soliciting advice

[salixbabylon]

Ok, I give up. If I were younger, I'd call my mommy, but things are tense with her and I'd rather not. So my questions is:

How do you know when a minor injury is worth going to Urgent Care for?

My doctor can't see me for 3 weeks. I hurt my wrist in mid-February. It's probably strain/CTS-type pain, although there are some motions that really hurt and remind me of when I broke a small bone in my left wrist a few years ago. Sharp and almost scream-inducing, but not constant pain or all that annoying.

But it's been a month and it's not getting better. I wear a wrist brace some days and then I think it's getting better, but then I try to do something like hook my bra or use a pencil to write a note and I can't make my hand do what it needs to without cringing.

But I bet I'll get to Urgent Care, sit there for 3 hours or more, have an x-ray, and be told it's a slight sprain and to suck it up and it'll heal on it's own. *sigh*

Anyone? What would you do?

Comments

[nverland]

I've never understood a doctor that puts off a patient for weeks when they are in pain or ill.
I'd go to Doc-in-a-Box or the ER and have it checked. If it IS broken and you ignore it that long, you can look at having it rebroken and set right. And any pain isn't normal and needs to be fixed.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

*hug* Thanks for the shove to go in. :)

[nverland]

You're very welcome

[sarka.livejournal.com]

If you've been betting for a month that it will get better on its own and then it never does, you're looking at something worth going to Urgent Care for, IMHO.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

*hug* You were right - a month was long enough. :)

[oceansecrets2.livejournal.com]

Making it a trifecta - go get it checked out, for your own peace of mind if nothing else.

((hugs))

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

GOod advice - and I even looked up "trifecta" in m-w for you. :)

[alliwantisanelf.livejournal.com]

Retired PT checking in here...

You didn't say how you hurt it. Was there a fall? A specific event that caused the pain to start? Fractures CAN occur without a trauma, but are rare.

Is it your dominant hand? Is it the one you broke before? Is it less painful on the days you don't type or write as much?

How many days do you really wear the wrist brace without taking it off? Two hours doesn't count. I mean all day long, sleeping in it too.

Where is the pain specifically? Does it hurt when you press on it, or just when you move it a certain way? Does the pain radiate to other places?

How do you feel about finding another doctor? I'm not talking Urgent Care...I mean somebody who will see you in less than 3 weeks. That's an exceptionally long time to wait for a general practitioner to work you in.

If you've had it for a month, it's not technically URGENT.

They'll take an X-ray. Mash it. Probably give you some anti-inflammatory meds. Tell you to go have it checked out by either your gen. practitioner or an ortho doc, which means another wait.

Can you take ibuprophen? If you're already doing that, how much and how often do you take it? Do you take it just when it hurts, or as a preventative for the pain as well?

Dr. Greenleaf needs the answers to these questions, y'know....

*g*

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

*giggle* Going to tell me to chew up some weeds and drink rainwater?

How I hurt it - no idea, there is no event that I can recall. I recall trying to help a friend fasten her corset and that really really hurt it, but it was already sore.

Yes, dominant hand. No, not the one I broke before. Less painful on days of no-typing. I moved my mouse to the left side and that helps, but doesn't fix the problem like it has previous cases of over-use strain.

Brace - all day meaning when not in shower or washing hands or cooking or eating. Otherwise all bloody day and night. Yes it hurts when I press on it, and defintely yes when I bend it in a certain way.

Pain is in hand, down the thumb, almost at the fold of the wrist. Radiate... sometimes it sends a jolt all the way out my hand and down my elbow. But only when I do something dumb like smash it into something or pick up an object that's too heavy.

I could call and get another GP to look at it, but my insurance is GP first and then referral for *everything*. When I said I didn't want to wait, they said to go to Urgent Care.

I haven't been taking ibuprophen because it doesn't actually hurt much. It's not the pain that is bothering me, it's that it keeps coming back/not healing.

Thoughts?

*smooch* Sexiest doctor ever... ;)

[alliwantisanelf.livejournal.com]

Going to tell me to chew up some weeds and drink rainwater?

Hell, I said RETIRED, not returned from the dead!

It keeps coming back because it hasn't had time to heal, and the inflammation and repetition are still there.

Exactly where is the pain? When you say "press on it", where are you pressing? In the meaty part of the thumb on the palm side, in the palm part itself, or at the wrist crease? There's about 10 things that can cause pain in that area.

But only when I do something dumb like smash it into something or pick up an object that's too heavy.

so don't do anything dumb, k? *jk*

Where are you? Do Physical Therapists in your area have "evaluate and treat" rights without a doctor's order? Check the phone book. Maybe there's a hand specialist on staff that could see you just to evaluate it in less than 3 weeks?

