few months (this coming up will be the busy season for dental) I may even wind up back in the black.

Wife didn’t have work today so I finally fell asleep @ 3:45ish & didn’t have to get up @ 5:30.. actually got bout 4-5hrs sleep.. uhh just makes me want a real nights sleep more as foot still is on fire..

hope all are having a good friday & Ill let you know or you guys let me know if you’ve heard of any bad things with this nerve stuff. Pretty sure he wouldn’t steer me wrong.
& you guys were talking about the Dr being slow makes me appreciate these guys over here even more. I go in don’t wait 5 mins & its like the size of a football field building full of everything from surgeons to PTs & assistants.. and aquariums mmmm.. I want a salt water aquarium… just don’t want to take care of it lol..
Ok fun thing to check out- salt water fish called a ‘Flame Hawkfish’ they have one at the office & he swims round quickly then just ‘sits’ on a rock.. not on his belly, but rather his side fins he puts down like hands.. hard to explain you’d have to see it. he’s not slow and gracefully stoping he just turns sITs , swims to spot then quICkly sits again.. wave finger he watches turns quick then sits super fast back onto what looks like his finger like fins

Til Later,
Wes is waLKing =)
anklequest on September 12, 2008 at 11:48 am said:

Jodie,
You are on the right track. You can do your own PT. And PT can be totally over-rated and overdone.

Louise,
Who are you to think a doc should know you? No doc around here in the meto NY area knows anyone unless they are in all the time. And forget the PT. Just find out what YOU needd to do and do that. The health care system has too many dependents and lots of useless PT. You’ll be able to bend your ankle & knee in time. It took me about two years to be able to garden with ease, getting up and down.

Liz,
I went throught the flat foot phase which gradually phased out when my leg and foot got stronger. So don’t worry about that. That may take a while too. No one can say how long for all these ankle breaks are different and individual muscles & tendon damage is different. Parts of my ankle were “smashed” and that can take years to get better. And thanks for the posts. Removing screws sure is costly.

Denver,
You are a person to be admired because you know that you have to take things into your own hands to get better. To bad you got into the pain killer thing, for they often can mask real problems..both mentally and physically. And I AM SO GLAD that stage is now over! God gave us the gift of pain killers but overdone it is a curse. Your life will be much better on account of getting off of these. The ice buckets should be a good backup just in case, even though they are not for me.

Lois,
Yes I did read the Esquire article. Thanks so much for the post. Are you still lulling around with the dogs while we’re all back at work?

PATIENCE everyone! Time heals.
Jodie on September 12, 2008 at 11:30 am said:

Liz,

I was going to PT for about 3 months, then I started having horrible pain and swelling. The doctor who I was originally seeing told me to stop, that it was probably aggrevating it. Then he had a bad accident himself, closed his practice and sent me to someone else. Only saw him once, he never looked at my ankle, just the CT scan and told me it looked fine. Said I didn’t need to come back unless I wanted the hardware out. He never mention PT and I forgot to bring it up, so, I feel like I was just left swinging in the wind. Losing a doctor you have been working with is very hard. At least they knew what you had been going through. Now, I just do some PT on my own.
If I am not where I should be, my fault.
~ Liz on September 12, 2008 at 10:58 am said:

JODIE, Sorry to hear you’re still aching after almost a year. Did you go to physical therapy after your break? Are you still going? If not, maybe it would help. I think it was Lois (correct me if I’m wrong, Lois) who was having some difficulty with her ankle and had just accepted that that was just how it was going to be from now on… but she decided to go back to physical therapy and it did help. Did you mention the foot pain to your doctor? What was his response… well I probably already know the answer that that…”just give it time!” lol I do hope things continue to improve for you. Maybe getting the hardware out will help, and if you haven’t already, maybe give therapy a shot.

~Liz
Jodie on September 12, 2008 at 10:02 am said:

Liz,

I also have the problem of my foot hurting when I walk and it doesn’t seem to be getting a whole lot better, although I can walk on my toes, and make a point of doing it a couple times a day, seems to help stretch things a bit. I was also released by the doctor at 7 months – which I think was too soon, as I don’t know if I should be doing better than what I am at almost a year out. Broke my ankle on October 11th 2007. Should I be up and running, still hurting like I do, still not be able to walk downstairs without looking and sounding like step, thump, step, thump?
I am sitting here at my desk thinking, my foot and ankle ache today. Will this be my life from now on?

Jodie
~ Liz on September 12, 2008 at 9:51 am said:

Louise, Well I guess it’s good news that they think you are well enough to be discharged. But scary at the same time. I’ve thought about that recently too, like what happens at “the end” when the doctor releases you, the PT releases you, but yet you know that your ankle isn’t back to “normal” yet and you’re just left to fend for yourself and get on with life. I hope it all turns out great for you. You have come such a long way, doing high impact exercises in your PT sessions, doing kick-butt workouts at the gym… I’m sure you will be fine, but I know it can be frustrating when the only answer you get is “give it time.” Well HOW MUCH time is what we want to know! lol I think the doctors forget sometimes that patients are actually people, with feelings and worries and futures ahead of them. I forgot why you said you only get a certain number of therapy appointments… was it an insurance decision or did the therapist think that was all you needed? Maybe you could request to stay longer if you feel you need it. It seems like the sessions are fun, at least. 🙂

One thing I noticed yesterday (I walked up and down my hall probably 50 times studying my gait) is that I’m still walking somewhat flat footed… not rolling onto my toes. When I do consciously make myself roll onto my toes it’s like all the bones in that foot hurts (not my ankle, but my lower foot). Anyone else experience that? I asked my PT about it and he said not to rush it, that it’ll improve with time… there’s that dreaded “just give it time” answer again. lol Also, I noticed yesterday too that I can not walk on my tip toes… my ankle/foot just will not support that. Has anyone else tried walking on their toes? Are you able to? LOUISE, is that something you do in your physical therapy sessions? Just curious if that’s something I’ll get back in time. I can rise up onto my toes using both feet (like to reach for something) but when I try to step on the toes of just my bad foot, I can’t do it.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday. Enjoy your weekend.

Stay safe,
Liz
Louise on September 12, 2008 at 8:16 am said:

Hi Liz! Ouch…the deep massage sounds painful! A few ppl have said that they have had that done…I haven’t had anything like that (although dont think I want to hee hee!)
I’m sure you will be feeling a little up and down about going back to work!! Im sure you will be fine when you do get back again, and get back into it! 😀

Denver. Glad to hear the withdrawals are starting to stop! Thats great! And as Liz said, please dont overdo it!! :S

Well..I had an appointment at the fracture clinic today…and what a total waste of time THAT was! I was discharged, which is one good thing…no more waiting around for hours at a time to be seen. My appointment was meant to be at half 9, and once again had to wait around until half 10 to be seen, but however.
Anyway, another consultant who I hadn’t seen before came in to look at my x-rays after my orginal op, commented on how “nasty” it looked, and looked at my notes. Then the consultant who I have seen about 5 times, and who has done both of my opperations came in, told me that the 2 screws on the x-ray he was pointing at need to come out, and also commented on how “nasty” an injury it was. He then asked me how I did, and I said (again) that I did it playing netball, and then I advised him that the 2 screws he was pointing at on the x-ray, HE had taken out over 2 months ago. (He, apparantly is one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the south east england…apparantly so!)

