When a stirrup brace and high-tops aren't enough.

[Guest guest]

Since Thanksgiving, this past Thursday, I've found myself not able to

control the swelling in my right ankle. Elevating/getting off of it

every chance I get, and taking my Naproxen (500 mg) have both been

barely effective, and the chronic pain has returned, in the form of

constant throbbing and feeling like " there's some living thing moving

around, inside my ankle (lateral side). "

When I went to bed Friday night, it was bad enough that I couldn't get

comfortable, whether I laid on my right side, left side or on my back,

until I grabbed a blanket and folded it in such a way as to elevate my

right foot, and laid on my back. Even then, it took me a few tries to

find a comfortable way to prop up my foot.

After work, last night, I stopped by the local CVS, and bought an

elastic, pull-on ankle brace, to use under my stirrup brace, rather

than to wrap it. The compression from the elastic brace did the trick,

along with my usual doses of Naproxen.

Earlier this month, at lunch during one day of my Army National Guard

weekend drill, one of the medics in my unit tried to tell me why I

shouldn't be using an ankle brace all the time. I don't think I

managed to convince her that I have no support in my ankle, otherwise,

as she was telling me how my muscles will become too dependent on the

brace -- never mind that the muscles are all I have for support,

without the brace, and that the lateral ligament normally has a role

in that support.

I did manage to build up more ankle muscle strength, with the heel

raises prescribed by the VA physical therapist, but that only set me

up to wonder how long I could go without pain before I got slammed by

an exceptionally bad episode. I'd much rather keep the chronic pain

down to a " dull roar, " than to deal with a nearly

disabling bout of it.

Had there not been a miscommunication, at the Indy VA med. center, I

would've had my second visit with the foot and ankle specialist, by

now, but now my next appointment isn't until April 19th. I won't know,

until then, what other tests the foot and ankle specialist will want

on the ankle - MRI, MRI and bone scan - but I'm guessing that it'll be

fairly interesting what the inside of my ankle looks like, by then.

The orthopedic surgeon I'd seen, who referred me to the foot and ankle

specialist, had told me that the specialist " has a no-nonsense

approach to his work, and will order whatever test necessary, to

determine if he'll go into the ankle, or not. " Apparently there was

something significant to the several weight bearing, and one

non-weight bearing x-rays the specialist had ordered, on the day of my

first visit, as he was talking about surgery as soon as he walked into

the examination room, until he saw the still healing 3rd degree acid

burn on my foot (at the end of the 5th metatarsal).

Maybe I just need a new ankle? Of course I won't know that, until I

know what the inside of my ankle looks like. Once I have my swollen

salivary gland problem resolved (using my insurance through my job),

I'll probably start looking for a job that's not as harsh on my ankle,

as is with my current job in die maintenance. Now that I've taken to

using a cane, I'll probably also want to find something that would

allow me to use it, rather than having to leave it in the truck while

I work.

Matt