So I broke my fibula a few days ago, and it's pretty bad. I'm going to have to get surgery on it this Friday, and in all honesty, I'm scared. I've never had surgery before of any kind, and they're going to have to put a metal plate and screws into my ankle. Also, I keep getting really anxious at random times. It started happening before I found out about the need for surgery, so I can't tell if the anxiety is because the stress my body's been under from snapping my bone and ligaments, if I've got cast-claustrophobia, or something else. I get really upset, feel like crying (or do cry), get kinda nauseous, and overheat a lot, and it occurs sometimes even when I'm not thinking about my ankle or the surgery. I can be laughing and it'll just hit me out of nowhere. Is this normal? I'm just curious if any of you have any advice on what I can do whether it's about the surgery, broken bone, or to prevent/manage/stop the panic problem I've been getting. I appreciate any help at all.

Please ping! Thank you. :)

I had almost the exact same thing happen to me just over a year go. I also suffer from anxiety, and ended up breaking my tibia and fibula, and had to get surgery done for it as well (currently still have a metal plate and three screws still in, but it's by choice at this point). I suppose what helped me is how quickly they got me in for surgery (told me I needed it the night before and then got me scheduled in the next morning), but leading up to it was pretty nerve-wracking to be honest, haha! I had really awesome nurses though, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was all going to be. I find distraction is always the best thing to help me get through things. And knowing you'll be asleep for it all, and trusting you're in good hands with your surgeon and nurses, and that they'll also do their best to make the process as quick and painless as possible.

Recovery was challenging despite my being a speedy healer, and there were definitely moments of frustration, but if you can just hold on in that cast for a couple weeks post-surgery the wonderous aircast will come and save your life, haha!

It's nice to hear that someone else knows what this is like though I hate that you had to go through it. I have been told by the orthopedic that my soon-to-be surgeon is amazing, so that is reassuring. Part of me says its terrifying, but I have my moments of being calm and thinking logically about it, like knowing how once it's done, I'll begin to heal properly and quicker. I think it's just the idea of having screws and stuff being put into my body that disturbs me the most. About how bad did it feel after the surgery? I know they give you meds for the pain, but because I'm allergic to condone (however you spell it), it really limits what I can have.

Yeah, that definitely always helps, though I hate to hear you're going through it too! But yeah, there will be waves of calm and then waves of horrible. I was actually in Italy when I broke mine, and the first day or so was definitely like, 'what the fuck just happened?' in between not eating and randomly crying, haha! I also had to fly home in a cast, which was... interesting.

I would try not worry so much about the screws and whatnot. You don't even feel them really, and you can get them taken out after a year (I had a larger one which was taken out sooner as it wasn't meant to be a permanent thing, while the smaller ones can just chill). Pain-wise I experienced very little (which surprised everyone, including myself, haha!) It was more uncomfortable pressure than actual like, pain-pain. It happens moreso when you go to stand, or move around because all the blood rushes into your unused leg and it just feels unpleasant. Crutches are a lifesaver though (though prepare for sore forearms until you get used to it). I got by on just extra strength Tylenol, but they gave me the ones with codeine in them, and oxycodone for good measure. If the hospital knows you're allergic to codeine, they'll definitely have alternatives for you.

Just going to and from places in a car is hard, so I can imagine coping with a cast on a plane isn't easy. Yeah, they did tell me about one large screw they'll put in and take out not to long after the surgery. I'm not thrilled that I'll have to do this twice, but that'll be one less piece of metal in me that I don't have to worry about. Haha! Also, because I broke my other foot not to long ago (not as bad though), I can't actually use crutches, so I'll be stuck in a wheel chair. Luckily, my foot's healed enough where I can temporarily stand on it but not for log periods of time. Hopefully my pain level won't be too high post-surgery. I get chronic migraines, so I've built quite a tolerance to it. Though by no means do I enjoy it. I do appreciate you sharing your experience with me. It's actually reassuring and I'm feeling much calmer about it all now.

(I love your pic of 76 by the way)

I was very fortunate to have a business-class seat, and very nice flight attendants who helped me to and from the bathroom, haha! Yeah, with the removal of the second screw, they'll just numb the area around your ankle and remove it, you shouldn't have to go fully under or anything again (which is what I thought). It was pretty easy, except the next day was a tad painful just due to having another small incision, but by the second day I was good to go. You'd just have to go back to the doctor to have your stitches removed. Oh, well that is really unfortunate! Hopefully once you get your air cast and can start putting weight back on your leg, you'll be able to start hobbling around (and also be able to have your leg breathe and get out of a cast!) Also, your leg will be like ridiculously stiff when you take it out of the cast, haha! I actually started laughing because I have never experienced muscle stiffness like that in my life.

