Should I see a different doctor?

[Phoe]

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)?

 

I've been icing it maybe twice a day. I really can't stand the ice.

 

 

I can't put much weight on it. A slight amount of weight to kind of push things together relieves the pain, but then if I take all the weight off, or put any more weight on, it hurts badly. I've been walking with a crutch to keep my weight off of it. If I accidentally put too much weight on it I feel things popping and grinding, which sends pain shooting through my foot.

 

 

My boyfriend was giving me self defense lessons, we do this every now and then. He had me on my hands and knees in a submit, so the top of my foot was against the ground. I started to fight back, my foot ended up pinned under his leg, and he flipped me up so that I was facing the ceiling, while the top of my foot was still touching the carpet. It got MASSIVELY overextended. I felt and heard a snap, and started screaming.

 

 

The swelling is back again now that I've been up and moving about getting lunch and feeding the cat.

[somedude81]

Why didn't you go to the ER after that happened?!

 

And who the hell puts their girlfriend in a submission hold?!

 

Is he a trained martial arts instructor?

[Phoe]

Why didn't you go to the ER after that happened?!

 

Because ER visits cost $100 and I am not about to pay that much money unless I'm absolutely sure it's necessary.

 

 

When I was a little girl I got sent to the ER twice and my dad got very angry at me for it. It created a mindset in my head where, unless I am bleeding out about to die, I really need to just tough it out.

 

 

A few years ago I tripped and fell and busted my chin open. I bled all over myself, continued to bleed for hours, still went to work and kept trying to stem the bleeding the whole time I was at work, when finally my manager comes in, sees my bloodied chin, and furiously sends me to the ER. Ended up needing to be stitched up.

 

 

Right after it happened my boyfriend flipped out and tried to get me to go the ER but I refused to move. Since then he's gone through various states of "It's probably fractured you need a doctor" to "it's just a pull, it's in your mind, you heard the snap and probably just scared yourself" - he doesn't know what option to believe. I think he just wants to keep both of us calm.

[Phoe]

And who the hell puts their girlfriend in a submission hold?!

 

Is he a trained martial arts instructor?

 

He's not an instructor, but he went through martial arts training while in the military.

 

 

 

 

Because of the situation with my ex stalking me, he'sbeen teaching me selfdefense regularly, at my request.

 

 

Oh goodgrief my keyboard is having a fit.

[somedude81]

F*k the money!

 

Dude this is your body. Take care of it!

 

I get it that your dad screwed up, but you're an adult now.

 

This is not something to be stubborn about. If there was ever a time you deserved to be called a pain in the ass, that was it.

 

Your BF doesn't have a clue what's going on with your foot.

[somedude81]

He's not an instructor, but he went through martial arts training while in the military.

 

 

 

 

Because of the situation with my ex stalking me, he'sbeen teaching me selfdefense regularly, at my request.

 

 

Oh goodgrief my keyboard is having a fit.

 

That's not good enough. I'm trained in martial arts myself, but no way in hell would I try to teach somebody anything more than how to do simple punches blocks and kicks.

 

Obviously I don't need to explain what can happen when an unqualified person tries to teach something to somebody that can be potentially dangerous.

[CarrieT]

Because ER visits cost $100 and I am not about to pay that much money unless I'm absolutely sure it's necessary.

I'm sorry but that is just stupid.

 

You don't know how bad the damage is and - again - $100 is a really small price to pay to find out how much you damaged yourself.

 

One does not go to see a doctor and bargains for treatment... "Uh, I'm not going to pay unless I really have the disease but you have to figure it out before I am willing to pay for you to figure it out."

 

Considering how many days have passed since you injured yourself, you might have done irreparable harm to your ligaments, tendons, or bones.

 

Fork over the funds and get thee to a doctor.

[Phoe]

 

Fork over the funds and get thee to a doctor.

 

I already went to a doctor.

 

 

 

 

The question is whether or not I should trust that doctor despite his flippant attitude.

 

 

It seems logical that he wouldn't dare risk malpractice and that I ought to trust him despite the fact that something feels off.

 

 

It's likely all in my head.

[contact1]

Some of you are coming on too heavy over the whole ER visit. In case some of you have forgotten, Phoe isn't exactly flowing with tons of cash to go through the ER and more scans, etc. She already had the foot scanned, had it seen by a doctor (abide a crappy one who didn't seem to want to be bothered), the swelling is coming down, and if it is a sprain as Ronald has pointed out, you can't do anything about it.

