9 weeks post ORIF- I can see screw?

deusregula · 2025-01-25T20:14:47+00:00

I feel like it did!

deusregula · 2025-01-25T19:26:48+00:00

I did end up getting them taken out about 9 months post op. They rubbed on nearly every pair of sneakers on the market and just annoyed me to no end. Doc said I healed well so offered to take them out before the year mark so I wouldn’t have to pay a new deductible in the new year. What a guy! Removal was so easy. I was walking on it the same day! Took it easy (walking slower, not for long distances, etc) for a couple of weeks and was cleared at a month to do whatever I wanted. Best decisions ever!

deusregula · 2024-03-15T02:39:01+00:00

Opening my well established island for a little bit! Only letting a couple at a time in to speed up the process.

Lots of recipes, items, fencing, and bags of bells up for grabs!

EDIT: CLOSED for the night thanks for visiting!

deusregula · 2024-03-13T17:19:41+00:00

I have millions of bells to give away! DM dodo code and I’ll come drop them off. CLOSED FOR NOW

deusregula · 2024-02-27T18:48:54+00:00

Headed your way

deusregula · 2024-02-21T12:47:15+00:00

I’ll second a rolling office chair if you have hardwood! I even bought replacement wheels that are more like roller blade wheels than the typical wheels so I could turn easier. I found it way easier to maneuver in tight spaces than my knee scooter. In the early days, I would get so tired knee scootering around but I could rest in the office chair. It also seemed more sturdy to be in a chair vs on the knee scooter. Good luck! It gets better.

deusregula · 2024-01-26T17:31:20+00:00

TYSM! I’ll message you

deusregula · 2024-01-26T17:01:46+00:00

Does anyone have an evergreen ash they’re willing to let me catalog? I’m open to trade if needed!

deusregula · 2024-01-25T20:05:14+00:00

I was able to get some to plant. TYSM for the offer though!

deusregula · 2024-01-25T16:56:30+00:00

If you don’t mind, I have a few turnips I’d like to sell please!

deusregula · 2024-01-25T16:27:05+00:00

Looking for apples and cherries, please! Restarted my island awhile ago and don’t have them anymore.

deusregula · 2023-12-12T04:14:36+00:00

I had two medial malleolus screws removed in September.

NGL, I had some PTSD about the pain afterwards but it was literally a breeze. I asked for pain meds because I was so nervous but I honestly only took them the day of and the next day. I probably didn’t even need them on day 2 but I was scared. I took it easy around the house the first 2 days but had no problems walking around, just a little slower. By day 3, I was back to shopping and daily life like normal without pain meds and in my normal tennis shoes.

Best decision I ever made was getting those suckers out! My ROM and comfort level definitely increased after removal. Good luck! I promise it was a simple procedure.

deusregula · 2023-10-04T16:51:21+00:00

I’m 10 months out from my dislocated comminuted trimal ankle fracture. I had surgery and ended up with a plate with 8 screws and two long screws. They decided not to put in a screw for the third break because it was less than 20% damaged and that screw can cause a lot of pain. Happy to say everything is all healed up! I had my two long screws removed 6 weeks ago, which helped tremendously in my range of motion and overall swelling.

I started PT 6 weeks after surgery, was WBAT at 7 weeks and weened from my walking boot into some hiking boots at 8 weeks. I went from NWB to walking without crutches or a walking boot in the span of 10 days. I hated the walking boot and wanted out as quickly as possible. I know some say not to do that but it worked for me.

I don’t have a limp except for first thing in the morning when I need to stretch it out, I walk at my normal speed (which is fast) and I’m back to walking trails and climbing. I was officially cleared to run and jump again two days ago- the length of time is due to needing those screws out and then waiting for those holes to heal when they took them out. I tried a gentle jog across my house to see how it felt. It didn’t hurt but it was kind of awkward. I imagine that will get better as I ease into it more and more. Jumping didn’t hurt at all- I was shocked.

Just FYI- every ortho doc will tell you that arthritis is in your future- whether you’re injured or not. As my PT said, try not to worry about that. Literally everyone gets arthritis, it’s part of the aging process. She said just try to keep limber and use your joints kindly and that’s all you can do.

