Beth's ORIF post surgery one week

by Beth
(Tasmania, Australia)

Hi all, have been freaking out wondering how I should be going...I am 35 years old never been sick or been in hospital for anything my whole life and suddenly my life has changed completely...I am told I cant drive for 6 weeks, cant put my weight on my feet at all for 6 weeks, prob cant work for 6 weeks and cant run ( I love my running ) for 9 months!

I was in remote sw tassie bushwalking from this amazing lake called Lake Ronan ( breathtaking place!) when I lost my concentration...I put my foot foward and then I just lost balance between this buttress root and my whole body fell the other way when my foot was still planted. Heard the crunch and knew things were not good...
Waited 7 hours to be rescued by helicopter ( luckily our two friends walked the 8 hour track in record time to get help)

Anyway 2 days later I had surgery since xray showed I had a displaced and broken fibula.
The GA was completely fine but this week has been horrid post surgery...
I get pins and needles and this hot burning pain like my flesh from my foot is getting ripped apart and limited sensation to the tops of my last 3 toes. My surgeon didnt want me to go home on endone and has been saying that I should be managing "just fine " on panadol and neurofen. He thinks people my age develop " certain addictive behaviours ". Personally this is crap... all pain killers can be addictive and it is also that indiviual's perception of pain that differs to the next individuals...I got my poor GP into trouble from asking her if she would write me out a script for endone when i went home. The hospital I was at was ready to discharge me under 20 hours and I hadnt even mobilised with crutches yet or had my pain under control!

I guess I have lots of concerns but the main ones at the moment are

1. Is it normal to expect this " hot pain " intermittent pins and needles around the top of my foot and limited sensation to my toes ? ( they are always cold since I have circulatory problem Raynauds )

2. Is it normal to be on quite strong pain killers at this stage of the journey? Its been just over a week since my op.I am taking 4th hourly panadeine forte with neurofen twice daily as well as endone ( once or twice daily ).

3. I have a history of dvts in my family ( my mum and my grandmother both post surgery ) should I be on clexane?
A family friend has said that there are various schools of thought on this one....I have never been asked by my surgeon about dvts in my family and he hasnt really showed any concern...I rang his rooms and his receptionist very begrudgingly relayed the message to ask if I should be on blood thinning tablets. She rang back with his message saying that he reckoned I could take some aspirin!

4. are there any exercises I could be doing whilst lying in bed with my pop backslab? My physio gave me only 2 to do and I am wriggling my toes and flexing them up as much as poss...

I would love any input as i havnt stopped crying with pain and frustration since I had my op...

cheers Beth