 

I avoid doctor visits like the plague, because more often than not, it's a waste of time, being told to get some rest and prescribed some overly expensive medicine, and than have a nice 100~200 bill come to my home for the 10 minutes I was in their room being looked at. If I was in Phoe's situation where I barely had money for food and such, I would have done the same thing and just tough it out, icing down the injury and so forth. Hell I'd probably do it now still, due to how expensive medical visits and scans are.

[CarrieT]

The question is whether or not I should trust that doctor despite his flippant attitude.

Yes, you should definitely see another doctor. He did not properly look at your X-rays or your foot.

 

It seems logical that he wouldn't dare risk malpractice and that I ought to trust him despite the fact that something feels off.

Not necessarily. My new husband is an Expert Witness who advises in malpractice suits all the time. You might have legal recourse if you are seriously injured and that first doctor did not do his job. DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT...

[Phoe]

Some of you are coming on too heavy over the whole ER visit. In case some of you have forgotten, Phoe isn't exactly flowing with tons of cash to go through the ER and more scans, etc. She already had the foot scanned, had it seen by a doctor (abide a crappy one who didn't seem to want to be bothered), the swelling is coming down, and if it is a sprain as Ronald has pointed out, you can't do anything about it.

 

I avoid doctor visits like the plague, because more often than not, it's a waste of time, being told to get some rest and prescribed some overly expensive medicine, and than have a nice 100~200 bill come to my home for the 10 minutes I was in their room being looked at. If I was in Phoe's situation where I barely had money for food and such, I would have done the same thing and just tough it out, icing down the injury and so forth. Hell I'd probably do it now still, due to how expensive medical visits and scans are.

 

My main concern is the possibility of a torn ligament that needs more action than simple rest.

 

 

Indeed, $100 is a lot right now. I get paid on Friday but having called out of work Sunday and yesterday (I would've gotten overtime on those days. I still worked Monday to get holiday pay and struggled badly. When I got home the blood had pooled in my foot significantly), I am now going to have a much smaller paycheck, making that $100 even more precious.

 

 

I work a very early morning shift on Sunday and will be off by 10 am. If I am no better by then, I will give in and fork over that $100

[contact1]

That's not good enough. I'm trained in martial arts myself, but no way in hell would I try to teach somebody anything more than how to do simple punches blocks and kicks.

 

Obviously I don't need to explain what can happen when an unqualified person tries to teach something to somebody that can be potentially dangerous.

 

I disagree and would actually find learning from someone in the military to me more reliable than what passes as "qualified" these days. There are instructors out there that "earned" their black belt in one year going through "specialized" training (aka just paid a lot of money) and have dojo's where somehow they are now a grand master. A lot martial arts these days is about earning money, why you see so many dojo that teach 10 different styles, when all the head instructor has done is gone to 3 day programs and now certifies themselves as knowing the art.

 

Also, it doesn't matter how qualified someone is, any type of teaching in contact sports / martial arts / etc has the risk of injury. I am all for women learning self defense, where ever they can, because so many don't when they should.

[contact1]

My main concern is the possibility of a torn ligament that needs more action than simple rest.

 

 

Indeed, $100 is a lot right now. I get paid on Friday but having called out of work Sunday and yesterday (I would've gotten overtime on those days. I still worked Monday to get holiday pay and struggled badly. When I got home the blood had pooled in my foot significantly), I am now going to have a much smaller paycheck, making that $100 even more precious.

 

 

I work a very early morning shift on Sunday and will be off by 10 am. If I am no better by then, I will give in and fork over that $100

 

Yea a torn ligament would be the worst case scenario here. Is there a university near by where you live by chance, perhaps one you went to? I know by where I am, the university has cheap medical evaluations, as many of the people there are in training but are also staffed by doctors and nurses that have completed their training, as an option of having it looked at further.

[contact1]

That's silly. 'More often than not...' It only takes one issue. Everyday we have a half dozen patients into ER that would have died or had serious complications if they had not presented themselves to a doctor. Yes, the previous 4 visits may have been unnecessary but the 5th or the 6th? You have a high fever and you don't seek medical help because the the fever was something benign the previous 3 times? No, this time it could be a life threatening pneumonia.

 

Right, because the only symptom for pneumonia is a fever No green mucus, chills, muscle aches, and some others that would indicate I should go see a doctor I should start wearing a tin foil hat while I'm at it to keep the government from reading my thoughts, eh?

