This Could Only Happen To Me (Updated 6/13--PROGRESS!!!!)

[terpkristin]

Given my history of injuries, this really could only happen to me. As some of you know, my hand's been hurting for about 2 weeks now, in the same place I broke it about 3 years ago (broke it and had to have surgically repaired). I finally went and saw a doc today about it, they took new x-rays and it appears that I've managed to re-injure it somehow. The doc wants to see my post-op x-rays from 3 years ago to compare, but it definitely appears that the head of my fifth metacarpal isn't sitting on there quite properly, and that something's "not right." My hand feels like it did when my hand was "partially healed," like it did when it was healed but not healed right, and the x-ray looks like that's in fact the case.

Of course, I have no idea HOW I hurt my hand. With my ankle, I can't do any of the things I used to do that would potentially cause me to hurt it. I haven't punched any walls or anything lately, and really, if I *did* re-break it at some point, I'm pretty sure I'd know (that pain is going to be hard for me to forget).

Anyway, since it looks like it's sort of healed, until the doc sees my old x-rays, she doesn't want to cast me, as that will significantly stiffen my hand. Instead, she's referred me to a hand therapist to get a splint made. I called literally 5 different hand therapists, none of them can see me until next week at the earliest. The doc wanted me to get the splint today, if possible... So now, I'm in pain, and I know there's something wrong and can't really get it taken care of potentially until next week. Ok, fine, I'm a big girl, it sucks because it hurts to type and write and generally use my hand, but I can suck up pain.

So then I call my old doc to try and get my old x-rays. At this old doc's office, I was a "frequent flyer." I was there so often that the UPS Delivery guy realized I was there all the time and started knowing me by name. So I called and the x-ray tech says he can't find any records for me. He looked 3 times, going back to 2002 (the last time I was in that office was 2003), can't find any record of x-rays. I had many x-rays done there, on my ankle, hand, knee, shoulders....as I said, I was a "regular."

So now I'm in pain, have no idea how different my hand is now than it was then, can't get a splint made, and apparently can't get my old records. All as a result of an injury I can't remember "getting." I swear, I'm very talented. And moderately frustrated.

Just when I thought I was doing so well on not having to see orthopaedic docs....
It could be a lot worse, just seems to fit with my history...

/tk

[saldana]

make the new doctor call the specialists about the splint instead of you calling...i bet they will be able to "squeeze you in" then

[oliegirl]

Ugh - sorry! We can suffer through Ortho procedures together though...I had a splint made for my hand last year, but had it done at a PT clinic/Hand Specialist, are there any of those in your area? If all else fails, call your current Ortho in tears and have them find someone for you :)

[DaddyTorgo]

without even reading my first thought is: "what new phyical problem can TK have??"

[Coffee Warlord]

SkyDog, if you read this thread, I command you to change TK's title to "The Bionic Woman"

[DaddyTorgo]

SkyDog, if you read this thread, I command you to change TK's title to "The Bionic Woman"

or what was the name of samuel l jackson's character in "unbreakable" ?? the super-breakable guy...lil help!

[TazFTW]

or what was the name of samuel l jackson's character in "unbreakable" ?? the super-breakable guy...lil help!

Mr. Glass?

I think that was his super name. His normal name was like Elijah something.

[terpkristin]

4/15 Update:

Well, I finally got an appointment to get the splint made, so I'm getting it made on Tuesday (a week and a day after I found out that I in fact did hurt my hand again). My hand's still sore, but it's a little less sore since I've started protecting it by using it as little as I can.

The doc said that she thinks one of three things happened:
1. I re-broke it without knowing it.
2. An infection caused the bone to deform.
3. The bones "re-settled" after I had the pins removed after the surgery 3 years ago.

If I had to guess, based on what I know, I think I probably re-broke it, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how I would have done that without knowing (lord knows I knew it was broken the first time!). I just think that if I'd had an infection, I'd have noticed (I'd have had a fever, been wiped out, hand probably would have swelled and/or gotten red...), and that 3 years is a long time for the bones to re-settle and "all of a sudden" hurt. Any of the medical bretheren have any thoughts?

