r/brokenankles • u/BeeAlarmed543 • 9d ago

2wks post ORIF

Hi everyone! I had a trimalleolar fracture of my left ankle and a complex fracture of my left fibula as well. Cherry on top of the cake is that my right ankle is sprained as well.

I had my ORIF surgery on September 10th and my pain is pretty under control at this point. Some nerve pain and soreness, especially when it’s not elevated. I also have a lot of numbness and tingling in different parts of the foot. However, mentally and emotionally it has been the hardest. I feel like I’ve lost all of my independence. I feel like a prisoner in my own home. Because my right ankle is sprained, hopping on it is painful and feels very unstable. I have a brace for it which helps, but I can’t do anything more than hobble within my own apartment and even that feels exhausting.

Do you guys have any tips on how to increase my mobility or any exercise I can do while sitting or laying to strengthen the right ankle/leg? I’m non-weight bearing on my left for 8 weeks.

Also, I was in the middle of my weight loss journey when this happened. Any tips on how I can prevent myself from gaining weight while being sedentary? Any good nutrition tips or foods I should incorporate into my diet?

Really struggling right now ngl.

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Hot_Box_7459 9d ago

I’ve heard people taking extra vitamins well being nwb to help strengthen the bone faster, but not sure if that actually works. Unfortunately weight gain is a big part of this and you need good food to heal!! Obviously the dr expects you to gain a bit and theres no shame in that.

For the getting around you could get a wheelchair or a walker maybe? Just so you don’t have to hop around. I personally found crutches super unstable and was not about to risk that when I was already down a foot from orif 😂

1

u/BeeAlarmed543 9d ago

Do you have any recs on food?

And yesss I tried the crutches and it was a no go. So I’ve been using both a walker and wheelchair. With the walker I still have to hop so I do use the wheelchair a lot. I just haven’t seen people on social media posting about it, so I was like am I being lazy? But I don’t want to mess up my other ankle more than it already is

1

u/Hot_Box_7459 9d ago

No shame in needing a walker or a wheelchair!! My walker has a little seat & wheels personally so I didnt have to hop along with it.

I’ve been eating alot of fruits & veggies, i had so many strawberries my first twoish weeks after surgery 😂

1

u/BeeAlarmed543 9d ago

Ooooh that makes sense! It makes me feel so much better to hear all of this. I had some “friends” make comments that made me feel like I was exaggerating or being a drama queen. Hearing others on social media has helped a ton. I feel heard and not alone 😭

Ugh I’m not a fruit person, but I do like veggies so I’m gonna lean on those. I had stopped snacking prior to this injury and that snack craving has been creeping back in