[Phoe]

Also, it doesn't matter how qualified someone is, any type of teaching in contact sports / martial arts / etc has the risk of injury. I am all for women learning self defense, where ever they can, because so many don't when they should.

 

Yeah. I trust him, he is knowledgeable, I learned a lot over the months of light practice we did, and always was aware of the risk of injury and accepted that fact.

 

 

An accident happened and it's unfortunate, but pointing fingers does no good.

[somedude81]

I already went to a doctor.

 

 

 

 

The question is whether or not I should trust that doctor despite his flippant attitude.

 

 

It seems logical that he wouldn't dare risk malpractice and that I ought to trust him despite the fact that something feels off.

 

 

It's likely all in my head.

Here's a saying to always remember.

 

"Common sense isn't that common."

 

As for trusting the doctor, even if you do trust him, he still could have made a mistake, why do you think it's so common for people to get a second opinion?

 

Regarding the $100; doesn't your BF owe you some money or is that all taken care of? Nevermind the fact that he actually injured you and caused you to miss work or simply work less hours and get subsequently get paid less. To me, that sounds like more money he owes you.

[Phoe]

Here's a saying to always remember.

 

"Common sense isn't that common."

 

As for trusting the doctor, even if you do trust him, he still could have made a mistake, why do you think it's so common for people to get a second opinion?

 

Regarding the $100; doesn't your BF owe you some money or is that all taken care of? Nevermind the fact that he actually injured you and caused you to miss work or simply work less hours and get subsequently get paid less. To me, that sounds like more money he owes you.

 

He paid it all back when he said he would, plus more as "interest" according to him. A good chunk of it went straight to my June bills.

 

 

He offered to pay the ER fee but I refused. There's no way I'm letting him pay that much. The $10 copay at urgent care? Sure. But not 10x that amount.

[somedude81]

Awesome. That's great news.

 

You could have let him pay half, or $25 or whatever. Of course it's all your choice.

 

I just hope it doesn't turn out to be anything real bad, that got worse because you didn't get it taken care of.

[Phoe]

 

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.

 

Swelling is back since moving around today.

 

 

I love doing alphabets just to keep my joints working, but they are impossible right now.

 

 

While laying down flat, I can't move my foot at all at the ankle joint. I can't flex extend, or move side to side, it's just stuck in it's neutral position. I can only barely move my toes. As I'm writing this my toes are tingling.

 

 

When sitting upright and letting my foot hang off my bed, gravity does allow my foot to extend down maybe half an inch, which it couldn't do yesterday. Still can't flex it upwards though

[Phoe]

Awesome. That's great news.

 

You could have let him pay half, or $25 or whatever. Of course it's all your choice.

 

I just hope it doesn't turn out to be anything real bad, that got worse because you didn't get it taken care of.

 

He might be paying for his own ER trip soon.

 

 

He got hit by a truck at work today and his foot got run over. He says he's fine and just needs to ice it, but we will see

[CarrieT]

He got hit by a truck at work today and his foot got run over. He says he's fine and just needs to ice it, but we will see

If he was at work, he will be covered under Workman's Comp.

 

He needs to see a doctor and his employer needs to know about it and they will pay for it.

 

Both of you could go it and ask for a group rate...

[somedude81]

Both of you could go it and ask for a group rate...

 

Ha ha!

 

They also need matching casts.

[contact1]

He might be paying for his own ER trip soon.

 

 

He got hit by a truck at work today and his foot got run over. He says he's fine and just needs to ice it, but we will see

 

I gotta say, ya'll got some bad juju going on over there, first you and now he's injured also???? I'd be digging around for my lucky rabbits foot

[beach]

Go pick up your X-rays and pay a minimal fee for an office visit for a second opinion.

 

It's worth another assessment especially since you're off and can schedule a visit in the next day or so.

[Phoe]

If he was at work, he will be covered under Workman's Comp.

 

He needs to see a doctor and his employer needs to know about it and they will pay for it.

 

Both of you could go it and ask for a group rate...

 

He gets hurt on the job regularly. It's a big no no to cause a stink over injury in his field. It's a good way to get fired. 2 months ago there was a mechanical error, some chains snapped, and a 1 ton piece of equipment almost clipped his head. He dropped to get out of the way but twisted his knee in the process.

 

 

About a year ago he was fired for refusing to do work at a dangerous height without safety equipment. In that case he filed a suit.

 

 

I don't know what his course of action will be right now, but typically when he is able to walk it off, that's just what he does.

 

 

His manager already knows and they called out an emt to look at him, and they made him take the standard post accident drug test.