ER thinks ligament injury, DR is doing what insurance wants, so no MRI.. my foot has been swollen 7 days?

[wishfire10]

So last week early in the morning I twisted my ankle, it made a pop and I fell down the stairs. ER thinks I damaged my ligament, maybe a tear.. they did an xray.. nothing broken. . Im wearing an ace bandage, an air cast and im using crutches.. I followed up with my doctor on Monday who proceded to poke my swollen ankle till I cried.. needless to say, its been 7 days since I fell.. my ankle if anything is swelling more and sometimes hurting more.. is this normal for my ankle to still be swollen after a week? It looks like a golfball took up residence on my ankle

[DanAG]

How do you know this has anything whatsoever to do with insurance? I seriously doubt if that's the reason. Yes, the insurance companies complain about the zillions of MRIs that doctors order. And they have good reason to because doctors order them for every little thing. But if a doctor really thinks you should have an MRI he's going to order it, and screw what the insurance company thinks.

This particular doctor thinks you don't need one. Maybe try a different doctor.

[wishfire10]

Because my dr told me since the xrays showed no broken bones, the insurance did not want to do the mri. . Even though I told them the ER said it was strongly recommended to make sure I dont need surgery.. they want me to go right to physical therapy

[DanAG]

That sounds really strange that a doctor would say/do that. I don't see how the insurance company would even know about it until it's been turned in. And I don't see how they could make a blanket statement refusing to pay for MRIs when no broken bones show on the X-ray. It almost sounds like the doctor is making excuses for some reason... but that doesn't make sense either.

Would this be an HMO by chance?

[wishfire10]

Its military insurance, everything gets approved before it gets done.

[DanAG]

Ahhh, if it's military then it's a whole different ballgame. I have no idea how they do things. I've dealt with government insurance, but not military. My father worked for the military, but was a civilian. His insurance would pretty much pay for anything.

[wishfire10]

My dr said they want me to go to physical therapy.. but she said I can't go yet, due to not being able to walk.. and she can't feel my ligaments with it being swollen with her fingers and with me screaming. . She is going to try poking my ankle next week.. but my ankle is still the size of a golf ball after 7 days... I just have no idea if thats normal..

[DanAG]

Those kind of injuries can take a long time to heal. I don't know specifically what's wrong with your ankle, but I don't think 7 days is an excessive amount of time for it to be swollen like that. Injuries to joints can take weeks, months, or even years to heal.

I hurt both my knees last year. I have a history of knee injuries and I thought I completely wrecked them this time. I had similar swelling like what what you describe. Like half a golf ball sticking out just below my knee cap. Very steep sided and highly localized swelling, not general area swelling like I usually get. I could even move it around inside which I thought was weird. The injury itself worked itself out within 4-6 months. But over a year later that bump is still not completely gone.

[jmr2191]

Definitely abnormal. Possibly of the connective tissue. See your physician for a an MRI or CT. If he says insurance won't cover it, then tell him to pick an ICD code out of a hat and send it to your insurance company along with the test order for reimburisment.

[lace1228]

This is why I don't want to live in the United States. I honestly can't imagine living without health care.

[wishfire10]

I have healthcare

[BeInnovative]

Yes healthcare... The insurance company which doesn't pay anything.. This is the definition in the us

[lace1228]

I am having a baby and see a doctor on a regular basis, I will be giving birth in a hospital that will provide me nurses around the clock, 2 nights and 3 meals. I will get 1 whole year off for maternity leave paid. Does your health care cover that? What about emergency c section? My husband tore a legiment on his big toe. He has a specialist looking after him. Does your health care cover that?