Wrist Fusion

Posted Saturday, March 10, 2007 8:50 AM

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Judy - Good to hear from you! Hope you feel better soon...try not to be too discouraged. Honestly...it was weeks before I felt better. I began to wonder if I'd made a horrible mistake bc it hurt soooo bad. But..in the end I feel great and do not regret having the total fusion done. Hang in there...there is light at the end of the tunnel.

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Posted Sunday, March 11, 2007 6:04 AM

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Janet, thanks for the words of encoragement. I really needed that. I am starting to feel a tiny bit better. Pain med really do wonders.. I just didn't think that the pain was going to be that awful!! I just pray to god that this is my last surgery! How are you doing?

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Posted Sunday, March 11, 2007 5:28 PM

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Hi all,
Well i had the surgery. My doctor said that the reason why i was in so much pain was because my last surgery was a failure! I had 6 screws in my wrist and my nerves and the blood vessels were all growing in and around the screws plus the screws were coming loose!!
I am in so much pain! I ended up going to the emergency room @ 3:30 yesterday morning! I had no feeling in my fingers! They were totally numb! So i went to my doctor's office yesterday afternoon. My banadges were too tight. He also gave me a RX for antioboics (just to be on the safe side). This surgery has caused me to be in more pain than all of my surgeries combined! I sure hope that it start's feeling alittle bettter soon. Janet, how long was it before you started to feel better? I can hardly move my fingers. They set me up with this EBIce machine. I wear it on the back of my hand/wrist, it has two tubes coming out of iy and it attaches to these 2 tubes that are hooked up to a small ice chest, there is a small pump in the ice chest and it has a control knob on it that i can set to mild cold up to coldest. I put ice and water in it and it will auto. go on and off so that i always have cold ice water going through. Besides helping with the swelling, it is supposed to help stop the pain. It somehow is messing with the nerves and that is supposed to help block the pain.
I tell ya, i was really begining to wish that i hadn't had the surgery! That's how bad i was hurting. I am still in alot of pain but it's only been 2 1/2 days. But i have had problems with the swelling after each of my surgeries but this has been the worst!
My husband has been the greatest. Poor guy, i really gave him a rough time on Thursday. He just didn't know how to handle my crying. When i went to the ER they gave me a shot for pain and that really helped me alot.
Enough of me, how are the two of you doing?

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Posted Sunday, March 11, 2007 5:43 PM

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Shannon,
how are you doing? it sounds like you have been having your fair share of pain also! i'm sorry to hear that. i hope that things are going better for you.
what is causing your wrist to fuse fully? Can they stop that from happening? how is your tailbone doing?
i tell ya, this last surgery was something else. i saw my wrist on friday as they changed the bandages and i have at least 12 staples on the back of my hand, going down my wrist! I'll bet those are going to hurt like hell when they take them out on the 19th. Take care

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Posted Sunday, March 11, 2007 11:11 PM

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Judy, and Janet
Glad to hear about the surgery going ok, sorry about the pain. I was in alot of pain afterwards and was in tears also. I talked to the resident on call and he said there wasn't really anything to do for the pain and made me tough it out. That sucked! Pain wise right now I'm doing pretty well, my therapist bent my splint back further again friday and that agravated it. I'm having alot of problems with muscle spams and tendon tightness. I am going to call my md about a muscle relaxer or something tomm. I don't understand why everything is so tight it's been a month. I wish I had one of those ice things that sounds pretty neat. My therapist gave me this glove to wear and it took the swelling right down. I even wear it now just for comfort. I think staples are better than stiches. My incisioin looks great and is FINALLY healed. How long was it when you restarted work after your partial fusion? I restarted my arthritis med and my tail bone is slowly healing. Keep me posted. Wish me luck I'm going to get measured tomm to see my progress. talk to you guys later.

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Posted Thursday, March 15, 2007 11:23 PM

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Judy and Janet
how are you guys, Judy how is the surgery goin? everything ok??
I went to therpay and my extension has only increased 3 degreees which is nothing. They said my scar adheared to my tendon causin the low numbers. So next md visit I will probaly have to be put in an extenion splint. It has these wires that they thighten and it slowly bends the wrist back. I hope this surgery was not a mistake. I just need reassurence that this was the wright thing to do. How is you pain and everything else let me know.
bye

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Posted Friday, March 16, 2007 7:31 PM

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Shannon---Sounds like you just aren't having very good luck with this surgery...I'm sure sorry. I almost hate to say that I'm doing fine...no pain at all. Hang in there...

