Tib/Fib Fracture, a nasty one

lmtay79

3 weeks ago, my horse jumped to the side and I wasn't fast enough. He came down in the bottom part of my lower leg. Turned the tibia into dice and put a displaced compound fracture in the fibula. The next day I had an ORIF done, 2 plates, 22 screws. Doc said I was to be completely non weight bearing for 6 weeks, and then we'll look at maybe beginning PT.

Some things I've learned so far:

1. CONTROL SWELLING: When doc says he wants you to elevate it…he means he wants you to be upside down. One pillow on the couch isn't going to cut it. Failing to control swelling in these first days postop will delay wound healing & closure. He was very particular about warning me that these surgical sites low on the leg and down by the ankle can be a PITA because it's just skin & bone down there, not a lot of soft tissue & vasculature.
2. SUPPLIMENTS: Get a list of everything you've been taking and find out how long to hold off. There are many doc will want you to avoid postop.
3. MENTAL HEALTH: When you go from 10K+/day to barely hobbling to and from the bathroom….it's going to take a hit. Just know that going in and react as needed.
4. CALORIES: This is not the time to lose weight. Don't even think about calorie restriction because "I'm not moving much". My appetite took a major hit and I'm down 9lbs in 3wks. It's been hard for me to get to even get to 1700cals. Your mileage may vary, but generally speaking healing a surgical site and fracture is a lot of extra work.

I've seen several other closed threads about fractures. For those of you that are further than 3weeks out with displaced / ORIF type fractures, what did you find useful going into your 4-8 week postop period?