In the last ten years I’ve had surgery eight times on my right ankle. Most of them were ligament reconstructions and finally a complete ankle fusion. Making the decision to fuse my ankle was one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make but with the chronic pain, instability, degenerative arthritis and inflammation I agreed. It’s going to be two years this June and although it’s been a very long recovery and endless hours of physical therapy I can say I’m feeling good about it. One of the biggest challenges is finding shoes that help me walk. With an ankle fusion you have no range of motion so I need orthopedic shoes to help me out. I wear a pair of MBTs but would like to find something different that still provides the support I need, any suggestions? I’d love to hear your story and how you are dealing with the ankle fusion -- was it the right decision for you?
~Gimpy
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hello. i had a ankle fusion going on 2 and half years now. i had it because i was diagnosed with a tumor growing on the Talus bone. my doctor talked of losing my foot and things like that but in the end it was decided to remove the Talus and part of the Fibula. and my ankle was to be fused with a metal rod. the doctors told me this like they were ordering coffee very easy for them!! anyway i had to walk with a boot for probably 10 months. and i love to tell u im pain free. but sorry to say i am not. every time i put my foot on the ground it hurts, some days less some days more. if i ever had to do it again i would seriously think of amputation. im in my early 40's and really don't know what is next. i dont walk with a stick but am sure i will later in life. sorry if this doesnt help but wanted to be honest. Darren, Darwin Australia
March 31, 2015 - 9:21pmThis Comment
Hi Darren, walking with a stick isn't so bad....kind of dignified my husband says! :) I'm 40 and had my left ankle fused 8yrs ago. If wishes came true, then my foot would have miraculously disappeared overnight, as I wished for nearly 2yrs that I'd had it amputated.
April 7, 2015 - 8:46amI'm not pain free, sometimes I can't walk, even with my walking stick that I have to use periodically, and have to crawl on my hands and knees around the house trying to catch the 2yr old!
There's no going back from a chosen amputation.
Things will get better.....or they won't......but you'll find a way to make it work for you I hope.
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I'm 9 weeks in on my ankle fusion and 8 months post my injury. I wanted an amputation vs a fusion. My docs said no because it would cause more psychological harm than good. I totally disagreed. My coworkers call me gimpy. I find that much harder to deal with. I would have much rather had the amputation while I'm healthy vs waiting for knee, hip and joint pain.
April 1, 2015 - 12:12amI must say I do not have any pain presently because I'm no weight bearing for 8-10 more weeks.
Wonder what life will be like in the next few months?
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It was kind of a shocker first time I was able to step down on my foot.
April 1, 2015 - 6:52amIt hurt, but I was grateful I had my foot. My nieces fiancé has had artificial legs since he was born. It has not been an easy time for him. He is in and out of the hospital with skin ulcers. He also has knee and hip problems. Amputation is not the perfect answer. There are pro's and cons to both...but you will still have pain at the amputation site, plus your ankle is your major weight bearing area. You will have pain in your knee and hip. So what if your coworkers call you gimpy. At least you have a nickname!!! I call myself gimpy. After a year in a wheelchair, an external stabilizer on my leg and ankle for 5 months...using a walker and cane, wearing various braces, I deserve to call myself Gimpy & I do it with gratitude that I'm alive and intact, sorta.
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Hi there, i just googled orthopedic devices for sleep with a fused ankle and came across this blog. First of all no, you are not crazy for wishing for an amputation. I myself have made similar comments to my family and doctors. The doctors just chuckle (because in their mind there are still options) and my family gets upset because to them its so shocking. But, unless you live with chronic pain that affects every part of your life from your physical abilities and sleep, to your mental health, relationships and work, others just don't understand. A bit of my background...I was on active duty in the army and started having bad pain in my lower leg and ankle. The military doc told me i just had shin splints (i was a runner so im well aware of what shin splints feel like, and this was different). The army doc would not take xrays. So when I went into the guard and had civilian insurance I saw a surgeon and he diagnosed me with a stage IV osteochondral defect of the talus. I had an oats procedure with a graft taken from my knee. He told me i would be back to running...a year later my ankle still had issues and now my knee killed me and i lost all of my inner quad muscle (whatever its called, lol). I had a surgery to remove the plate and screws from the outside of my ankle because it was so painful. I was cleared by a surgeon for the army and i was then deployed to iraq. While climbing the ramp of a chinook i twisted the knee and had a burning pain. I suffered through my year long deployment with the Army PAs saying heres some IB pro fen. When we returned home the army sent me to a civilian ortho person in Philly where they said my ankle still had the defect, my knee had end stage arthritis plus was not tracking correctly because of where the graft was taken.. So, they performed another oats and took another graft from the same knee but different spot, and also did a lateral release of the knee ligaments. Again, the graft didn't take and my knee was still always swollen and in pain and now I had no outer quad muscle . The civilian surgeon told the army case manager i needed an ankle fusion and knee replacement (although no one will actually do a knee replacement because as of now im only 32). The case manager decided I needed to go to West Point to have Army surgeons evaluate me. They did arthroscopy on both the knee and ankle. It did nothing for me and their conclusion was that I needed a fusion and knee replacement. So...I was medically retired at 30 and 3 months after retirement had the ankle fused. It has been a long road but the ankle is better in some ways with the fusion. It has its issues like Achilles pain sometimes and swelling and pain if i stand too long, but overall its in a manageable place. Ive been doing therapy for 4 months now (a year after the fusion) to help stretch, strengthen my whole leg and the therapist does a myofascial massage..the massage has helped so much. Its basically scar tissue break up and you would be surprised how much of the nagging everyday pain is from scar tissue and nerve damage. I still need my knee fixed and im sure the VA would give me the replacement but im now at the point were i want a break from surgeries and rehab for a while. So im going to try to suck it up. And my opinion for you after everything i have gone through....being that you are over 50 ( which is still young) some surgeons might be willing to do a replacement on you. I would do the replacement... A fusion fixes the pain from the jacked up bone, but it is so limiting in life, even with little things like shoes and sleeping positions (its hard to sleep on your stomach because the foot wont lay flat). Sorry my post is long, but i get how you are feeling and just want you to know there are people in your shoes and understand. I hope you get to a good place and out of pain. Do research on surgeons, do not settle for a local person just because its convenient. Find the best! Take care : )
March 14, 2015 - 8:55pm-T
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I had my talus crushed in a car accident. A fusion was the best surgery I had. I to thought about amputation due to pain before my fusion. It still hurts but it is manageable. I am also a nurse so I know an amputation comes with pain for the rest of your life also. I hope this helps you. By the way for anyone else looking, rocker bottom shoes have been my savior for walking with a fairly normal gait. (they are hard to find cute ones) My physical therapy and Dr. friends have complemented me several times in the last 2 weeks and I feel better and I can run a little. Still with pain and its awkward. I have not done ran in 4 years. But at least I know if my life was threatened I could run away.
