Health Problems

opiate82

opiate82

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Since everyone I know suddenly has a degree in orthopedics thought I might as well drop in here for more opinions. Broke my left clavicle (collarbone) skiing in Canada. Doctor in Canadian ER told me that they don't typically operate on collarbone breaks as they've discovered it doesn't help them heal any faster and opens the patient to infection/complication risks. I was told even though the break looks bad it will heal on its own and besides a some deformity (a possible small bump) it should be more or less normal.

Get back stateside and my wife (who is an L&D nurse) is showing my x-ray to every medical professional she runs across as well as anyone who has ever broken any bone whatsoever and they are all flabbergasted that they wouldn't operate. I have a follow-up with my doctor tomorrow which I'm sure will include an ortho referral but was curious if anyone had any experience/insight into this type of injury so I know exactly what concerns I should bring to my doctor. I'd prefer to avoid surgery but I'm still going to be skiing, mountain biking, softball, backpacking, etc. which I usually do with a reckless abandon in regards to my health so I want to ensure my shoulder is as close to 100% as possible for the eventual future crashes that are bound to happen.

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pharmakos

pharmakos

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i think this bit:

I'd prefer to avoid surgery but I'm still going to be skiing, mountain biking, softball, backpacking, etc. which I usually do with a reckless abandon in regards to my health so I want to ensure my shoulder is as close to 100% as possible for the eventual future crashes that are bound to happen.
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gives you your own answer, especially if you plan on taking up any of those activities before your body has time to heal on its own (which i'm assuming takes quite awhile with a break like that but i'm no expert)
 
opiate82

opiate82

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pharmakos_sl said:
i think this bit:



gives you your own answer, especially if you plan on taking up any of those activities before your body has time to heal on its own (which i'm assuming takes quite awhile with a break like that but i'm no expert)
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Well I'm not sure how strong it heals back up on its own. Maybe it will be just as strong as as it would be with surgery and only downfall is the fact it might be misshapen, I don't really know. I'm just worried the ortho will push for surgery because that is what they do so they think it is best.

I agree about taking adequate time off to heal/strengthen/rehab, going beyond the 4-6 weeks they said it would take to get "better." I don't want to be pulling a Tony Romo out there.
 
pharmakos

pharmakos

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i wonder if there's any sort of a collar sort of thing you can wear that will help it to heal in the right shape

probably could answer that question myself with google but *shrugs*
 
iannis

iannis

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You gotta give that shit time to heal.

It's not that you'll cripple yourself now. You could, but probably won't. It's that you WILL cripple yourself in 10-15 years. 6 weeks of not playing ball vs. 10 years of debilitating arthritis. If you look at it that way, maybe the math looks more obvious.

It should heal on its own, and you probably don't require surgery. The shoulder is an ugly joint and the canadians are probably right -- if you look at the risks, it probably is debatable. But you need to let it remodel at the very least. If you're out there pitching softballs and swinging bats and doing hard trails on a dirtbike you honestly can fuck it up worse than a break. Just go easy on it for at least a month. A sling isn't gonna cut it for your clav.
 
iannis

iannis

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Schags_sl said:
Well I've had diabetes since I'm 26 or so (39 now). For the longest time I controlled it through diet and exercise to the point where my doctors told me I didn't need to use pills anymore. When I moved out to California in 2012, I started drinking again. (I'm an alcoholic that was sober for years). Anyway, I stopped eating healthy, stopped exercising, basically went from 200lbs to 260 over the last 3 years. I know 200lbs still is more than I should be but I was 395lbs when I was 19 and I've worked it off over the years. I also never paid attention to my sugar levels during this time. I quit drinking again and I'm just over 6 months sober.

So I drove out to Colorado for christmas and when I got there, I felt dizzy. I then spent the next 24 hours throwing up. I had my brother take me to an emergency room and they admitted me telling my my a1c was 11.5 and I was having Diabetes Ketoacidosis. They treated me there for 3-4 days then let me out where I went back and rested at my brothers house for another week or so. Because they gave me an EKG in the hospital, I never thought anything of it. My feet and legs started to swell, I couldn't sleep lying down etc. I decided to drive back to California so I could get things rolling with my doctors back here. It's crazy to think that my heart failure happened in Colorado and I drove 18-20 hours myself with it.

Anyway, after driving two days, I got out of my Jeep and made it about 1 flight of stairs up to my 3rd floor apartment before I couldn't breathe. It was new years eve, I decided to just try and sleep so I could come to the doctors to get checked out the next day. So, the next day I drove to my doctors, they were closed so I ended up going up the road to the emergency room. While there they told me my body was filling up with water and I was having a heart attack. I was in the hospital a week with them trying to get water out and to get my kidney's decent enough to survive an operation. They drained about 35 pounds of water out of me. Then they told me all 3 major arteries going into my heart were blocked at 70% and 80%. My heart was so weak, it couldn't keep up with pumping that pushes the water out.

