A couple days after my surgery, I got some sharp pain while sleeping in the pinkie toes. I was wondering if my cast was too tight, so called the surgeon's office. Apparently, it can be a result of not elevating your leg enough (should be above the heart). I moved from 2 pillows (under the leg) at night to 3, and it seemed to help a lot. A little different than the issue you are describing, but maybe worth trying. I elevate my foot now probably 22-23 hours a day now (hopefully not overkill). I am 8 days post op.
Hi Mountain Mermaid, I'm a week behind you and in the same exact situation. We were on a 6 week camping trip to Canada and on 8/31, I slipped on a path in the mountains above Crested Butte, Colorado, rolled my ankle, and ended up with a closed bimalleolar fracture. I had emergency surgery in Gunnison the next day including a long plate and multiple screws. We decided not to cut our trip short so now we are in Calgary for 10 days visiting family before we move on to the west coast. Needless to say, we are having to stay in inns and hotels because it's too painful and difficult for me to camp in my current situation plus the bumpy mountain roads are too jarring. We retired last year and I just turned 60 so we have lots of time and until now were both very healthy and active. We travel in our Jeep to remote areas for weeks at a time. We had all kinds of trips planned after this one including several trips abroad but all that is out the window now. I thought I was through the worst pain and improving but last night it was burning toes and excruciating pain from the nerves regenerating. I have a very high pain threshold but this put me to tears and almost to the point of wanting to go to the emergency room. I feel so helpless, depressed, and frustrated. The only thing I feel like doing right now is either knitting, reading, watching TV, or sleeping. I'm a professional landscape artist and even painting indoors seems too difficult right now. I am praying that this improves soon. I'm typically a very positive person but this has really thrown me. I would be happy to connect if you like.
hello cindy11710,
my apologies for the delayed reply... i can sympathize with what your experiencing. i would love to connect with you. may i send you my contact information via messaging here on Patient?
Hi there and to all recent posters, I'm Jill from London, UK and my accident on 27th August was trimalleolar fracture dislocation tib, fib and talus bone at back of ankle hiking. Had surgery 1 week later - 3 plates and screws. Know 3.5 weeks on from surgery in my 5th cast in total - 3 reductions in emergency room on the day plus 2 casts since surgery and the pain has thankfully subsided a lot except at night when the nerve pain can be still breathtaking. i take codeine now mostly just at night. i am in a cast until Oct 18th when i move to boot and start physio. i too have numbness in toes and a lot of swelling - 2nd toe in particular which bothers me. trying to ice the toe bit not making much difference so far. like others here i worry about the long term outcome, my surgeon is breezy about it but equally i have been told by all doctors thus far that it was a bad break. im 43, and very active, and reading things on here like 85% of baseline scares me a lot to be honest. my other ankle is quite weak from many bad sprains plus i have mortons neuroma in 2 toes on that foot. some days i do feel full of panic and fear about the future - will chronic pain always be there in some form, how far will i be able to hike or cycle before pain kicks in etc. i should feel grateful as i have a great partner and a job i cam do from home but some days it feels so hard to be positive! Jill
bonjour, jillian18398
it sounds like you've been through a lot and i know well the breathtaking nerve pain of which you speak. and i know that the numbness and swelling are disconcerting. and, i too, understand having weak ankles from many bad sprains -- with my left one in a boot, i'm taking extra care with my right ankle. and i can definitely sympathize with the feelings of panic and fear and the difficulty of staying positive. a couple things i have found over the last month that have really helped me are: * continually reminding myself of how much better i'm doing now that i was a week prior. * i've been doing chair-cardio, chair-pilates, and chair-yoga videos on youtube every day (the videos are by Caroline Jordan if you're interested). those help to keep me moving and make me grateful for what i'm still able to do. can you tell me what you mean by "85% of baseline"?
heather
thanks Heather love the sound of chair cardio - will definitely check out the videos. someone had previously posted on here that their physio had stated that reality would be getting back 85% of previous functionality. i dont know why that scares me so much because its a pretty good stat. i guess in my mind a broken bone or plural is something that heals to 100% of functionality, like my broken wrist as a kid. I maybe dont want to yet accept that there may be things i need to live with, whether thats things im unable to do or stifness/ range of motion. im probably getting ahead of myself. i do that ! Jill
bonjour, Jill!