Only at THAT point did he pick up my notes, and say “oh yes…I remember, it was me who took the screws out wasn’t it? When was that?” I told him the date, and he nodded and asked me if I had any problems, I JUST about had enough time to shake my head and he was off. The other consultant stood there and said they were discharging me, and I just about had enough time to ask about the fact I couldnt get my knee more forward than my ankle at all, and he told me that would come with time, and he was off….scribbled a signature on a piece of paper, and said I was free to go!!!

Welcome to the caring world of the National Health Service!!! You have to agree, that yes, although people in britain get “free” health care (although it comes out of your wages as national insurance automatically!) it’s overstretched, and no one has enough time for you at all.
I also have 2 more physio sessions then thats it…I will be left to get on with it. Yes, my ankle is maybe a little better than other people’s, but no my ankle is by no means back to normal, or anywhere close to it really. As SOON as I can afford private health insurance, I am getting it I tell you!!!

But never mind…for the moment I shall continue with the physio for another 2 sessions, and go from there I guess!

Hope everyone else is doing ok!
Sorry for my little moan! hee hee.

Louise xx
~ Liz on September 11, 2008 at 7:28 pm said:

Well I agree with ANKLEQUEST, I think I’ll stick with my bag of peas and the slush pack my therapist gave me a recipe for. 🙂 Those are cold enough. I wouldn’t want to freeze my cooked meat. HaHa

DENVER, I do hope you’re not pushing things too far, too fast. I know you’re anxious to get back full mobility and back on your bike, but please do be careful. I’m sure you are, since you seem to know alot about the body and how it works… I’d just hate to see you reinjure yourself. When is your doctor’s appointment to get permission to fully weight bear, or has that already happened? Great news about getting off the meds and no more withdrawals.

Thanks for the info LOIS. 🙂 Hmmm… now you all have me curious as to what type of metal I have. lol Good luck on getting those stainless steel appliances to match.

Well I had physical therapy today… after telling him again how sore my ankle/foot has been since getting out of the boot, he proceeded to tell me to take off my shoe, left to get a few things, came back and said that what he was about to do wasn’t going to feel so good… He wasn’t lying!! He did a deep tissue massage and OMG it hurt so bad! He massaged all around my ankle, and up the side where the metal is… I about came out of my seat a couple times… I kept reaching down to grab my leg and pulling it back because it hurt so bad. I told my therapist I was about to pop him! lol Well at least it gave us a laugh for a minute amidst the pain. After the massage he iced it for 15 minutes and had me do all the usual machines. He didn’t have me do all my stretches though. He said he wanted to give it some rest, that he had worked the tissue enough for the day. So I see him back next week. That’s been the extent of my day. I’ll find out a week from today if I get to go back to work. I have mixed emotions about going back, so we’ll see what happens.

Anyway, hope everyone’s having a wonderful evening. Stay safe!

~Liz
lois on September 11, 2008 at 6:55 pm said:

Oh, and Ankequest, you should try to find a minute to read that article I attached a couple of days ago too. You will understand it well I think, especially the part about “talking through the vike.”
lois on September 11, 2008 at 6:43 pm said:

Whoops, sorry but that last post sounded funny. I did not mean to imply that MRI would leave the metal hanging out of your ankle. lol. I meant to say that they can do MRI’s with your bad ankle (with the metal in it) hanging out of the MRI machine…. There I think that sounds better. Anyway hello to everyone,,, and its nice to see new people on,,, and sharing advice with others…. So hello, both old and new.
lois on September 11, 2008 at 6:37 pm said:

Well, I missed the doctors call today while outside, but he left a message. He said I have stainless steel in my ankle. I cylindrical plate and six screws, three each of two different types. As for security machines at airports etc… he said that some are more sensative than others. He said some I will not set off and some I will set off. He said that if I set them off, I just have to show my ankle scar, and they will be aware of what the problem is. So thats that… I already said yesterday, that I was told that for untrasound, I should advise them of my ankle, and they can work around the metal. For MRI’s come places will do them and some will not. Different places have different policies…. For example they said they thought private clinics would not. So perhaps they are more afraid of damaging their machines than my safety… who knows? I was also told that if possible, they can sometimes do MRI’s by leaving your ankle with the metal hanging out. So stainless steel it is…. I told my husband that I think in honor of all of this, I should be getting new stainless steel appliances to match.

Denver Wes, did you read the article that I linked on Vicodin addiction????? It is really interesting, very readable, and very informative. Glad to hear that you are doing better getting off those pills.
Denver on September 11, 2008 at 6:11 pm said:

hmmm I’m starting to wonder about you anklequest.. The rebuilding that I am doing doeS work for broken ankles ToO & its NoT short term.

The idea that is factual proven is how your body heals regardless the injury.

Swelling is caused by blood pooling in the injured spot where it promotes healing, however broken capularies remain left behind.. trying to remember the exactly what it was called, but anhow, the ‘method’ of the cool water (not freezing cold water) w a cup or picture of ice poured into it will & does slow the circulation & reduce swelling.. the key is to get the old cells moved/circulated so fresh blood can get there so the healing that actual is being attempted by the body can work. I LOVE the peas 🙂 have bags in 3 freezers but when going to get all the bad blood out & fresh blood in thAT’s when u do the bucket. soon as the swelling is down idealy if the person can walk they then are to get onto a treadmill backwards at a 6-10% grade and walk for 15-25mins . the body circulates best this way. but I did take into account that not every1 can walk & the wobble board is highly recommended. because if a person can get fresh blood to swolen areas more often its sort of like having a cold virus & continually brushing your teeth w the same toothbrush staying sick longer instead of shortening it by tossing it into the dishwasher to keep healthier as your body naturally heals. the body heals real fast.. I’m not short cutting, promise. its just able to have more motion when the swelling is down. strengthen it and or wrapping is what one would do if they were going to start running or playing sports immediately. so since most here aren’t able to do so much,this is the small step = wobble board, stretching by practicing rotation & visually can see how good its coming along, fresh blood circulates in & strengthens ankle as it rotates on so many different angles to where it holds up if ever rolled again.. but better than that, if the ankle can hold pressure trained atop 1.5inches and at all the angles, walking on flat, bumpy or uneven surfaces is easy, noT dangerous or out of control methods that moron pros use, but safe loNNNNg lasting LonnnG living active people can do ;)~

oh by the way I didn’t get a chance to look at the wobble board site but I saw one @ sporting goods store other day was just $15.99 and saw tons on http://www.Amazon.com for round bout the same too..