I had a quad bypass surgery on January 11th. (Went into the hospital on January 1st). People are usually out 4-5 days after but they had trouble getting me to stop bleeding during the surgery. After I woke up, the next two days I was out of it because the guy in charge didn't want to do another blood transfusion if we didn't need to. Eventually they gave it to me and it helped me get over that hurdle. My kidney's also have been hit so hard with this, all of the medicines they were giving me etc that they have been iffy. I'm still being closely monitored in that area. I got home last night but will have nurses coming out to do lab work etc.

It's been rough. I really thought I was dying. Not being able to breathe, or even sleep because if I layed down It made it impossible to breathe was terrible. I slept sitting up in a chair for about 2-3 weeks. I think the next hurdle for me now is my feet/legs are still swollen. I'm hoping that starts to come down and doesn't turn into something more severe where I'm going to have to go back into a hospital. 3-3.5 weeks was enough for me.

Anyway, It's going to be a long recovery for me. Wanted to post this here because lying in the hospital I was able to log into rerolled and get some quality reading in between passing out from the meds. You guys are an awesome community.
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Well, you didn't think wrong. You were dying. You were close. Real close.

It's a good reason to stay on the wagon. Ah, it's not sad and there's no shame in it. Just remember whenever you want a drink, that first week. That's the reality of it, that drink will kill ya. It's poison to you now.

And I'm glad you're recovering on both counts.
 
Kuriin

Kuriin

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opiate, they really don't do much for clavicles unless it is a serious fracture. It's like separation of the acromioclavicular joint -- they will only do it depending on the severity of the separation. I gotta say you must be in a shit ton of pain (I would imagine).
 
A

a_skeleton_03

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I broke my collar bone also. Didn't even have it xrayed at the time. Was careful with it for a month. It healed crooked and I have a visible "tenting" on that side.

I joined the Marines a few months after that and never broke it again. My pull-ups suffered a bit because of the discomfort during that exercise. Mine wasn't a piece broken off in the middle though.
 
opiate82

opiate82

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Yeah, I don't really have any organized activities planned until memorial day weekend so I've got a lot of time for rest/rehab. I'll probably take it easy most of the summer as well, stick to hiking and swimming and other activities where my clavicle isn't at risk of taking the brunt impact of a crash or dive.

Pain actually has been pretty manageable so far. Obviously if I get bumped or move wrong it hurts like a bitch but otherwise just resting or very slow walking around doesn't bother me much. They gave me Tylenol #3's in Canada of which I was taking a 1/2 dose (1 pill) every 4 hours up until Sunday when I mostly quit taking them. I take a pill here or there when the pain flairs up but that is it. Where I've really been struggling is sleeping. I normally sleep on my side/stomach and move around a lot, so trying to hold still and sleep on my back has not been going well. My shoulder hurts more when I'm laying down plus my whole back ends up hurting. I took advantage of WA laws and picked up a THC extract which helped the first two nights but last night was rough.

As far as X-rays, I know a big concern they had was that sometimes when you break your clavicle there is a risk of bone shards possibly puncturing your lungs. Obviously it is pretty rare for that to happen but good information to know because I almost was going to ski myself off the mountain which, if I would have had a bone shard near my lung, would have greatly increased my risk of something really bad happening. Anyways, once they got me x-rayed and confirmed there wasn't a risk for that they very quickly handed me a sling and a scrip and got me out the door.

Also, epic bruising pic. I don't think the phone camera does it justice. My left peck is like twice the size of my right one due to swelling, my wife keeps fondling my new a-cup "boob."

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A

a_skeleton_03

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Yeah my parents didn't do the hospital unless there was a risk of death. Was playing football and snapped it very obviously. A friend there was an EMT and could see the two ends poking up and that it was a very clean break. Called my parents and they told him I would be fine and to send me home, they would take care of it. I was at work in the family business the next day they just told me "don't work as hard". No pain meds. It was fine really unless like you said it got bumped the wrong way.

Between now and May should be plenty of time to heal up.
 
M

Magimaster

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So, CT scans confirmed that I've got Kidney stones. One is down in the left ureter working its way through, with 1 more still in right kidney and 5 in the left, all between 3-5mm. I don't think the one in the left ureter has passed yet, but I hope so soon. Going to try and save it so I can get it tested to try and figure out what type it is. Though my father has had gout and has diabetes, so I'm going to get my blood tested for high Uric Acid.... maybe that may help show what it is. Gonna also get a referral to Urologist, see what they say. I guess worse case is get the lithoscopy done, but checking my insurance website it looks like that would cost minimum of $2200, which is a lot of money for a guy living alone making $18 an hour. So we'll see, hoping it will just pass and I can work on diet and if at all possible, take medication to shrink the others to help them pass if they move.
 
