Should I see a different doctor?

[Phoe]

I badly injured my foot on Saturday morning.

 

Heard a loud "snap", immediately had an adrenaline rush, it swelled up, and now over the course of almost 80 hours it's gotten worse. The swelling has increased, the pain has increased, and my foot has gotten more purple and easily goes numb.

 

 

I can't flex or extend my ankle at all, it's frozen, and I can barely wiggle my toes. My 2 little toes won't move but the other 3 will.

 

 

I went to my urgent care doctor over the weekend, he looked at it and knew immediately I would need xrays, but thanks to the 3 day holiday weekend, the xray place was closed until today. So I was trying to get by for 72 hours with no idea what's wrong, what I should do with it. Meanwhile it only got worse.

 

 

I got my xrays done this morning and the technician suggested I immediately go back to my urgent care doctor with a copy of the scans.

 

 

I get there and the usual doctor is gone. It's some other doctor who speaks broken english. I am put into a room to wait.

 

 

At some point he walks into my room and asks my name. I say "Phoe". He looks at me and his paperwork, looks very confused, then walks back out without a word, leaving my door wide open.

 

 

He then proceeds to go visit 3 other patients while my door is sitting wide open. A nurse comes to check on me and asks if I was seen, and I say No and that the doctor came in and just walked back out. She looks very annoyed and starts running around trying to find my paperwork and asks the doctor why he skipped me. I can hear them talking out in the hallway and she's saying "You need to go look at her x-rays, she's been here all weekend" about 30 seconds passes in which I assume he looks at the scans and he says "she's fine just send her out of here" and she gets even more annoyed and says "No doctor, you need to go discuss the results with her".

 

 

So he walks in says "You are fine, nothing's wrong, take some motrin" and walks back out.

 

 

What the actual hell?!?

 

 

I don't know what I should do. It's been 4 days of running around to the doctor, the pharmacy, xray place, and back to the doctor again, all the while watching my foot get worse and worse. I cannot move it, I cannot walk, and when I put weight on it I feel the bones clicking and popping.

 

 

I am so frustrated and in pain. I don't know whether I should seek a second opinion or just wait to see if it gets any better through the week. I don't even know where else I would go... it takes 3 weeks to a month to get into my primary care, and the ER visit costs $100 so I don't want to go there unless absolutely necessary.

 

 

I know the advice of friends who have NO medical training really ought to be considered useless, but everyone who's looked at it and heard my explanation of symptoms thinks it's either a fracture or a torn ligament. And from photos I've looked at online, my foot looks similar to those photos. The only person who thinks it's NOT that bad is my boyfriend. He thinks I just pulled something and that it's mostly in my head. That I heard the snapping noise and got scared. I mostly think he's just doing that to try to be the voice of reason and keep me calm, but it's only adding to my frustration.

 

 

I had to be put in a wheelchair at work yesterday because I cannot walk. My manager thought that I looked pretty pathetic trying to continue to work in my wheelchair (I work a physically demanding job and was trying so hard not to be useless) - so he cancelled all my shifts until Friday.

 

 

I will rest for the time being, but I am not exactly hopeful. It's only gotten worse over these past 3 days. A friend of mine really freaked me out saying "If it's broken and it sets incorrectly while you're waiting for the diagnosis, they'll have to re-break it to set it correctly" - THAT alone has me terrified.

[Phoe]

Sorry, I realize the OP is probably too long to read.

 

TLDR; my foot is badly injured, I cannot walk, the swelling, pain, bruising, numbness and immobility have only increased over the past 80 hours. The doctor I saw today took one quick glance at my xray, didn't even LOOK at my ankle, and sent me out saying "take some motrin"

 

 

Should I trust his advice despite my worsening symptoms, or seek a second opinion?

[Art_Critic]

go to a sports medicine doctor.. it could be a torn tendon or something like that.

 

Any foot injury no matter how small can hurt like crazy and can cause you to limp.. it's up to you if you want to seek a second opinion but if you do go to a sports medicine Dr.

[somedude81]

My mom has serious issues with her feet and has to see a specialist on a semi regular basis. Foot injuries are major.

 

Go see another doctor.

[Phoe]

go to a sports medicine doctor.. it could be a torn tendon or something like that.

 

Any foot injury no matter how small can hurt like crazy and can cause you to limp.. it's up to you if you want to seek a second opinion but if you do go to a sports medicine Dr.

 

As an athlete I've had twisted ankles and pulled muscles and ligaments many many times in my life. I've gone through xrays and MRI's and physical therapy.

 

 

This is very different. This is a very alarming injury. The fact that it's getting worse is what scares me. Swelling has only increased, pain has increased, blood is starting to pool under the skin near my heel, and my foot is perpetually tingly/borderline numb.

 

 

I'm pretty convinced it's a torn ligament. I can feel my tarsal/metatarsal bones freely moving and clicking around. Of course, I would need an MRI to diagnose that. And given that this lousy doctor wouldn't even LOOK at me and had to be begrudgingly sent to the room to speak with me just to tell me to take some motrin, I feel like after 4 days of running around, I have made no progress in getting a diagnosis.