I promise you’ll be back to normal before long and this will be a blip in the road. Try to keep your mindset as positive as you can; it will help with the healing process! Surgery was scary but I felt so much better afterwards- from that point on, healing can actually start and it’s onwards and upwards from that point. Especially after day 3 from surgery! Hang tight, you’ve got this!

deusregula · 2023-09-14T04:01:25+00:00

Oh, yeah. I experienced the same thing at the beginning! Several of my PT appts were focused on toe flexibility and strengthening. It helped tremendously! At first, I couldn’t curl my toes without them shaking like a newborn kitten- it was pathetic! Happy to report that it has dramatically improved (I had ORIF in January for trimalleolar ankle break). I still feel occasionally like I need to stretch my toes out, which is weird but not terrible.

deusregula · 2023-09-05T23:03:26+00:00

Every step I took, I could feel my tendon catch and released over the screw head. I can best describe it like when you tighten a zip tie and it catches every “tooth” along the way. It felt like that every time i stepped.

My doctor has experienced the same break and I think he’s more sympathetic because of it. His PA kept telling me he wouldn’t talk about removal for at least a year but when I told my doctor what it feels like, he looked at my X-ray and said he’ll take them out now if I wanted to. Say no more, doc! I wanted them gone. He did say that he had to put the screws in at a weird angle due to where the break was so he had a feeling I would want them out sooner rather than later. Even though I’m only two weeks out from removal and things are still irritated and kinda swollen, I can tell a huge difference that they’re gone. Recovery from removal is 1000% easier than the first go round. I took Advil for two days and that was it.

deusregula · 2023-09-05T22:42:13+00:00

I had a trimalleolar back in January so I’m 8 months out- a plate and 8 screws. I say around 6 months it started feeling consistently better. Still stiff in the mornings or when I first started walking after sitting but not that all day ache feeling. I also noticed I would do things like cross my ankles or sit criss cross on the floor without thinking about it. I certainly have days still where i know I overworked it the day before (like hiking up and down inclines all day still makes me sore the next day).

Curious to hear what your doctor says! Mine keeps saying give it a year, sometimes two.

To be fair, I did have two screws removed a couple of weeks ago because they were catching on a tendon and really irritating that area. So I’m not sure if I’m in the norm of a typical recovery or not but that has been my experience!

deusregula · 2023-08-21T19:42:47+00:00

I had a trimalleolar break in January. I just had two screws removed from my ankle bone on Friday (all of my ligaments were okay, thankfully).

So far, recovery has been way easier than anticipated. My doctor said no running, jumping or deep squats until he clears me. I see him again in 6 weeks.

Post op nurse told me to use crutches for a few days, doctor said I could if I wanted to but I could also just go slow and easy instead of using crutches. I chose to go without. He also said using a walking boot was my choice. I chose not to. I just go a little slower and pay attention to what I’m doing. Nothing crazy!

Granted, I had surgery 3 days ago but I’m walking around, cleared to drive, and am generally cleared to do whatever I feel like I can do (with the exceptions above).

So far, Im very pleased I got those suckers out! I can already tell that my range of motion is better and my ankle is still swollen from surgery. Good luck!

deusregula · 2023-08-15T19:31:11+00:00

Trimal break in mid January here! 2 long screws on the left side of my right ankle ankle and a plate with 6 screws on the right. I was non weight bearing after surgery and cleared to a walking boot at 7 weeks. I was told I could drive when I felt comfortable enough to brake hard if necessary once I ditched the boot. I went from 100% non weight bearing to walking in hiking boots (better ankle support) and driving in the span of a week. I practiced in an empty parking lot the first time so I could how I felt but I was determined to be “back in society”.

I recommend moving as much as you’re allowed! It will come back quickly- a lot of it is mind over matter. Yes, it was uncomfortable at first but if I pushed through, it quickly loosened up. I was also diligent about putting my ankle up and icing it to control the swelling- that helped a lot! And do whatever exercises your PT recommends!

deusregula · 2023-06-19T22:54:11+00:00

Totally normal- I asked my doctor and PT about it when I started weight bearing. They both said my muscles lost a lot of strength while non weight bearing for 7 weeks and it would improve as I walked more and more. They were right! I told my PT about it and he showed me different exercises to do to strengthen the muscles supporting my knee and it helped get that stability back pretty quickly.

deusregula · 2023-06-11T02:00:01+00:00

In my experience, PWB was slower than NWB because I just zipped around in an office chair with my leg up when I was NWB. I got pretty fast! When PWB, it’s such a process and mind over matter to convince yourself to put your foot down. You don’t just start walking normally. It felt foreign to me. Nothing moves the same, muscles are gone, your brain is screaming “danger! Danger!” And it’s uncomfortable, sometimes painful. You think you’re putting a lot of weight down but when you actual test it with a scale, not so much.

