Yes, this afternoon, Saturday afternoon........it was very good of him. The news wasn't great however. It appears I have developed osteoarthritis in my ankle, brought on by the fracture. (Doesn't help there is a family history of it too.) I go to see him on the 11 August to discuss it further. Basically there are 3 options for treatment (which will largely depend on my pain levels and ability to walk):
1. Treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs (short to mid term relief)
2. Steroid injections into my ankle joint (short term relief)
3. Surgery to fuse the ankle joint (permanent relief but brings its own set of problems such as no movement in my ankle, special shoes etc)
He also said an ankle brace or cam boot may help, wearing boots instead of shoes (which I do now anyway), not walking on uneven ground (yeah right, have you seen where I live?) etc
So, at this point, I will be opting for option 1 plus a thermal ankle strap and physiotherapy exercises. I need to go to my GP this week anyway as I have to get a mole checked on my arm that has gone 'funny' - I'll talk to the GP about anti-inflammatories.
There will come a time when I cannot walk on it and will require surgery to fuse the joint - this is not something to be entered into lightly however. It could take 2 months, 2 years or 20 years - time will tell.
If you want to read more about it, go to http://www.footphysicians.com/footankleinfo/osteoarthritis.htm (American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons) for starters...
Le sigh.......
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