Broken Tib/fib journal

[EastBayDave]

Surgery Tuesday...already have all my post-op meds, starting to get my bed set up so for the first day or two the only reason I will NEED to move will be to get to the bathroom...

This is the least of your worries.

Finally you get good docs = surgeons. They just work on bodies (excuse term =another piece of meat), & don't seem to be mentally involved before or after (my own opinion of course.) Every surgery I've every had has turned out good. This last one they saved me on table several times I hear when the old ticker gave out.

The bruising will go away fast within a month or two. That's no biggie; the pain & loss of function is what always bugs me. Sometimes it can take a loooong time to recover. I'm becoming an expert....:laughing

If they don't give you enough pain meds, don't be polite. This is what you pay for; pain mitigation. Get mad, scream, anything to get better meds. Constantly a problem getting docs to prescribe what they call: "Schedule 2" opioid drugs. "It's addictive" they say; & "they (US Gov't) passed some law making it illegal f/doctors to prescribe excessive pain meds."

"Bullshit. I can stop cold turkey anytime on any of these; & I am not an addict, I don't enjoy the after effects of these meds. Gimmie Gimmie you SOB, smack! I dang near floored my last stingy doc. He ran out of room before I could. :rofl Maybe this is why he don't like me?

They are always as tight as they can get away with; they'd give you nothing if they could get away w/it. That's why I say, scream @ them if you have to. I still have this problem to this day; fu_kers still have a problem prescribing pain meds. WHY if you are in REAL constant pain?

Don't worry about the bathroom; you may have to use a "pan" if you have to, but I'm not embarrassed about it anymore. Hopefully you will be in rehab long enough to get over that. Last time i was (just recently) I did, very quickly/no pan. I know, I know, talking about such things = :blush

No worries; keep the positive thoughts & you'll come thru w/flying colors to ride again! Sorry about the lengthy post; this is all still very fresh in my mind but me thinks you will come out great! :thumbup

 

[Honey Badger]

yikes, glad you're okay for the most part and sorting out the surgery stuff.

i broke my fibula last spring and my x-rays looked pretty similar to yours. sounds like your ortho is on top of things and giving you understandable advice about what happened and what to expect.

just my :2cents, and it sounds like you've been through PT before so this won't be new for you: the real healing comes from PT. (Good) Orthos can piece you back together (really well) but without good, focused, aggressive PT your body, mobility, and function will be limited. PT and working out increases natural testosterone production in your body, that's your body's super mutant healing factor right there :laughing and even if you can't do your specific PT/ankle exercises (because fatigue, soreness, need for rest), still working out your core/upperbody will produce testosterone and help your body heal naturally and more quickly.

also, last :2cents (promise), if you can get access to a pool (even a small one) take your exercises and make them into water-therapy. walking, jumping, going up and down stairs, side-steps, high-knees, leg kicks, balance exercises, running, can all be done underwater (waist deep or all the way up to your chest/stomach) and you can start doing it way earlier underwater than on dry-land in your PT schedule (of course consult your PT/ortho/listen to your body blablabla). the water soothes swelling, reduces impact, and helps improve coordination.

after a couple months of PT and my last follow ups with my ortho, i basically got 95-99% mobility back (and still going). best part IMO, i bought my first motorcycle less than 6 months after i broke my ankle :ride

GL with your surgery tomorrow! :thumbup

Ya, I'm actually going to be reaching out to my trainer for a *heavily modified* training plan incorporating my limited mobility/abilities, but I'm already coming up with things I can do. I have ZERO intention of losing my fitness - I will have to rebuild that lower leg, but there's no excuse to lose everything else in the process. Plus, I find I heal faster/better the more active I am - sitting around and "waiting" for things to heal only seems to prolong the process (something I've seen repeated in many, many people).

This is the least of your worries.

Finally you get good docs = surgeons. They just work on bodies (excuse term =another piece of meat), & don't seem to be mentally involved before or after (my own opinion of course.) Every surgery I've every had has turned out good. This last one they saved me on table several times I hear when the old ticker gave out.

