Been to A&E, now what?

[Samantha409]

Here is the question I last posted:

Basically a Week and a half ago I fell down Concrete steps outside. Twisted my ankle badly on the way down and landed my full weight on my left leg. I heard / felt a crack and the pain was to bad to stand up for a few minutes.

I decided to let it heal by itself for a few days but my ankle / shin have became to painful to carry on normally and I can not walk without them both swelling and having quite alot of pain.

I went to the doctor 8 days ago and she did some measuring, both the ankle on my left foot and the shin were swollen over 4cm to much (compared to the other ankle) and she could see extensive bruising. She immediatley told me 'I am going to have to send you to the A&E to have an xray'. She seemed to think it was a small or 'hairline' fracture or very bad soft tissue damage.

I told my parents about it that day but they could not take me as they have to go to a funeral.

So I went to A&E and they immediatley saw me without a wait. I wont go through all the ins and outs of it but basically they examined my leg / ankle for about 15 minutes then sent me to have an X-Ray and gave me crutches.

The X-Ray came back clean as far as they could tell ALTHOUGH they didnt xray my Lower leg even though I said it had alot of pain. They said that I had badly damaged the muscles around my ankle / lower leg and torn a ligament at the back of my ankle but all they gave me were crutches and an advice sheet.

However they said you will likely need to buy a support bandage for the ankle, that you should relax during the 6 - 8 week healing period while doing some small exercises and that I should you the crutches if im going any sort of long distance or standing up for over 20 minutes... (I dont really want to use the crutches).

Anyway. Now that im home with my Diagnosis im just carrying on the same as before really (before I went to AE), do you think I should buy a support bandage etc / use the crutches?

Also: Is it normal (I haven't had this symptom before) to my lower leg and foot to feel completely dead, heavy and very tingly?

I am kind of worried because I took my bandages off to have a shower and my leg / ankle became almost unbearably painful and looked VERY bruised. Also there were areas on my foot / ankle / leg (where the pain was worst) that were kind of pinky / orangy looking, while everything else was bruised?.

Anyway I took my bandage off and let the swelling go down, iced it, rested it and now I have it back on and its pretty much okay. However im still not sure its getting better at all, seems to be getting worse... they told me to go back in a week if it didnt get better, what will they do if I do go back?

Anyway thanks for reading sorry for the wall of text.

Basic info:

18 year old female, only one previous leg injury (torn achillies tendon)

[silverfox67]

     Let us know what the doctor says.  Hope it's only a fracture that doesn't need a cast...

     Wishing you the best

[Samantha409]

I think I will go back, the pain is increasing, i will ask them to xray my leg since last time they only did the foot

[Samantha409]

Yeah its quite upsetting, shows how much I matter to other people that they either dont care / think im faking >_>

[silverfox67]

      I am so sorry that people think you're making it up.  I don't believe so.  If the pain is worse or hasn't gone away by now - there probably is a break.  Please take care of it as soon as you can.  You don't want it to heal badly ...

    Hoping for a good outcome...

[Samantha409]

Well the Xray on my foot was fine but they didnt bother doing one on my leg, ill go see them again and see what they say.

Its really getting me down, i've lost all my apatite / been sick from the pain a couple of times, and the worse part is people think im faking injury... sigh.!  

[silverfox67]

     Since you heard a crack you probably have a broken bone and it will take stabilizing it and staying off of it to heal for at least 6 weeks.  Go back to the A&E and have them x-ray the part of your leg/ankle that is still bruised and hurts.  They will probably see the break.  - I recently broke my ribs and waited about a week and a half before going to the ER.  The x-rays showed the broken bones.... I kept thinking I was only bruised and didn't go until the pain was unbearable.

[Samantha409]

So yeah, thats kind of me through with them now

[Samantha409]

= / Its not about style its just they are so awkward to use and make my arms hurt >_>. All I can do is keep resting it though im pretty sure my parents dont even believe that I have an injury...

[charae05]

Doctors give these instructions for a reason honey. Although you may feel that you look silly or the crutches cramp your style or for whatever reason you dont want to use it, it will help as well as the bandages, they give support and stability to your ankle so that it may heal properly. If the pain is worse after taking the bandages off then you may want to reconsider your decision.
good luck!!

[BluCrystal]

Okay, I had a hairline fracture in my left ankle.  I was placed in a hard boot, given crutches, and told to do as you did.  I followed instructions for about a week or so, and, like you, got tired of the whole mess.  Long story short: my ankle did not heal properly.  It would swell and hurt for no reason, randomly.  I tried all sorts of combos of shoes and ankle supports.  None worked for long at all.  It finally got so I could not walk any distance more than 20 feet without needing my walking stick, and that was annoying, too.  One day, I got a wild hair and bought a pair of moccasins: the real leather ones with no sole.  MY ANKLE HAS NOT HURT OR SWOLLEN SINCE.  I wear the moccasins every day, regardless of the rest of my outfit.  No pain, no swelling.  I think this is because wearing these moccasins is the closest thing I can come to bare feet: humans were made to be barefooted, really.  Not having my feet bound-up and pressure in wrong places from shoes and supports has done wonders.  My feet act like feet.  It's wonderful.  That's my story.  Hope it helps you.  Blessings - Blu