Help Anyone have screws put in their broken ankle?

[I_Make_Mistakes]

This is my 5th broken ankle, but first surgery with screws. It has really wiped me out pain and energy-wise. I had the surgery a week and 1/2 ago and still can't do very much. Before with the breaks, I felt a lot better than this at a week and 1/2.

Also, never had staples (stitches dissolving and non-dissolving) before. How bad is it gonna hurt when th ry take them out?

[napi21]

1. I haven't but my DIL did.

It takes a lot longer to recover, not because of the screws, but because the break was much worse! It took her a few months to be able to walk without crutches, but she's fine now. Cold weather willprobably always bother you a bit.

Don't worry about the staples. You won't have any pain when they take them out.

[EST]

2. That part should be no big deal, but a large amount of pain at

a week and a half seems a bit unusual. Have you been taking your temperature regularly?

[I_Make_Mistakes]

5. EST

I run a 100.6 since I got Lyme disease. It is hard to tell about a temperature. I think a lot has to do with the humidity. My joints swell in the summer and here in NJ (Phila side) it has been very humid.

I did change the dressing the other day (the cut is right over the exterior ankle bone and up the leg about 2 1/2 to 3 inches. The leg part was red and I was gonna check it tomorrow looked like possible infection. I go to the doctor's Thursday.

And thanks guys. My neighbor said that it was gonna hurt to remove the staples and to take a percocet before I went. I started obsessing on their painful removal and you guys have removed a lot of that worrying. Again, thanks for your input.

[EST]

10. With an unexpected amount of pain,

I would be a little concerned about an infection, perhaps hospital acquired, especially if there is discoloration. Given your unusual temperature, an infection may be masked, although chills and fever should be obvious, despite the temperature measurement problem. These days whatever hardware they put in to stabilize the injury stays in, unless there is an infection.

[tg]

3. My experience was 20 years ago or so

I agree with napi21 that the problem is more the extra surgery and the bad break the required the screws, rather than the screws them selves. I had three screws, somewhere between 2 and 3 inches long and I never noticed any pain or discomfort due to the screw themselves.

One warning though, I was not prepared for an overnight hospital stay to have them taken out. It wasn't a real problem and everything healed again quickly, but you might want to check and see what happens in the future.

Good luck, -tg

[LibDemAlways]

4. I broke my ankle nine years ago, and

had six inches worth of pins surgically inserted. I was in a cast and completely off the foot for three months followed by two months of physical therapy. It's a long, slow healing process. Your ankle will never look completely "normal" again. Mine's still swollen. I never notice any pain from the pins which I never had removed. However, they have been known to set off the metal detector at the airport which is more of a pain in the ass than a pain in the foot!

I wish you a speedy recovery and I hope you are feeling better soon.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

6. Thanks guys and gals

You are GREAT. The thing that sucks is that I was replacing the flooring in my kitchen/laundry room when this happened. The laundry room is finished (vinyl tile), but the kitchen's ceramic tile, cement grout etc. is all over the dining room. And the kitchen floor is sticky from the unsuccessful vinyl sheeting I tried to install.

I was told 6 to 8 weeks before thinking about walking, I've accepted that, but any longer I would tear my hair out. I calculated that I have spent between 6 and 7 yrs on crutches between ankles, foot and knees. This is just ridiculous.

[ben_thayer]

7. Staples

Years ago I had a 14" incision on my leg closed with staples, and it didn't hurt at all when they were removed. Don't worry about it. I've still got a steel plate and a couple screws in my knee. Not a real problem anymore, but I still sleep with a pillow between my knees, cuz it feels weird when they press together!

[xmas74]

8. My mom had them.

She had too much damage so a few of them are permanent.

As to the staples-I had them when I had my c-section. I really didn't feel anything when they took them out and I didn't have any kind of pain relief when they did it. It was just a little bit of pressure to pull them out and that was it.
Look, I'm a wimp and I didn't even flinch on the staples. If I can do it you can too.

[caty]

9. Don't worry about the staples.

I had them with my ruptured appendix surgery. I didn't feel anything when the doctor took them out.

[WCGreen]

11. No but I have a mess of screws and bolts in my hip...

And that was 14 years ago and I still have pain and stiffness and discomfort.....

Thank god I am now old enough to get a hip replacement....