Also on Tuesday I'm going to go to Rockville to get one of my sets of x-rays. My former surgeon's office still can't find any of my hand x-rays. The x-ray tech says I'm not even in the computer, i.e. he can find no record of ANY of my films (I had my shoulders, knees, ankles, and hand x-ray'd there, this is a big loss). I'm not sure what the next course of action is going to be. I guess I'll call Monday and see if they have a "patient services coordinator" or something who I can talk to. The x-ray tech didn't exactly seem like the sharpest tool in the shed, maybe he's doing something wrong. Anyway, the x-rays I'm picking up are my first post-op x-rays (taken at a different place, because on the day of my first post-op appointment, the x-ray machine in the office was down), which should show the new doc at least how the bones were set. It'd be so much better to find the films that were taken after the pins came out, but I guess something is better than nothing. Anybody have any ideas on how else I might be able to track down my records? Is it really likely that they're 100% lost?!?

Anyway. I can't wait til Tuesday to get this splint, I could use the support and reminder that it'll offer. I swear, I'm such a klutz, this could only happen to me.

/tk

[Poli]

Sorry to hear this, TK. Good news on my side. Punkin hasn't had a new injury in 6 months now!

[Vince]

:( good luck with the hand -- hopefully it's not a long process to get it fixed.

[stevew]

I never knew cases of "nintendo thumb" could get so serious. Good luck with your recovery.

[NoMyths]

Also on Tuesday I'm going to go to Rockville to get one of my sets of x-rays.

Looking at your watch a third time waiting in the station for a bus
Going to a place that's far, so far away and if that's not enough
Going where nobody says hello, they don't talk to anybody they don't know
You'll wind up in some factory that's full time filth and nowhere left to go
Walk home to an empty house, sit around all by yourself
I know it might sound strange, but I believe
You'll be coming back before too long

Don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville
And waste another year

At night I drink myself to sleep and pretend
I don't care if you're not here with me
'Cause it's so much easier to handle
All my problems if I'm too far out to sea
But something better happen soon
Or it's gonna be too late to bring you back

Don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville
And waste another year

It's not as though I really need you
If you were here I'd only bleed you
But everybody else in town only wants to bring you down and
That's not how it ought to be
I know it might sound strange, but I believe
You'll be coming back before too long

Don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville
And waste another year

[terpkristin]

I got my splint made today and picked up one set of films.

I hurt. And the more I look at my first post-op films, the more convinced I am that I somehow managed to rebreak my hand without knowing it.

/tk

[Warhammer]

Looking at your watch a third time waiting in the station for a bus
Going to a place that's far, so far away and if that's not enough
Going where nobody says hello, they don't talk to anybody they don't know
You'll wind up in some factory that's full time filth and nowhere left to go
Walk home to an empty house, sit around all by yourself
I know it might sound strange, but I believe
You'll be coming back before too long

Don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville
And waste another year

At night I drink myself to sleep and pretend
I don't care if you're not here with me
'Cause it's so much easier to handle
All my problems if I'm too far out to sea
But something better happen soon
Or it's gonna be too late to bring you back

Don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville
And waste another year

It's not as though I really need you
If you were here I'd only bleed you
But everybody else in town only wants to bring you down and
That's not how it ought to be
I know it might sound strange, but I believe
You'll be coming back before too long

Don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville
And waste another year

Damn, beat me to it.

[terpkristin]

I saw the doc again today, hand still hurts, really doesn't feel any better (it's been about 5.5 weeks since it started hurting). I'm in a splint, which helps support it, but if I take off the splint, using my hand still hurts, and it's still sore, even in the splint. She took more x-rays, and also took a look at my old x-rays from after I broke it last time (I had brought her my pre-op x-rays and my x-rays from the day we took the pins out).

She now thinks/is afraid that I rebroke it somehow a bit ago and it's been aggravated, or that there is an infection in the bone, OR that the bone is dying/dead.

If it's just "simply" rebroken and not healing, then surgery to re-realign it probably in order. If it's an infection (my hand shows no signs of infection, but she says it's still possible), we can treat it with antibiotics and then just have to worry about making sure it all goes away. If it's dead bone, she's afraid she'd have to do a joint replacement (I don't know anything about that, but it sounds almost as sucky as having my ankle fused). I heard her talking to one of her associates about how I'm so young to have that done (I'm 26), but she did look in my chart to see I had my ankle fused at 24 (something they typically don't do on patients under 50-60), so I guess I'm not a "normal" patient (her colleague was apparently the ankle specialist in the practice and came to see me, to ask who did the surgery, etc. When I told him it was Mark Myerson, he was like, "Ah, Mark...well, he'd know best...").

