Syndesmotic Screw Removal
So here’s what happened. Last Friday I went in for my 3 month follow-up of my broken ankle, and the screw going through my tibia and fibula hadn’t broken on its own, so the doctor wanted to remove it in a surgery called a syndesmotic screw removal. The next opening was the following Monday so bam, I was scheduled.
I went in at 6am and prepped for surgery with paperwork, blood test, urine test (which was super fun since I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink since 11pm the night before). Around 7:30, they drugged me up and off to surgery I went. I don’t remember much, just my doctor telling me it’s a lot easier to take the screw out than put it in. And they had to stick me three times to get the IV in because my veins are awful.
I woke up around 10am, feeling a bit nauseous, which is normal for me because my body reacts to stress with nausea constantly. The nurses mixed in some anti-nausea stuff into my anesthesia cocktail earlier, which I know helped but didn’t eliminate it. I kind of drifted back into consciousness over the next hour or so. The nurse helped me walk to the bathroom, and I could put weight on my foot without much problem. I just had to go slow, since I was still a bit dizzy and weak. Thankfully I didn’t need help in the bathroom and had privacy for that part.
I left the hospital around noon when a friend came to pick me up since I wasn’t allowed to drive for obvious reasons. I took my pain meds when I got home, but they made me nauseous and sleepy and gave me a head ache, so I just slept as much as possible while playing The Office on my tv in the background. I ate some french bread pizza for dinner, and the bread helped settle my stomach a bit. The nausea was honestly more annoying than any pain in my ankle.
I slept through the night without a problem and woke up feeling pretty good, considering. My headache and nausea were gone, and my ankle was a little uncomfortable, but not bad enough that I needed more pain meds. So I decided to suck it up and go back into work, since I really didn’t want to use vacation time or do any paperwork for sick time. Luckily (?) some wind knocked out the power and we were all sent home like two hours after I got there. So I took a nice long nap and ate a good dinner and played with my roommate’s puppy and took it easy.
I took a crutch with me to work, but they were more a precaution than anything else. I don’t really need them, my ankle is strong enough to handle short distances, though it hurts a bit if I push it. I took more pain meds a bit ago and I’m a bit ooOOOooO~ right now, but nothing too bad. These are not nearly as strong as what I had before. No weird dreams this time. And I feel A LOT more clear-headed. I was so incredibly out of it for weeks last time, but I’m pretty much already back to normal mentally when I haven’t taken a pill in 4-6 hours, which I’m super grateful for.
I can also tell a difference in mobility in my ankle. It’s still wrapped up but there’s not so much resistance in the joint when I walk. They let me keep the screw and it’s a long as my pinky, which is crazy. They actually asked me twice, and the first nurse asked with a sort of “it’s kind of weird but you can keep it if you want” tone so I said no. But the second nurse thought it was cool, so I didn’t feel dumb asking her to keep it. I’m going to put it in a jar with a picture of my xray and a fancy label. Right now it’s just in a biohazard bag in my purse, haha.
I can take the wrapping off tomorrow night and shower, but not bathe it until the incision site has healed. I tried to wash off the sterilization alcohol with some wet wipes but couldn’t get it all so it’s still kind of a sickly yellow in some parts. Oh well.
And now I’m really starting to feel the sleepiness so I think that’s it. I didn’t see many stories about the surgery when I was looking it up before hand so I wanted to get everything written down was it was fresh. Next step is another follow-up appointment I still need to schedule within the next 7-14 days. I’ll do that tomorrow. Probably. Now, sleep.