The bruising will go away fast within a month or two. That's no biggie; the pain & loss of function is what always bugs me. Sometimes it can take a loooong time to recover. I'm becoming an expert....:laughing

If they don't give you enough pain meds, don't be polite. This is what you pay for; pain mitigation. Get mad, scream, anything to get better meds. Constantly a problem getting docs to prescribe what they call: "Schedule 2" opioid drugs. "It's addictive" they say; & "they (US Gov't) passed some law making it illegal f/doctors to prescribe excessive pain meds."

"Bullshit. I can stop cold turkey anytime on any of these; & I am not an addict, I don't enjoy the after effects of these meds. Gimmie Gimmie you SOB, smack! I dang near floored my last stingy doc. He ran out of room before I could. :rofl Maybe this is why he don't like me?

They are always as tight as they can get away with; they'd give you nothing if they could get away w/it. That's why I say, scream @ them if you have to. I still have this problem to this day; fu_kers still have a problem prescribing pain meds. WHY if you are in REAL constant pain?

Don't worry about the bathroom; you may have to use a "pan" if you have to, but I'm not embarrassed about it anymore. Hopefully you will be in rehab long enough to get over that. Last time i was (just recently) I did, very quickly/no pan. I know, I know, talking about such things = :blush

No worries; keep the positive thoughts & you'll come thru w/flying colors to ride again! Sorry about the lengthy post; this is all still very fresh in my mind but me thinks you will come out great! :thumbup

Well, so far this doc does NOT seem to have issues making sure I have pain meds - in fact, quite the opposite, I was tolerating things with what I had, and he insisted on sending me home with something stronger :laughing

I think the main thing is going to be making sure them and I are on the same page about the importance of "timing" and that I have need of making this recovery as quick as is safely possible, but time is not a luxury I can afford when there are more effective ways of accomplishing things.

 

[doc4216]

Good luck tomorrow!

 

[Honey Badger]

Good luck tomorrow!

Thanks, looks like things got delayed to Wednesday am, but i kind of prefer that...first appt of the day instead of the last....

I'm stealing the meme lol

 

[doc4216]

I agree, first thing with fresh eyes is much better than end of day tired eyes.

 

[dtrides]

Hope they get you all patched up tomorrow so you can heal in the off season
I did the tip/fib when I was a kid...it took quite a while to heal up (my Dad asked if I would be able to walk ok with out going in and pinning it, Dr said probably, so no surgery, only slightly crooked foot now).
Take advantage of all the help that is offered for first month or so, no need to be Super Girl.
Wishing you the best tomorrow (or when ever you go under).!
DT

 

[Randy B]

Good luck with the surgery. I am completely amazed that the ER sent you home like that. It just wreaks of incompetence to me.

 

[Lunch Box]

I just saw this and I'm so bummed for you. I had an almost identical injury about 15 years ago and it sucked. If it makes you feel better, it doesn't even make my top 5 worst injury list. :laughing

Seriously though, keep positive, take as few pain meds as you can, and let us know if we can be of service. Make that worthless team mate of yours help you out, too. wave Paul)

 

[RT_Russ]

Damn it that sucks. I'm sitting in Kaiser as I read this :afm199 I'm in Fairfield, do you need anything?

Russ

 

[Honey Badger]

I just saw this and I'm so bummed for you. I had an almost identical injury about 15 years ago and it sucked. If it makes you feel better, it doesn't even make my top 5 worst injury list. :laughing

Seriously though, keep positive, take as few pain meds as you can, and let us know if we can be of service. Make that worthless team mate of yours help you out, too. wave Paul)

Haha, already had him switch trucks with me since there's no driving a stick for me right now :laughing

Already ordered some supplements, having my trainer put together a highly modified workout plan, and expressed my need for aggressive PT, so doing everything in my power to speed this process along. Will give myself a few days post op to be chill, but after that, I want to be sure I'm getting up and doing shit rather than sitting around waiting for things to take care of themselves.

Damn it that sucks. I'm sitting in Kaiser as I read this :afm199 I'm in Fairfield, do you need anything?

Russ

I think I'm good right now, thanks! Should be pretty well set for the week at this point.

 

[Ann]

AJ hope you have a quick recovery! Hope everything goes well with your surgery. I'm in Sacramento area if you're ever in that area and need anything.

 

[Honey Badger]

Well, surgery round 1 done. Apparently there was a fair bit of damage to the soft tissue, so I woke up to an erector set on my leg. Not what I was hoping for.





