Nothing is making the itching stop. The worst part is that the left side of my leg has nerve damage and is slightly numb from where a screw was put in, and the sensation extends to my knee. The feeling is very strange. Thankfully it’s only the left side of my leg. The right side, that had the more extensive hardware put in, (2 tightrope devices) is totally fine in regards to nerves.
I can’t wait until I’m fully recovered. This whole ordeal is the worst.
I’m not sure if it’s feasible for you to get it but gabapentin might help. It’s usually prescribed for neuropathy type pain. I have an old surgery scar that sometimes itches from the inside (if that makes sense) and I’ll take a gabapentin to get it to stop.
I’m already on baba for my headaches :(
I didn’t know they treated headaches with gabapentin! Is that prescribed off label? How’s it working for you?
I took a look at your post history to see if you mentioned an underlying diagnosis and saw you’ve taking antidepressants. There are a couple that help nerve pain, secondary to acting as an SSRI; duloxetine and venlafaxine. If you’re not already on one of those and the nerve damage becomes painful, it might be worth asking if you can try one of those.
The gabapentin works pretty well for my headaches. I take 400mg daily and it does well combined with the aimovig I take once a month. I only get about one migraine a month now.
I am currently on venlafaxine for my depression. My psychiatrist also put me on amitriptyline for the nerve pain and it’s taken the pain away for the most part. Now I’m just dealing with the weird numbness and annoying itchiness. I left a message for my surgeon to see if I should be worried about the numbness. It’s starting to spread and I just wanna make sure it’s nothing serious lol.
Gabapentin is great for long term nerve pain, but I can’t imagine a doctor prescribing gabapentin for something as short term as wound healing - at least not in the UK. Heat, distraction, OTC antihistamines and maybe a prescription for something like zopiclone for short term relief if the itching is preventing sleep completely, should provide enough relief from the itchiness.
OP, I’m not sure if you can stand at the moment, but be extra careful when standing up if the loss of feeling extends to your foot. I have neuropathy and dislocated my ankle just getting up off the sofa before it was diagnosed. It definitely takes some getting used to and taking more care over how you step. Get well soon!
Thank you for the advice! I am non-weightbearing until December 8th. After that I can walk with my boot thing on. I’ll still be using my walker then as a precaution. I don’t want to fall and break anything else.
I’m going to take things slow so I don’t need any future surgeries. My mom had ankle surgery and didn’t care for herself properly and started doing things too fast. She ended up needing a second surgery because of that, and now she probably needs a third, but is putting off going to a doctor. I do not want to end up in a situation like that.
Gabapentin wouldn’t do anything for wound healing. I only mentioned it since OP said they had nerve damage in that area. The itching from the healing can exacerbated the nerve pain and the signals get crossed making everything feel worse. If it is an option it’s certainly worth a try even in the short term.
You didn’t say whether you were talking about the nerve pain or the itching mentioned in the title, so I was clarifying.