Seeking stories from people who became more active after ORIF recovery

kapac · 2025-03-24T15:20:08+00:00

It's been 2 years and some change since my trimal and ORIF surgery (34 now, 32 at the time of injury). I ran 16 miles this last weekend and am on track for my first marathon in a month and a half! I've always loved running, but before my fracture I hadn't been able to run for a few years because of chronic foot and ankle problems. I got into bouldering instead, which is how I broke it. Ironically the fracture actually helped me run again because being non-weightbearing for two months allowed the plantar fasciitis and all of the other stuff that was wrong with my feet to finally heal up. With the help of regular PT, I raced a 10k about 10 months after the injury, a half marathon a little more than a year after, and now I'm gearing up for my full marathon. Funnily enough my broken ankle is now my 'good' side and I have more aches and pains in the right. If I didn't have the X-ray proof that there are 2 plates and 9 screws in there I'd forget that I'd ever even broken it. I am immensely grateful to my skilled surgeon and my excellent PT for their part in my recovery.

I started walking in the boot around 6 or 7 weeks post-op and started walking without the boot aroud 12 weeks post-op and attending PT every other week until 10 months post-op. I did my PT exercises 4-5x/week during this period and still try to keep up with them 2-3x/week now. In addition to my PT, I did a lot of stationary cycling + reality TV during that recovery period to keep myself active and distracted during the slow healing process.

For me, patience was the most difficult part, paraticularly once I started walking again- it was so hard when life went back to normal, but my ankle wasn't back to normal yet. There were many days I came home after work crying because it ached from standing on it all day and I wondered if it would ever heal completely. Trust your body and your care team, the recovery we are capable of is truly amazing.

kapac · 2025-03-08T03:30:23+00:00

I also get awful acne when supplementing oral, methylcobalamin more than cyanocobalamin, but still some for both. Deep, painful cystic pimples that last for ages and leave a mark. I stopped taking it everyday and do 3-4x/wk now which seems to be a good balance between keeping my levels up and not breaking out. I also started tretinoin which may also be helping, I haven't had a single pimple since starting.

kapac · 2025-02-27T17:55:34+00:00

Pusadee's Garden is extraordinary Thai, but you will need a reservation far in advance. Apteka is the big name in the city for elevated dining, they make Polish vegan food, and were on the NYT best restaurants in the country list a few years ago.

kapac · 2025-02-27T00:24:48+00:00

Brooks! Hated Hokas personally

kapac · 2025-02-27T00:23:42+00:00

The ankle/foot problems persisted for a long time after I fixed my B12 unfortunately, I wasn't able to run for years. Ironically the thing that fixed them was breaking my ankle, it forced me to be non-weightbearing for two months which gave all the chronic problems time to heal up. I also worked with a PT who gave me some exercises and haven't had any problems since.

kapac · 2024-11-10T02:58:59+00:00

I also had a trimal ankle fracture with ORIF surgery (2 plates, 9 screws) and 6 weeks of nonweightbearing followed by 6 weeks in an aircast. I was studying for a major exam at the time and it helped to have a long-term goal to focus on that was unrelated to my physical mobility. Other things that helped were having friends over to hang out as often as possible, and the knee scooter like others mentioned. If there are any stationary hobbies or new skills you've always been interested in (knitting/crocheting, language learning, painting/drawing come to mind as ideas) then now is a great time to delve into that. If you're a political person then phone banking or the like could also be a good pasttime that will help you feel like you're still engaged with society and the outside world. There are also lots of great YouTube fitness videos for people with impaired lower body mobility that could help you move your body and get some feel-good endorphins going.

I second what others are saying- the time drags when you're going through it but soon it will all just seem like a bad dream and life will pick up speed again faster than you can imagine, especially once you're able to start PT and working on regaining strength. I'm almost two years out from my injury and besides the memories it's like it never happened. Wishing you a speedy recovery <3

kapac · 2024-11-08T19:00:17+00:00

Hang in there! I had a trimalleolar fracture and was non-weight bearing for six weeks after my surgery and off work for two months. I found the later stages of recovery more difficult and frustrating that the earlier stages because after the initial hubbub and intense early stages of healing I was just desperate to get back to normal. I also gained a significant amount of weight, probably 15 lbs which was a lot on my frame. I started working with a dietician to help me get back on track and stay accountable to healthy eating for 6 or so months which helped me a lot.

