i had a traumatic lisfranc frature oct.2011, i broke all 5 toes, my big toe joint and the top of my foot.
i had emergancy surgery and my foot has never been the same.
i can not put the front part of my foot on the floor when i walk, so i pretty much walk on my heel. and from that i have muscle tightness in my leg like you cant imagane.i started with the arthritis like 2 months after surgery. i can not share how much pain and swelling i have 24/7.
i went to a new surgeon and he said my foot is a train wreak and i need a reconstructive surgery so it will iliminate 40% of the pain.
but i have no insurance now,cause i was fired from my job in april, and now bank of america is gonna take away my house as well.
this fracture can just rip your life apart.
i guess without being homeless, this is as low AS I can go.
sorry to be such a downer but all the stories iv"e read were how great everyone did ......
thank you so much for taking the time to write me back.that was awefully nice of you. how long have you been dealing with your foot. how did it happen and are you on social security or eqivelant to it.i"m working on that right now.
in three months i can buy insurance through to government its for pre excisting conditions, but you have to wait 6 months after your last health insurance
what do you take for pain and does it work.
well take care and thanks again barbara
My foot didn't heal and when you have a trauma surgeon, I think they just have way to many patients and you don't get the after care you should get for this kind of injury.
Why do you know a great surgeon in Virginia beach ?
I had lisfranc surgery in October of 2010 and am pleased to say that I have recovered fully. Yes, circumstances vary for everyone so I understand I am fortunate in this regard but I know that prior to my surgery I read a lot of these boards and thought it was hopeless. I would say it took about a year to feel normal and there was a lot of rehab. My big toe is still just a touch stiffer than it was before, but not to a great degree. I am able to play sports like hockey, basketball, and baseball without any issue whatsoever. My surgery was close to three months following my injury-- first doctor at my local hospital wanted to fuse, sought a second opinion down in Boston who suggested ORIF. So glad I made that 90 minute drive to see him-- Dr. George Theodore and the staff at Mass General Sports Medicine are incredible. If this is an injury that you think you might have or you just learned you have, I can't possibly recommend Dr. Theodore enough. These are uncommon injuries, so seeking a doctor who is experienced with this particular injury is critical. So, yes-- recovery and a return to your activities may be possible!
Well, I don't even have a very good story for my Lisfranc injury. On March 27, 2012, I stepped off the side of my porch (3 steps high) in the dark. I was wearing tall clogs, my left foot sort of folded underneath me and I landed right on top of it. I thought I was going to die from the pain so i went to my regular doc the next morning and he suspected a very bad "sprain". Sent me for x-rays and they did not show ANY fractures. The pain, swelling and bruising were horrendous. I wore a slipper and limped around (barely) for 3 1/2 weeks. Went back to the doc--more x-rays, no fractures. He ordered an MRi. Results from that prompted him to send me to an orthopedic surgeon. They couldn't even get me in for 4 more weeks, so I basically wasted 8 weeks limping around with what turned out to be about 6 FRACTURES, torn ligaments, bone fragments, etc. The ortho doc put me in a boot, did more x-rays, a CT and a nuclear scan. He put me in a moon boot for 2 months then told me to take it off. Within a couple of weeks I was in agony with every step, so I went back. That appointment didn't go so well, so I basically ditched him and went to a Podiatric Surgeon. She took another CT scan, found fractures that have not healed and the long bone from the base of my big toe to my ankle is now dislocated. I am going in for fusion surgery on December 12th. In the meantime, she has me back in a boot and prescribed a "Bone Growth Stimulator" to help the fractures heal. What a long 6 months this has been. I've had a few major surgeries in my lifetime (I'm a 54 year old female) but this one is giving me knots in my stomach. Is the first few days after surgery really, really bad? From what I have read on many of these blogs, fusion is the answer. My new doc says at this point ORIF would not help me and I should just get the joints fused and get my life back. I tend to agree--I would really like to take my dogs for a walk again one of these days.
Ok, I'm not going to sugar coat this. It's going to hurt. Bad. But, keep in mind - you're ahead of the game if you're getting fusion. Us ORIF-ers have suffered for years before fusion. Then if you add the fusion recovery, boy, you're kinda lucky. Not so lucky that you've had to suffer since March but these injuries go undetected quite often. All I can offer as help for the pain is to talk with your doc ahead of time and work out an appropriate medication/cocktail arrangement for pain. If you get a block in your leg it will likely start to come out 12-24hrs after the surgery and it will come out quickly once it starts. Make sure you're on top of the pain. Don't try to be strong. Just take the meds. If you can, ask for a morphine drip. I really don't mean to scare you but I've been through this twice. It's not fun. In terms of recovery, don't count on any walking for 3 months or so. Even after that your foot's going to be quite angry if you walk. Try to get some Celebrex or just plain Arnica. Arnica is natural - homeopathic. DO NOT SMOKE. Smoking increases the risk of non-union by 18x. Yes, 18x, not 18%, 18x. NO JOKE. DO NOT SMOKE. If you want to walk again and want the best outcome for your foot ie. fusion DO NOT SMOKE. This response is not meant to scare you, it's just the reality of this injury. I am almost 5 months post fusion and I can only walk 1km if I'm lucky. On rainy days, forget it. I have so much metal in my foot it all just seizes up. I hope your fusion goes well. It's gonna suck, for a while, but IT IS FOR THE BETTER :) Keep in touch, let me know how you're progressing. Sorry to be such a downer but I think it's better for you to know what you're in for. Plus, you may have a better outcome with the pain. Let's hope so. Crossing my fingers for you! Take care.