I must be really bad since its 3rd day walking & I went 1/4mile around the lake with a smoooth looking walk & just held cane w/out using it.. just keep circulating out the old blood, get fresh blood through & into it again and by rotating the board have in a healthy way stretched tendons & built the tiny muscles needed to keep foot on the end of my leg 😉 of course I am moving along faster because I had the dirt bike boots on when it broke which they said prevented tendon & soft tissue damage ..

I just feel TraCs pain and fear & shes willing to try what she can so she can truly know she can get her ankle working or they will amputate 🙁 I’d give it a shot for sure..
🙂 what’s there to lose?

and I even threw in the example of what actual Dr (who we know are quite careful of pushing the envelope for risk of mal practice suits and always lean to the careful side) told and worked with me to tears on stretching. As I know PT does too 🙂

I had to use cane after 1/4 mile & took it easy as should be.. 1.5miles around lake took 1hr20mins.. I just have a smoother walk and fresher blood flowing/healing 😉

oh and No withdrawls anymore off all meds since last friday woo hoo!! I got some gel packs that can be hot or cold. I heat it up and apply to shins, calf and foot as a reward after long walk or workout however small it may be. it helps there not be so much pain that evening and the next day..since the muscles release toxins as they get a work it. same aplication of allowing the body to do its job is us doing ours.. after the workout its best to stretch the hot muscles as they will contract from the toxins and having stretched them allows them once contracted to not be soar later. however knowing we really can’t stretch to well we just heat up as nice as possible with little rotations we can do & working massages

ok.. off to dinner =)

Your Crazy Physical Therapist, Wes 😉
Susan TX on September 11, 2008 at 6:08 pm said:

Trac~

Thank You. Yes, there are a few to choose from. I am reading about them now. I think I will order one like the one you ordered.

Happy mending to all.

Susan
anklequest-2 on September 11, 2008 at 4:20 pm said:

For Denver..During a lull between students

If the idea is to numb the pain by freezing your toes off with buckets of ice water and go right back into the ball game then you can hurt yourself even more. then, when you have even more pain after the game is over, you can just stick your head into the ice bucket too and numb your head pain. And while you are at it, take those pain killers too. This is my understanding of what the pros do. Don’t fortget that a lot of these guys have surgeries at early ages..and by the way, don’t live all that long either.

As for me, I’ll stick with my occasional little ol’ frozen bag of peas from the grocery store, walk around in my uneven yard, and roll my foot around in a towel from time to time. Oh, and I’ll accomplish the same thing without having to have pain killers or pushing myself to ride that motorcycle again, when I could do all that safely in a few weeks with no anxiety.

Finally, all of us broke ankles..which is quite different from a sprained ankle. Plus, Liz, Lee and others have far more severe enjuries than you so I would not be suggesting they freeze their toes off. it’s bad enough that Liz already had to content with cooked meat via ultrasound.

All the best to everyone. And thanks, Denver, for all the thoughtful advice!
trac on September 11, 2008 at 3:35 pm said:

Susan,

No problem. Here is the link:

http://www.med1online.com/p-12220-bailey-200-series-ankle-exerciser-212.aspx

they have quite a few different ones at med1online.com

hope this helps –
trac
Susan TX on September 11, 2008 at 12:48 pm said:

Trac ~

Recovering from Peroneal Tendon Repair. I’m considering a wobble board. Where did you orders your from if you don’t mind sharing?

Thanks….Susan
Louise on September 11, 2008 at 12:05 pm said:

Erika!! Hi. I had 2 screws out in july, but they were much bigger ones which went across the tibia and fibula. This was done under a local anaesthetic, and took about 6/7 mins in total

BUT

I was told if I were to have the rest of the hardwear out (plate and about 5 screws) then it would be a general anaesthetic, and possible back on crutches again, because the muscle is being cut, which would make it all tight, and reluctant to move again…but if it is causing you pain, then it is deff worth doing, for a little setback! This is what I was told by a nurse when I went for my last op, but whether or not this would apply to you….I dont know! I guess it depends how MUCH metal work is to come out, and how deep into the bones it is I guess!!

Louise xx
trac on September 11, 2008 at 11:47 am said:

Glad to see so many getting around!

Oh, and I’m with you. That frustration of not knowing. Even if it is bad news, I just want to know. My surgeon is super cool — but, I know about the questions because he has threatened to have tattooed on my arm — “A couple of years is not that long to your body” — but it is when you don’t know. ha!

Wes — thanks so much! Yes, indeedy, my surgeon did not beat around the bush regarding the pain of after the cast is off. Heck, I feel it with the cast on. But, I think I’m somewhat prepared. I say somewhat, because I’ve found through all of this, I’m never totally prepared until I actually feel the pain. I have already ordered a wobble board, after reading how beneficial it has been for so many on this list.

So, thanks — I will let you know how it all works out. Doc says at least another year of working everything out.

peace!
trac
Denver on September 11, 2008 at 11:24 am said:

Day 3 walking w cane (picked it up at walgreens 21 or 24 dollars because the 1 crutch prevents me from doing stairs & having more mobility .. don’t get me wron you still can use it with just as much weight as the crutch) I noticed my hand gets sweaty holding onto it for dear life, well,pUshing down on it with so much to compensate that is.. kinda like when I first started using the crutches.. sweaty,sweaty,sweaty.. nOt comfortable even though every1 was amazed “look at how well you get around on those”

I can move around w Out the cane but have it as I get soar & may be 100ft away NoT good when u hit the wall.. but that’s the key – Go,do,go,walk,go,stretch push it push it push it.. our mind doesn’t like the pain but it is necessary to move around again & to heal. Ill give a good scary felling thought in a moment of how to know what’s a good level to push it as the PTs make so many of us & what the mind set should be (or as we should likewise be pushing ourself)

