3 weeks post surgery out of the blue crying??

Foot care
1

I am 3 weeks post surgery, 1 plate and 8 screws, both tib and fib broken and ankle dislocated.  

Just relaxing in a hammock on the first crisp fall day and WHAM, the bolt comes out of the tree and the hammock falls.  I am still in total disbelief.  Anyhoo, my stiches were taken out 1 week ago and I was moved from a splint to an air cast with no weight bearing.  It is great to be able to shower and see my ankle.

Here's my questions.... am I just a big baby?  I get so sad and overwhelmed by my situation and how every single day brings new pain and new challenges.  My family is amazing and they have been sacrificing so much to care for me, I feel so guilty.  

Second question, did you experience an intense tingling ( think foot in ice water feeling)? Even the bed sheets are painful.  

2

Hi Pamela -    Good grief what a shock that must have been when the hammock broke !

Clearly you're making good progress now.   Yes, the tingling is I understand quite normal;  my Physio told me its the nerve endings trying to mend themselves.   And the same goes for the bed clothes brushing your flesh.

My injuries are exactly the same as yours.  I'm now three months post surgery and am walking properly without aid and no limp.   Keep your leg elevated as much as you can and ice it on the hour every hour.   It's a long haul but you'll get there.

I also think the feelings of sadness you have are normal.   I had them too, couldn't believe what had happened to me.   I'm 72 and only three months prior to my accident, I had had my right hip replaced !!!    I'm now on the list to have my left hip replaced in January.

Work hard at your physiotherapy, it's painful but has to be done.  Best of luck.

3

Hi. I am sorry to hear about the hammock! That adds insult to injury. I am 11 weeks post surgery. You are still in the challenging / painful post op stage. I felt the same way at that time and I promise it gets better. Around 4 weeks post surgery my husband came home to find me in a ball crying and said -- that's it, we are going out for dinner. Wow did I need that!

In my experience, when it starts to get better, the progress moves along more quickly.. I'm feeling leaps and bounds of progress lately, and more like myself each day. I got my air cast boot off yesterday am and yesterday evening, for the first time, in PT was full weight bearing and walking with one crutch. I also experienced the tingling in my foot and that is almost gone now. All worth mentioning to your doctor, though. Take care!!

4

Thank you Pauline for your information and words of encouragement !  It is so good to hear from those that have been here and have made it through !!

I am not scheduled for any phiso yet, I'm sure that will come later.  I must not lie...I am dreading it ! However, I am determined to have my regular life back again, so whatever it takes I guess  

You are a very strong woman !  I can't imagine going through all of this just after a major event like a hip replacement !  Good luck with your next hip replacement, but it sounds like you will do just fine !!  

5

Yes everything you are experiencing is quite normal, I went for my 8 wk dr appt today and still on Lyrica for nerve impulses, they get really bad at night. During the day I can focus on other things but night is the worst. I read where warm water is good for healing of nerves and that is why I so hoped for a soft cast today so I could use my foot bath with massage. Try puting pillows under your blankets at end of bed where your feet are to hold up blankets at night off your feet would be my suggestion. And yes everyday is quite an experience and I am by myself, so have experienced many a crying time thru all this. But today I am in a hard walking cast and up on a walker which is so much nicer than a trike. So good luck and keep your head up, all will get better.

6

Ah Pamela- Hammocks should come with warnings. I had the exact same thing happen to me the first day on vacation in Hawaii on Feb. 16th of this year. Had surgery and a plate and 13 screws installed a day later and months of adventure after that. I am 8-1/2 months out and doing fine. It is a slow road, but you will walk and run again. At month 4 most people without complications, find their world substantially changes for the better, and they start to feel "human" again.  Note along the way you can only count your progress weekly, not daily. By week 5 you will begin to feel "normal" again, and by the point where I am now you will only think about whether to get your hardware out or not. I think everyone gets down on weeks 2-3 and up after that and ready to fight their way back. I looked at wounded vet websites to make me realize what I had was temporary and to put my injury in perspective. It really helped me to stop feeling sad...it is a natural feeling for sure. This website and the support I got from the people on it saved me.  I'm a positive, face your fears person, so I sat on a hammock 5 months later, but I think besides that I am done with hammocks. 

7

Sorry...I should have said above Month 5, not week 5, about feeling "normal" again. Ankles heal at a slow pace. There's not much you can do about that timeline but stay healthy, eat right, and stay positive. This too shall pass. 

8

Hi Pamela, I think that would have scared me to death, when the hammock fell!  I remember our swing bench fell when my husband and I were sitting in it, last year.  Just one part actually broke, but it happened so fast!  We were not hurt.

​To answer your questions:

​NO!  You are most certainly not a big baby!  I got to a stage that I cried on and off, for a couple of days!  I think was really several days.  It's hard to go from walking and being able to run (I am not a jogger) to not being able to walk, AT ALL!  So, no, you're not a baby and your emotions are normal, because it really is a life changing event.

​To answer your second question (and everyone is different and of course, has different experiences).........but for me:  I had very little tingling.  Now, when I FINALLY put my foot down (barefooted) on the floor - very gently, it was so weird!  It felt like I was walking on a wet surface!  I was walking on a dry, hardwood floor,but every single step I took (again, barefooted) it was so strange, because it truly felt like I was stepping on water!! 

​I had my surgery on Friday, May 13th and I'm walking with a limp.  Early morning and late at night, I walk with a really bad limp, but during the work day, it's just a regular limp.  I'm not sure how long I will be limping, but I can't put my bad ankle (left) under my leg, like I use to.  My ankle is frozen for the most part and has very little ROM, if any. 

​Some people may recover quicker than others, but my experience is just that I'm still limping.  I'm sorry to hear the bed sheets are painful!!  I never had that issue.  I feel badly for you, becaue I can't imagine having the sheets bother my foot. 