 

 

I will look into a sports doctor, I'm just concerned it will take a long time to get in. I will need a referral, which means I will need to go BACK to the urgent care that just sent me away, or I will need to see my primary care doctor, which is always filled up about a month out in advance.

 

 

I'm so frustrated.

[ja123]

Yeah, don't wait. See another doctor.

 

 

I wouldn't have any confidence in the doctor who saw you ... the technician wouldn't have told you to see your doc right away with the scans, if it were nothing. It makes one wonder if the young doctor even knew how to read scans.

 

 

As suggested see a sports medicine doctor or podiatrist.

 

 

No need to over worry, but you require treatment.

[somedude81]

Dude, if it's as bad as your describing can't you just go to the E.R.?

[Phoe]

Dude, if it's as bad as your describing can't you just go to the E.R.?

 

My boyfriend wanted to take me to the ER 3 days ago, but I really don't want to. That's a $100 visit.

 

 

 

 

I'm not worried about the accuracy of the scans. I'm sure he can read them. If he doesn't see a fracture or break, then there isn't one. I'm more concerned about the tendons and ligaments and the fact that he didn't even want to hear about my worsening symptoms or even look at my foot. I am pretty sure that I need an MRI.

 

 

The technician was so adamant about me heading back to the doctor immediately that he didn't even bother with sending a copy to them like they normally would. He gave me a physical copy to have in hand when I went over. I loaded the CD up on my computer but the scans are so tiny on my laptop I can't make anything out on it. The technician could tell by looking at my foot that definitely something was off, but he didn't know what. He just wished me luck and sent me back immediately.

[clia]

Can you call your primary care physician and explain the situation? You have an emergency. Seems like they could squeeze you in.

[amaysngrace]

Always go to the ER if you think you could have broken a bone. Just make a payment arrangement with them. As long as you pay something, even $10 a week, they will be okay with that.

 

If you can, go now and bring your X-ray films with you.

[beach]

Ice it and elevate it.

 

 

You could also file a complaint against the DR - he should have explained your recovery plan in detail.

Edited May 28, 2014 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
removed off topic comment

[d0nnivain]

You need an orthopedist not a GP.

[Phoe]

it's been decided I will wait a few more days to see if it gets better. If not, I will go somewhere else.

[Els]

3 weeks to get into primary care?! Is that the norm there??? It takes me 3 days max, and that is if I require a particular doctor.

 

Normally I would say that urgent care isn't the best for situations like this. ER is even worse because they are consistently dealing with life-threatening emergencies and wouldn't be able to give you a lot of their time (and you'd be stuck waiting hours for the more urgent people to go through). But if you can't get into primary care in a reasonable amount of time...

 

What other options are there for healthcare over there?

[somedude81]

it's been decided I will wait a few more days to see if it gets better. If not, I will go somewhere else.

 

That really doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

As much as I'd hate to admit it, your BF sounds right in this situation.

 

Your foot has been progressively getting worse since Saturday.

 

I will say this, if they have to amputate the foot, can I have it? For research purposes of course. None of which include cloning

[contact1]

RICE

 

Acronym I learned whe taking kinesilogy classes.

 

Rest

Ice

Compression

Elevation

 

Make sure to do these for your injury if you have to wait. I use it all the time when I get an injury from hitting or kicking the bags at my gym, it really works

[ASG]

I'm going to join the chorus here and say you should go to another doctor or probably the ER. That's where I would have gone in the first place, with such a bad injury.

 

Sure, you might be there for a while, but at least you'll get all your exams and results and treatment at the same time.

 

Also, I'm surprised no one has given you a pair of crutches. You really should NOT be putting weight on that foot, especially not knowing what is wrong with it!

[clia]

3 weeks to get into primary care?! Is that the norm there??? It takes me 3 days max, and that is if I require a particular doctor.

 

Normally I would say that urgent care isn't the best for situations like this. ER is even worse because they are consistently dealing with life-threatening emergencies and wouldn't be able to give you a lot of their time (and you'd be stuck waiting hours for the more urgent people to go through). But if you can't get into primary care in a reasonable amount of time...

 

What other options are there for healthcare over there?

 

If you are just scheduling a non-urgent type of appointment, it can take a few weeks to get an appointment. But usually you can get in fairly quickly if you are sick or have an emergency, like Phoe. Most doctors leave openings in their schedule for those types of appointments.

[RonaldS]

As somebody who has absolutely destroyed my feet/ankles from a lifetime of football and basketball, ranging from general inflammation/tendinitis all the way to essentially having my entire right ankle explode (massive 3rd degree ligament ruptures w/shattered tibia that the doctor called 'catastrophic' and the worst ankle injury he had ever seen) I will offer this:

 

If....IF....a licensed doctor looks at your x-rays and send you home and advises you to take some pain killers, rest it and ice it, you probably just have a sprain. If that's the case, guess what....there's nothing else you can do for it. Sucks but it's true. They're not going to schedule some procedure to fix things that will fix themselves. There's nothing that can be done for it.