So here we go,
TrAC I don’t know how long after you had that achilles surgery u have to wait to work it out or attempt to.. but the moment they say alls a go here’s the plan. the bucket of ice water is PaiNfull but necessary. way around it = I just left it sit overnight w a towel over it so the cat doesn’t jump in & drown & so I don’t have bugs in it the next day.. but I take a picture of ice, dunk foot into water tHen dump ice in (or large cup if that can’t be handled) it sTiLl is VeRy painful to the sences, NoT to the ankle.. its a mind over matter thing deffinately. keep it in 15mins (watch TV or keep your mind pre occupied as best as possible with music or SomEthing cause 15mins goes SLoW & hurts) have a kitchen chair close by & a wobble board it is a MUST & aWeSome for range of motion & strength rebuilding you can literally sEe.. anyhow then sit on a kitchen chair, your bad leg @ a 90degree angle foot flat on the 16″ wobble board w good shoes laced on (they don’t have to be tight, but definitely will help to have them on when first stretching, Ill show you why). I watched the video & added some ideas from managing track & cross country back in the day. you want to (with your ankle as much as possible,trying not to move knee/leg around too much – yes it will happen you just recognize & get it little more stable every day or so_this way you get more mobility & strength where needed)now lay it either toward the front,back or sides to find where there Is more motion..try to touch the side of it to the floor. do this by using oTher foot or cane or soMethIng to push gently down on the side you are attempting to get to the floor. you can either press on the edges of the board itself OR on the shoe of the bad foot sitting in the center of the board. if you have more mobility forward for example,then press down on the fron of you shoe toward the toes pressing down til it hURts then press a tInY bit more,not too hard but a consistent amount of steady applied pressuer to keep it at that pain level, now count in tears to 30 (seconds,not high speed lol). then relax & even grab shoe w hand to rotate ankle round and round to aleviate the pain you just cause.. all while counting out 30 seconds to a min resting(it can be a couple mins @ 1st but to rebuild the less time resting the more it builds strength so narrow the time each day but you never have to go below 30sec and you can increase the hole time to 45sec to a min as you will have the courage & will notice it is stretching & giving mobility) then place it back down doing this 3 times in the same area & after a couple days or I wait 1, then start repeating it between 6 – 9 times in the same direction. after, then rotate it on the board 25times colockwise (30 second – 1 min rest) then counterclockwise the same -all while trying to get edges of the board to touch the floor..eventually you will have areas touching the floor & the ones that are nowhere neAr are where you stretch more often & cry a lot more. eventually the goal is a steady smooth touch all the way around w minimal leg moving out of 90 & minimul sliding the board around to make it easier to touch 😉 after you’ve stretched (and when doing the back side drop of board,I hold my shoe & push around the heal down until I feel my foot start to lift up in the shoe & I know that’s the limit & I press down on knee til I can get about 1/2 inch of downward pressure that wasn’t there before and hold in tears if need be for 30 & always step it up to 45 then 1 min because eventually you’ll feel its relaxin ever so slightly as it accepts the new stretch length & its time to get even more mobility by pressing the board closer to the floor) remember use your oposite foot to help hold down the edge of board where u need to get the foot to stretch to while using hand on bad foot (or the one working out) to press foot to limits or tendons to new levels again.

After the two clockwise motions are done it time for the next 2 rotations..
stand up turn kitchen chair around using the back to sustain like a walker (if u r able to, keep it to the side. the side the bad foot on the board is so it doesn’t shoot out from under u while doing this one) place bad foot centered & other on floor which you while raise to tip toe using chair to compensate the weight rather than the toe,just so your focused mainly on downward force on bad ankle while rotating..not to be amazing but just so its mobile under pressure since that is the intended goal. remember- just enough weight to pressure it then begin 25rotations trying to get the sides as close to the floor as possible.. as u understand the work out more & or have someone show you this IS a normal range of motion even though we have nowhere NeAr the mobility to believe it lol , u will get the board closer to the floor & even wiLL touch the floor in some areas and eventual ALL the areas is the goal.. I mean after all, we don’t want to just get back to the level we were we we got injured, we want it sTROngeR 🙂 like athletes we all hear about that 6 months & 9 months after simular surgeries they compete in olympics putting pheNOminal amounts of pressure while looking at ease. they got the stretches dOwn pat so they can quickly retrain the muscles to the incredible levels needed to do the things we would like to do. keeping this in mind I started going back to the ice bucket after these 4 sets / 25 reps ea & after 15 mins went back to the stretching searching for that spot I can push more & gives courage to push all Over once u get the hang of the pain. sometimes I go a couple times in the bucket to get it even more down in the swelling so I have more ability/mobility when stretching. and once done with this I usually will go walkin & notice immediate improvements.. tiny,but HUgE compared to the day before. & after done for day walking or what not I do the bucket 3 times to reduce the inflamation as much as possible – 15 in 20 out, 15 in again 20 out, then I dump more ice in for last hoora since it takes about 1hr45 mins water is warmer than needed to reaLLy help 😉 then third and final reward – 15 in and go take a nice bath or shower & be proud.. oh I take advil beFORE I start aNY of this. to keep ahEAD of the swelling 😉 rule of thumb with advil is 100mg an hr don’t exceed 800 in one sitting. I used to do 800 but now just do 600 so I have ability to switch to something else or take an advil PM sooner than later.
And advil can be used with vicoden if ur on it.

Ok my foots out of bucket and I’m going for round 2 on my board then hitting the mall w my cane.

I can actually get around w out it to.. but carry it and use it to help w the reaLLy sore spots & keep in mind where they are so next stretch/work out session I know where to work it more & where to be sure I add more weight to range of motion in standing workout so I can smoothly walk through those spots as well.

& I mentioned the pushing it to tears past the pain level- ya.. had broken jaw and was stretching quite nice Dr even said was doing fine then had me hold the surgical chair like a dentist chair & scissor my thumb and forefinger like you would after a snap, placing thumb against top teeth & forefinger against bottom teeth on both sides of mouth and push it open HARd.. I thought I was pushing hard til he explained juSt HoW much a tendon & muscles could be stretched in a sitting.. a LOT!! he even had to place a rag on fingers since they would literally CuT through as he pressed so hard.. I’d do it in the shower since heat helps stretch too.. its kinda hard though because swelling won’t go down unless you go the other route w foot. So I was crying and kicking the chair as he counted to 30 then had me relax and some of the mobility would go away over night but it was a matter of pushing it so hard that you beat the mark and make it 2steps fwd only 1 back over night 😉 that’s why you have to push so hard.. I thought my jaw was going to rip right off or rebrake til he showed me bones are a LOT stronger than the tendons & they are made just for this. I wanted to fit a subway sandwhich in there BAD too.. its a different motivator now but same concept.. I want to mtn climb again & run… but don’t get me wrong, I read about the PT where you guys are running and jumping and a say NO WAY !! OuCH!! I almost cry thinking about the rope latter.. but as I get more pressure on this thing the netter my blood does flow as said by others earlier & it helps it heal & function better quicker.

oh ya & if u haven’t already started, get some ms glucosimine & take daily it helps a Lot to rebuild things Drs say may never rebuild yet they witness it in awe over and over again.

Wes
~ Liz on September 11, 2008 at 10:08 am said:

Hey Jodie,

I just had to comment on your statement, “I didn’t know and still don’t know how it should be feeling.”

I so feel you on that! I think that’s been one of the more frustrating things for me… not knowing what to expect or how it should be feeling. I’m constantly asking my PT, “is that pain or bruise or soreness or swelling normal?” lol I apologized just last week to him because I know I tell him about every little pop, crackle, snap, and pain in my ankle. I just get so worried that something is going to go wrong because I DON’T know what it “should” feel like at this point.

