Just remember, I'm not a doctor nor have I had any special medical training, so just take this as friendly advice on what worked for me. Please check with your doctor always!!
I'll try to add more topics as I can think of them!
How long for pain pills?
While some people had bad side effects with pain killers, I was not one of them. Some folks feel the need to be stoic and get off the meds as soon as they can, and that is great for them. I was told that pain management needs to be a priority in your recovery. Don't let the pain get away from you or else it will be very hard to get it back under control. I remember that I gave up the pain meds during the day way before giving them up at night. I did have a good amount of night pain--you know, where it was throbbing and I couldn't get comfortable so I could sleep. I'm a believer that a good night sleep will do you a whole lot of good, so I would take a Vicoden at bedtime and had a spare pill and some water on the bedside table in case I would wake up in pain. At least once a week I would try to cut the meds down to half or I would try to skip the second dose. When you do cut down your meds, make sure to go slowly to avoid unpleasant side effects.
No cast?
I was quite surprised I was sent home from the hospital without a cast, only a brace. And then my doctor told me to put aside the brace and not wear it. This made no sense to me and I was really afraid to put it away. Now I know that the "cast" is internal and it is not necessary to have an outer cast. I did wear my brace when I went outside just in case I made a slip and just for my own peace of mind. Lucky for me, I never once had a slip up and I think that is because I used a walker and not crutches.
Will I need a knee replacement?
I first read about this problem early in my healing. It seems that some doctors tell their patients that you can expect a whole host of problems with your knee down the road. Of course, I had to talk to my doctor at length about this and she said the following. She has done many, many surgeries for TPFs and she has done only two knee replacements on these people One was in the patient's other leg, and the other patient was well on her way to a replacement before she broke her leg. Another doctor told me that if you are prone to arthritis having a TPF will not help/hurt that fact. I can't spend my life worrying about if I need one down the road. My hope is , if I do need one, the technology will be improved by then so it won't be so bad.
What to expect when finally weight bearing?
As soon as I came home from the hospital I wrote down the date on the calendar when I could bear weight. I was excited! When the date came I was very surprised to find I was really nervous. Really nervous and fearful that something bad would happen to my leg. Well, picture this. Here I am at the physical therapist's office and she tells me to stand up and put a slight amount of weight on my bad leg. My heart was pounding. I was sweating. I thought my leg would snap. But, as is sometimes the case, my imagination was worse than reality. It felt funny, but not bad. She told me to sway side to side, which I did. Still felt pretty good. She asked me to walk a few steps without putting a lot of weight on the bad leg. I was given a list of homework to do and was exhausted just by stepping on the bad leg.
Helpful exercises for me?
There are a few exercises that were very helpful for me. In the early days, I did a lot of stretching. I got a towel and made a narrow strip out of it. I would stretch and bend with the help of the towel at least 3 times a day. Lucky for me, I had good range of motion pretty early in the game.
For my birthday I got a recumbent exercise bicycle. This was very, very helpful in building back the strength in the leg. This in turn stabilizes the leg, which means less pain in walking. I wish I would have got one early in the game. You can get them cheap on Amazon and they are delivered to your home. Get one; you'll be glad you did!
Vitamins?
I'm not a super type of vitamin person, although I have been taking them for years. Whether or not they really do work is something you have to decide. I do have to recommend that if you have a broken bone, you take calcium and Vitamin D. My surgeon is a big proponent of taking Vitamin D, especially. She feels it is absolutely necessary for bone health. And being a woman, taking calcium is something I've done for years.
Hardware removal?
You may get to the point where your hardware if hurting you, or maybe you just want it out. Talk to your OS to see what your options are. I was all hell-bent in getting it out myself. It is not a difficult operation to recover from, especially after your initial break, but I would caution you that it is not as easy as some suggest. I have read that some call it a "piece of cake" I wouldn't go that far! Surgery is surgery and you are adding additional trauma to your already traumatized leg. Everyone is different so do what you and your doctor feel is best.
