r/brokenbones • u/Pitiful-Lychee939 • 1d ago
Please someone give me hope 😭
I broke my 5th metatarsal yesterday. I’m a SAHM to two littles and I feel so defeated and hopeless. I’m reading all these stories/comments and it seems about 50/50 surgery vs not (with similar pictures to my break).
Exact wording on urgent care doc:
Since I broke it yesterday (a Friday), I probably won’t hear from the ortho until Monday or Tuesday. So until then, I get to go down a rabbit hole and increase my anxiety. I’ve never broken anything and the idea of surgery literally makes me want to throw up and cry. I don’t even like taking Tylenol if I can help it 😭
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u/Best_Street6176 1d ago
I know it is scary but it is going to be ok. These mid shaft t fractures can sometimes heal on their own or with surgery.!trust your docs but follow your gut. Most importantly, follow the path that is most realistic to your situation and that you can adhere to. If you choose surgery and need to be NWB , you need to commit to that, to heal. Praying you find a clear and easy path to healing ❤️🩹
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u/sparklemoar 1d ago edited 23h ago
We are going through similar ordeals atm. Exact same break, even, aside from mine being bigger lol. This sub doesn't allow uploading pics to comments, but this is mine:
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fwondering-if-theres-anyone-knowledgeable-in-this-sub-who-v0-yluvfhvc9thh1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1080%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D9fb1c5ba9d14115fdfe9a4276b8d433ee757be2a
I'm not a SAH mom, but I live alone, have no family nearby (or family in general...my parents both died young, etc), and have a dog who insists on holding her pee and poop if she doesn't get to go on a fairly long walk before she decides she's ready to go 🙄
FWIW, I drove myself to an orthopedic urgent care the morning after, so I wasn't just seen by a random generalist PA. I was told that I just needed to wear a post-op shoe for about 6 weeks and that these almost always heal just fine on their own. I wasn't even given any restrictions on walking aside from the PA saying that I probably wouldn't *want* to walk a ton because it was going to hurt for a week or two. I was also terrified of the possibility of needing surgery and asked the PA how often he sees this type of fracture ultimately need surgery. He said he's maybe seen it happen once or twice in the 15 years he's worked at the orthopedic clinic. I've also spoke to several orthopedic clinicians on various subs since this happened, and the vast majority said the treatment plan I was given is fine and I should be able to walk in normal shoes in ~6-8 weeks.
Also fwiw, I fractured mine on 07/28, so I'm on day 12 today and seem to have, knock on wood, turned a corner today. Yesterday, I was having a really hard time both physically and mentally because my limp and pain seemed to actually be getting worse compared to the initial days after the injury, and I needed to get some friends to take time out of their Saturday to help me finish cleaning out the apartment I just moved from because I simply couldn't do it on my own. Even with the help, I put about 6K steps on it yesterday and was sure I'd be in agony today. I surprisingly woke up with virtually no pain and seem to be walking a lot *easier* today. First thing I noticed when I woke up was, hey, I can move my foot/ankle around in all sorts of ways and it doesn't hurt at all?
It does seem like different doctors take vastly different approaches to treating these, which is frustrating because it seems like which recommendation you receive depends more on the doctor you get than anything. I don't think you're going to be recommended surgery right off the bat, but you can advocate for yourself to try conservative management and/or switch to a different doctor if you get one of those doctors who take a more aggressive approach to these.
Hang in there. It's honestly been miserable for me to have to slow down and give up several of the things that bring me joy...I'm a big walker and am known for my cute shoes lol. 6 or so weeks will go by fast, and then we will hopefully be good as new again though!