Good luck to both you and Erika on getting the hardware out if that’s the route you choose to take. Definitely keep us posted on the outcome.

~Liz
Jodie on September 11, 2008 at 9:36 am said:

Erika,

You broke you ankle right before I broke mine. I did mine on October 11, 2007. Left foot, 3 breaks – dislocation and have a plate and 5 screws on the outside, and 2 long on the inside. I haven’t been back to the doctor since May.

My original doctor was in a horrible accident back in March and had to close his practice, and the one that took his place, I don’t know if I really liked. Saw him once after I had a CT scan to see if I was healing, and he never did look at my ankle, just said that scan looked fine. Then he asked me if I felt like it was healing? What a stupid question. As appossed to what? I didn’t know and still don’t know how it should be feeling. He did say that the hardware should come out, and just give him a call after one year is up.

Good luck with getting the hardware out. My husband is pushing me to have mine out.
~ Liz on September 11, 2008 at 9:15 am said:

Hardware removal has been a question of many on this board. I have no experience with hardware removal myself but I started doing a little researching on google today and found 2 interesting articles:

1) Discusses the benefits vs. cost of hardware removal: http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rid=22690

2) This article is from the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma. “Incidence of Hardware-Related Pain and Its Effect on Functional Outcomes After Open Reduction and Internal Fixation of Ankle Fractures.”

I found the abstract here: http://www.techfootankle.com/pt/re/techfoot/abstract.00005131-200105000-00006.htm;jsessionid=LJgQsGwnynTyq2gLsLGl6hqXhNpcz9hfRLknyrVmspSXCBw62CKG!-1101774500!181195629!8091!-1?nav=reference

With a little searching I was able to find the full article here, if anyone is interested: http://orthopaedics.vanderbilt.edu/traumaresearch/Incidence%20of%20Hardware%20Related%20Pain%20and%20its%20Effect%20on%20Functional%20Outcome%20Following%20ORIF%20of%20Unstable%20Ankle%20Fractures%20%5B2001%5D.pdf

Also, if you’re REALLY interested in what the surgery is like, several people have posted actual videos of their screw removal surgery on YouTube! GROSS! I clicked on one, but couldn’t bear to watch. lol

~ Liz
Denver on September 10, 2008 at 11:08 pm said:

ERIKA
I believe just w/in the last 6 days of posts Dan (or Don?) had a screw removal he went into detail about. It was a small cut, 90second procedure as I recall under minimal but good no feeling drug, he was awake for that & rested up w a juice & cookies & walked out slight tender, but drove himself home & couple days of discomfort, minimal walking & kept bandage for the couple or few days. I believe all here have heard & thought @ one time or another about hardware romoval & I’m still reading constantly & don’t believe some1 has actual let us in on the step by steps of it all. I’m guessing it might be a slightly bigger cut to get different screws out & wonder if they would just do a narrow cut @ either end to pull the plate out or would they really have to do the full length again?? you may just be the 1st 1 to tell us about it 🙂 I mean that in a sad but anticapating way. Qurious also if we have to be put under more than Dan for mare removal? Would we have to stay non weight baring or minimal weight baring for how long considering Dr may not want us to have a stress fracture where there is now multiple holes in the bone.. & is it like paying for the initial surgery all over again & the big fuNNy question on my mind = Do we get reimbursed for the metal when they take it back, do WE get to keep it & bring it in for $hmmmm I mean, I sAW what mine ran me aFTer I paid everything else..

& Trac
I also told everyone here awhile back (when I 1st started writing) that I call men & women GuYs.. its colorado slang .. its either that or ya’ll ..lol
Anyhow.. My prayers – OUR prayers are deffinately w you as your evaluation date comes near that it will all go well. & that sucks about ins saying YouR good since you r considered “mobile” .. what a jip..

Ok every1
10:03 walked w my cane til I couldn’t move baredly & iced it in bucket 3 times works good as a single session. but it takes awhile.. better be ready to station surf or keep busy because it HURTs dippin in2 the ice water bucket.. then having to sit there for 15mins then I took 20 min break (could do 15min break to offet time better)then dry & keep elevated while resting out of bucket also & go back in after 15 – 20 mins.. so it took about 1hr45 mins then wife wanted to run out w me for bout half hour… uuhhh I took crutches so no more swelling cause I have time I like to pretend I go to bed & didn’t want to have to do ice down session all over again =)~
Erika on September 10, 2008 at 10:38 pm said:

Hi everyone. Thought I would update you with my “doctors” visit. Unfortunately, I ended up meeting with a Nurse Practitioner. Normally, I wouldn’t care…But….

She thinks she sees “shadowing” around the screws on both sides of my ankle – so she is thinking hardware removal for comfort reasons. So, she says I need to see the “doctor” to get his opinion. Ok, great, where’s the doc? So, I had to make another apointment and the apointment is not until October 8th! So, I will just hobble in pain until I get another opinion, and then will have to make the decision on what to do.

I could re-read all the posts, but there are so many – who has had hardware taken out and then found that the pain was better? Any takers?

Reminder: Break was Sept. 23, 2007 – 3 bones broken – and dislocation. 6 screws and plate on outer ankle and 2 long screws on the inside of right ankle.

Oh, yeah – also broke my left foot at the same time – that was fun – but that was not an ankle bone – and I am having no problems with that foot – thank god.

Anyway – been enjoying reading posts – hi to everyone old and new.

Watch your step…..

Erika
Lee on September 10, 2008 at 9:12 pm said:

Hi all,

Wes – yikes, you sure do seem to have one thing hit you after another. I’m so sorry about your work. I’ll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers and hope that the contract work keeps coming your way. I know going back to work has been great for me – I needed to do something normal. So, hopefully you can keep at it – it’s good therapy, and pays the bills. And I’m glad to hear your wife is connecting with all of it a little better. I know what you mean about that – my husband is here and helping lots physically (cleaning, driving, cooking, etc.), but just kindof emotionally disconnected from it all and from me. I guess that’s his way of coping, but it’s making me a little nutty. This too shall pass, I hope. And I can’t believe you are walking with a cane – what happened? I must have missed a post somewhere along the line. 2 miles? You go! But be careful, and keep on pushing through without the drugs. Longer time lines between, and less and less drugs when you do use them.

Thanks to all for the great advice on getting to one crutch. It’s hard to believe that’s how you’re supposed to do it, but they worked with me on it at PT today, so you all are right, as usual. I’m now supposed to be walking at home in my running shoes and 2 crutches, gradually increasing the weight on my feet, and when out in the world, in my boot with one crutch. Today’s work out was so hard, I don’t think I can move my leg for the rest of the day, but I will try again tomorrow! I have to say that once you get moving, it really does move along. I feel like there was great progress this week. I’m not nearly done – only at my 3rd PT session of many to come over the next 4 months, but it’s such a big improvement over the fear of never being able to walk again. I really thought that would be the case. The process is certainly not comfortable and I know that “no pain, no gain” is true. As much as I want this never to have happened, I have to say that getting going again is all so motivating and feels so good.