(above, i meant to say: "continually reminding myself of how much better i'm doing now THAN i was a week prior.) i hope the chair-cardio lifts your spirits. ahhh i understand what you're saying now. my husband had a torn and detached retina several years ago and only got back about 30% of his vision in that eye post surgery... i know he'd be thrilled to have 85% of his vision back. that said, it's definitely scary to think about only getting 85% of our functionality back. for me, though, that's something i just can't spend my time fretting about because the ankle is gonna do what it's gonna do whether i worry about it or not. all i can do is be the best patient i can by moving as much as possible and doing all the at-home exercises my pt gives me. and the truth is, you and i will be thrilled to just be weight-bearing again and eventually back out on the trails. i really hope what i said helps to ease your anxiety some. one step at a time... one day at a time... we'll get there.
heather
Hello, I had a broken my ankle 9/18/21 hiking in Malibu and needed to be airlifted. I have a trimallar fracture and had surgery 9/27/21. Currently 4 weeks post op in a cast. I live alone and my right ankle. Very hard to do anything. I do have my moments as well and dread night as i cant sleep comfortable. I too having a hard time .
hello celina33805,
i'm sorry to hear that you're struggling. i can only imagine how uncomfortable you are in your cast... is that why you can't sleep? and being alone must be incredibly difficult. what would you say you're struggling with the most? i had some dark days and one thing that really helped me was doing chair-cardio, chair-yoga, and chair-pilates (Caroline Jordan on youtube)... do you think that's something that would help lift your spirits?
heather
Hello everyone. I somehow stumbled across this forum and seen i'm not alone. I am 2 weeks post surgery for my broken fibula and its been 4 nights exactly the way you guys are feeling. Sleepless with constant numbness at night. I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow so hopefully he lets me do some type of upper body workout in the gym. I'm hoping that will help my anxiety
hello steven60967
how are you doing?... are you able to do some upper-body workouts at the gym like you were hoping? and how is the numbness?
heather
so happy to have found this forum. 48 yo, healthy female here from the US broke my tib and tore a couple tendons 5 weeks ago surgery 2 weeks later (plate and screws). no story, slipped on wet leaves. knee scooter has been a savior as i live alone and only had someone pop by for 15 minutes each day. early days i had a cooler with water and sandwiches by my bed, now can cook a little and get around with the scooter. the pain in the surgical areas is not bad, but the numbness in my toes and heel pain from the cast is awful unless i take my pain meds (percoset) like clockwork. i also had a ramp installed and have a wheelchair just for doc visits. i fell again on the crutches trying to get up the 3 stairs to my house on crutches - no further damage. like many, the boredom is insane. i went back to work (from my couch) early just to get my mind going again. i know not everyone has that option, and its hard to work while laying down, but i had to do something! excited to check out the chair yoga tomorrow!
Hi Everyone. Olga, thanks for starting this forum. I hope you are doing well now. I am 5 months out from trimalleaolar surgery on left ankle (2 plates, many screws). There was no dislocation and all the ligaments remained in place. Been out of the boot and walking in shoes for 2 mos. Still having numbness in toes 4&5(pinky), and swelling under them. (This started after surgery over a larger area.) Range of motion is not back to normal, and I am having constant pain adjacent to medial malleolus radiating to inner arch, which increases when I do calf stretches or turn my ankle outward. Concerned because my arch is now dropping and I cannot flex my ankle/foot very far toward my leg. DR is very casual - Not sure if he gets my complaint or this really is normal. Feel like I should be getting better (not worse) and able to do PT exercises without stopping due to pain. Suggestions? Thanks
i had a trimalleor fracture too... 2 plates 9 screws... in 2015... and STILL have numbness in 3 toes and slightly across the top of my foot... and EXTREME sensitivity on the scar on the outside of my ankle (like barely touch it and thru the roof). Lately it feels like my ankle is seizing up, often. It's not pain so much as just continuous discomfort like it's swollen - but there is no visible swelling. Maybe i'm just getting old and the arthritis is setting in, but I'm over it.
I'm curious if anyone has had corrective surgery, or if it's even a thing? or any magic supplements or other treatments this long after. And yes, i did all the physio etc and custom orthotics, and exercise it regularly to this day. Zero impact.