Yeah, I hope it goes well for you too! I know for everyone it's different, but it's more the incision that hurts by the end of it, and then just learning how to put weight on your leg again (which I admittedly did earlier than I was supposed to, but I regret nothing, haha!) I'm glad I'm able to help you though! I figured one day this experience would come in handy!

And thank you! I am rather fond of the masked, grumpy old man (in addition to like... everyone else).

Glad to hear it wasn't too difficult for you. That's good news. Just getting it numbed sounds much better. Yeah having both of them not a full-functioning sucks. Thankfully the other one has healed just enough where it makes things easier with getting in and out of the wheelchair and such. One good thing from this is that I have very poor upper body strength, and by the end of all this, I should be able to gain some muscle from wheeling myself around. :) Hopefully the stiffness won't be too terrible. I remember having some from dealing with the other foot but nothing too bad, but I wonder if the metal will add to the stiffness. And starting too early definitely sounds like something I'd do. I'll definitely be eager to get back on my own two feet again once this is over with, but I'll try to resist. I wouldn't want to re-injure myself and have a repeat.

(He's a fav of mine as well. Junkrat is my though)

Yeah, it was pretty easy, the sensation was... different, but it wasn't painful by any means and my surgeon was really good about making sure I was totally numb and comfortable before taking the big screw out (I even got to keep it!) But that's good! My other leg was fortunately fine, but it was still a huge pain to jump around, thankfully my balance is good, haha! And yeah, your arms'll be beastly! It was moreso the actual like, ankle joint that was stiff (and to this day I still have some stiffness but nothing unmanagable), but it'll get better as you get more motion and just make sure you wiggle your toes and move your foot around as much as you can in your cast, it'll help with the blood flow and whatnot, and keep things moving. Thankfully (my physio said this) because you'll have the metal in your leg, it's kind of like a built in brace almost. I mean, it's not like you're immediately good to go or anything, but it'll definitely help stabilize things more than if you were to just let it heal naturally (which obviously isn't an option hence the surgery).

Also I really recommend massage and stuff if you can. I had quite a bit of built up scar tissue that was causing me grief a few months afterwards, so I went to a chiropractor and has laser and ultrasound and whatnot, which helped a ton. It wasn't the cheapest thing, but my mobility was much better afterwards.

I can imagine. When I hurt my left foot a couple of months ago, I had to hop a lot on my right one. I had crutches, but I had a really hard time using them. That's cool that they let you keep it. Maybe they'll let me do it too. Yeah, I'm constantly moving my toes. Though, I'm about ready to cut my pink toe off. It's driving me crazy. I've always had problems with it when dealing with shoe shopping, but it's causing me a lot of pain now. The way my cast was put on, it started hurting the toe, so my mom and brother had to help me cut part of my cast with wire cutters at about 2am a couple of nights ago because I couldn't sleep due to the pain. Next day, we went back to the clinic and thankfully they cleaned it up some more. They did tell me that part of the reason it's hurting so bad is because when I broke my foot, I pulled a major never that stretches from my pinky toe down through the side of my foot. Unfortunately, my medicine doesn't faze it, but it isn't constant which is good. I'll definitely keep the massage and chiropractor in mind. By the end of this, my back and hips are definitely going to need some adjusting.

I'll actually be seeing another doctor for a second opinion tomorrow. My dad really pushed for me to since my current to-be surgeon is pretty young and doesn't have a whole lot of experience. He's just worried about it and doesn't want anything else to go wrong with my foot, so he came across this new doctor. She not only is a surgeon, but she's been doing it for over twice as long as the other doc and she also has a degree in sports medicine. So if she gets me as a patient, she can do the surgery (if needed) and give me therapy for both my right and left foot.

Yeah, if they take it out like, just in the main room, and don't have to take you into surgery or anything, they usually let you keep them (at least that's what my surgeon told me). Are you in a full cast, or a splint? But that sucks that it's causing you grief (like you don't have enough to worry about...) But jesus. Just like a snowball rolling and gathering more, haha! I know how you feel though, I tore a bunch of ligaments in the front of my ankle when I broke mine, so I had those to repair too, along with the bones (which might have definitely contributed to some of my stiffness afterwards). Yeah, it's amazing how you break one thing, and it just screws up your entire body, haha! Massages used to be nice... until I broke myself and then it was near torture because I was compensating and not walking like I normally was.