So I had to get blood drawn today (I guess to look for signs of infection) and also an MRI of my hand done, with and without gadalinium contrast. I have the films now, wish I knew how to interpret them. I go back to the doc on 8 May, where we'll figure out what's next. I do know that if she wants to do any kind of surgery, I'm going to seek a 2nd opinion. I'm just not sure I'm really ready for another surgery.

/tk

[Mr. Wednesday]

If it's dead bone, she's afraid she'd have to do a joint replacement (I don't know anything about that, but it sounds almost as sucky as having my ankle fused). I heard her talking to one of her associates about how I'm so young to have that done (I'm 26)...
One of my classmates had necrosis of the ball on his femur (where it goes into the hip) and had to have a graft done at Duke. The alternative would have been a hip replacement. I think he's ~23.

[oliegirl]

TK, I hope everything works out! My mom has had 2 knee replacements, the first one was a nightmare, the second one went very easy...they just told me after my surgery that I will definitely need a knee replacement, and possibly within the next 5 - 10 years. :(

Keep us posted on what happens with your hand!!!!

[Anthony]

cowboy up

[albionmoonlight]

tk--

Did you ever see Unbreakable? You remind me of the Samuel L. Jackson character.

[stevew]

Ms. Glass.

Perfect title. Well, second only to "Has Started Shaving." ;)

Good luck and good wishes for that hand.

[WSUCougar]

Hang in there, TK.

[sterlingice]

Ms. Glass.

Oh, that's beautiful. I like that! :D

SI

[Celeval]

Wishing you all the best, TK.

[terpkristin]

Thanks for the well-wishes, guys! I seriously hope that you are all at the same time chuckling at me/my ability to hurt myself doing next to nothing. I mean, I'm almost amused by it, it's a bit nuts...

Anyway, I don't see the doc again until Monday (May 8) but I was getting antsy wanting to know what the MRI said, so I called the MRI place and got a copy of my results. The upshot is that MRI shows no dead bone and no infection, so I assume she's going to say that it was rebroken at some point...or, at least, tweaked significantly.

When I broke it last time, I spent 2 months in a cast, and when the cast came off, the x-rays showed that the bone had healed, but that it was still mal-aligned. It was still hurting at that point, so the assumption by the doctor then was that it had "healed" but healed "poorly," which is why I was still in pain. It was certainly possible, because when I broke it, it was an angulated fracture such that the head of my knuckle was actually pointing inwards towards my palm instead of outward toward my fingers. We opted to do surgery, so he re-broke my hand and put 2 pins in it. However, when he set it in surgery, he didn't have it 100% aligned...it was still offset a bit, though it was pointing in the right direction.

Because it feels almost EXACTLY the same way now as it did before, I'm guessing that I somehow managed to either slightly re-break it (and have it re-heal "poorly") or otherwise tweaked the balnce it was re-set at. I'm also guessing that when I see the doctor on Monday, she may suggest another surgery to re-rebreak it and set it. Even if she does recommend, that, though, I'm going to get a 2nd opinion...I think I've come to terms with the fact that I might need yet another surgery, but given the problems I had last time in surgery (the anesthesiologist giving me a drug I'm allergic to and that aftermath...), plus the fact that I've had a lot of surgeries already in a fairly short period of time, I want to make sure that surgery is the only option.

So yes, feel free to laugh. And start a campaign/petition to have SkyDog change my user info to say Ms. Glass instead of "Pro Prospect," because let's face it, once any pro team discovers my litany of injuries, I'll no longer be a prospect. ;) :p

/tk

[terpkristin]

Well I saw the doc again this morning. She revealed what I already knew, that the MRI's showed no evidence of necrosis or osteomylenitis (bone death or infection, respectively), and came to the conclusion that I thought she would: somehow I managed to create another malunion or non-union in the joint. This can be seen in both the x-ray and the MRI. She also said that the MRI shows that the bone is thinner than it should be and that she thinks it's somewhat dislocated from where it should be.

At this point, all signs are pointing to surgery of some sort, though she threw me a curve ball today and said that even though there isn't necrosis, she thinks my best option might be metacarpal joint replacement. However, she doesn't really want to do that to me, if it can be avoided, because those replacements "don't last forever" (her words), and since I'm so young for this type of surgery, I'd probably need it at least once more in my lifetime (I'll be 27 this year, already I've had one surgery that is rarely done on people who don't qualify for AARP benefits). Because neither she nor I are keen on that drastic a step, yet, though, she is perscribing a bone stimulator for me to use for 6 weeks, then evaluate where we are.

