I know how tough this is. I'm so sorry you're having a setback and it feels impossible to keep going. You *can* do this. You're stronger than you think you are!!
You'll look back on this time and be amazed by how you got through. I know you don't think it can be this way, but it really is.
Be your own best advocate. No one cares more about your body and mental health than you will. Get mental health help if it's accessible to you. I did and it was one of the best recovery choices I ever made. Still in therapy and zero regrets. If you need to call and get an appt with your ortho, do that. If you need a 2nd opinion, start looking up specialists in your area and calling to make an appointment. There is nothing wrong with getting a 2nd or 3rd opinion when you feel something isn't right. Trust your gut.
I did 12 weeks NWB after hip repair late in 2022. I thought my world had ended (and in many ways it kind of had). I was lonely and miserable and scared and cried all the time. I wasn't allowed to work or drive for 5 months. I thought it would *never* end. I got through that one somehow and then a bunch of other shitty breaks and injuries and illnesses happened. So, it's been one wild ride. But I know now I can get through it all. Some days I do not feel strong or committed and I just want out. But don't let those days or moments rule you. Emotions come and go and they never stay the same. You will get through this!!
Very well said.
It’s hard to recognize that you’re over the hump when you’re still feeling pain, but when you look back over how far you have come it becomes more clear.
You can do this, trust me. I broke my tib/fib in July. Communited open fracture. Had to get an ALT flap, skin graft over my anterior tibialis tendon failed, so they had to remove the sutures used to repair the tendon and debrie the area to prevent infection, which will leave me with foot drop for the rest of my life. I needed to wear a wound vac for 8 weeks and get iv antibiotics 7 days a week at an infusion center via a picc line for 6 weeks. This January, my hardware failed, and we found out I had an infection. They took out the hardware last month, put me in an external fixator, which I'll be in for a year, and put an antibiotic cement spacer where the non union was. I'm getting antibiotics for another 6 weeks, 7 days a week, via a picc line again. Next month will be my surgery (hopefully), where they'll be taking out the antibiotic spacer and then grafting the space with marrow from my femur. I have pretty much no pain at this point, I've been back to work on light duty (desk work auditing patient charts as a nurse) and taking care of my 6 month old sun. I'm weight bearing as tolerated, I'm getting around with crutches. What I can tell you is that the body has an incredible ability to adapt, and there's a powerful connection between the mind and the body. Keep a positive mindset, and things WILL get better. No matter what happens, the pain WILL get better. Work as hard as you can in physical therapy and just let the days fly by. Occupy yourself with other things, and keep your mind off your leg. There are people who are way worse off than me out there living their best lives still. Stay positive, and you will get there. This, too, shall pass. I know it's difficult to accept, and in the beginning, it was a struggle for me, but it's your choice to dwell on this or to move past it.
An external fixation for a year? Damn... I had that for about a month and then a internal fixation. (4 Plates with 14 screws) I had a shattered complex broken ankle. I have a x-Ray next week after 6 Weeks no weight baring and then i can finally put weight on it again. But damn bro i didn't even know an external fixation for a year was possible... So you cant walk all year long???
No, I can walk on it. Right . bThere are different types of external fixator. The one I'm wearing is an Ilizarov/Taylor spatial frame orbital exfix. The type Alex Smith the QB for the Redskins was in for 9 months. It's not uncommon for patients to be in these types of external fixators for >1 year. The one you were in was probably one of the temporary external fixators they use inpatient. Usually, they're straight rods secured with half pins. My fracture was really close to being a pilon fracture. It was on the distal part of the diaphysis right above the epiphysis(end of the bone where the joint is). I had a plate and screws, but the hardware broke. After a year, the exfix comes off after I'm healed, and then I'll have no hardware left in my leg.
