Wrist Saga

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I have been away for a while due to many reasons! I am now officially

graduated (ceremony ison june 4th) and completely moved home (which is

definatly hard leaving my boyfriend). Well I have had quite the week!

Last friday (April 23rd), I went to get up off the bed, you know

placing your hands behind you to give yourself a little leverage to

scooch to the edge of the bed, and there was an audible pop pop, then

i apparently (according to andrew) went pure white, and got an

automatic headache and felt very very naseaus! It appears that I

dislocated not only my wrist but my thumb at the same time. After 15

minutes, lots of ice, lots of pain pills (but not too many!) and lots

of patience I got it all back in. By this time, putting it out,

getting it back in, lying down for quite a while with an ice back on

my wrist and head to try to feel better head and stomachwise, it was

about 4am and I really didnt want to go to the emergency room, so i

put my splint on (i believe it is a CTS splint but it keeps the wrist

from being able to bend). On the weekend I felt really drained of

energy and wasnt feeling too well, andrew had to drive everywhere, and

i noticed that my wrist was actually swollen (VERY rare for me!). So

I started taking ibprifin on a constant basis and keeping it either

splinted or wrapped at all times.

Well on monday we woke up and realized that his roomate hadnt paid the

gas bill so we were without heat and hot water! Not fun! Plus his

other roomate had transfered internet access to his new place leaving

us without an internet connection (an essential for two computer

science students! ). That night we had one of my friends over for

supper and played a few games of Party 5 on GameCube. Well by

the time they went home around midnight, andrew was still on me to go

to the emergency room (he had been asking me to go all weekend, but i

kept figureing it would get better soon). Well around 1:30am we

called telehealth (service in ontario where you can speak to a nurse

to help figure out what to do). Well the nurse told us to get to the

hospital immediatly! I was basically going because it hurt so much,

andrew wanted to make sure it wasnt still dislocated. Here is the

timeline of events as to what happened:

2:27 -> Checked in, did the forms and stuff and was told to wait

3:15 -> Got taken back to an area of chairs in the minor trauma unit

to wait for the doctor

4:00 -> Dr comes, looks at it breifly, says yes there is something

wrong and sends me for xrays. Great thing is that the xray machine is

broken at that point. Just her looking at it and touching it left me

feeling sick. Thankfully andrew moved chairs around and let me lie

down on some chairs using him as a pillow to 'try to relax and get

some sleep'

5:00 -> Get taken back for xrays, they take an astounding 2 pictures,

and the movement itself made me naseaus.

6:00 -> Dr comes back and says that the wrist is still dislocated but

we are in luck because they have on on-call hand specialist coming in

at 6:30.

6:15 -> Really wasnt feeling good from all the playing with my wrist

and such so andrew went and got the nurses to give me a stretcher to

lay on in a cubicle so i could get some sleep.

6:45 -> Possibly from 'shock' of agrevation to my wrist I became very

very cold. so after using andrews sweater for 20 minutes as a blanket

a nurse come over and gives me a blanket

8:00 -> Dr comes back and says that she had just spoken to the

specialist who said that the dislocation sounded really serious and

would most likely require surgery. At this point she put my wrist in

a splint and wrapped in in a few ace bandages.

10:00 -> Specialist comes in, looks at the xrays and says there is

nothing wrong and to go home

10:10 -> Back in the car, in tears, on the way back to andrews

I went in because the pain was so bad and was making me feel sick

almost like I was in a constant state of feeling in mild 'shock'

(nasueas, dizzy, cold sweats/hot flashes, headache, exhausted) since

it happened. I got nothing for pain relief or any suggestions on

what to do next. Well, needless to say packing and getting home was

going to be very tricky! So andrew offered to help me pack up all my

stuff (and load the car all by himself) and drive me home (and my dad

bought him a train ticket to get back to kitchener).

Well I am home now, my hand still hurts a lot, and my thumb feels like

it is completly internally bruised, its swollen, and has some lack of

movement (VERY VERY Rare!!). Also a few of my knuckles on my hand are

very tender, like brushing up against something almost brings tears to

my eyes. I can also feel a tendon or something over a bone on the

same side as my thumb in my wrist that isnt on the other side. Right

now though it is defiantly the thumb that is causing the most pain. I

am still keeping it wrapped/splinted, taking ibprufin for swelling and

percodan demi's for pain control.

Talking to my mom tonight she thinks I should go in to the emergency

room here tomorrow (my family doctor is a moron and I definaltly dont

ever want to see him again and the er will have a greater chance of

getting answers as there shoudl be an OS on call). However what

scares me about that is the on call OS may be the same one that did my

first knee surgery and I definatly dont want to see him again.

So I have a few questions:

1) What does this all sound like to you guys?

2) Should I go to the ER or just go to a walk in clinic/ family doctor

or see if it just starts getting better (It has been a week now)

3) If my old OS is the on call doctor, can I refuse to see him and ask

for a referal to another OS?

Thank you all in advance and hope you are all doing well

Stacey

[Guest guest]

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I have been away for a while due to many reasons!

Well, Stacey, I had wondered where you had been! Now I know. I am

so SORRY that this has been such a PAIN for you - Literally! What a

dumb ass that hand 'expert' (and I use the word very LIGHTLY) was! I

don't have any advice for you, and hopefully, one of the nurses or x-

nurses on the list or Mike has answers for you. BUT I will pray for

you, girlfriend! Please let me know what happens and how it all

turns out for you.

I can certainly imagine you missing ! Please tell him for me

that Digi-Mom says hello, OK?

I'll be thinking of you and hoping the pain lessens very soon!

Sending postive thoughts and gentle hugs!

Love Lana