Trac – welcome. I’m sorry you have to be here, but glad you found all of us. This group has been a life saver for me. I was so depressed and scared at the beginning, after my injury. It’s just comforting to know there are others in the same boat, who come through it, and go on to live normal and good lives, even with their limitations. You’re injuries are quite extensive, more so than mine, but I think the mindset is the same for all – we all have our limitations and this group has reminded me to savor what I can do and focus on healing what I can, rather than focusing on what I can’t. You’ve certainly got a long road in front of you and I will also keep you in my thoughts as I go through each step. Keep typing and stay in touch. It really does help.

Ana – hi there. I can totally understand your reluctance to jump into another procedure with young kids at home. I have a 10 yr old and 7 yr old, and am constantly on the go trying to keep up with their activities. This ankle break has really set us all back, but that’s life, right? I’m trying to learn to roll with the punches. Keep on, but be sure to pamper yourself a little. You need to take care of yourself.

Take care all. More from me when I have something new to add.

cheers,
Lee

Ok all – gotta feed the kids
trac on September 10, 2008 at 8:39 pm said:

thank you for the great welcome —
I worked as a massage therapist for over a decade prior to the accident — and we had a doula on staff who used TENS, some people liked it alot, requested it even. I was unable to move my right leg, could not strengthen the muscles, and then we tried TENS therapy — w/in about 6 wks, I was moving my leg on my own. I truly think it was the TENS. Unfortunately, my insurance has said I no longer need physical therapy, as I am using a wheelchair, thus am considered “mobile”. So, I am thankful to Denver (and others) for posting excersises that can be used. I’m willing to try anything. I find out next Tuesday if the achilles tendon/heel cord surgery helped and when/if we are going to do amputation. I am scared. And, have spent a few of the last days crying. But, I am a single woman w/o children, so I really applaud all of you that have families and are going forth full on. I will tell you, that ironically, this is not my first severe accident. In 1989, I suffered full thickness burns to 64% of my body, in a freak accident at my college soccer camp (shower temp guage broke, steam burned @ 174 degrees) healed through that with the use of yoga and tai chi. But, I think what really helped me mentally, was I worked at a burn camp for children who were severly burned and disfigured. Talk about a boost!! The kids were so wonderful, helpful, we were a team. And, I can only imagine that your children and families are the same electric energy that helps you see it through. And, you all amaze me! Thanks for the inspiration. Of course, that doesn’t mean, I still won’t come home, put on some tea, turn on some baseball and indulge myself in self pity…but, I’m glad to have found you. I’ve sent the link to a couple of others I have met who have severely broken their ankles, and could use the support.
Denver/Wes — I am definitely going to check into those Nikes — one of my real disappointments is the “waist progression” from 14 mos of sitting… 🙂
take care –
trac
lois on September 10, 2008 at 7:46 pm said:

Hi Wes, not sure how airport security machines work, but with my old job,,, I had to pass in and out through scanners many times each day. ( legal and corrections systems.) Zippers in jeans, lasts ie metal bars in the arch of many types of shoes and boots, zippers in boots, metal trim of shoes, change in pockets,,, EVERYTHING sets them off. I would prefer to find out what kind of metal,,, and if necessary get a note from the doctor rather than end up getting “strip searched” in some foreign airport when we travel this winter or even when I go back to visit former workmates at my old job site. Hello to everyone else too. Ana,,, it is nice to have you back again…. I was worried about you… And Louise,,, no I do not think anyone has heard from Melanie. It’s concerning… alright… I think about her all the time actually. Hope to g.. that she is okay. Happy walking, hopping crutching and caning everyone.
Denver on September 10, 2008 at 6:55 pm said:

Oh Ya.. that reminds me Louise.. I forgot about LOIS’ question about the metal detectors & I DO know the answer to that 😉

LOIS (& all) I have a friend who works as a PI & also now heads the security dept @ the airport (which means he gets the 9-5 job @ a cozy desk w a great view,great benefits, knows all the ins & outs & gets to tell every1 to step it up) Anyhow.. I mentioned the metal detectors & he laughed & said, “I’m going to fill you in on a little secret… Without getting technical of HoW a metal detector works & the amount of space it covers @ the bottom of it, Ill just tell you. They make every1 take off their shoes because it can’t sence that low anyway. A good high step make catch something or if the sensitivity is way up, but 80% of the time its set to not set off if you have a zipper on your jeans or dental work.” Theres his answer.
I still wonder, now that I hear some of us have Stainless steel so it would be easier to remove @ a future date if need be, would it be a heavy enough metal to raise the sencer …hmm he says no & I had to go to court house for something last month & it did nothing there.. so maybe he’s right..

ok.. ice bucket for the lag for an hour wOW!! I hit the wall walking .. barely hobbled back to car about an hour ago..

Hopin it will kick my butt so I fall asleep w lack of sleep already going in my favor. I hear ya all.. I keep telling myself – I dON’t want to have to go through this later so don’t even have a desire at aLL to take even a LiTTle narcodics.. couldn’t stand this again & I would probably run away from my life or scare my wife away.

I got her roses this afternoon with a card that just said, “I Love You Butterfly” .. so shed know how much I appreciate her baring with me so she knows what dOes work for me too 🙂

I’ll explain why I call her Butterfly later.. its a sort of long story to type w just my thumbs at the moment.. I’m sure if I can’t sleep & have my wits about me I will do it late @ night. (and for the new readers, No I didn’t lose all my fingers.. lol.. I just have a phone w a slide out keyboard & that’s how I surf the net to escape the pain)

ok.. til later
Wes
Louise on September 10, 2008 at 4:15 pm said:

hey everyone!!

Wes…I’m not sure what metal is in my ankle, I thought they said it was titanium, but I may be mistaken! I shall ask at my next appointment with the consultant on friday!! Hmmm…
I do so hope that the withdrawal stops very soon for you…it can only get better the longer you stay off of it! Keep going wiv it though!!

Trac. Hello! Sorry to hear about your injuries, but hello to you!!

Lois. I had no problems with any of the airport metal detectors when I went to new york, (but I dont know what metal is in there….!) ha ha! So really that comment helps you…..not at all! 😀

To everyone else hello….has anyone heard from melanie at all?? :S

As for my good self, I had my 4th physio session today. Only got 2 more left now!! Eeeek!
The physio that is more like a drill sargent was there again today, and she made me do some impact stuff, like jumping and jogging, which has aggrivated it slightly, but at least I know I can do it (sort of!)
The stupid rope ladder cae out again….had to do stuff like a hopscotch, and little running through it and things like that!! I dont like the rope ladder! lol!

