Talk to the Hand
Went back to the doctor today to talk to about the hand. jackwilliambell came with, bless him.
So first, the news is that it will be healing for quite some time yet. The bone has definitely started to knit (based on a new x-ray), but it's nowhere near done and I'll continue to wear the splint during the day for at least another month, though the doctor wasn't in the least specific. She said "a long time." Not the news I wanted, nor what I expected based on what she said the first time I saw her.
Second, I've had real discomfort in all my fingers, but particular in the first three lately (the break is on the fourth metacarpal). Now, based on what I've learned about nerves in the hand from my experience with RSI, I know that the nerves for the first three fingers and the last two are different sets, so the fact that I'm having pain in those three fingers--where there was no break--is a little odd to me. When I tried to get some answers from the doctor about that--and, well, a lot else--she just seemed to retreat. It seemed as though if I didn't have precise, specific questions, she just couldn't or wouldn't answer and actually seemed a little intimidated. I've never had a doctor respond that way. It was at that point that I asked for a referral to a specialist. I wasn't getting answers that made sense, she indicated there were tests that might help figure out if there was neural damage but either couldn't or wouldn't perform them, and she was so tentative after a while that I got a little scared (I want to type, I want to play my guitar again) and a little impatient.
I came home from the appointment with my x-rays and a referral. I talked with my therapist about the encounter this evening, and she said my response was completely valid, that the doctor's behavior was unacceptable. So tomorrow I make a call to the referral doctor's office and see what's what. I admit that my confidence has been tainted, though, and I wonder if I'm going to find myself with another doctor who seeks to be lead by the patient rather than the other way around.
So first, the news is that it will be healing for quite some time yet. The bone has definitely started to knit (based on a new x-ray), but it's nowhere near done and I'll continue to wear the splint during the day for at least another month, though the doctor wasn't in the least specific. She said "a long time." Not the news I wanted, nor what I expected based on what she said the first time I saw her.
Second, I've had real discomfort in all my fingers, but particular in the first three lately (the break is on the fourth metacarpal). Now, based on what I've learned about nerves in the hand from my experience with RSI, I know that the nerves for the first three fingers and the last two are different sets, so the fact that I'm having pain in those three fingers--where there was no break--is a little odd to me. When I tried to get some answers from the doctor about that--and, well, a lot else--she just seemed to retreat. It seemed as though if I didn't have precise, specific questions, she just couldn't or wouldn't answer and actually seemed a little intimidated. I've never had a doctor respond that way. It was at that point that I asked for a referral to a specialist. I wasn't getting answers that made sense, she indicated there were tests that might help figure out if there was neural damage but either couldn't or wouldn't perform them, and she was so tentative after a while that I got a little scared (I want to type, I want to play my guitar again) and a little impatient.
I came home from the appointment with my x-rays and a referral. I talked with my therapist about the encounter this evening, and she said my response was completely valid, that the doctor's behavior was unacceptable. So tomorrow I make a call to the referral doctor's office and see what's what. I admit that my confidence has been tainted, though, and I wonder if I'm going to find myself with another doctor who seeks to be lead by the patient rather than the other way around.