A

a_skeleton_03

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From what I recall an x-ray will not show uric acid stones but a CT will so you can find out right now by requesting an x-ray and maybe save some money.
 
opiate82

opiate82

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Eomer_sl said:
Sorry to hear! Just curious where you were and what happened?
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Just above the Headwalls in Sun Peaks. One of those really dumb things where I was just cruising and looking ahead to find a little kicker or drop to entertain myself rather than focusing on what I was skiing. Snow was grabby which caused me to catch an edge and lose a ski. I was moving at a pretty good clip so I estimate I flew about 20 feet down the hill in the air head/shoulder first. Even in midair I was thinking "that was dumb, oh well guess I have to climb up and get a ski" like it was no big deal before I impacted. My left shoulder took the entire force of the impact and there was no give to the snow whatsoever. I heard the crack on impact and not a sound I'll soon get out of my head even though at the time I wasn't sure if it was bone breaking or a joint dislocation.
 
Jait

Jait

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Turned 40 late last year. So...we can take pictures of Pluto but our brainiacs can't solve the 4 fucking inches between my culo and prostate without someone violating me with their finger? Hasn't happened yet. But it's coming... If any of you have been through it, some comforting words would go a short ways.

Took an incredibly bad hit on my abdomen over the Summer and that led to my ignorant pain threshold ignoring femoral and inguinal tears causing my insides to get rearranged to the point where I've felt like someone has been not so gently squeezing my balls all the time. On top of which I've had some really inexplicable weight-loss, which is fantastic since my dick grew an extra inch due to the lack of anything resembling a buffer down there, but I'm actually in good shape and liked where I was at. I'm pretty much a dumbfuck when it comes to noticing my weight, it wasn't until my wedding band slid off that I said "oh shit" and weighed myself.

This was months ago. Other part of the story is I have panic attacks when I think about Doctors or being operated on. Really can't wait any longer, but I'll keep trying to find ways to put it off. It's reached the point where I've had a few moments I felt like the hernia was strangulated in some way and I'm battling the insane irrational phobia verses widowing a wife and two kids. There's seriously nothing more selfish I've done, so it's gotta be done. Strangely, it was Gravy that really helped me see this, in more ways than one.
 
Woefully Inept

Woefully Inept

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Well had my preop this week for my surgery this coming Friday. The fistula setons will be removed and fistula plugs will be installed. 60-70% chance for this shit to work. I hope to hell it does because this past week was awful. Had a bout of diarrhea and oh my god. Pain, itching, and burning like you would not believe. Felt like goddamn torture.
 
Noodleface

Noodleface

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Damn dude whenever I read your stuff I can only thank the creator that I don't have that stuff, don't know how you handle it but good luck man.

Again, one day we will have a beer - or a soda, or a girly drink.
 
opiate82

opiate82

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Update on my situation. Went and saw my GP and he recommended an ortho consult. Ortho (of course) wants to operate, but after the consult plus talking casually to another ortho I know personally I've decided to opt for surgery. So I'm going under the knife next Friday. There are basically 3 fragments of bone they will line back up and secure in place with screws and a plate. Up to me if the plate stays in forever or comes out 6-12 months down the road depending on if it causes me discomfort or not. Since there is hardly any muscle tissue around the clavicle you definitely will notice and feel the plate in there, just depends on if that bothers you or not. I do a fair amount of hiking and the wife and I are just starting to get into backpacking so those activities in particular could cause me issues, we will see.

That brings me to my frustrations with the medical system/insurance. First I have to see my GP to get a referral, basically a waste of an appointment, my time and my $30 co-pay. Go see the ortho but that appointment is just to determineIFI need surgery. Of course they have to take their own X-rays since the ones I had already were Canadian and thus no good. New X-rays look exactly like the old ones but whatever. Dr I'm talking too doesn't even do shoulder surgeries so they call the guy who actually does work on shoulders to get his opinion and he decides I need to see him so they schedule me an appointment with him the very next day. Another $30 co-pay for me and a waste of another 1.5 hours of my time despite me only talking to the Dr. for like 15 minutes. Go to my third appointment which is basically just a surgery consult, of course the Dr. is running late so I wait 30 minutes in the waiting room plus another 15-20 in the back just to have him explain to me what he already explained to the Dr. I saw yesterday which was relayed to me. 10 minutes tops spent with this Dr. but another $30 co-pay plus over 2 hours of my time wasted since he works out of an office 30 minutes away.

So, basically I had to go to 3 separate appointments for what could have easily been covered in one. $60 plus ~4 hours of my time wasted, but hey, at least the docs all found a way to bill my insurance for 3 appointments (plus a second set of X-rays) instead of just one. Way to work the system guys!

*edit: On a positive note Dr. said I'd be able to get out of my sling and start range of motion exercises on my shoulder almost immediately after surgery as the plate will keep everything together even with lots of movement. I'll need a little time just to let the soft tissue stuff heal up but not much. I will only need the sling for comfort. I can't do any lifting on that side obviously, but lifting with my good side should be fine after the surgery (causes a lot of pain currently). Having my left arm free to move around and what not will be extremely helpful with an 18 month old running around.
 
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