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Posted Monday, March 19, 2007 12:39 AM

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Shannon,
Sorry to hear that you are having a rough time. hang in there, ok. Things will get better but i know how you are feeling, i've been there before & i am praying that this will be my last surgery. I go to see my dr tomorrow, to have my staples & stiches taken out. Then i will be put in a cast. My pain level is an up one day, down the next day thing. I am in constant pain, just sometimes not as bad as some days. I still can't sleep in bed. My husband & i went away for the nite last nite & talk about a terrible nite's sleep! So i am back in my recyliner again tonight, thank-god!!
My dr told me that my last surgery was a complete failure! There are times when i get so darn depressed about all of this!
I'm sorry Shannon, i am not trying to upset you or anything but i sure hope that you don't end up having to have another surgery. Are you still off of work? How's your tailbone doing? All healed?
I was off of work for 8 weeks after my partial fusion. I received a copy of my doctor's report & it says that after i have my stiches & staples removed that I'll be in a cast for approx two months!
Well guess that i had better get going. have to get up early to be at the doctor's. Take care & hang in there.

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Posted Tuesday, March 20, 2007 7:58 PM

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Judy,
My tailbone is doing really good. It still hurts if I sit on it the wrong way, and I still need my doughnut once in a while but I can't complain about that. My husband has a bad cold right now. I'm going crazy with hand sanitizer and lysol. I don't want to get sick and agravate my tailbone, plus I got to restart my arthritis meds and I don't want to mess that up. It's been six weeks since my surgery now and I'm still having alot of pain. I had this burning pain in my wrist before the surgery when I used my wrist alot. It would go away when I could put my splint on. That pain started back up again about 2 weeks ago, except now it is much more frequent and dosen't go away with the splint. I hope I didn't make the wrong decision with the partial fusion. I was trying to stay working. I love being a nurse. I see the doctor on thursday I'll see what he says. I dont' want another surgery. If it ends up that way I'll go with a wrist replacement instead of a full fusion. I'm about to go crazy. How long was it before you knew if the fusion didn't work? Do I still have time. The doctors office screwed up and I was without pain meds for 2 days. It would of been fine if it wasn't b/c of therapy. How is your pain now? Does the incision look good? Janet seemed to have pain a while after her surgery. I hope yours gets better. Wish me luck thursday, and let me know how you did at the doctor office.
Janet,
Thanks I need all the luck I can get. Do you think this pain is temporary or is this surgery a failure? I glad to hear you are doing so well. This has to get better eventually.
Talk to you guys later.

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Posted Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11:57 PM

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Shannon, My incision looks good, just real sore right now. But it hasn't even been two weeks for me yet. They took that small bone (Unla the one that is on the left side of your wrist) out and crumbled it all up to use a filler. So i have three places that have to heal. The back of my hand down my arm, the left side of my hand & the front of my hand/wrist area where they did the carpal tunnel surgery. I'm back in a cast! I go back in three weeks to see my doctor, so i am still off of work. At that time they will probably put me in another cast for three more weeks. As for therapy, my doctor said that i probably won't be going to therapy. He gave me some excerises to do at home. He did say that when he took out some bone that wasn't any good, there was a large area that was empty. (This is due to the fact that when i had my second surgery, they had to take out some bone that wasn't any good.)So he said that he moved my wrist bones over & put in synatheic bone plus used part of my Ulna bone as a filler. But if i was to read between the lines of what he was saying, it sounds like he isn't to sure if this surgery is going to be a sucess or not!! This doctor has a lousy bedside manner & he really doesn't like to answer any of my questions! I hurt but hopefully that will go away in time. I'm having some problems with swelling but that's normal for me. The pain meds really help. At least now i can drive some.
As for when i knew that my partial fusion didn't work, i didn't know until the doctor told me & that was about 5 months after i had it done! I also had the burning pain in my wrist. Did they do a carpal tunnel release on you? Whatever you do, don't let them over work your wrist in therapy and if it hurts, tell them to stop. That is what they did to me & it turned out that the therapy was aggraviting everything.
Hang in there, let me know what the doctor says.
Janet, I am glad to hear that you are doing so well with your surgery and all. I can only hope that i do as well as you did. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. That means alot to me.

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Posted Wednesday, March 21, 2007 6:14 PM

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Judy & Shannon. You know, I can't help but wonder if our situations will be different because I don't have RA. Yes, my wrist burned and hurt really bad for weeks maybe even longer. I was told the burning was the nerves healing. I was so anxious to get the cast off just so I could rub it and put cool cloths on it. It will be 5 months on the 27th...and I don't regret having it done at all. It is sort of awkward sometimes without the wrist joint..but actually not nearly as bad as you'd think. I do every thing I did before..just have to move my arm a little different to compensate. My incision looks good...still sort of numb, but my surgeon said it might always be. I think the swelling is pretty much all gone. I can wear a ring again..but since my wrist is bigger I need to get a new watch.
You are both in my thoughts daily...and I sure hope your surgeries are a success and you feel better soon. I agree about the therapy...don't do too much...makes me hurt just to think about it.

