Posted: 1/29/2016 11:27:44 PM EDT
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So the wife broke her ankle on the front steps Christmas Eve and had 2 plates put in, one on each side of her left ankle.
She suffered a tri- something break. Had surgery on jan .4 for repair and is doing okay but it can still light her up with pain every now and then. Have any experience with the healing timeline on something like this? Thanks |
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Keep it clean...alot. Get some good anti-septic from CVS or Walgreen's. I dislocated all my metatarsals and broke 3 of them. 1 external pin 2 internal pins 5 screws 2 plates I had the external pin for about a month. Having it pulled out felt....weird. But with it being exposed and constantly clean, I contracted MRSA anyway  Infection grew inside my foot long after the surgical wounds healed. About 3 months later, it finally blew a hole in the top of my foot where a incision was. Most painful 3 months in my life. Doc had to leave 1 internal pin in. Bone was starting to grow around it. He said I'll be able to live with it in, and it may not ever come out. After about 5-6 months of not being able to walk, I was finally walking on my own, but too much walking or on my feet all day, would cause soreness in my foot. One day at work, my foot felt sore. figured it was because I was on it all day jumping in and out of a bed of a truck. At the end of the day, I couldn't walk. I had to hop my way to to my upstairs apartment with no crutches. Sat in my recliner, took my boots off and felt the bottom of my foot. I could feel the pin underneath my skin and was sticking out a good 1/8" but did not puncture. That was on a Friday, so I had to wait the entire weekend not doing shit before I could get a hold of my surgeon. Felt like I was standing on a nail all weekend. It was very painful. Monday rolled around and went to work (by boss's command...wanted me to work from inside the truck...lol...not possible on an oilfield location). Finally got a quick appointment for an xray, a chit for workers comp (work related injury), and had a 3 minute surgery that following Wednesday. No idea why they had to put me to sleep to pull that pin....probably could have numbed the area....oh well...it was free for me. Post surgery, my foot is tons better. No more soreness. It just sucks because any time I have to go into surgery, I have to get an IV for some sort of anti-bacterial that is supposed to help prevent the onset of MRSA, and it makes me feel like my face is going to explode and I severely itch all over and it will not go away. The IV is also really expensive. So keep it very clean. |
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I had a trimalleolar fracture and a dislocation backpacking 6 years ago.
I had a surgery six years ago (a plate, several screws, six pins), and have had two more since then for bone spurs, one of which included a microfracture surgery because I blew out all the cartilage in my ankle when I broke it. I have severe osteoarthritis in that ankle now, although to be honest the pain isn't that bad. I'll get an artificial joint in a few years. I'm a chick, and I don't have a super high pain threshold, but it's not that bad. When I broke the ankle in January of 2010, I was able to go on a reasonably strenuous camping trip by June. |
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I got my plate & screws Dec 30. Still not weight bearing, so all I can do is offer empathy for the suckiness.
I tried to walk it off on my broken bone. SWMBO thinks that made it worse and caused me to have surgery. I was going for the whole "I'm a BA for waking off the mountain on a broken leg" thing. She doesn't agree.  Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Broke mine 3 years ago, it still bothers me to some degree nearly all the time. I have a plate and 5 screws on one side and 1 screw in the other. I'd have probably recovered better if I'd been younger, was 54 at the time. Good physical therapy is important.
Hope she recovers fully. Take good care of her. |
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Had a tib/fib break early 2009. Plate and screws installed a couple of weeks later.
