broken bones

When I broke my ankle and knee it took me about 9 months all together to be able to walk propaly and the cast was on for 9 weeks for both but I broke my knee twice and dislocated it as well so I can say I am okay now with only a few marks on my knee from the key hole surgery but it was quick to heal for me and I have a few screws and a couple of bits of metal in my knee but it healed in a few weeks for me so I was off work for a few weeks but when I broke my ankle I was off work for the 9 months and the physio was painful enough for me but I am T2 so that you now know how long you will be out of work for

-- I have been diabetic ( type 1 ) for nearly 45 years

I have broken a few bones during this time ( including foot bones ) and all healed as expected and within "non diabetic" timelines.
I have been told I also have osteopenia a couple of years ago-- which possibly partly explains the amount of breaks I have suffered.

I have not really ever missed time off work with fractures -- but my job was office based and I have a supportive wife who dropped me off at work as was required.

my last foot break December 2014 ( outside metatarsal ) took about 4 weeks in plaster followed by 6 weeks in boot -- then walking again as normal in shoes.

@homer190376 no experience with broken bones here so no advice to offer I'm afraid, but I just wanted to say all the very best with your foot. Hope it's better very soon.

Hi @homer190376 , sorry to hear of the your accident. I broke my wrist ( smashed it up from a height) and it had to be manipulated in a&e. things were not right with my wrist from the start and it was the first time I had broken a bone, I was aged 56. To cut a long story short, complications set in whist it was in a cast ( CRPS) Complex regional pain syndrome ( a helpful member on here suggested I may have CRPS), an operation was mentioned, but and luckily for me, I didn't have one ( they didn't think I would benefit from it) But I had many months of hand therapy ( I really thought my lower arm would be disabled) I have use of it, but it is restricted. It is a rare condition, but something you may want to consider ?
Good luck and sending get well wishes, all the best,

My surgeon told me that ankle and foot injuries are very difficult to heal because of so many bones and carrying the weight of our bodies, so they take a very long time to heal and are often never fully restored. I broke my ankle requiring a piece of sheared off bone to be removed. After 8 weeks with a boot, it had healed out of place and at that time noted that I had also broken my leg bone about 10 cm above the ankle which was not detected and set properly. That was 7 years ago and I still have problems with my ankle. There was nerve damage in the reconstruction and as it shifts around the missing section of bone it goes out of place which is quite painful until it realigns (sometimes many days later). It took about 9 months before I could do much activity. Jordi77 seems to have a similar time frame. I was worried that it wouldn't get better, but it has healed to about 70-80 percent and I now do very strenuous activity with it. Try to find the best surgeon possible and know that you are not alone in a long and often discouraging healing process.

Foot fractures can take up to 12 weeks. Are you sure it hasn't started to heal yet? Have they compared XRs ? If that's really the case you might want to discuss surgery.

I fractured my foot and I was in a cast for about 16 weeks and it was just shortly after I had been diagnosed (I got T1 as an adult) and I went through my diabetic honeymoon with it in the cast, I was in frequent pain for well over a year. Try and avoid surgery I regret having it done for a break on my shoulder, I still have trouble years latter. I'm not clumsy the shoulder was broken by a texting driver vs me riding a bike...

homer190376 said:

one more question, how good is the freestyle libre

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I love it. Unlike strips where you're really only getting little snapshots a few times each day, you get to see the whole 24 hour movie. The big difference which it makes for me is that instead of dealing with highs and lows after they have happened, you can see situations early on as they develop and then pro-actively take steps such as 5g or 1 or 2u to stop it happening.

It has it's quirks - it rarely measures the same as the meter, because meter reads blood and libre reads glucose in the interstitial fluid, the fluid between cells, and there's a bit of a lag between the two, 10 to 15 mins. But once you get used to interpreting it, it makes strips alone feel like the Stone Age.

There's a long thread here by maglil55 describing her journey with it which went from slightly unconvinced to loving it, it'll give you plenty of hints and tips on what to expect:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/life-with-libre.118450/

Hi Everyone

Newbie to this, so please excuse any mistakes or oversights ... Could someone please provide a bit of practical advice?

In a nutshell, how long is it safe to wait before a broken ankle is operated on?

My 52yr old partner has been T1 since age 11. Two days ago he slipped and broke his ankle, had a hypo and passed out in the street. After a 60 min wait for the ambulance, he was taken to the Royal London Hospital. They confirmed that he'd broken his tibia near the ankle and that surgery was required 'soon' if neurological and other damage was to be avoided - but they had no free beds. They put a rough cast on it and sent him home 'until a surgical bed becomes free'.

My faith in the hospital is low - even though they were told he was diabetic, and he was admitted during a full hypo, they left him in a corridor for 6 hours with no pain relief, care or water. When temporarily discharged the next day, he was told he needed warfarin injections to stop clots, but they had run out and could only give him two! They also said that he should get his own pain meds as he gets free prescriptions.

His family are telling me that he must be operated on immediately because of the diabetes, but I can't find anything specific online to argue his case. He is is in a LOT of pain, but I don't want to drag him off to another A&E unnecessary and risk damaging it further. Will they also just send him home?

Can anyone cast (no pun intended) some light on this please? - i'm quickly discovering I don't know enough about the implications diabetes has on a fracture or what argument I should be using with the hospital staff?

Sorry this is so long - i'm not sure how much you need ...i'll make them shorter in future.

Thanks

Hi @Garry71,
What a schmozzle, not as health professional opnion or advice:
So basically it sounds like your partner is in stand-by mode with half-baked treatment.
Can his GP be contacted, even if by explaining to the nurse there, that he is in pain and in need of anti-coagulant injection?
And the other question is who is responsibke for monitoring the well being, circulation, nerve function and healing-wise of his fracture? Is the GP, and is he or she willing and able to do so? And was your partner and you given any instructions about what to look out for in regrads to these potential problems?
Being in pain and relatively immobile might also cause his blood sugars to rise, hypos less likely but he may need to adjust his diet and insulin to compensate for this?
And if his diabetes nurse or doctor can be contacted that may help with his diabetes control and maybe send a small rocket up the surgical mnagement bureaucracy of the hospital in question?
I hope the above may help to at least protect your partner's health and well-being and get thevrequired treatment moving.
Best Wishes and hopefully others on site with better knowledge of the health system there can give you more information to assist you bith.

Garry71 said:

Hi Everyone

Thanks

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I assume you are in the UK?
Don’t worry about your partner being a little bit high. Hypo avoidance is the key at the moment. However don’t go silly high
Or they may refuse to operate until the BGL settles. Take Kitedoc’s advise, a very wise and knowledgeable gentleman.
Bones require a good blood supply to heal quickly. Feet in particular don’t have a good blood flow with longer term diabetics, so it will most probably take longer to heal when it is fixed. I can’t advise on how to navigate the hospital system, but I would suggest hooking up with a good GP. Both you and your partner deserve better.

I have only been in hospital twice and that was over 2 different unrelated breaks. I feel embarrassed and guilty, the way they fuss over me, I assume because they found out I was diabetic. This is from Australian Public hospitals. All I can say is the medical professionals I have come across prove that Angels do exist and they walk amongst us.