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Posted Thursday, March 22, 2007 9:37 PM

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I saw my surgeon today. He thinks the burning is inflammation from the RA. I had a carpal tunnel test couple months before the surgery and it was ok. The bone graft is doing well and the other bones are all in great position. The bad news is that he wants me off work until may 7th!! He said that I'm not ready for pulling or pushing. It might loosen something. I only have until april 23rd then I loose my job. He said he would let me go prior to then. He dosent' want me to loose my job. So far ice and pain meds are keeping the burning tolerable so I hope it goes away soon. Judy how is your pain? I'll talk to you guys later. Take care.

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Posted Monday, March 26, 2007 1:01 AM

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Hi all,
Shannon, i really do feel for you cause i have been there before & i am hoping that i don't have to go back there ever again! I'm doing ok, just have alot of pain but they did a lot to me, this surgery was the most extensive one yet. I am just praying that this is the last one. i am ok for a few hours & then i have to take it easy for a few hours. To top that off, my hubby just had surgery on his shoulder friday! He had a torn rotor cuff. So he's down at the moment! Talk about keeping it all in the family!! But he usually heals up fast. Lets hope the heck so. My wrist has really been hurting real bad the past 2-4 days, i think that it's the weather & i have been cutting back on my pain meds. Probaly shouldn't do that but i wanted to see how i would do without them. Not too good!!
How can you lose your job because you had surgery?? That is so wrong! You most defentely don't want to go back to work too soon & hurt yourself. I hear what you are saying though.
Janet, how long after your surgery was it before your pain level was somewhat bareable?? I don't have RA. I injured my wrist on the job, i fell over the legs of a lift.
i was also told the same thing about the burning, that it usually meant the nerves were healing. I am so tired of wearing this cast & it hasn't even been a week yet!!
Gotta go. You both take care. Keep me posted

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Posted Monday, March 26, 2007 6:49 PM

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Hi Ladies...Sorry about the pain.. Sad

I guess I was in awful pain for probably 4 or 5 weeks. It was miserable and since I went to work just 14 days after the surgery I couldn't take the strong pain med. until I got home. It was rough and I consider myself pretty tough. The whole thing just takes a lot of time I guess. Please don't discouraged.

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Stick5

Posted Wednesday, March 28, 2007 9:13 PM

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Hi everybody. My name is Stick and I am having my right wrist fused/locked up this Friday the 30th. I have been on the OR table 4 times so far. This time I get the big total fusion. Like to know what you felt like after you woke up after the surgery. And what kind of pain did you have the following few days.

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Posted Wednesday, March 28, 2007 9:33 PM

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How is everyone doing? I have a delima. My surgeon switched my pain med to Ultram and I had an allergic reaction to it (hives), they told me there is nothing else to take and that at this point I am all healed I shouldn't have pain. (7 weeks) It is the same pain I had before the surgery except a little worse, so I basically went through all that for nothing. The surgeon fixed the arthritis but not the problem. My rheumotoligist is very understanding more than the surgeon. I want to get to the root of the probelm. If it's not the joint it either has to be the tendon or nerve. Is there any pain relief options out there? I dont' want pain killers just pain relief.

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Posted Wednesday, March 28, 2007 9:35 PM

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4 Times? Why so many? Do you have RA? I've only had a partial fusion and so far it only took away part of the pain. Good Luck.

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Stick5

Posted Wednesday, March 28, 2007 9:44 PM

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Well, let me explain. have a external fixator right after I brok it, then 3 times on the table because they removed bones and chipped out some bone that was in they way. I live in NE Phoenix and I deliver gas to local gas stations and fell out of my truck and busted it all to pieces. Many!

This friday they drop me back on the table for a total right wrist fusion. Trust me I can't wait! I am told that they will take part of my hip bone and use it for a bone graph. maybe take some bone from my right and left hips for the bone graph. I can't wait to JUMP UP on the OR table and let them knock me OUT! JUST DO IT I say! Hey Shannon are you in phonix ot Flagg or prescott!

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Posted Thursday, March 29, 2007 1:25 AM

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Shannon, I was told that there isn't anything kind of a pain pill that will relieve nerve pain. (that is what my pain management doctor told me).
I was also told the same thing about not having any pain, it should be healed, etc. I am sorry to be saying this but it almost sounds like your partial fusion might not have taken.
Ask your doctor if they can do a CT or how about a "Open MRI"? I was told at each doctor's visits that, "oh it's healing, it looks good, etc". But as i am sure that you know being an RN that you can only see so much on an x-ray. That is why i asked my doctor if we couldn't do a CT in a month or so & he agreed with me.
Ask to be referred to a pain management doctor & then ask that doctor for "Lidoderm Lidocadine patches 5%. That is what my pain management doc put me on after my 2nd surgery & i'll tell you what, they worked great!! You wear it 12 on, 12 off. I am hoping that you will NOT have to go through another surgery. Let me know how you are doing. Hang in there, it will get better.
Stick, who is your doctor that is doing your surgery in PHX?

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