Do not miss physical therapy! It will get her going faster than anything. My pain was pretty bad even after I could walk again. Swelling and weather predicting were common place. Flying was a pain in the ass with pressure changes. After about a year and a half I had the doctor pull the hardware out. The change was dramatic! It was so much better. Ankle is still stiff and can predict the weather but it is getting better. How old is your wife? Things heal better when you are young 
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I broke mine, took a look, tied by boot tighter and took a bunch of anti-inflammatory. PROBABLY not the smartest thing? Anyways, I'll probably end up with shitty arthritis later in life, but I'm sure my knees will give out before that. Took about 6 months before it even started to stop sending shooting pain stepping wrong, about another year till it felt strong. |
Brock my right ankle on my second day of two weeks leave from Ft. Hood, skim boarding in Jupiter, FL. Drove from Jupiter to Ft. Hood non-stop, in a 97 Wrangler Sport to sign in in time.  That was fun.Placed my cast right foot in the pool twice in a week to get a removable boot. They were not impressed at Darnall Army Hospital. It hurt like a bitch walking across the room to prove to the DR. that I could bear weight on it. Fuck a cast in Texas in July.  |
| Stepped in a gopher hole playing paintball in 2004. The doctor recommended pins or cadaver bone transplant since several tendons were keeping the bone from reattaching. I never received surgery and it healed after a year. It still hurts some mornings for about 5 minutes, until I get up and move around some. |
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i slipped at work and snapped my ankle and fibula in two places. same Tri-something break it seems that you described. That was on 10/6/15. I had surgery ten days later with 15 screws and two metal plates. Fast forward to 11/4 they took the cast off and stuck me in a boot. still no weight allowed to be put on it but to begin PT. fast forward to 12/7 was given the go ahead to start walking. i am not being put into a more advanced PT as i walk for a living and need to get my body strength back up. as of right now i can walk for about 25-40 mins before i can't handle the pain anymore. next visit is 2/1/16 to see how things are going. i might have to have the two screws in my ankle removed as i can feel them sometimes, i think. i still have numbness along the outside of my calf and top of my foot. I'm hoping it goes away but well see.
if possible have her save up her pain killers for when she starts PT. i was given 90 oxycodone, 60 morphine, and 90 gabapentin for nerve pain. before PT i took a total of about 12 pain killers but i stuck with the gabapentin for the nerve pain. (not addicting like the others) make sure to look into that for her. it's helped me and can feel it a lot more especially with bad weather when i don't take the gabapentin. once i started PT i was in a lot of pain and i have a fairly high tolerance for pain. i was up to taking 5-10mg of Oxy every 4-6 hours. the morphine did nothing and i stuck it in the junk draw. after xmas i was becoming dependent of the Oxy and had to ween myself off of them before it got worse. i don't have an addictive personality, i don't drink or smoke. but i was craving them even when i wasn't in pain. be very careful with them. I'm completely off them now but wish i wasn't as in the morning i can barely stand long enough to pee. get her netflix, and lots of ice packs. after the cast phase, use a compression sock that goes up to the knee as well. it helps with the swelling. most importantly keep it elevated above the heart and do not try to do anything that doctor doesn't approve of! |
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My dad had his ankle crushed in a mine accident (rock fall) around 1974, they put an artificial ankle joint in him. I believe they pinned and screwed the bones together first to let them heal enough to go in later and put in an artificial joint.
Seemed like he was in a cast or on crutches forever. |
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I got a tri mal fx from riding my pit bike. (The smaller the bike, the worse I get injured ). Got my Ti bling. 7 screws and a plate. This was approx 12 years ago. It healed pretty well. I was back to work inside 2 weeks (desk job). I only have occasional pain when weather in shitty.
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It's always the goofiest of things. I raced motocross for years - no major injuries. Leaving the chemistry building in college, ankle sprain that had me crawl to the nearest park bench and ask my roomate to come pick me up (and carry me to his truck).
I hope she recovers quickly, I imagine the textbook "heal time" is in the 6 week timeframe but someone who knows more will chime in. |
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Somewhat related - I broke my tibia last October. I have a rod secured by screws, 2 of which are in my ankle...just having those screws in there make me feel lucky I broke a leg and not an ankle!
Recovery sucks and the pain and lack of independence can affect your psyche. Try to be a positive influence on her. It seems like recovery takes forever, but it'll get better. I'm 3 months out and not really feeling "normal" when I walk yet. But getting around without crutches is liberating when you get there. |
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Quoted:
It's always the goofiest of things. I raced motocross for years - no major injuries. Leaving the chemistry building in college, ankle sprain that had me crawl to the nearest park bench and ask my roomate to come pick me up (and carry me to his truck). I hope she recovers quickly, I imagine the textbook "heal time" is in the 6 week timeframe but someone who knows more will chime in. You ain't kidding
Fractured it while taking out the trash. Not running. Not while playing a sport. Tried to walk it off for a little over a week and finally relented as the pain was getting worse. Walking boot for nearly two months. |
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I severely injured my ankle. Wasn't broken and I didn't have surgery. It took at least six months before I could walk without a slight limp and it's still not 100% healed after two years (I'd say it's probably 85%-90% back to normal) and some days it will hurt slightly and be invulnerable. I am super paranoid about a repeat injury, but I can do all tasks fine, including weight lifting. But again I didn't have surgery for fear that it could lead to further complications. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I'm 27.