​Beth

9

yes I think at night is the worst and of course, you just want to sleep !!  I'll try the pillow idea, I think that sounds like it might work.  I did read somewhere that warm water will be good when my stiches have fully healed.  

thank you !

10

OH Patti !  To have that happen on vacation would be even worse !  

You are much braver than me, as of now I have sworn off anything that involves hanging.  I can't even sit on my porch swing.  

Thank you for the words of encouragement.  It is so good to hear others say these feelings of saddness are normal.  It is so flustrating to have an ok day and then the very next morning is horrid and feels like I'm moving backward ! I have been reading through lots of the post on this website and I am learning little tips that will help ease some of my mental and physical pains.  

11

Hi there Pamela, nice name

I am 3 weeks post op as well with 7 screws and rod with 2 long screws which have to be removed in 3 months. I broke my ankle in 3 places falling down my stairs at 2 am, tripping over my cat. I have days when I cry as well, so your not alone there. I also have a lot of pins and needles feeling when I wiggle my toes! I also have tons of bruising and I think when I look closely new bruising, not sure if this is normal or not?

12

The pins and needles feeling lasted a long time for me, but it does go away, and friends of mine from this site had that and some bruising that took some time to fade, but it does fade. All normal. I liked to think of the pins and needles feeling as all the little nerve endings firing back up and reconnecting. Not sure that's what it is, but lots of people get them. I thought they would never go away, but they sure did. 

13

Yes Pam, I am having new bruising as well, so I guess this is normal.  I have 1 larger screw that may or may not have to be removed along with my plate.  I'm choosing to not think on that right now !!

I hope you had a long talk with your cat and he/she is remorseful.  

14

Dear Pamela

I have read all your replies and they all say more or less what I feel and felt over these last 3 and half months . I broke my right ankle very badly in July , after recovering from a broken right wrist last autumn.

I had the blues at times and felt very teary as I loathed the loss of independence and lack of mobility . Time is a healer , no cast no air boot any longer and I can walk . Like one person wrote , early morning with a limp and again at night . Each day I walk further and have even cycled ! Bed sheets hurt so much I couldn't rest my ankle on them . Now getting better although I can't lie on my side as my ankle bones are still sore . Tingling i think is common , it is the nerves , so a good sign !

My advice is be kind to yourself, breathe and keep positive as I am so pleased to walk again ! Small goals and something to look forward to is a great tonic . Take care

15

oh Pamela

As in hard landing on your bum???

Oh dear and after all the hard work just to climb in...perhaps a sturdy lawn chair.

Yes the blues are quite typical...lots of anesthesia, narcotics, poor sleep, just plain aggravation thay comes with all surgeries. It too will pass.

Air boot...awsome progress. Just love on your awesome family...they are telling all of their friends how they admire you, that they couldn't do it.

Swelling makes an area so much more sensitive...try a soft microfiber blanket next to your skin

and keep it higher than your heart and iced.

kind regatds

judith

16

Judith, 

I was swinging in the hammock sitting across it, not laying the length.  When I fell, my foot was under me

It has seriously helped finding this group and reading all the lovely comments and gaining encouragement for others experiences.  I have not cried even once this week ! 

Yes, my family has been wonderful.  This ordeal has truly deepened my love for my sweet husband.  At first I felt like my tears were a sign of weakness and it made me mad/ sadder when my kid would brag on me and say how strong I am.  I have come to understand that tears are NOT a sign of weakness, but just a fact of being human.  I think I had to also come to terms with the severity of this injury and that I have been through a major surgery.  I am entitled to cry !  

Just in the past few days, I feel a shift in my thoughts and my mood.  Where there was sadness and guily feelings over what others were doing for me, I now feel so grateful, thankful and joyful that I have people in my life that are willing to help me.  

I do have a microfiber blanket and that sounds like a good idea, I will get it out and give it a try ! 

Thank you

Pamela

 

17

3 and half months..... that sounds doeable.    I feel like the little engine that could, " I think I can.... I think I can"  

 

18

Hi Pamela. I am just about seven weeks post surgery and I can tell you that the tears are all very normal. I have some days where I cried a few times. Other days where there was nothing. I feel still like it is all quite easy for me to cry. I still feel a bit fragile. I think the really big part of it is how completely this type of thing changes your reality. Non-weight bearing was the hardest part for me. And having to depend on other people to do things for you is really hard. I think as well I realised that although it was only going to be a short period of time in the greater scheme of things, it seems like forever at the time. I know for me too that if I cry it always makes me feel way better. If I don't cry then it can make me feel sad for days. That's never good.

Regarding the feelings of intense tingling I have felt all manner of things during this process. I was lucky and had nerve blocking when they did my operation so had very odd feelings for about a week afterwards. Since then I have beeen really lucky and haven't really had any problems. But I have read of people having pins and needles for quite a while afterwards.

Good luck and be kind to yourself! It will take time to get well again so take it easy and try and enjoy all the looking after!

19

Hi Pamela,

Wrll the hammock business was dreadful.

I get such a tickle from children...their dad is the best, their mom is the strongest! That deserves a hugh hug.

I always chuckle when someone says "I couldn't do it" as if I chose to do it...

I so agree, hardship make it so much easier to count all of the blessings the good Lord has given to us.

When I was born, none of this way possible.

hugs

judith

20

Hi Pamela,

Wrll the hammock business was dreadful.

I get such a tickle from children...their dad is the best, their mom is the strongest! That deserves a hugh hug.

I always chuckle when someone says "I couldn't do it" as if I chose to do it...

I so agree, hardship make it so much easier to count all of the blessings the good Lord has given to us.

When I was born, none of this way possible.

hugs

judith