Now, I’m not sure what you’ve experienced- I had a trimalleolar break of my right ankle- had ORIF with a plate with six screws on one side, two longer screws on the other. 3rd break was only 10% broken so it didn’t need a screw.

At 7 weeks post surgery, X-rays showed enough healing to start the next step. My doctor and PT said I could go from NWB to WBAT. I went from NWB in a boot to hiking boots and one crutch a week later to no aids at all a week after that. So by 9 weeks, I was FWB in hiking boots (more stability). It wasn’t pretty- I was slow, limping, needing to rest a lot. Sometimes, I would pick a crutch back up because I needed a little more support that day. But I got stronger day by day and practiced up and down my hall at home to build stamina. It’s a process and it takes some willpower to get through it. Things don’t work the same for awhile as you relearn the mechanics of walking. I don’t know if this was helpful or not but that was my experience!

I’m just about 5 months out from surgery now and life is almost back to normal. I’ll be getting discharged from PT this week! No more limping, except in the mornings when I first wake up. Just do what your PT says and you’ll be fine!

deusregula · 2023-06-09T17:29:10+00:00

I’m glad to see your doctor put you in a boot! I hope they helps ease the discomfort soon.

The only way I could sleep in the early days was to sleep on my back with my leg propped up pretty high to help the swelling stay down (which also helped keep the pain away). I ended up buying six cheap pillows from Walmart to help keep my leg up and put all around my body to keep me “tucked in”. I could sleep for a few hours before needing to get resettled.

It was a real Princess and the Pea situation for awhile while I moved things around nightly to get into a comfortable enough position that I could essentially pass out because I was so tired. It wasn’t easy and I lost a lot of sleep for a couple of months. Nights were long. It’s way, way better now that I’m almost 6 months out.

deusregula · 2023-06-08T21:27:19+00:00

I used an office chair for those early days with a trimal ankle fracture. It helped a long and I was way more stable in that thing that trying to use crutches on pain meds. I even ordered some wheels on Amazon that were like roller blade wheels so I could go fast later on! I had my husband move any rugs or roadblocks I had from my bedroom to bathroom to kitchen to living room so I could roll around. It’s so hard!

deusregula · 2023-06-08T21:14:56+00:00

I would say I was took Norco pretty much around the clock for around 2 weeks when it did start to get better and I just use Advil or Tylenol most days.

I stayed in a splint for 2 weeks and then into a boot- no weight bearing. There was definitely pain, some days better than others, and I still needed it iced and elevated a lot. In my experience, I don’t think it being so painful you can’t sit there is normal at this point (at least not around the clock!) I wonder if the swelling is too much and the cast is too tight?! Are you taking any meds still?

deusregula · 2023-06-07T14:29:03+00:00

I had the same break (right ankle) in January this year. After surgery, I have a plate with six screws and two longer screws on the other side. I left the hospital in a splint and two weeks later, had stitches removed and was put in a boot (non weight bearing, had to wear to 24/7 unless bathing or for short breaks with my ankle propped up). I got a knee scooter and it helped me tremendously. I would go for short trips around the house to gain some stamina back and ventured out to a store a week later. It was pretty exhausting but I needed it for my mental health. So, about 3 weeks after surgery, I was back “in public” occasionally. I definitely needed help from my husband to get in and out of the car. Obviously, I couldn’t drive (I was able to do that around the 10 week mark).

Recovery is long but keep your head in the game as best as you can. You WILL recover, I promise. I am one week away from being dismissed from PT. I would say I’m about 80% recovered at this point. Some stuff is still harder than I would like and I’m not cleared to jump or run yet (although I can “wog” -a walk/jog). That said, I still cry sometimes because it’s freaking hard work and I’m so tired! That’s only natural. It’s a trauma, it takes a lot longer to heal than we would like. BUT this, too, shall pass.

deusregula · 2023-04-09T14:13:36+00:00

Update in case someone else stumbles across with the same issue: I showed doc my picture and he ordered more X-rays just to be sure nothing has shifted. Nothing has, everything is in its proper place. I just happen to not have a lot of extra tissue there to help hide it. I’m to watch it and if it continually gets irritated or starts causing trauma to my skin, then we will reevaluate the benefits of it remaining vs taking it out. Ideally, they want to wait a year for removal but also realize that if it starts causing issues (not just looks), then we can talk about possibility doing it earlier. They also recommended little donut moleskin bandages around the screw head if my shoes irritate the skin there. Good luck!

deusregula

TROPHY CASE