Broke my Fibula 10/2/2015 and dislocated my ankle on top of it, had surgery 10/9 plate and 4 screws Started walking 11/20 in the boot with crutches. I'm wearing tennis shoes now as of 1/4/2016. I go to PT twice a week, by the end of the day its swollen to the size of a tree trunk and pretty painful. swelling doesn't really go down unless I stay off it for over 10 hours. My doctor says it typically takes a year to get back to normal 
Good Luck |
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Quoted: Had a tib/fib break early 2009. Plate and screws installed a couple of weeks later. Do not miss physical therapy! It will get her going faster than anything. My pain was pretty bad even after I could walk again. Swelling and weather predicting were common place. Flying was a pain in the ass with pressure changes. After about a year and a half I had the doctor pull the hardware out. The change was dramatic! It was so much better. Ankle is still stiff and can predict the weather but it is getting better. How old is your wife? Things heal better when you are young |
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Quoted: Be thankful she broke it. Bones heal. I severely sprained my right one sliding into second base in high school. Like toes touched the side of my calf sprain. That was 13 years ago, and it will still randomly give out on me. |
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Quoted:
So the wife broke her ankle on the front steps Christmas Eve and had 2 plates put in, one on each side of her left ankle. She suffered a tri- something break. Had surgery on jan .4 for repair and is doing okay but it can still light her up with pain every now and then. Have any experience with the healing timeline on something like this? Thanks Trimalleolar |
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Quoted: 37 years on mine, it never gets better Quoted: Quoted: Be thankful she broke it. Bones heal. I severely sprained my right one sliding into second base in high school. Like toes touched the side of my calf sprain. That was 13 years ago, and it will still randomly give out on me. |
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Quoted:
Be thankful she broke it. Bones heal. I severely sprained my right one sliding into second base in high school. Like toes touched the side of my calf sprain. That was 13 years ago, and it will still randomly give out on me. Mine was home plate. I know the feeling. |
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When I was sixteen, I was thrown from a horse and broke my right ankle. Actually being thrown did not break it. The horse stomping on me after I was down broke my ankle. That was one mean son-of-a-bitch. After my ankle was healed, we had a come to Jesus moment when I broke a two-by-four across his head. He did not fuck with me after that day. There is now a knot on the bone where it healed. If I move my foot side to side, it pops loudly when the tendon snaps across the knot. It annoys my wife because I have a tendency to do it unconsciously when I get bored or anxious. |
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Broken foot in August. Still bothers me.
Does she have one of these? Best money I ever spent. 
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-Aluminum-Steerable-Alternative/dp/B003VMAKVS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454158907&sr=8-1&keywords=knee+scooters ETA fixed link |
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OP, back in April I dumped my motorcycle. Almost put my fibula through the side of my leg, tore my syndesmotic ligament.
I had 3 surgeries, the plate and 6 screws in the fibula are still there. I get mild pain, swelling, and stiffness still. Joints take a long time to heal. When she is able, have her elevate and ice the ankle. Compression socks or ankle sleeve are good to go. Also if she's sitting have her pump her fought up and down, do circles, and write alphabet with big toe while keeping leg motionless. This is SOP for ankle rehab. Has she done any PT? What's her ortho Doctor say? In my experience with knees/ankles, the first winter is the worst. To be be 95% healed, it can take around a year. she will always have some minor pain/discomfort and increased chance of swelling after strenuous activity. |
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Quoted:
Broken foot in August. Still bothers me. Does she have one of these? Best money I ever spent. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81HnnoRzjAL._SX522_.jpg Link: http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-Aluminum-Steerable-Alternative/dp/B003VMAKVS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454158907&sr=8-1&keywords=knee+scooters ETA fixed link I had one of these, but I rented it for $75 a month, look for rental services. |
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Quoted:
I had one of these, but I rented it for $75 a month, look for rental services. Quoted:
Quoted:
Broken foot in August. Still bothers me. Does she have one of these? Best money I ever spent. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81HnnoRzjAL._SX522_.jpg Link: http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-Aluminum-Steerable-Alternative/dp/B003VMAKVS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454158907&sr=8-1&keywords=knee+scooters ETA fixed link I had one of these, but I rented it for $75 a month, look for rental services. Haha - I bought it in august for $180 and sold it on Craigslist in November for $100. (my insurance would not cover rental). |
Yep, and snapped a couple of tendons in the process. My doc is a friend of mine so he snapped some pics while he was putting them back together. It really took a solid six months before I could do much on it because it takes a really long time to heal tendons. Its pretty much ok now but I have to have a lot of work done to my ski boots in the area of the repair work as it is weirdly sensitive there.
 
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