External fixator
 

I'm waiting for these pain pills to kick in, soon i hope. tuesday i'm having surgery to have this external fixator and pins put in my wrist. i've never broken a bone and no one in my family has, so i have no first hand experience of what to expect. googling has been somewhat helpful, but has anyone here ever had this done? what can i expect? pain and post surgery discomfort? did you regain full use of your wrist. any tips? red is already humming the terminator music.

I can't remember which bone I broke in my wrist, but it's below my thumb. Because I'm part of the minority of the population that only has 1 blood vessel running through that bone, most of it died after I broke it. They took a chunk of bone out of the top of my pelvis and used a screw to put the two together.

I lost a season of indoor track to that injury (I was 19 at the time). It was the hip that was the problem, not the wrist, and I couldn't breathe deeply for about 6 weeks.

The wrist was in a cast for 8 weeks. When it came out it was atrophied and weak. I had lots of PT to get it back to normal, but it's fine now, except on the rare occassions when the screw tries to back out of the bone. I'll probably eventually have it removed since it's served it's purpose.

No useful info, but tell him that I find that very amusing.

So you still have the screw? That's rough. So you can still feel it in there? Do you set off metal detectors? I won't have a cast, but it will be wrapped. And I'll have the bar along my wrist. The pins will have to come out. I'm worried about that too.

---------- Post added at 11:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:48 AM ----------

will do, Plan9. Will do.

A few years ago, my wrist would get sore for a day or two and then go away. I had it checked out and they said that it was most likely the screw. I haven't felt it in at least a year, probably longer. I don't set off metal detectors.

Sounds like your injury is different than mine.

My dad was working construction in his youth. A metal beam fell from above and went straight through his hand/wrist. He got pins and all that shit. I don't know about immediate recovery but now he's doing fine. No pain. Regained all of his mobility.

External Fixation
 

I have had an external fixator on my wrist for 10 weeks due to a complicated distal radius fracture. I also had a separate pin inserted in my wrist that was removed at 8 weeks. The pin was more painful than the fixator and screws. The doctor loosened the fixator this past Friday so I could begin moving my wrist. Move your fingers as much as possible so you can strengthen your wrist muscles. Keep your arm elevated to reduce swelling. Your best friends will be elastic waisted pants and long handled bath brushes/poofs. If you are on opioid pain killers, drink plenty of fluids, and you may want to get some stool softeners. The pain is manageable, and you will learn to be very ingenuitive.

ya if its your primary/wiping/jerking hand...think ahead.