I had to ref a netball game this evening for my team, and so many people were falling over all over the place….mostly the erm, older members of the team,bless um! But one lady rolled over on her ankle, and I nearly vomited on the spot!! Thing was, it was almost in exactly the same spot I did mine!!! She was ok, it just rolled, but even so! I also got hit in the face with a ball already, and I wasn;t even playing! ha ha! As of next week, they shall be playing inside on a much better court, thank GOD!
However….I am in charge of the training programme for the next 3 weeks, as the coach is away, which will um…interesting! hee hee.

Anyway…Im off to bed, as Im very sleepy!!
Hope everyone’s ok!

Louise xx
Denver on September 10, 2008 at 3:50 pm said:

hello everyone & all the new ones here 🙂

TRaC I am a die har doutdoorsman & LoVe my Tevas.. go figure.. I’m too soon & sensitive where stitches are so my wife bought me some Nike EQualon’s ?? they have the spot for the sensor .. its an electronic pedometor sort of deal that can monitor how much you’ve walked & calculate calories &,well it downloads all your info to the computer & a trainer can help you set targets or if your a gung-ho guy you know how to set the goals 😉 I like them because they are breathable & when it gets to the base they are WiDE. I’m almost SurTain Fenway would be wheelchair friendly by nOw..
glad to see you here..

LOIS thank you for the prayers & concern & when I have time (when I’m up all night tonight) I’m going to read that article. I actually tossed and turned for 4 hours in agony.. the pain from walking isn’t what’s killing but rather some nerves towards the front side of my arch & my big toe.. they are agitated.. I guess they don’t like the metal they have to run across 😉 oh well, I keep tellin them to deal w it..

Ana I’m w you, I have 4 kids at home & these drugs were going to cost me my relationship & its not worth it.. Ill go through the rest of my life every night in pain to share how FuN it is to run around w my kids & be happy w my wife &, well.. her be able to handle me 🙂 these drugs are Horribly tougher on some people.. I know its not easy & if I could keep steady w my family I’d pop’m til I was a LOT further through rehabilitating.

So I took this “nerve calming” erbal pill called GAbA.. it completely sends you relaxed if you take 2 or 1 will actually keep reality in site so anxieties not so abbundant. This should be illegal I sWeAr lol.. I don’t LiKe it, I don’t DesIre it, but here or there is good because it has B6 in it to help me recoop energy I’m losing from withdrawls of V. I was trying Melatonin but it sends a uphoria of rest… but I just am agetated cause I can’t sleep while in that state..hmm so back to advil PM for a bit.. its easier to not be agetated if I wind up StUcK up all night after taking it.

The 2 fastest ways I found to get the withdrawls gone is to get a large enough gap between the pain, the addiction & the chemicals out of the body = lots of water/juice & sweating.. so I’m A Walkin =) got the cane yesterday & back walking today. left crutches in car forcing me to at most use cane. I walked 1.5 miles round lake today WoW! that’s HaRd & I’m sLOw lol.. took my niece (14) she talked my ear off & kept me walking.. then we went to mall & walked about 2 miles then back at a different mall aGAIn right now.. taking a break to stretch the evil tight tendons OUW!! ok.. gotta run… oh wait.. I mean WaLk.. but I’m trying to get the full motion back in my stride.. that was the one thing I always had going for me with the ladies was every1 LoVed my stride they said.. Its better than John Travoltas;)

chat later, gonna wear myself to sleep HoPeFully tonight..

oh, & FiNally for the 1st time since the beginning of all this my wife woke up after I’d taken 2 baths & 3 showers through the night & started rubbing my arm when I was crying and asked if there was anything she could do. There wasn’t anything…. other than just asking.. because people that haven’t been through these trial don’t know & seeing a glipse that they are feeling for you feels good it felt wonderful…

Ok, til later, walking til they have to wheel me home, Wes 😉
Ana on September 10, 2008 at 3:10 pm said:

I read the article. Its very eye-opening. Personally, I do not like pain killers, I like the “no pain” but I can’t stand the lack of control. I am a mother of 2, an 11 year old in middle school, and a 3 year old in Pre-K3. Both are in sports, and even though I cry myself to sleep from the pain sometimes, I am grateful I can hold myself together during their activities and events. When I overdo it, I pay the consequences at night and in the morning. I am trying cortisone shots, and for a brief period of time, I feel normal. Atleast until it starts to fade away. They just tell me eventually I will need surgery again. I just answer them back with, I will let them know when I am ready. Please another shot….I broke my ankle over 5 years ago, and I had a 2nd surgery 2 years ago. I will need one more before I decide to finally fuse it. I am scared of fusing it, even though it hurts, I still want to run and play with my kids while they are still young. Thanks for the article.
lois on September 10, 2008 at 1:13 pm said:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-31,GGLR:en&q=vicodin+painkiller+tom+chiarella+esquire

Well, thank you Liz, I don’t know if this will work but I have at least tried your advice on how to copy this link.

Hello Trac, so glad you found us over here on this site. It will be great chatting with you, and hopefully some of those who have had more serious injuries can give you some encouragement advise and assistance.

I called my ortho office today,,, ps its been six months today since my surgery. The nurse pulled my file,,, the doctor was not in.. so she did not know what kind of metal and she will let me know more tomorrow after she talks to him,,, but she said no problem with ultrasound as long as the therapist knows what hardware is in the ankle and can work around it…. MRI- some places will do it and some wont… different policies…. said because it is an ankle, sometimes they can do things with your ankle hanging out of the machine. Will let me know what kind of metal tomorrow and whether airport security is a problem… nor did she have an answer re infection problems re dental work. Will let you know further when I get more answers. Take care everyone.
~ Liz on September 10, 2008 at 10:27 am said:

LOIS, Just copy and paste the web address (from the top address bar) into your message. That should work. 🙂

TRAC, Welcome to our little world of ankle breakers. It really does help having a place to come and share our experiences, frustrations, and accomplishments (no matter how small) with others who have gone through similar challenges. I have one broken ankle and couldn’t imagine having all of the injuries you sustained. The greif and fear is definitely natural. I do hope that you’ll continue to heal and get to take that kayaking trip soon.

I broke my right ankle last May… snapped it in 3 places simply from slipping on some water in my classroom so I’m always worried about slipping again, I hadn’t thought of Teva’s. I do have a pair stuck in my closet somewhere with the velcro strap around ankle and across the top of the foot. I love sandals (I’m a flip-flop queen!) lol so the Teva’s would be perfect. I could still have the support but yet let my feet breath. Thanks for the tip. 🙂

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday. Stay safe!