I am also seeking out a second opinion/advice from the hand specialists at Union Memorial Hospital. I guess that one good thing about living in the area that I do is that there's a plethora of very good physicians for me to get the best possible care (recall that my ankle surgeon is literally the guy who wrote the book on modern ankle treatments, oddly enough, also up in Baltimore).

So that's the deal for right now. Six more weeks in the splint and not using my hand much (it's already been ~7 weeks), but hopefully the bone stimulator will help me avoid surgery...

/tk

[Eaglesfan27]

Good positive point, tk. You are in an area that is a hotbed for quality docs. Good luck with the bone stimulator. I've seen a few cases where they helped quite a bit.

[kcchief19]

Kristin, this has just been brutal to follow. I can't imagine how annoying it's been. I had a ruptured patella tendon 2 1/2 years ago and I'm still not 100 percent; my surgeon gave me zero rehab and after feeling better initially there is no so much grinding in my knee that it drives me crazy. I empathize big time, and I haven't even had a 1/4 as many problems as you.

However, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw that last sentence ...
Six more weeks in the splint and not using my hand much (it's already been ~7 weeks), but hopefully the bone stimulator will help me avoid surgery...
Hang in there, tk.

[Flasch186]

what is a bone simulator? electro-stimulus?

[Eaglesfan27]

<TABLE cellPadding=5 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>Flasch, this is info from one of the leading companies. There are others out there as well.

EBI Bone Healing System<SUP>®</SUP>
</TD></TR><TR><TD>http://www.ebimedical.com/images/products/bonehealing.jpgAn adjunctive treatment alternative in the treatment of nonunions, failed fusions, and congenital pseudarthroses in the appendicular system.

Overview
EBI is the original developer and leading provider of bone growth stimulators
Introduced in 1979 as a noninvasive alternative or adjunct to surgery
Indicated for nonunion fractures, failed fusions and congenital pseudarthrosis
FLX<SUP>®</SUP> Flexible Treatment Coil is placed directly over fracture site
Produces impulses called Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMFs) which can help grow bone and heal fracturesFeatures and Benefits
May heal fractures earlier*
Does not require surgery
Has been prescribed by over 25,000 surgeons
A safe and painless device worn externally over the fracture site
Lightweight, comfortable and easy to use
May be worn during normal daily routine or while sleeping
Cost-effective treatment
Device is clipped to a belt (worn like a pager)Dose Response and Importance to Patient
Healing may occur earlier when the EBI Bone Healing System<SUP>®</SUP> is worn for the recommended 10 hours per day*Scientific Research
The EBI Bone Healing System<SUP>®</SUP> is the most widely studied bone growth stimulator
Over 250 clinical papers published, demonstrating successful patient outcomes
Over 300 basic science research studies published supporting EBIs proprietary PEMF signal as an effective method for promoting the healing of fracturesEBI Orthopaedic Advisory Panel
Medical Advisory Panel available to review cases sent in by treating physicians
Complimentary service provided by four experienced board-certified orthopaedic surgeons</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

My mom recently (6 weeks ago) had severe breaks of multiple bones in her R arm which necessitated plate placement. The Orthopod and I talked about it and she was prescribed one of these devices to help healing. So far, she seems to be healing a bit earlier than expected.

[terpkristin]

EF,
Thanks for the info on the bone stimulator, I didn't know much about them..actually, all I knew (thought I knew?) was that JS19 was perscribed one recently for his neck injury. Glad to hear that your mom seems to be having a good experience using it (hopefully she'll continue to recover well!).

kcchief,
I had the same (childish?) thought as you when I was leaving my doc's office this morning. I couldn't help from placing an "r" onto the end of "bone" in the phrase, no matter how hard I tried to get that thought out of my head. :D

/tk

[terpkristin]

Little updates.
I get my bone stimulator tomorrow.
I see a doc in Baltimore for a second opinion on Thursday.

Other than that, same old, same old..

/tk

[JS19]

I should have read this thread earlier, bc as you mentioned above I was prescribed this bone stimulator and was very curious as to its purpose and such. I go back to the doctor on thursday for results from my latest ct scan. It's possible the whole healing process can happen 1 month ahead of what they had originaly thought, so if it is i'll ask him how much of that he would attribute to the bone stimulator and let you know.

[terpkristin]

I got the bone stimulator yesterday. I really have no idea if it'll work...partly because today I went to see a specialist up in Baltimore.

I hated the guy, though he's reputed to be quite good and my mom liked him. He looked at my X-rays and MRI's and he thinks there's no malunion or delayed union. He also took some flurouscan images.

