@subu Hello and welcome to Connect. You have a tough injury that happened not long ago. I understand the concern of not wanting to risk infection. Have you called your surgeon about this? One thing that comes to my mind is the risk of blood clots after an injury and surgery. A clot could be adding to swelling. They can do an ultrasound to find a clot. Clots also happen to people who don't walk. My elderly mom who uses a wheelchair has had some issues with clots and is on a blood thinner to prevent them. It took about 6 weeks if I remember right for the clot to dissipate. I remember at the beginning, her doctor had her use aspirin as a blood thinner before she was referred to a vascular specialist and put on Eloquis. Has your surgeon offered you a prescription for pain management?

I understand considering warnings about Tylenol and liver damage. That might be something to ask your surgeon about too. They would have information about how much of a risk it is for someone in your age group, and it also depends on how many other prescriptions you take regularly, and if you smoke or drink. Because the liver has to detoxify everything, including normal waste products from living, it has a big job to do. A trained medical professional will understand how those risks would relate to you personally, or if there is an alternative that is less toxic over a long period. Your doctor needs to help you decide what is best. You could ask about using a supplement call N- Acetyl Cysteine. It is a precursor that your body uses to make glutathione which is a master antioxidant that your body makes for detoxification. NAC is used in emergency rooms for detoxing Tylenol overdoses. A professional needs to say if and how much of that should be used.

I understand how painful fractures can be. I fractured my ankle badly 2 and half year sago, and it was very painful and a long recovery. I don't like to take pain medication either, and some really nauseates me, but having a fractured ankle swelling inside a hard fiberglass cast was pure torture. I had to use pain meds to get through it all, and I elevated my foot all the time above my heart and just lived on the couch. I minimized using pain drugs as best I could and used ice packs to help with pain. I found that using a half dose of pain meds containing codeine worked well enough and I was less nauseous.

Would you please share what your surgeon advises? Has anyone looked for possible blood clots?