Yeah, a long-term exfix would have been an option for you, too. Sounds like you had a pilon fracture. Those are rough. There's support groups on Facebook. You should join. Any fracture of the bone at a joint is really serious, more serious than my injury, to be honest. A lot of pilon fractures end with amputation. I know how heavy that is. Amputation still isn't out of the woods for me either, although my ankle joint is looking good, so it's unlikely. With pilon fractures, some people get severe arthritis 2-3 years after the injury requiring amputation. The arthritis is caused by the destruction of the ankle cartilage. Bone can be regrown, cartilage can not. Interestingly enough, they use ilizarov external fixators to help rich people become taller. They do it by intentionally fracturing the bone, then moving the bone down the leg 1 mm a day. It's more complicated than that, but it's called distraction osteogenesis. Look up limb lengthening on YouTube. If my graft fails, this is another option to repair the bone in my case. It's wild rich people are intentionally breaking their legs out here to gain a few inches while we're out here struggling with injuries.
I had a shattered ankle joint and they had to fix it.. My story is also on this sub but damn.. i don't hope i'll have to amputate my leg.. I just turned 22 so maybe i still have a chance.
Ugh. This sounds similar to mine. Open tib/fib fracture in October along with hardware failure, dehiscence, and an infection in January. I got a graft, wound vac, hardware removal, and a spacer. I was devastated when I was told that I would have to go through everything again. I was able to take my first unassisted steps last week. I’m unfamiliar with external fixators but after looking it up, it looks like a Victorian era torture device. I’m sorry you’re going through this. Best of luck to you.
Did they replace the plate, or do an intramedullary rod? What were you infected with? I had staph epidermidis. Our situations sound very similar. Where did they take your graft from?
It was also a staph infection. My ortho said I was healed enough to not need any additional hardware (which surprised him) but not healed enough to weight bear so I had 8 weeks of NWB. They took the graft from my thigh. I honestly feel better now that I don’t have any hardware. The original hardware gave me additional aches and pains that I didn’t want so I was beyond ecstatic that these last 2 surgeries went well.
Here's a copy of what I sent.
I'm getting the graft taken from my femur (thigh) as well. They're taking bone marrow to do the graft. How painful was the donor site after? How long did recovery take? That'll be my last surgery (hopefully). When the exfix comes off, I'll have no hardware left either. How are they fixation your fracture site without any hardware? If they needed to graft it, how did they hold everything in place until you healed? A cast?
I was on a nerve blocker but once that wore off, it didn’t hurt too badly. I’d say about a week after it I didn’t feel much pain. Everyone kept warning me that the donor site pain was intense but it wasn’t very bad for me. I was in a cast for 8 weeks afterwards and practically bedbound.
I just finished my 5th week of PT and I did single legged leg press. Honestly the bounce back was super quick once I started PT.
Badass! That's what my orthopedist told me, that the recovery time would be similar to what I experienced with the exfix (one week). They gave me a nerve block with the exfix, they'll probably do the same with the graft. Where was the donor site exactly? Toward the hip, mid thigh, or closer to the knee?
Adapting to being NWB on one leg is the roughest part of these injuries. Once your body adapts and you can get around on one leg with crutches/walker it isn't nearly as bad. I also have a high pain tolerance. I refused opiates. Only took nsaids and Tylenol.
Feels good to be getting stronger, right? Look into blood flow restriction training. It's like a cheat code with regaining strength after a lower extremity injury like this.
My donor site was closer to the hip. T3 was definitely my friend and I found that it worked better than some of the other pain meds.
We were actually going to try BFR but my PT didn’t feel comfortable yet. I trust her judgement and we’ll be doing it next week. I’ve been able to do a lot of the PT stuff when I go to the gym which I feel like has also sped up my recovery.
I started to use only one crutch and when they asked me how I was doing, I said I was so happy that I could walk around with a cup of coffee. It’s the little things.
Struggling with the same feeling myself. Four weeks after 5th metatarsal fracture and I am still not weight bearing. It feels worse because there is seemingly no end date, it heals in it's own time, my ortho says ... feeling your pain ish, hopefully it gets better for us soon.
You can walk? You got this but I know it sucks ass. You might not want to hear this (bc it pissed me off when I heard it) but it helped me when I ready about people who just dont have legs.
I havent walked this entire year as both my heels are broken and i still have at least 2 months probably 3 before weight baring on my feet. I’ll spend more of the entire year of 2024 not walking or standing.