The MRI and fluoroscan sort of suggested I should have pain in the joint itself--near the head of the bone. The fluoroscan shows that the top of the bone is not well-shaped and has rough edges. However, most of my pain is still in the bone itself, at the neck (where I broke it before) so he doesn't know what to make of it. He also injected some lidocane into my hand to see if that'd ease any of the pain, to rule out skin-level and nerve problems. It helped, but only slightly, so he doesn't think that either of those are the cause of the pain.

He's ordered a bone scan and a CT of my hand now to see if there's an occult fracture. If not, he's stumped and thinks I should try pain managment (I did some of that with little success in the past with my ankle, after my fusion, so I'm not keen on that).

All in all, I'm incredibly frustrated. Knowing me, I wouldn't be surprised if somehow the damage to the head of my bone is causing the pain at the neck. They're not that far apart, physically, and I do have a history of trauma there. But he seems to have ruled out anything with the head of the bone and the joint, even though you can see obvious deformities on the head (and the joint itself doesn't have as much space between it and the PIP as the other fingers).

I've now been hurting for 2 months and it's not really gotten any better. As I said, I didn't like this doctor, but I'll go back at some point to him, at least to find out the results of the bone scan and CT scan (scheduled for next week). Any of the docs here have any thoughts? Am I completely off my rocker to think that maybe I'm getting some weird transferrence of pain from the head of the metacarpal to the neck?

/tk

[Eaglesfan27]

Orthopedics was always one of my weakest areas and I don't know enough to be helpful on this issue. Sorry, tk. I hope you get some answers and relief soon.

[terpkristin]

I had a bone scan and CT of my hand done today. I really wish I knew how to read these films.

Anyway, the scans were to rule out an occult fracture. I don't know about the CT, but I did notice that the bone scan tracer accumulated at the site of my pain (where the previous fracture was/and possibly up to the top of the metacarpal head). WebMD has this to say about bone scans: "The tracer may accumulate in certain areas of the bone, indicating one or more hot spots. Hot spots may be caused by a fracture that is healing, bone cancer, a bone infection (osteomyelitis), arthritis, or a disease of abnormal bone metabolism (such as Paget's disease)."

The doc I saw lasat week doesn't think it's an occult fracture (though did get the scans to rule it out), bone cancer doesn't seem likely (based on other tests), bone infection has been ruled out (by blood test and MRI), the doc doesn't think it's arthritis (more on that in a sec), and I don't know anything about a disease of abnormal bone metabolism.

Now, the doc I saw last week, reputed to be very good (though I didn't like him, knowledgable as he may have been) didn't think it was arthritis because I seem to be having pain below the joint itself. My pain feels to me like it's more at the previous fracture site, which was at the top of the metacarpal neck, just as it widens to form the head. That all said, I'm not sure I can personally believe arthritis is ruled out...I mean, I *do* have pain to the touch, but I also have pain to USE my hand (such that I can barely type, or write, or play video games, or do my cross-stitching or other crafts).

On another note, I decided to take matters into my own hands a bit (pun intended) and work on some pain management techniques that DID work for me in the past (with my ankle), so I've been taking my hand out of the splint and doing ice massage and range of motion exercises. The ice massage I'm doing twice a day, and the ROM I'm doing about 10 times a day, a few minutes at a time. I've been doing this for a week now, and it seems that the pain JUST TO TOUCH my hand has eased up a bit, though the pain to use my hand hasn't eased at all. I don't know if this easement is because of the stuff I'm doing or because of the bone stimulator (which I've used now for about a week, too), but at least I'm making SOME progress...I just wish it were "useful" progress. It's fine and dandy that I can now touch my hand, but if I still can't use it, it's not very...useful.

Anyway. I follow-up with the doc that I don't like next Friday, so maybe I'll have some answers then.

/tk

[RendeR]

I'm sure your doctors have ruled this out, but last year during our move to Buffalo i severely pinched the nerve in my right thumb that runs along the inside of the thumb/forefinger are. I had INTENSE pain to use the thumb and severe to moderate pain just touching it.

While the pain was centered at the tip of my thumb, my doctors said the damage was probably lower along the nerve where the pinch damage occurred. They prescribed anti-inflammatories and told me to just be careful because nothing they could do would fix it and it had to heal naturally.

It took damned near 6 months to heal and finnally go away.

As I said, I'm sure they probably ruled this out already, but the comments you made about the pain being in one spot while a pain-causer may well be in another made me think of my own injury.