March 9, 2015 - 12:52pmThis Comment
I just had my ankle fused Jan 2015 due to a fall that broke my tib/fib and crushed my talus. I had external fixation with 10 pins for 12 weeks,but nonunion of the fractures led to the fusion in Jan. I too am a nurse. Have been an ICU nurse for at least 15 years.
March 21, 2015 - 1:43amI wish someone could be honest and tell me what lies ahead.
It's good to know that you are working.
Please do tell what brand of shoes you have found. All I have seen are ugly looking ones!
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I have Sketchers brand rocker bottoms. I found them on Amazon and yes most are ugly. I found a guy that does orthopedic braces that can add rocker bottoms to other shoes. Honestly it is a long road and it will hurt but you can work around it. I am an infection control nurse so I am not on my feet as much as a floor nurse. However with time I think I could be on the floor again despite the doctor think I would not be able to at first. He says I can do what is comfortable now. It is just taking time to build up my muscles and stamina back to what it was. I use my Arizona AFO brace every day and that helps my stability and walking motion. Dr. says I can start trying without it but I am a little nervous to. I will start with baby steps. I hope this helps.
May 13, 2015 - 11:58amThis Comment
Hello anonymous! If you are looking for honesty, you have come to the right site. You'll find empathy, sympathy and no b.s. You can read some of my other comments if you wish, but to make a long story short, I was in a 100 mph head on back in 97. I had a broken tibia, along with my ankle being totally pulverized. After 2 years of external stabilizers, casts, crutches, wheelchairs, canes, walkers, air boots, p.t., massage therapy, etc....I finally had my ankle fused. It wasn't the best thing I've ever done, but I quite frankly had no other choice. Because I had no ankle anymore, my foot angled off to the right and that was how I walked. Very uncomfortable and threw everything off. When I had my fusion, my doc told me my leg was twisted, my foot was as straight as it would ever be and I'd have hip and knee problems down the road. Well, he did not lie. Fast forward 16 years, I am now having knee and hip problems, my ankle itself doesn't hurt, but the area all around it does. My foot is extremely arthritic, the area around my ankle has been swollen since my accident. My option is more surgery, which I will not do right now. I have rsd, which is a deterioration of my sympathetic nerve system. This happened because of the blunt force trauma I suffered. To be totally honest....I knew the day of my wreck life would never be the same. I knew it wouldn't matter how many surgeries I had, I'd be a fool to think I'd be able to walk the same, do the other physical activities I participated in and not be pain free. It doesn't matter how many meds I take, how many pain clinics I go to, how many doctors I see, nothing will change what has happened to my body. That's fact. Be prepared to have several shoes at a time. Yes I wear ugly shoes, but they're the cutest ugly I can find. lol I gave away all my heels, I had 40 pairs. I still sigh when I see the gorgeous, funky shoes that are so popular now. My best find have been Skechers rocker bottom shoes and Z coils. But, I'm alive, I'm walking, some days better than others...I have pain, some days more than others......but my good days I take advantage of it. I am working in my yard, the first time in a long time. It feels so good to get in the dirt....my rsd dictates how much I can do. I have learned to listen to my body differently. I can't lift like I used to because I have no umph on my bad side. There's just a number of little things that can add up to big things. I used to travel quite a bit....I don't do that anymore. I'm not comfortable in large crowds. I don't drive the distances I used to because it bothers my right leg....but I still can if I choose. Most importantly, every morning I turn it all over to the big Man and his Son. I should not even be alive, but I am because God still has a plan for me. Take care of yourself and be gentle on your body. Suzi
March 21, 2015 - 12:37pmThis Comment
Hi All,
March 3, 2015 - 8:27pmI can honestly say I feel your pain. 8 years ago my ankle was shattered in ahead on collision. I have had over 15 surgeries on my ankle. My leg started to bow outwards and I could hardly walk to go grocery shopping. My options were only 1. I had an ankle fusion and I regret it to this day. I was an active young mom and avid runner. Now I can't even walk a straight line. While my ankle will never be right and I wish I would have lost it in the accident, I can say thanks to my pain management doctor I no longer suffer pain. Ask your doctor's about the Neuro Implant Stimulator. The NIS, blocks the pain receptors and it almost feels as though you have your foot buried in the sand. There are no chemical set backs and you can get off pain mess and start living life again. I have had the unit for 4 years and it has saved my life.
My only set back now is I need to find a running boot so I can hit the trails again.
Good luck to you all,
God bless!
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