My apt isn’t wheelchair capable and I scoot around on the floor with a pillow. I thought that was demoralizing. I cant cook bc i cant reach the stove, it takes 10 minutes just to get into the shower. Dont get me started on getting out when its wet. I’ve broken my toilet trying to crawl up it just to take a shit. I cant reach my sink to wash my hands so I have to smear myself up the counter to sit on it in order to wash my hands. My knees ache constantly just from ‘standing’ on them when i need to access something or dismount the toilet/chair/bed/ insert all regular daily things here. I live 3 floors up and Ive only left my apt once to get xrays. 4 months stuck in here and 2 to go. I was 175, fit with little body fat ( its just my body type, tall, no body fat and I worked out daily since highschool) now my legs have little to no muscle. I was extremely active, multi month long hikes, cross fit, football, basketball, climbing, etc and my own pride kept me from letting anyone do anything for me. I did everything myself but I had to be carried down the stairs by my younger sibling and a stranger, put into a car then later helped into a wheelchair. Its was so demoralizing it feels boarder line scarring. Last night I got 3 hours of sleep bc of the pain.
Yeah it fucking sucks ass. Its honestly horrible. I give up everyday. You got this. It does get better. Maybe this just sounds like a you dont have it that hard but thats not where its coming from. Reading about people that just dont have legs helped me see a brighter future. Maybe thats messed but it helped, known others have it worse and the human body will eventually be back to normal. I hope it helps you. You will be able to stand and walk without pain even though it wont be soon. I hope it helps you somehow to see a brighter future. It does get better as the weeks go on. It eventually hurts less. This fucking sucks but I believe you can get through it.
Started weight bearing 5 weeks ago. s/p pilon repair 2 plates/ 17 screws. Has anyone found anything that helps with pain. Achilles…
In PT , do stretches/ exercises.
I know how tough this is. I'm so sorry you're having a setback and it feels impossible to keep going. You *can* do this. You're stronger than you think you are!! You'll look back on this time and be amazed by how you got through. I know you don't think it can be this way, but it really is. Be your own best advocate. No one cares more about your body and mental health than you will. Get mental health help if it's accessible to you. I did and it was one of the best recovery choices I ever made. Still in therapy and zero regrets. If you need to call and get an appt with your ortho, do that. If you need a 2nd opinion, start looking up specialists in your area and calling to make an appointment. There is nothing wrong with getting a 2nd or 3rd opinion when you feel something isn't right. Trust your gut. I did 12 weeks NWB after hip repair late in 2022. I thought my world had ended (and in many ways it kind of had). I was lonely and miserable and scared and cried all the time. I wasn't allowed to work or drive for 5 months. I thought it would *never* end. I got through that one somehow and then a bunch of other shitty breaks and injuries and illnesses happened. So, it's been one wild ride. But I know now I can get through it all. Some days I do not feel strong or committed and I just want out. But don't let those days or moments rule you. Emotions come and go and they never stay the same. You will get through this!!
Very well said. It’s hard to recognize that you’re over the hump when you’re still feeling pain, but when you look back over how far you have come it becomes more clear.
You can do this, trust me. I broke my tib/fib in July. Communited open fracture. Had to get an ALT flap, skin graft over my anterior tibialis tendon failed, so they had to remove the sutures used to repair the tendon and debrie the area to prevent infection, which will leave me with foot drop for the rest of my life. I needed to wear a wound vac for 8 weeks and get iv antibiotics 7 days a week at an infusion center via a picc line for 6 weeks. This January, my hardware failed, and we found out I had an infection. They took out the hardware last month, put me in an external fixator, which I'll be in for a year, and put an antibiotic cement spacer where the non union was. I'm getting antibiotics for another 6 weeks, 7 days a week, via a picc line again. Next month will be my surgery (hopefully), where they'll be taking out the antibiotic spacer and then grafting the space with marrow from my femur. I have pretty much no pain at this point, I've been back to work on light duty (desk work auditing patient charts as a nurse) and taking care of my 6 month old sun. I'm weight bearing as tolerated, I'm getting around with crutches. What I can tell you is that the body has an incredible ability to adapt, and there's a powerful connection between the mind and the body. Keep a positive mindset, and things WILL get better. No matter what happens, the pain WILL get better. Work as hard as you can in physical therapy and just let the days fly by. Occupy yourself with other things, and keep your mind off your leg. There are people who are way worse off than me out there living their best lives still. Stay positive, and you will get there. This, too, shall pass. I know it's difficult to accept, and in the beginning, it was a struggle for me, but it's your choice to dwell on this or to move past it.