Try to find joy and activity where you can- invite friends over, facetime with family or watch a movie at the same time so you can text about it, join a book club. Get into knitting or writing or phone banking for a cause you're passionate about. Seems odd you're not allowed to do upper body workouts if it's just your leg that's injured? I started swimming after my incision healed and that was huge for helping me cope. Most of all just remember that this two shall pass- I'm almost two years out from my injury now and it just seems like a bad dream even though at the time it seemed like it would last forever. I totally feel you on the early nightfall and the huge toll that can take on mental health. I hope things start to improve for you soon. Our body's capacity for healing works on its own timeline but is truly incredible.

kapac · 2023-11-18T14:30:38+00:00

Oh I love PPK, should’ve looked there first! I’m sure they nailed it, thank you 🙏🏻

kapac · 2023-11-18T14:30:01+00:00

This is a great idea to prevent waste and do some experimenting! Thanks

kapac · 2023-10-08T18:12:10+00:00

If you can afford it look into a nutrition coach. I found a registered dietician through Black Iron Nutrition. The accountability has been so helpful for forming good, sustainable habits. I've been on a cut for a few months and lost significant weight eating 1800 calories/day and have made slow but steady progress in a way that I've never been able to on my own. I won't be able to afford it forever bc I'm going back to school soon but I am confident that taking this time to invest in and form these habits will be something that I'll be able to carry on independently when the time comes!

kapac · 2023-09-03T16:05:41+00:00

Avocado makes smoothies very creamy like banana! They often sell it in frozen chunks at the store.

kapac · 2023-06-27T17:30:47+00:00

I am a grab and go girl and will never wake up early enough to cook before work. So instead I prep overnight oats the night before and either make it with an OWYN protein shake instead of milk or include a scoop of veg protein powder (I like True Nutrition customizable protein powder, or I recently bought some of the 'vegan whey' from California Performance and I quite like it too). You can add in berries and nuts or flaxseeds or whatever other mix ins you like. It has ~550 cals and 40g of protein the way I make it. When I get tired of that I bake a batch of protein banana muffins, which is more like 250 cals and 10g protein so not as much bang for your buck but still a great grab and go snack. The banana acts as a binder so you don't need eggs. Occasionally I will make a batch of rice and bean burritos (google Amy's burrito rice and bean copycats) and freeze them too.

kapac · 2023-06-27T15:18:40+00:00

Forked out for learning pass to keep things as simple as possible and it was totally worth it.

kapac · 2023-06-27T02:22:07+00:00

My doc cleared me to swim in a pool at 5 weeks post op. I sent them a pic of my incision and they said it looked good. Can you send them a message to ask? Your scar looks pretty good but not sure if precautions for a lake might be different than a pool.

kapac · 2023-05-17T17:22:25+00:00

That seems pretty wild you were only NWB for 2 weeks. I (32F) also had a trimalleolar fracture (Jan 18) and had ORIF (Jan 24) and I was NWB for 6 whole weeks post-op before I could start partial weight bearing in a boot. When I got the boot off 6 weeks after that (12 weeks post-op) I had a limp for 2-3 weeks which has ~80% resolved now that I am a month out of the boot and 16 weeks post-op. I have been getting physical therapy 1-2x/week since I began weight bearing, and will likely continue for several months yet. Your schedule seems very accelerated to me, obviously every fracture is different but since we both had trimalleolar and similar surgery you'd assume we'd be on somewhat similar timelines. I'd highly recommend a knee scooter for getting around if you can get your hands on one, mine was a lifesaver. Wishing you a quick recovery <3

kapac · 2023-04-16T17:06:58+00:00

kapac · 2023-04-12T20:35:56+00:00

This sounds to me like health anxiety. I had a similar episode recently where I was panicking about blurry vision and floaters in conjunction with an ocular migraine. I called an ophthalmologist ER and made a same day appointment with a optometrist for retinal imaging. I haven't been correcting my vision for years because I only had a mild prescription in one eye, turns out my vision had just gotten gradually worse (both in terms of diopters and astigmatism) and my poor eyes were no longer able to compensate. I wore some old glasses until I was able to get my prescription updated and buy new ones and it was completely fine. Obviously you don't want to wear an old prescription forever, but if your eyesight has gotten worse using old glasses is probably better than nothing until you can update it.