sadmelissa wrote:
I'm so sorry you're in so much distress. This injury really is a bit of a "life sentence". I had been feeling fairly good the last couple of days but today, after a few errands, I am feeling the pain immensely, so my heart goes out to you. I am sorry too that you have no insurance to fix what you need fixed. I am in Canada so everything is covered, Thank God. I've been out of work since this happened as well so I can only imagine how "low" you feel. I don't know what to say except to try to keep positive. Your foot may never be the same, that's the hard truth, I just hope you can find relief somehow.
hi,
thank you so much for taking the time to write me back.that was awefully nice of you. how long have you been dealing with your foot. how did it happen and are you on social security or eqivelant to it.i"m working on that right now.
in three months i can buy insurance through to government its for pre excisting conditions, but you have to wait 6 months after your last health insurance
what do you take for pain and does it work.
well take care and thanks again barbara
I have dealt with a severe lisfranc fracture the past two years. I had a great and understanding ortho surgeon. Before I received this injury I had been under the care of a pain medicine doctor. I have been been on high doses of pain medicine for over ten years but after this injury he refused to up my doses due to the surgery. Thank god my ortho surgeon understood what I was going through so he upped the dosage and everything was fine until I kept my appointment with the pain doctor. I am in my sixties and been going to him him like a say ten years or more. He treated me like a drug addict off the streets even though he knew my background and threatened not to treat me anymore because the insurence company sent him my pharmacy bill. My ortho surgeon understood because he had treated me for other injuries. The ortho dr understood the pain I was in and my history and did adjusted the pain medication accordingly because he understood everything involved.Its been six months since the surgery and the only discomfort I have is the way I have to walk but that causes pain in my upper back but with the pain medication that the pain dr has me on is doing the job now. Check with other people or doctors that can send you to the right pain manager to keep you going. Its nice knowing that someone cares and you have the meds when needed. Many times I go for days or weeks without the meds but I have the comfort knowing I can get relieve when needed. Know one knows what real pain unless they have experienced it themselves. I hope this gives you some encouragement knowing you can get help but you have to get to the right people for help.
I got a losfranc fracture August 3rd, 2012. Holy moley... It happened at work. I tripped over a chair up on a 2nd floor workspace. Im an engineer and was running some data cabling to connect old server to new server. Anyway, i tripped and WHAM. It happened so fast. I pinned against an airconditioning unit which forced all of my weight onto my twisted foot. I wish I couldnt remember the "crunchy" feel and sound. Standing on a broken bottle would best describe my injury. I had surgery a month ago and am waiting to see if i can stand or walkor gym or........... Top of my foot looks like the surface of a 3dmap. Pain is constant. I have slipped in crutches a few times. My foot is very pissed off... I was a very active guy. Gym 5 days a week, sports, etc... I miss my previous self. Ive also put on 10-12 lbs... Sucks...
Winchester88 wrote:
I got a losfranc fracture August 3rd, 2012. Holy moley... It happened at work. I tripped over a chair up on a 2nd floor workspace. Im an engineer and was running some data cabling to connect old server to new server. Anyway, i tripped and WHAM. It happened so fast. I pinned against an airconditioning unit which forced all of my weight onto my twisted foot. I wish I couldnt remember the "crunchy" feel and sound. Standing on a broken bottle would best describe my injury. I had surgery a month ago and am waiting to see if i can stand or walkor gym or........... Top of my foot looks like the surface of a 3dmap. Pain is constant. I have slipped in crutches a few times. My foot is very pissed off... I was a very active guy. Gym 5 days a week, sports, etc... I miss my previous self. Ive also put on 10-12 lbs... Sucks...
welcome to the club !!
hi winchester 88,
sorry you have to go through this hell on earth,
so its been 2months now huh, why did they wait so long before they did your surgery? i read that all the time its very strange.
i"ll never forget, right before they rolled me in my dr. said " your life will never ever be the same" truer words have never been spoke!
so your not on a knee roller huh,they seem weird but they give you a freedom that you can"t get any other way plus on that i lost like 20 lbs.
i was non weight bearing for 5 months.so i had to do something. i would have killed myself with crutches!! lol
so what do you want to know? i"m no expert but i"ve deffanetly been through the ringer in the last year!
well take care let me know if you need an ear...
barbara
I had to go to the USA for a second opinion because I was unable to get a second referral in Canada. The Canadian orthopedic surgeon threw my under the bus. He would NOT do a CT scan even though the radiologist recommended it. My MRI was cloudy due to all the blood and swelling. I had 2 fractures and high signals in other areas. I had a space between first and second toe, lots of pain up further in my foot. The Canadian orthopedic surgeon would not listen to me. He spent 20seconds discussing my foot and spent the rest of the time complaining about the hospital, accused them of requesting unnecessary imaging and called them the worst money grabbers in the province.
I went to the USA for second opinion, the doctor ordered a CT scan diagnosed a lisfranc fracture dislocation.
I had to come back to Canada for treatment. Still waiting and appointment has been pushed back. Feels like this nightmare is never going to end
Are you in Ontario? If so you NEED to get in touch with Dr. Pradeep Alexander at Brampton Civic Hospital. He is a godsend and miracle worker. Don't just take MY word for it, look him up on rate md. He's amazing and so skilled. My foot was an ORIF mess and just had it fused back in May. I'm recovering, slowly, but I am very pleased so far. I still have pain, but I'm only 5 1/2 months post-op. This is an agonizing injury - you can't rush healing. I really hope you're in Ontario so you can see him....