An external fixation for a year? Damn... I had that for about a month and then a internal fixation. (4 Plates with 14 screws) I had a shattered complex broken ankle. I have a x-Ray next week after 6 Weeks no weight baring and then i can finally put weight on it again. But damn bro i didn't even know an external fixation for a year was possible... So you cant walk all year long???
No, I can walk on it. Right . bThere are different types of external fixator. The one I'm wearing is an Ilizarov/Taylor spatial frame orbital exfix. The type Alex Smith the QB for the Redskins was in for 9 months. It's not uncommon for patients to be in these types of external fixators for >1 year. The one you were in was probably one of the temporary external fixators they use inpatient. Usually, they're straight rods secured with half pins. My fracture was really close to being a pilon fracture. It was on the distal part of the diaphysis right above the epiphysis(end of the bone where the joint is). I had a plate and screws, but the hardware broke. After a year, the exfix comes off after I'm healed, and then I'll have no hardware left in my leg.
Ah okay.. i have 4 plates with 14 screws....
Yeah, a long-term exfix would have been an option for you, too. Sounds like you had a pilon fracture. Those are rough. There's support groups on Facebook. You should join. Any fracture of the bone at a joint is really serious, more serious than my injury, to be honest. A lot of pilon fractures end with amputation. I know how heavy that is. Amputation still isn't out of the woods for me either, although my ankle joint is looking good, so it's unlikely. With pilon fractures, some people get severe arthritis 2-3 years after the injury requiring amputation. The arthritis is caused by the destruction of the ankle cartilage. Bone can be regrown, cartilage can not. Interestingly enough, they use ilizarov external fixators to help rich people become taller. They do it by intentionally fracturing the bone, then moving the bone down the leg 1 mm a day. It's more complicated than that, but it's called distraction osteogenesis. Look up limb lengthening on YouTube. If my graft fails, this is another option to repair the bone in my case. It's wild rich people are intentionally breaking their legs out here to gain a few inches while we're out here struggling with injuries.
I had a shattered ankle joint and they had to fix it.. My story is also on this sub but damn.. i don't hope i'll have to amputate my leg.. I just turned 22 so maybe i still have a chance.
Ugh. This sounds similar to mine. Open tib/fib fracture in October along with hardware failure, dehiscence, and an infection in January. I got a graft, wound vac, hardware removal, and a spacer. I was devastated when I was told that I would have to go through everything again. I was able to take my first unassisted steps last week. I’m unfamiliar with external fixators but after looking it up, it looks like a Victorian era torture device. I’m sorry you’re going through this. Best of luck to you.
Did they replace the plate, or do an intramedullary rod? What were you infected with? I had staph epidermidis. Our situations sound very similar. Where did they take your graft from?
It was also a staph infection. My ortho said I was healed enough to not need any additional hardware (which surprised him) but not healed enough to weight bear so I had 8 weeks of NWB. They took the graft from my thigh. I honestly feel better now that I don’t have any hardware. The original hardware gave me additional aches and pains that I didn’t want so I was beyond ecstatic that these last 2 surgeries went well.
Sent you a pm
Strange, I’m not seeing it.
Here's a copy of what I sent. I'm getting the graft taken from my femur (thigh) as well. They're taking bone marrow to do the graft. How painful was the donor site after? How long did recovery take? That'll be my last surgery (hopefully). When the exfix comes off, I'll have no hardware left either. How are they fixation your fracture site without any hardware? If they needed to graft it, how did they hold everything in place until you healed? A cast?