Hope you get well soon.

Ren

[terpkristin]

Another update. Kind of a long one this time, since I forgot to update when I last saw the doc in B'more.
So, after having the bone scan and CT scan done as ordered by the doc in Baltimore, I had to go back so he could tell me what they said. The scans showed (based on me reading the reports) that there were signs of arthritis, and also that the metacarpal head is slightly subluxed and that it is deformed (the latter two we already knew). The scans did rule out an occult fracture, though since it was noted that I had at that point been doing bone stim for 3 weeks, it may have healed enough to rectify that (per the scan report). The bone scan results, as I mentioned earlier, were consistent with arthritis or bone healing.

The problem I had with the doc from the first visit, that he didn't seem to believe me, and ruled out things without listening to me, stayed this time. He no longer thought that my pain was in my head, but had ruled out arthritis to himself, so didn't seem to care that the scan reports showed signs of it. Also, when I tried to tell him what I was doing to make it better (and what made it worse), he dismissed it out of hand, without even letting me get halfway through saying what made it worse and better.

I mean, maybe he's "that good" of a doc that he can rule things out without listening to the pateient, but when he tells me that he doesn't know exactly what's going on or why I have pain, and seems to rule out things despite scan evidence, I have no reason to take his opinion on anything.
<script><!-- D(["mb","get HIS opinion on the matter.**more or less, i\'ve considered the doc in b\'more to be a total waste of 3 days of work and 12+ hrs of driving back and forth*.* i would have been OK with listening to him if he listened to me (on both visits, i tried to tell him what i could tell of my hand,*how things get better, worse, where specificially, he wouldn\'t let me finish talking or get my thoughts out all the way)*but i had no reason to think he was taking the whole*picture into consideration...so if he\'s not going to look at the whole picture to make a recommendation, why hsould i think his recommendation has any validity?\n</dir></dir></dir></dir></div>",1] ); D(["mb","

--
GO TERPS!
http://gimpygal.blogspot.com/ (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/)
&quot;Well-behaved women rarely make history.&quot;**-Laurel Thatcher Ulrich \n\n
",0] ); D(["ce"]); //--></script>So basically, in the end, he said he didn't think surgery was going to help much, but I have a hard time believing him because he didn't listen to my case and frankly, I can't really believe any doc who doesn't listen to my case. Granted, I don't want surgery, but the way things stand now, my hand IS feeling better. It still hurts quite a bit to use, to touch in "certain ways" and if I try to put it down and get up by putting pressure on that last knuckle, I get a pop feeling and sound that I think is the tendon moving over the bad area of the bone. So I'm not keen on surgery regardless, but IF I get to a point where the pain gets worse again or if it doesn't better in the "nearish" future I'll probably have to start considering surgery and if that's the case, I'll go back to my guy in Rockville who did my first surgery, and get HIS opinion on the matter.

More or less, I've considered the doc in B'more to be a total waste of 3 days of work and 12+ hrs of driving back and forth . I would have been OK with listening to him if he listened to me (on both visits, I tried to tell him what I could tell of my hand, how things get better, worse, where specificially, he wouldn't let me finish talking or would just start talking over me) but I had no reason to think he was taking the whole picture into consideration...so if he's not going to look at the whole picture to make a recommendation, why should I think his recommendation has any validity?

NOW for the update from today's doctor visit...
I've been doing bone stim for about a month now and my hand is feeling better. As I noted before, it's not perfect. I'm still using the splint, and if I don't use the splint, it still hurts to touch in certain ways (and shaking hands--I had a meeting where I took off my splint and then didn't think when I was shaking hands with someone, I almost cried), and to use, but it is notably better. Even better, this time, my X-rays looked better. Obviously I still have a few little issues (the subluxation of the knuckle and the deformation of the head) but the X-ray showed that the bone was...I guess more dense? It was whiter, healthier looking on the x-ray than it looked 6 weeks ago, when I last had an x-ray.

The "s" word wasn't mentioned once during this visit!!! :) Unfortunately I have to keep using the splint, and also keep doing bone stim for another 4 weeks til I see the doc again, but for once, it seems like we have some improvement...

In the end, I'm not sure what we can chalk this up to, either an occult fracture or arthritis of some sort, but the fact that it feels better and looks better on the x-rays makes me pretty happy. :)

Hopefully after my next visit I'll have even better news!!!
/tk

[finkenst]

yay! good news to hear that, kristin!

--tim