The swelling in my foot will not subside....any suggestions?

On Friday of last week I had a pretty bad fall. I was sure that my ankle was broken because I couldn't move my foot at all, and my ankle looked like it had a softball growing out of the side of it. I went to a doctor, he took x-rays and said he didn't see a break and called it a bad spraign. The problem is, here it is Wednesday, I still can't move my foot, the pain is still pretty intense, and no matter how much ice I put it on it, and keep it elevated, and take the anti-inflammatory pills, the swelling has not gone down. I still think it's broken because when I was a kid I did the same thing and they couldn't see the break on the x-ray because of the swelling, and didn't find it until 2 weeks later. I don't have health insurance and maxed out my credit card taking care of it already, so I can't afford to go back. What should I do?

I should add.....I am incredibly accident prone. I have broken this same ankle once about 16 years ago, and spraigned it 6 times. I have also torn the ligaments in this foot when I was a kid, and spraigned the other ankle twice. I have really bad balance...lol. Anyway, so I'm used to the norm of how it usually heals. And I have never had to wait so long to have the swelling go down.

stick it right up someones a s s !! LOL not only will you feel better cause you kicked the crap outta the person, but im pretty sure that it will help the swelling....jk.
or here is another thought, let your poor sister help you to hobble around again...cripple.

jk....love ya Des

well, the better solution for that is to soak the swollen part in a hot water after that put some oil on the swollen part and gently massage it..

sometimes putting an icebag on it dont work because it only contributes to the swelling and the pain... it just numbs the swollen part..

or u can consult the net regarding it.. im sure u can find helpful infos..

Sorry to hear about your foot. Friday to Wednesday isn't a lot of time for the kind of injury you're describing so my advice first would be to be patient. Keep up the ice. Keep it elevated. Do all you're doing because it sounds like it should work eventually. Stay off if it all you can. You could soak your foot in cold or ice water to help it if just wrapping it in ice doesn't seem to be doing the trick. I hope that all the advice you're getting helps you. I'd hate for your foot to be broken.

You sprained your foot/ankle less than a week ago!The most mild sprains take about 2 weeks to heal,and the most sever,about 8.Swelling should go down within the first two weeks,but you can expect to be swollen for quite some time.

My suggestions of what you should do:

Take ibuprofen to help with the swelling,and take Tylenol for the pain.Since ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory,it will bring down the swelling,and help with the pain.While this will help,the best thing that you can do for swelling is RICE:

Rest (don't walk too much,use crutches if walking is painful)
Ice (ice your foot and ankle for 20 minutes at least 3 times a day)
Compression (wear an ACE wrap,or better yet an ankle brace)
Elevation (sit with your foot propped up at least at hip level,above the heart is better)

If you don't see any improvement in another week,it's possible that you have a break,and you should go back to the doctor...Find a way to pay for it,because if ankle injuries are left without treatment,they will become much worse and harder to deal with!

Why are you thinking that your ankle had broken, it may be only simple injury. Keep thinking positive, and consult to an ortho surgeon. For pain you can take painkiller

try an ace bandage it might help

if your swelling has not substained, then its a good thing to put an ice pack on your foot. leave it on for about 10 minutes and the swelling should stop.