The splint won't do much good if it's not immobilizing the exact area that's having the problem. You have to immobilize the joint above AND below the problem. There are a LOT of things that could cause hand pain, and it's impossible to tell without being able to see where you're talking about.

I think going on some anti-inflammatory for a couple of weeks is gonna happen whether you go to Urgent Care or PT or to your GP. Can you take ibuprophen? A prescription Motrin is 800 mg of ibuprophen. Follow what it says on the bottle you're getting your pills from for the dosage, and go ahead and take it around the clock for several days and see if it helps at all. See if it says you can take two (=400mg) every 8 hours or so. You won't be risking anything by covering up pain if you keep the splint on and avoid repetive motion in the meantime. Cut back the typing! No testing it to see if it's better! It'll take maybe 10 days to really tell.

Sounds like whatever it is (I'm suspecting tendonitis) isn't getting enough of what it takes to heal. Hands can be slow, because it's hard to NOT use them.

I'd still be looking for a PT office that could see you early next week, or another GP. I'm just one of those people who thinks Urgent Care should be for things that are URGENT. If you had fallen, or heard a pop after lifting something, or some really specific event had happened, I'd think an x-ray would be in order. But tendons and soft tissue injuries don't show well (if at all) on x-rays. I also think three weeks is a damned long time for a GP to expect a patient to wait without some advice in the meantime.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I was thinking elven natural healing, not undead. ;)

You were right on the nose with your diganosis - tendonitis and get off the computer, silly slasher.

*smooch* Thank you for playing Long Distance Doc. It's so nice to feel cared for from a professional, even if it is remote.

[sileya.livejournal.com]

You've been hurting too long to put it off. You need to go. Wearing the brace and still having the pain is not a good sign - even a sprain should react well to that. If you're having CTS symptoms, it might be worth it to go to a place that focuses on that - they sometimes do VAX-D, too, to find one. When my CTS flared so badly that it was unbearable pain, I called one and got in the same day.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

And it only took all my LJ friends to convince me to go. :)

I need to get a new desk or some accessories to make this one more functional. I've known that for a long time but this is definitely A Sign From Above.

Maybe with the money from my writing class...

[uinendolothen.livejournal.com]

Um, if I were anyone but me, I'd go to Urgent Care. I hate doctors and I hate going to see them.

Case in point - when I had a bladder infection that left me with a fever of nearly 103° and had be passing out, my husband had to leave work and drag me kicking and screaming to the ER. In a roomful of people, I was the 3rd one to go back.

So I'm not really the best judge of when one should seek medical treatment. If we were talking about one of my kids, though, I'd already have taken her to the doctor. I think it's just harder when it's yourself you're dealing with, yeah?

*hugs*

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I don't hate doctors but I do hate wasting my time in their germy waiting rooms. But in the end, the reality wans't too bad. I've definitely spent more time waffling about whether to go than I did just going.

Why is it always so hard to take care of ourselves? We need to re-write that internal programming... :) *hug*

[tessa111.livejournal.com]

Well I see you already got quite a bit of advice so I'll just quickly throw this in here. My saying is "Scream-Inducing-Pain = Doctor!"

Hope it gets better soon.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

That's a good saying. ;) Next time I'll listen to common sense a bit faster.

*hug*

[saleemah.livejournal.com]

I've learned that it's best to get medical attention as early as possible. So what if it turns out to be just a sprain...at least you will know. You can ask your doctors office to call you if there is a cancellation (people flake/cancel all the time) so you can get in earlier. Also,you can talk with your chiropractor. They can take x-rays and adjust your wrists if needed or tell you no you need to see your M.D. I have my wrists adjusted each time I go to prevent carpel tunnel. Ice and Sombra are helpful too in the mean time you get in. Good luck sweetie pie...xoxox

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

You're totally right - better to know than to keep fretting. Next time I'll try to remember that before a month passes.

That's a great idea about asking the doc's office to call me if there is an opening - I didn't know you could do that, but I will try it next time I need to see her.

Chiro - another great suggestion. *smooch* You rock my socks. :)

[soar38.livejournal.com]

Better to get it seen to than continue.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

absolutely - you all convinced me to go. :) *hug*

[soar38.livejournal.com]

Glad you got a diagnosis as well. *hugs*

[nycene.livejournal.com]

go to urgent care, do not pass go, do not collect $200.00. of course, you will most likely sit for 3+ hours, be told its a sprain and to suck it up.

however, unlike other breaks (a rib, ankle, clavicle...) a badly healed bone in your wrist (especially if its your dominant hand) can f**k you up royally. even slight impairments lead to huge functional difficulties (ie. hooking your bra & writing...). w

what you have sounds more like a break than a sprain, hurting only when 'jostled' rather than all the time (but what do i know - i'm a lawyer, not a doctor).

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I was worried it might be broken, too - so I went on Friday. Turned out to be tendinitis, but at least now I know. Thanks for the push! :)