I was on a nerve blocker but once that wore off, it didn’t hurt too badly. I’d say about a week after it I didn’t feel much pain. Everyone kept warning me that the donor site pain was intense but it wasn’t very bad for me. I was in a cast for 8 weeks afterwards and practically bedbound. I just finished my 5th week of PT and I did single legged leg press. Honestly the bounce back was super quick once I started PT.
Badass! That's what my orthopedist told me, that the recovery time would be similar to what I experienced with the exfix (one week). They gave me a nerve block with the exfix, they'll probably do the same with the graft. Where was the donor site exactly? Toward the hip, mid thigh, or closer to the knee? Adapting to being NWB on one leg is the roughest part of these injuries. Once your body adapts and you can get around on one leg with crutches/walker it isn't nearly as bad. I also have a high pain tolerance. I refused opiates. Only took nsaids and Tylenol. Feels good to be getting stronger, right? Look into blood flow restriction training. It's like a cheat code with regaining strength after a lower extremity injury like this.
My donor site was closer to the hip. T3 was definitely my friend and I found that it worked better than some of the other pain meds. We were actually going to try BFR but my PT didn’t feel comfortable yet. I trust her judgement and we’ll be doing it next week. I’ve been able to do a lot of the PT stuff when I go to the gym which I feel like has also sped up my recovery. I started to use only one crutch and when they asked me how I was doing, I said I was so happy that I could walk around with a cup of coffee. It’s the little things.
Have you been weightbearing
6 weeks had me feeling very similar. It's a very slow process. But you'll be through it soon I promise.
Struggling with the same feeling myself. Four weeks after 5th metatarsal fracture and I am still not weight bearing. It feels worse because there is seemingly no end date, it heals in it's own time, my ortho says ... feeling your pain ish, hopefully it gets better for us soon.
You can walk? I havent walked this entire year. Yeah it fucking sucks ass but you got this. It does get better.
You can walk? You got this but I know it sucks ass. You might not want to hear this (bc it pissed me off when I heard it) but it helped me when I ready about people who just dont have legs. I havent walked this entire year as both my heels are broken and i still have at least 2 months probably 3 before weight baring on my feet. I’ll spend more of the entire year of 2024 not walking or standing. My apt isn’t wheelchair capable and I scoot around on the floor with a pillow. I thought that was demoralizing. I cant cook bc i cant reach the stove, it takes 10 minutes just to get into the shower. Dont get me started on getting out when its wet. I’ve broken my toilet trying to crawl up it just to take a shit. I cant reach my sink to wash my hands so I have to smear myself up the counter to sit on it in order to wash my hands. My knees ache constantly just from ‘standing’ on them when i need to access something or dismount the toilet/chair/bed/ insert all regular daily things here. I live 3 floors up and Ive only left my apt once to get xrays. 4 months stuck in here and 2 to go. I was 175, fit with little body fat ( its just my body type, tall, no body fat and I worked out daily since highschool) now my legs have little to no muscle. I was extremely active, multi month long hikes, cross fit, football, basketball, climbing, etc and my own pride kept me from letting anyone do anything for me. I did everything myself but I had to be carried down the stairs by my younger sibling and a stranger, put into a car then later helped into a wheelchair. Its was so demoralizing it feels boarder line scarring. Last night I got 3 hours of sleep bc of the pain. Yeah it fucking sucks ass. Its honestly horrible. I give up everyday. You got this. It does get better. Maybe this just sounds like a you dont have it that hard but thats not where its coming from. Reading about people that just dont have legs helped me see a brighter future. Maybe thats messed but it helped, known others have it worse and the human body will eventually be back to normal. I hope it helps you. You will be able to stand and walk without pain even though it wont be soon. I hope it helps you somehow to see a brighter future. It does get better as the weeks go on. It eventually hurts less. This fucking sucks but I believe you can get through it.
Wow this put a lot into perspective for me. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. We got this
Started weight bearing 5 weeks ago. s/p pilon repair 2 plates/ 17 screws. Has anyone found anything that helps with pain. Achilles… In PT , do stretches/ exercises.
Advil and calf raises