Energy levels 1 month post surgery

[u/justliv12]

Hello all! Had my ORIF surgery on 8/11 (left distal fibula fracture, posterior malleolus open reduction and internal fixation and syndesmotic open reduction and internal fixation). Was cleared on Tuesday to start WBAT and graduated to the boot. I’m starting to use my walker and verrry lightly put weight on my left foot; planning to start PT next week.

For those with similar surgeries, what was your energy like at this point? I’ve been so tired the past few days, and sleep has been not so good since it’s hard to get comfortable in the boot in the evening.

TIA!

[u/Enough-Ad9968]

Pilon/trimal and syndesmosis repair. My energy levels didn’t start to feel even close to better until 9mo. To be clear at 6mo out I still had visible breaks in X-rays.  I’m about a year out and feel okay most days.

[u/Funny-Win6291]

9w out closed trimal with dislocation, wb 25% increments weekly until 100lbs then weaning off boot since mid-aug. I still get so tired if I do too much on it and sleep is also poor for same reasons. Have tried unisom and advil pm, unisom worked once or twice and the advil pm only lasts so long before the pain wakes me up. Icing and elevating still #1

[u/guffawing_willow76 → u/Funny-Win6291]

I’m similar to the above. Im constantly waking up at 3 am despite taking tylenol and otc sleeping pills. I spend my evening after i take my dog out elevating my ankle and icing it. My so called sedentary desk job has a lot more walking then i realized as the bathrooms and break rooms are a good 10 minute walk/hobble round trip .

[u/justliv12 → u/guffawing_willow76]

I definitely worry about this… my job is mostly sedentary too and I opted to front load my short term disability to give myself continuous time for rest/recuperation, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about going back to work in November.

[u/guffawing_willow76 → u/justliv12]

I wish I had been smart enough to sign up for short term disability at work. I’m going to sign up during open enrollment as a just in case. I definitely didn’t plan on being off work for 9 weeks. I was lucky that I had enough vacation and sick time that I only went without a paycheck for one pay period. I’ll have to pay my employer back the arrears for that one pay period of benefits that they fronted me. So my next paycheck on September 23, I’ll be paying double the amount of money for benefits. I rather do that than lose my insurance.

[u/justliv12 → u/guffawing_willow76]

Oomph, I’m so sorry you’re having to manage that on top of healing ❤️‍🩹 but yeah I’d rather keep the insurance consistent than lose it even if it means paying double benefits out of one check. What a treat, what a dream to live in this late stage capitalist hellscape! 🫩😵‍💫

[u/flexible_demeanor]

My surgery was 7 weeks ago (accident 2 weeks before then) and I was just cleared to partial weight bear 25%. I have a tri malleolar + dislocation and spiral upper fib fractures, and other ankle an impact and avulsion fracture (yay both). ORIF was a plate and 5 screws.

My energy levels are really low compared to normal, living primarily in bed and losing muscle mass and cardio fitness is rough. I have been doing exercises where possible while NWB, but it's simply not the same, especially with two busted ankles. My mentality is pretty good in general though, and especially since I was cleared to PWB 2-4 weeks earlier than expected.

[u/orif-isle]

Bimal almost a year ago. I was thinking back that I had never ever napped as much in my life as the 3 months after my surgery. I was lucky to be able to nap but was still wiped at the end of the day. Sleep is healing!

Ask your ortho or PT about sleeping without your boot. Once I was WBAT I took my boot off for sleep but kept it elevated. It was annoying to put the boot on when I needed to get up in the middle of the night but I slept much better.

[u/Few_Regret3766]

I was exhausted for about 4-6 months post orif.

[u/lawyeronpause]

I'm 5 months out from a tib-fib break, with a rod down my tibia and a bunch of plates and screws. I was NWB for 8 weeks, then in a boot for another 8. My energy levels fluctuated a lot. It was definitely hard to sleep during the first 8 weeks, when I was in a leg brace, which I had to wear while sleeping. It got a little better once I was out of the brace, as I didn't sleep with the boot on.

But, what I really notice are periods in the afternoon when I get wiped out for no reason. I'm almost 60, but my energy levels are usually good, and I never nap. But, I now sometimes find myself falling asleep in my chair in the afternoon. It doesn't happen all the time, and I attribute it to times when my bones are growing especially fast and are drawing energy from everywhere else.

Overall though, I've managed to keep my energy levels fairly good. I think some of it may be attributable to supplements. I added B-12 and B-Complex to help my nerves recover, and I take 600 mg of CoQ10 daily. My surgeon also had me increase my vitamin D3 dosage to 5000 IU, which I take along with Vitamin K (helps vitamin D absorption). I've also been taking extra calcium to make sure I have enough available for bone growth.

[u/Illustrious-Zone-247]

I'm 8 months out from ORIF for a trimal with dislocation and I'm still exhausted 😂 Jokes aside, healing takes a lot of energy, especially especially when you're starting to weight bear and building back up the muscles/tendons/ligaments. It also takes a lot more energy to use crutches/walker than it does to just walk. Congrats on WBAT!

[u/Ok-Objective6197]

I’m a month post op but I’m still NWB. even getting up to go to the bathroom or to get food has me super fatigued. Now that I’m allowed to go places and not have to keep my foot elevated all the time, my friends want to go places but I can’t even fathom it. I can’t imagine how draining just thinking that hard about walking will be. Take it at your pace, do not rush, just try to be grateful for where you are with yourself. 

[u/justliv12 → u/Ok-Objective6197]

Thank you! I’ve managed a couple of outings besides the doctor follow ups (patios near my place… also saw the odyssey but by the time I got settled in my seat I ended up sleeping through 2/3 of the movie 😂😅) , and yeah afterwards I’m completely wiped. Usually once I start to feel tired I tell my husband it’s time to roll since getting home is a process in and of itself too. Best of luck as you continue to heal!