Fractured bone

[Beyonderz]

Hello there, it's been so long time since I visited No More Panic forums. I hope you all guys are alright.
For a couple of years now I am free from severe health anxiety and stopped using my medication around two months ago.

But recently I have a little concern, since I fractured my ankle bone around 10 days ago :P (I was always twisting my ankle badly so this was a bit expected I guess). I am dead scared of operation (due to anesthesia) and already told this to doctor at the very beginning of my visit. He said to me that the foot is stable and the structure of the fracture doesn't require any operation. But during the 10th day control if they see the fracture doesn't have any signs of healing, the operation is going to be discussed, he added.
I can't help but getting stressed because my check up is tomorrow :(( I know that not getting healed is a very low chance, but still...

[bluetopazgirl]

Well done on being anxiety free and stopping the medication, I hope apart from this little wobble your able to continue with it.

with regards to the fracture, My sister fractured her ankle jumping off a wall (silly woman doing that in her 30s.. you would think she would know better ) anyway they thought it would need to be operated on but said they would see how it went over a couple of weeks due to it being so swollen, she was extremely worried also about the anesthesia but she had the operation and she is fine, you will be too. try not to worry to much and cross the bridge if it comes.. good luck and I wish you well x

[Annie0904]

I fractured 2 metatarsals a couple of years ago and was really anxious about needing an operation. I was in plaster for 3 months and it did heal by itself eventually. I wouldn't worry about an op yet as it may not be necessary.

[badassweasel]

On October the 17th last year I broke my fibula (weber type c fracture) I was told I need an op to fix it ... I basically said no as I was terrified about being put to sleep (you can have a local to numb the leg by the way and be awake) anyway ... I said no way will I be operated on even though my type of fracture is operated on in nearly every case , I was told by consultant that my ankle us unstable and due to me being overweight I needed the op bla bla , we'll I said no and chose the none operative route , I was in my cast for 9 weeks (none weight bearing) with a check up every 2 weeks ... I'm glad I went none op as I'm now about 5/6 weeks out the cast and I feel fine (some slight aching in morning which I expected) I have full range of movement and feel back to normal (only 1 physio appointment and I was told I didn't need anymore as the ankle was fine and that was 1 week after cast was removed) I'm glad I didn't have pins & plates and even though I was in a cast for about 3 weeks longer than I would have been with pins I'm happy I made the decision , just goes to show , good luck with whatever way YOU CHOSE to go

[Beyonderz]

Thanks for your concerns and replies.

Yeah, before I read your replies, I did a bit of searching on this thing (well yeah, normally I would never search for health issues on google, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM DOING IT) and I read other patients experiences.

Many of those with minor fractures don't even need operation to begin with. Even if the doctors say so, many of the "can-survive-with-cast" cases refused the operation because researches show that 15-20 years ago a skilled doctor could heal mid-level severe fractures with a well made cast.
Since it's possible to heal without op in my case, I plan to say no to the operation.

[badassweasel]

Go with what YOU want , my worse case scenarios none operative were : post traumatic arthritis , ankle instability for life , none/mal union of bone , ankle deformity (very very worse case) .... One even said I might never be able to full weight bear with a permanent limp , well guess what ,apart from possible arthritis in the future (which by the way you can still get with operative treatment) all the other "scenarios" didn't happen .... Good luck with whatever you decide to do , keep in touch via PM if you get fed up , I can be a good listener and I had exactly what you having now