Well, it never hurts to seek a second opinion and see what can be done! And having more experience is always a bit reassuring. I had a specialist come in and tell me I needed surgery (he was hot af, and I of course looked like a disaster when I met him, haha!), but it was definitely not my surgeon's first rodeo, so that was reassuring. And that would be really handy to have someone who kind of does it all, then they can track your progress and know for sure what's been going on and hopefully help you heal faster!

I'm currently in a full cast, and you're right. It is like a snowball affect. I break my ankle and suddenly my entire body is in pain and malfunctioning. How did they repair your ligaments? I tore one of mine, but apparently it's an important one.

Hot doctors are always great haha...unless you're hooked up to a heart monitor. (I'll spare you from the story) But yeah, since the doc has been doing this for a while, it does give me a peace of mind. Apparently she opened and runs her own practice, and we've only heard great reviews on her. Plus, it's like you said; it would be more convenient to have someone who can help me through the whole healing process.

Gah, hopefully they put you in a splint after you get your surgery. They're a lot more comfortable and allow for swelling and more movement, and they're not as heavy. You're still immobile, but it's not nearly as restrictive as a full cast. I was really grateful I had my splint or else I wouldn't have been able to fly, haha! Ligaments are just kind of those things that you have to let heal on their own. Rest and ice is about all you can do for those bad boys.

Hahahaha! Omg, that sounds like a great story. And yeah, that'll be awesome! The only thing that bugged me about my healing was my surgeon wasn't there for two of my follow-ups, so I got differing information (ie; when I got my aircast, I wasn't supposed to put weight on it according to my surgeon, other doctor who was actually there and gave me the aircast said I was supposed to put weight on. So when I went for my final check-up before physio my surgeon was like, 'keeping that weight off?' and I was like, 'uhhhh... no?')

I was originally in a splint, and I agree that they're much more conforatble than casts. Maybe I'll get lucky and the doc in seeing today will put me in one, at least until tomorrow. Ligaments really are a pain in the butt.

Yep, a sexy firefighter that worked night shift at the ER. He made my night. Haha! Mixed info is something I'm worried about as well. I've dealt with that in past, and it didn't go over well. Also, for it to be something as important as your foot which is pretty much vital for living a normal life, you can't risk doing the wrong thing.

Yeah, hopefully you can get it back! I definitely found dragging my foot around to be a huge pain, haha! I accidentally tripped on my crutches and landed on my casted foot when I was still healing. Scared the shit out of myself, but thankfully didn't do any damage.

Oooh! Sexy firefighters always make things better, lol! And yeah, which is why I think you having this new surgeon will be awesome because you'll see her every time and not get mixed up being in a big hospital with lots of doctors like I was.

Oh my gosh! That would terrify me too, but good thing you didn't hurt it more. We did decide to go with the new surgeon. She has pushed out he surgery until next Thursday, but instead of a longer screw to secure my ankle, she has a newer method that she's used several times on other people. It's kind of hat to explain, but it's like a (metal?) string that goes around the femur and ankle joint to keep them in place. I can't remember how it all works. Though it's just as good as the screw, except you don't have to take it out. I really like her. She just really seems to know what she's doing, and she's great at explaining things. I was scared about surgery, but now that I'm with her, I have a peace about it all.

I was pretty pleased I also didn't hurt myself further, but I suppose that's what the cast is for, haha! Oooh, that sounds interesting. I'd be really curious to see how that works, but it sounds a bit less invasive then the big screw -- hopefully it works out for you! I'm glad you feel better about the whole thing, it's definitely reassuring to have someone who's confident and knows what they're doing! :D

It is interesting. I had never heard of using the "string" method before now (granted I've never actually had surgery before either). Only problem with pushing my surgery out farther is that now, that I have to wait longer for recovery and the pain is becoming worse even with medication (my meds suck though so no surprise there). But overall I am feeling much better about the surgery now, and I'm kind of at peace about the whole "can't really do much for a while" situation. Thank you so much for all your help. I really appreciate the encouragement and the info. :D

Yeah, I've never heard of it either -- you'll have to keep me posted about how it goes and what it's like because I'm really curious! Ugh, that's always the worst. Hopefully everything'll start to feel better post-surgery and you can start getting back on track. And I'm really glad to hear that! I'm definitely always open for talking about this kind of thing if you need any more advice, or just a vent, haha!