 

If there were a fracture, unless the doc was hoping to be sued, there would be an attempt to immobilize/stabilize the foot/leg along with advisement on what procedures needed to take place to allow for proper healing.

 

It never hurts to go to a specialist, especially vs an urgent care provider. If you are heavily involved in sports or other physical activities and want to maintain the ability to perform at your highest level, visiting a specialist might be in your best interest, if for nothing more than the rehab advice they will give you.

 

If you heard a 'pop', I'm going to go ahead and put my money on it being a sprain. Actually, I will put a LOT of money on that.

 

Get another doc to look at it, and see what they diagnose. Unfortunately, if it's a sprain, there's nothing 'they' can do for it. The standard procedure for post-trauma care for a sprain is essentially to rub some dirt on it and walk it off. It is what it is, it sucks and it hurts.

 

Feel free to PM me if you want some rehab strategies and want to save a whole bunch of money. I've blown my ankles apart numerous times, but am still playing relatively high-level organized basketball at age 40 and still flying all over the place even with all of those injuries.

[RonaldS]

That really doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

As much as I'd hate to admit it, your BF sounds right in this situation.

 

Your foot has been progressively getting worse since Saturday.

 

I will say this, if they have to amputate the foot, can I have it? For research purposes of course. None of which include cloning

 

The injury hasn't gotten worse. The injury is the injury, and the damage was done at the time of the trauma.

 

What has gotten worse is the pain and swelling associated with the trauma and her body's own response to healing it. Our bodies work really hard to immobilize injured areas on the body. Just because it looks worse and feels worse doesn't mean the injury isn't healing. Actually, probably the opposite.

 

Phoe mentioned having twisted ankles before. There is a MAJOR difference between twisting an ankle and spraining one. Twists hurt a little as there is a hyperextention of a joint. A sprain hurts a lot and swells up/bruises dramatically because ligaments have been ruptured, hence the 'pop' she heard.

[MidwestUSA]

My boyfriend wanted to take me to the ER 3 days ago, but I really don't want to. That's a $100 visit.

The technician was so adamant about me heading back to the doctor immediately that he didn't even bother with sending a copy to them like they normally would. He gave me a physical copy to have in hand when I went over. I loaded the CD up on my computer but the scans are so tiny on my laptop I can't make anything out on it. The technician could tell by looking at my foot that definitely something was off, but he didn't know what. He just wished me luck and sent me back immediately.

 

 

Technicians aren't allowed to tell you what they see, but they generally have the best sense as to how bad it is.

 

 

You could be looking at permanent nerve damage if the swelling doesn't go down, or compartment syndrome (I don't want to explain how that is treated). Keep it iced and elevated (stay OFF it) and if you HAVE to wait, make it no longer than one more day. If things don't improve, get to an ER. Your foot is worth $100.

[pyramid]

Very similar thing happened to my friend recently. It turned out it WAS fractured and the lame urgent care dr missed it on the X-ray. The podiatrist was furious. That's where you need to go, btw. She waited too long and the fracture cannot be repaired at this point. She has other issues that are causing pain and she will need surgery for (cartilage and tendon or ligment, I forget). Surprisingly, she will be able to walk and even run (with orthotics) even wit he bone in two pieces.

 

Get the podiatrist referral ASAP. Call, show up, be a pain in the ass till you get it.

[Phoe]

The swelling was down a bit when I woke up this morning, so I'm gonna consider that a good sign.

 

Gonna keep an eye on it.

[CarrieT]

$100 is a *really* small price to pay for peace of mind in this instance.

 

Go back to the ER.

[RonaldS]

The swelling was down a bit when I woke up this morning, so I'm gonna consider that a good sign.

 

Gonna keep an eye on it.

Here are my questions:

 

Have you been icing it?

 

Can you put weight on it?

 

How did you injure it, and what direction did your foot move during the impact that caused the injury? Did it roll toward the outside, toward the inside, or forward (forward is bad)?

 

Try to elevate it with a cold pack in it, preferably wrapped on with a cloth bandage. If you can sleep with it elevated, even better.

 

If it's a sprain (and every symptom you've listed points to that), then as as swelling decreases, mobility should increase. But it's going to be VERY stiff, and very painful to move it. What I would expect is that once you put weight on it, you'll probably find that it has stiffened at an angle with your toes pointing downward slightly and outward slightly , and it's going to be painful, maybe even very painful, to put weight on it with your toes pointed straight forward and your foot at a 90deg angle from your leg (especially if it's an inside sprain).

 

If the swelling is going down, it's probably not a bad idea to start putting some weight on it. Another good exercise to loosen the joint back up is, while you are laying down with your foot elevated, and slowly rotate the foot in both directions. Try to trace the alphabet with your toes. The last thing you want is to immobilize and have the ligaments heal all scarred up with no flexibility. The more you move it, the better.