Is this that bad?

[mtnbikerfred]

Years of blissfully un-diagnosed injuries have been good to me. It doesn't that bad, and I'm not taking any pain meds, just a good anti-inflamitory.

It seems more a couple of injuries to my wrist have healed on their own. But the other night at the track, I "jammed" it and truly felt something different was going on inside, so I went and got it x-rayed. Radiologist says "something's going on. Go see the Doc". Doc says "Something's broken, I'm sending you to an ortho". Ortho say's "Get a CT, see me Tues. I say "Cool, will I get one of those nifty carbon-fiber wrist braces?" He's say "you may need more than that..."

I've got a copy of the CT, and I can say, it's very cool to be able to see the end of your own split radius, and a half-dozen other old fractures. in 3D (from 2 views)

I'm getting phone calls from the surgical center already. I think the ortho just wanted the CT done so I wouldn't argue with him about surgery.

What do you guys think?

[jasonmason]

I think that I sure hope it doesn't keep you off the bike any longer than necessary! Bummer to hear, though you certainly seem to have gotten away with a few other ones previously, judging from your x-rays. Hope it's nothing too serious Fred, and that you'll just be riding with a brace on your wrist for a while.

[mantracker]

do you ride an ht or fs?

p.s. heal up!!

[TooTech]

Screws=no big deal.
Rebuilding=big deal.

Take care of it over the winter like I did my ACL in 8/08

[mfoga]

Ouch Fred.

But the cool carbon wrist brace is not going to turn you into Lee.

[mtnbikerfred]

Originally Posted by mantracker

do you ride an ht or fs?

p.s. heal up!!

Yes (both and a BMX bike) Thanks.

Originally Posted by mfoga

Ouch Fred.

But the cool carbon wrist brace is not going to turn you into Lee.

Not that much ouch actually, and Dangit!!! That guy is ALWAYS gonna be cooler than me

[Julia12]

Ouch!

Sorry to hear Fred hope the wrist heals quickly.

[DaIsh]

Yes it is very bad.
Stop messing around with it. You've got kids, biking and GUITAR playing, and your job that are related to your wrist.

Come on the only reason you asked is because you already know. So, I am just confirming what you already know.

I don't know what you should do...pray about it and then do what it takes...

Grandpa Trail Rider

[Tmac]

Bummer Fred!!!

Unfortunately, I know all too well how waiting to get something fixed just leads to more issues.

Get it fixed and you will be back up and riding in no time.

[Pain Freak]

Wow, Fred. That could get serious. I've had seven broken wrists, 4 right, and 3 left. My mom had numerous broken wrists too so it must be genetic. I was told by my doc that my right wrist has run out of places to be screwed back together and another break might be the last and they'd have to fuse it together. Get it fixed and get more then one opinion on what should be done. I'm not convinced they did it right for me.

[denmother]

+1 on the 2nd opinion!!! Injuries have a way of catching up to us, my friend!! Happy healing!!!

[gooseaholic]

Fred, After 5 broken ankles I say get it fixed. I had to stop skating for similar reasons. I was a dumb kid and just kept skating. It was not till I was older and the doc layed down my options. The options were, stop skateboarding. So I bought a mountain bike. Doc said if I break my ankle again skating, it wont be pleasant and I have few options for repair. Please get it fixed Fred.

[mtnbikerfred]

No doubt, it'll be fixed. I should've posted the "top-down" view. The image on the right shows (imagine it "mirrored") the "corner" of the end my radius broken off. It's pushed back 2mm. THAT is what they'll pin back in place. I'm unsure of the the soft-tissue issues yet, but we'll address that tomorow I suppose. as far as 2nd opinions, I'm meeting with a PA tomorrow. The doc is a C^%K, but I really get the impression he knows WAAAAY more than he let on. He took one look at my X-ray (before the CT was done) and said he wanted to put the broken piece of bone back where it belongs, and said If I had ligement damage over the capital-carpal bone, he'd want to address that too.

This thread is really just silly rhetoric, informational, and entertaining. I Really need your prayers, thoughts, advice, and moral support. Not just convincing to do it.

[gooseaholic]

Well I just talked to god. He told me to "just do it" in his gold nikes. You could just cut it off and get a wood stump. As far as prayers and moral support, you aint getting the reach around sucker.

[2wheel_lee]

Fred, I'm sorry to hear about the bad news. Unfortunately, I don't know how to read those images (if I could, I'm in the wrong job).

As I said yesterday on the phone, at worst, it may be 6-8 weeks until you're fully back up to speed. And even when you are back to speed, it's normal to be hesitant doing things you were once comfortable doing. That's ok. That would give you an opportunity to focus on form and finesse instead of raw speed. And that's exactly what I've been focusing on. Fortunately, as you develop form and finesse, speed comes naturally. But that's some time from now. We can work on that later.

It'll be a struggle for a while, hence I understand the need for moral support. When we're down and out, we're not ourselves. But that can be the silver lining. You'll have time to do things that you never had time to do. Do some activities with the family that you wouldn't normally have done - do a weekend road trip. Do some stuff around the house that you've always wanted to do: you'll amaze yourself what you can actually do with only one arm - trust me. You may be pleasantly surprised at what good things can happen during bad times. My wrist accident was one of the worst in my life (a couple surgeries and a cast for 5 months), but during that time, so many good things happened that wouldn't have otherwised happen. You just have to let them happen.

Remember, I'm just a phone call away.

[2wheel_lee]

Oh, and Fred...there are no points awarded for being a hero - take the pain meds.

And remember, it'll feel better when it stops hurting.

[Rockinthecasbah]

take the pain meds and sit in front of your giant t.v. MY wrist still has a few floating chunks of bone that seem to dissappear they cut it open and then reappear on x-rays later. Get er fixed enjoy the time off.

Is it your right or left wrist i didnt notice in the pics? I did the radius in my left wrist and it gives me difficulty playing guitar on occasion.

[Happy_Gilmore]

Healing Vibes Fred, take your meds, and just relax, the track will always be there.

[mtnbikerfred]

Yeah,

I had one of the laziest weekend of my life. Getting a copy of your own CT doedsn't make you radiologist or an ortho overnight, but it quickly dispelled any thoughts I had of talking the doc out of surgery. I can SEE the chunk of bone that needs to be put back where it belongs....

The huge TV died a few months ago and I would rather stare at bike stuff than a 50" LCD. As for the pain, It's not the worst I've had. I know I'm gonna need something after surgery, but I'm seriously un-medicateable. 1/2 a vicodin and I'm out. Really. I shouldn't drive. And, it makes my skin crawl. I hate it. I'd rather take Ibuprophen and beer. I actually have a favorite NSAID, that works very well for me, doesn't leave me stoned, and the doc will prescribe it freely for me. Funny story. I called in a request for it and the nurse thought I wanted Coedine (it's called Lodine), I go to pick it up and I'm like "I can't take this...." I should have picked up the Candy and sold it, or kept it for the next coughing-cold seaon for my daughter.

I did take off my splint to play guitar this weekend. I can hold onto a pick, and strumming didn't make it hurt any more or less. If I have a cast, I'll be limited to finger-style.

[Vince]

Heal up soon Fred