~Liz
lois on September 10, 2008 at 1:51 am said:

Hi everyone: I have no idea how to insert other web sites into this site as so many of you have kindly done – bringing our attention to interesting articles on related subjects. So, although I cannot do that, I do want to bring your attention to a very interesting article that I just read. It is a well written, facinating and informative account written by a man who became addicted to vicodin following an accident and subsequent neck surgery. It made fascinating reading. To find it try vicodin-painkiller-tom chiarella-esquire. That should get you there.
trac on September 10, 2008 at 1:20 am said:

Oh, I forgot to say, I have been using Teva sandles, and have found them to be quite good. They adapt to my swelling, have soles that protect against slippery surfaces, good grip. I use them while doing physical therapy and my walker races w/my grandma (who is 90 and kicks my 39 yr old butt. hee hee!)
But, I am brand specific to Teva due to the extra grip on the sole.
thx – trac
trac on September 10, 2008 at 1:14 am said:

Hello all!
Thank you again for your stories. I posted on the other site and someone was kind enough to guide me over here. I broke (compound fractures) both ankles, shattered all bones (incl.knee & thigh) in my right leg, and shattered my left forearm and wrist. They considered amputation, but saved all w/a large external fixator. 14 months later, I’m in yet another cast, and my right ankle has fused. I am not walking yet. Do not know when I will. We tried a heel cord lengthening. Praying for a good result from that. But, I did have the metal removed from my ankles (left it in my arm, the dr said it needed to stay) after 8 months, and it helped strengthen my bones. I don’t know if it will for everyone. As an avid outdoorsperson, I am seriously considering amputation — if it means the difference between resuming my kayaking and salmon fishing, vs not — I will take it. But, lately, I’ve been overwhelmed with grief and fear, natural, right? I have a great support system, but as none of them have experienced anything close to this (thank goodness!) I really am thankful for this site. I’m sitting here giggling and stretching my ankles as I type, and it is because I finally found a group of people who can help and relate. The pain, the swelling, the numbness, I keep telling myself, imagine how sweet that first kayaking trip will be after all of this…and that helps. I’m going to Boston, to go to Fenway, is Boston wheelchair friendly, does anyone know? I know it is a “walking” city. Thanks again for sharing your stories.
Peace and Blessings,
trac
lois on September 10, 2008 at 12:43 am said:

Aw,, Denver Wes,,, you REALLY are having a difficult time aren’t you. It just seems like its been a series of accidents, problems and other stressful incidents for you,,,, one after the other. Getting off the v. will be a first step in helping you be able to work through things more clearly. You sure did not need the uncertainty of your job situation at all, but it does sound as if they want to keep you if they can. Hang in there buddy,,, and yes for sure we will all be praying for you.
Denver on September 9, 2008 at 11:05 pm said:

Louise, I was metioning the titanium but I understand why they use the stainless steel,..so that it IS posible to take it out if need be in the future or if complications arise.

I only slept maybe an hour & a half last night. I kept cutting back my dosage of V until my body just caught on & started fighting with me.. so I’ve been dealin w the withdrawls since Sunday… NoT easy.., PleAse pray ..

I had huge drama @ work tday.. company gave all 2 weeks notice since Drs haven’t had enough patients & haven’t kept up on paying their lab bills.. They said they would still use me as I am contract. But I don’t know if they’ll push throghkeeping me busy enough to support our home & I really got down thinking how I caN’t walk or lift if we had to move so I went to the mall, met up w a guy who had a cane & walked for an hour!!wow Ouw!! I need sleep & this ou of my system

Wes
lois on September 9, 2008 at 7:07 pm said:

Hi Everyone. Lee, I agree with what Dan and some of the others are saying (although I was not in a boot) but if you can, try to use a cane instead of that last crutch. (and yes on your good leg side surprisingly). The crutches are so hard on your posture and your hands. Also like Dan, I tried walking around furniture, window sills or anything else that I could. I told myself to learn to walk again like a baby learns to walk. Hanging on, and letting go for a few steps in between. It gradually becomes easier and easier.

Basically at six months I am doing well, but that darned ADHD puppy of mine ran right under my feet again yesterday and tripped me going up two steps,,, (I have two shih tzu puppies and one of them has good manners and thoughtful behaviour and the other is just so incredibly impulsive she is incredible. Not only did she break my ankle in the first place, but a couple of weeks ago, she ran right into the back of the other pup and sent her flying about a foot into the air and headfirst into a tree trunk and knocked her out for a second) Anyway, this time I managed to catch myself but jarred my ankle so it is slightly sore again. Then midday today I suddenly ended up with a sore back. I have no idea what I did to it. Then just to top things off, I went with my husband to the hardware store where I wacked myself in the good knee with the car door as I exited. Needless to say I have spent the rest of the day hobbling around with one ankle, one back and one knee all hurting. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb…. Nice to hear from so many people lately on this site and to see everyone’s good advice to each other. Take care everyone.
Louise on September 9, 2008 at 4:59 pm said:

Hey everyone!!!

LEE….glad to hear your getting off the crutches soon. Personally for me, I went down to one crutch, (although a lot of ppl apparantly dont recommend this, as it messes up your allignment and stuff!) then I lost them all together. I was only using one stick for about 2 weeks before I lost them all together, but if it’s going to be long term, then I’m not sure. i did notice I got a bit of back pain in that time….a lot of it because of this shoe that I was told to wear over the bandages after my op, which made my left foot higher than my right, but however…it turned out ok!! hee hee.

Erika. Hello to you! Hope your pain doensn’t last too long!!

Liz. Hope your problem spot heals up very soon! Keep with the PT, and it should help hopefully!!

And to everyone else…hello!

As for me…Im doing ok. Not quite so much pain any more, which is great. I have physio tomorrow again. Worked out at the gym again today, which was good. On sunday I did what I would call a proper work out. I did half hour on the cross trainer, half hour on the bike, half hour on the treadmill, and had a little jog as well…first time! Yay! Had another jog today and the other day too!
I also did a bit of rowing, and had a swim. Was a good work out.
I have got another appointment on friday at the hospital fracture clinic, which was a total waste of time last time….waited around for an hour or so after my appointment time just to be told in about 3 mins that I was doing fine, and just to get on with it basically! However…it has to be done I guess.

Question for ppl. Someone was saying about if you have titanium in your leg your bone grows into it or something?? So if thats the case can you not have the hardwear removed after a certain amount of time?? I want my hardwear out really…I think it’s restricting my movement in my ankle, especially up and down. Not as much movement there as there was before.

I am having awful problems bending me knees and getting my knee over my ankle. There is about the same level of that movement there now, as there was a week after my cast came off!! That was in june. Is this something that everyone else has had issues with? Any exercises at all?? I am trying to put my toes up against a wall, and bending my knee to get my knee to touch the wall, which it does, just about, but other than that, no more movement there! boooo…

louise xx