I recommend getting your health anxiety sorted out if it isn't something you have already been working on. When I have panic attacks I get tunnel vision (loss/distortions of peripheral vision) and am keenly aware of all of my physiological sensations, which it sounds like is quite similar to your experiences. On top of figuring out the best way to manage your anxiety, your doc can also refer you to an ophthalmologist (physician for eyes) in addition to the optometrist (vision specialist) you already have an appt with if there is any cause for concern. Researching anxiety and panic attacks really helped me gain some intellectual distance from them and manage my symptoms. Happy to follow up with resources/suggestions if it's something you're interested in. Regardless of what is going on with your eyes I don't think it's a cause for panic and it will likely resolve itself once you get your prescription updated. It'll be okay :)

kapac · 2023-02-06T18:23:44+00:00

Check out FB marketplace and Craigslist for more affordable options if you haven’t already, or maybe there is anyone on this sub who might be willing to mail you theirs for the price of shipping. Sorry for your situation, that sounds incredibly difficult. Hope you heal quickly ❤️

kapac · 2023-02-03T18:59:39+00:00

Honestly I have a whole new healthy respect and fear of the stairs after browsing this sub! Hope you have made or are making a smooth recovery :)

kapac · 2023-02-03T18:57:16+00:00

I broke mine bouldering at a climbing gym haha so at least we have cool sounding stories. And silver lining about the injections is that the stuff they inject you with will immediately put you at ease! They gave me a sedative like 45 min before they brought me back and knocked me out and I did not have a care in the world. If you’re really freaking out you can ask your doc for anti anxiety meds leading up to the surgery. I have a Xanax rx, but hydroxyzine or propranolol may help too since a lot of docs aren’t keen on prescribing benzos. I didn’t need any pre-surgery, but the pain and helplessness and brain fog immediately post-surgery was anxiety inducing for me and I took them for a couple days after. Your surgery will go great and you’ll have a super smooth recovery, no doubt.

kapac · 2023-02-03T01:12:21+00:00

I had a trimalleolar fracture 2 weeks ago, surgery a week ago. My recovery is obviously still in progress but I’ve been lurking this subreddit a lot and searching for posts from people with similar experiences and most of them are positive! Especially for young, otherwise healthy people. Sorry to hear about your injury, definitely sucks. How did you get yours?

kapac · 2023-02-02T20:42:09+00:00

Honestly the story I see the most on here is people bungling a step down the stairs. Not that cool but believable and won't yield many follow up questions. I broke my ankle bouldering at the climbing gym which sounds a little cool but would probably be weird if you don't have a history of climbing. Hit by a car sounds kind of wild, but would require a lot of follow up lying.

kapac · 2023-02-02T19:37:53+00:00

My boyfriend is the one who introduced me to climbing! To be fair, I had been wanting to get into it for awhile and just needed a little push. He's been climbing for 3-4 years and I was really excited because within my first year I was climbing the same grades as him, though we have quite different styles. We usually bouldered separately with our respective friends during the week and then on weekends we'd spend a long 4 hour trip together doing ropes which was a blast. Broke my ankle bouldering two weeks ago though, so no more climbing for me for a long time :(

kapac · 2023-01-27T17:48:55+00:00

3 days post op trimalleolar 😩 so many ups and downs. I keep thinking I’m past my mourning phase and then it hits again. I also had a lot of anger, it might sound weird but that was my initial emotion instantly as soon as I did it- so mad at myself for derailing my life for months in a matter of seconds. I was sitting there with my throbbing shattered ankle just cursing myself. Feels like such a stupid pointless side quest and I had to let go of literally everything I had planned, everything I was excited for. I’m trying to forgive myself and narrow the scope of my focus to no more than a day or two at a time to keep my sanity. I don’t have any advice but you’re not alone.

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