The plan as of right now is that I will have this for a couple weeks, then will go in for round 2, when they can, hopefully, plate the end of the tibia and remove the ex-fix. Just need the soft tissue to repair in that time, so that's the big question mark right now.

Otherwise, I'm not feeling too horrible - obviously a little sore, but now that i'm home and on a med routine again it's manageable. Biggest issue is that this thing is just obnoxious. I have, literally, 3 pieces of clothing I can fit over it, other than skirts, which aren't much of an option since I can't get anything else over the damn thing.

Not sure what cocktail they used for anesthesia, but whatever it was did not agree with me. That was by far the hardest it has been for me to get out of it, and the worst I've felt after it.

 

[Randy B]

Heel up and do what the doctors tell you to do and things should go the way they predict.
Don't try and do more than you can and things should go smoothly.

 

[EastBayDave]

<snip> ...this thing is just obnoxious.

....ohhhhh ahhhh...OUCH! Your right, sure looks like hell eh' ? I've broken a dozen+ bones over the years, but never had one of those! I must have been lucky =shiver. :wow

Not sure what cocktail they used for anesthesia, but whatever it was did not agree with me. That was by far the hardest it has been for me to get out of it, and the worst I've felt after it.

Don't be shy, call them & see if some other cocktail might work for you. My experience is they are typically slow to respond. You said they doing great; your med carrier sounds awesome. You should be feeling the most pain the next few days so have someone call if you need.

I volunteer if you don't have a helper; I can at least make calls for ya! :thumbup

 

[Owl]

holy moley that's way worse than what i had. i just wore a soft cast for a couple weeks until they could cut me open and put me back together with "deck screws and bailing wire."

i like the blinged out stabalizer thing at the top, super fancy

 

[ctwo]

Did the specialist mention a widened mortise or which ligaments are involved, if any? My x-rays looked similar to yours, but I tore all the ligaments and that takes a long while to heal. I had a walking cast after 6 months to help transition off crutches. Hope you are dealing mostly with breaks and it all heals up well for you.

 

[Honey Badger]

Did the specialist mention a widened mortise or which ligaments are involved, if any? My x-rays looked similar to yours, but I tore all the ligaments and that takes a long while to heal. I had a walking cast after 6 months to help transition off crutches. Hope you are dealing mostly with breaks and it all heals up well for you.

I think it's mostly the cartilage in the ankle - mostly breaks, but the tib break damaged that. He didn't say anything about ligaments, so i think it's mostly just the ankle cartilage.

 

[EastBayDave]

how ya feeling today??? Better/worse? Need anything?

BTW, the heater's fantastic! Thank you thank you thank you!

 

[Honey Badger]

how ya feeling today??? Better/worse? Need anything?

I'm actually feeling pretty good, just trying to reduce the swelling in my poor little foot that is not happy about being drug into this :laughing

Pain is well managed right now, I'll probably be ready to be a little more active in another day or so. Need to go into the office for a few hours on Monday, so that'll be a chance to get out for a bit. Starting to go a bit stir crazy from sitting around - I've been able to work, so not really mentally bored, just sick of sitting already :laughing

 

[Honey Badger]

Made it into the office for a few hours yesterday - I was actually pretty stoked to get out of the house for a bit, while I'm an introvert, there's a limit, and I've been feeling pretty secluded already :nchantr It's pretty bad when you actually MISS going in to the office, even if my human interaction there is limited, I'm at least around other humans - not that my felines aren't loving having me around more :laughing

My leg on the other hand didn't seem to appreciate the going in as much as my mind did. No real increase in pain or anything, but the swelling in my poor widdle foot got bad again - thankfully went back to where it was (or even slightly better) overnight. It's still pretty swollen either way, but seems to finally be receding a bit. Two toes almost look normal again LOL.

It's actually kind of cute, the cats are definitely more "concerned" than normal, my boy 'kitten' especially...he's normally the most aloof of the group, but has been rather "protective" since I broke my leg - I've heard of other people who've had a cat act similar when they were injured bad...kind of interesting behavior that, from a scientific standpoint, I actually find rather fascinating.....this was him last night after I got home and settled in: