wrist fusion

louiseb

Hi
Am seeing my orthapedic surgeon on Friday with a view to having my wrist fused. I had the end of the ulna removed 3 years ago as the RA had caused severe damage to the bones.
My wrist hurts 24/7 - this is not helped by the fact that I am a Holistic Therapist and do deep tissue massage for a living!!! Yes, I know... however, I have tried to help myself by retraining in No Hands Massage so I use the forearms and I also now lecture at college, to rest myself more.
Saw my orthapedic man last July who said I may be best having the fusion, but he understood my concerns re work, recovery time, how will I manage after etc. He's great - old school consultant - but said he'd like to see me again in Feb when it's cold and I'm suffering as I may change my mind. Well, here I am going to see him on Fri and suffering so much that I think I will say just chop the whole damned arm off!
Can anyone advise me on putting pressure on the hand/wrist area, how the op has affected their life for the better or worse, how everyday activities are managed, etc please?
He has said that the pain I get now will be gone, as obviously I won't be able to flex or extend the wrist.
Any thoughts from anyone will be very much appreciated.
Kind regards
Louise

mandy_b1967

Hi Louise I have oa and I am supposed to have made a decision by next Tuesday whether I want a partial wrist fusion or not. So far still havent made up my mind but have sent the surgeon a list of questions a couple of weeks ago by email suggested by his secretary. My problem is that I am a single parent and the recovery time is at least 3 months. still cant decide

Have you been told that you would be able to use your hand in the "normal" way if you had your wirst fused? I would have thought that pressure from your hand may hurt but not sure.

Mandy

louiseb

Hi Mandy
Nightmare, isn't it, having to make these decisions? My consultant told me I will be surprised at how much I will still be able to do once it's fused. He said that I will still be able to apply pressure, as in when I'm massaging, but just won't be able to flex the wrist. He also said that I don't have to have it fused completely in line with my arm, it can be fused in the most convenient angle for me.
Am meant to be seeing him tomorrow, but our hospital cancelled all outpatient appts on Tue due to the snow. It is snowing heavily here now, so I hope I can still see him tomorrow.
I think I'll probably end up saying yes to the op, as the pain is always there and is often excruciating, like last night. Xrays have showed that all the little bones in my wrist are touching, so things are only going to get worse.
To respond to what you said re your concerns about recovery time, when I had the end of my ulna removed, once the pain had settled, things weren't half as bad as I'd anticipated. I was extremely careful and sensible about it (for a change ) as I didn't want to cause further damage. I found that I was able to return to massaging several weeks before I'd been recommended to, albeit only seeing clients who prefer lighter work. I'm anticipating similar with this, although it's an even bigger job than what I've already had. Scary though, isn't it? :?
Kind regards
Louise

louiseb

Sorry Mandy, as an after thought - what questions did you send your consultant? If you are online and could let me know before tomorrow morning (!) I'd be very grateful, as you've probably thought of several that I haven't - I'm great at forgetting what to ask!!!

jackie1955

Hi, Excuse my ignorance but can you explain why it becomes necessary to have joints fused? Is it because of constant pain? Will having it fused stop the pain? Does 'fusing' mean its stuck in one position?

Also can I ask you if having a massage is beneficial to sufferers of arthritis?

Jackie x

xxloulou

I had both wrists fused a few years ago and it took me ages to make the decision as I was always led to believe that a fixed joint was a defeat, a failure in some way.

In the end I was having so much pain and dropping everything all the time it made everything impossible. I must admit it has worked for me and even though my hands and elbows are bad the overall strength is better and I don't really notice anything I can't do.

cancan

xxloulou wrote:

I had both wrists fused a few years ago and it took me ages to make the decision as I was always led to believe that a fixed joint was a defeat, a failure in some way.

In the end I was having so much pain and dropping everything all the time it made everything impossible. I must admit it has worked for me and even though my hands and elbows are bad the overall strength is better and I don't really notice anything I can't do.

Did you have them fused in the horizontal position or are they angled.
I am in a similar position, don't know what to do and loads of pain. I am very interested to know how you all get on, please keep us updated on you decisions and good luck.

mandy_b1967

I think that I obviously can't be in enough pain otherwise it would be easier to make a decission!! hope that makes sense.

Sorry Louise just come on-line I hope the appointment goes well.

xxloulou

[/quote]Did you have them fused in the horizontal position or are they angled.
I am in a similar position, don't know what to do and loads of pain. I am very interested to know how you all get on, please keep us updated on you decisions and good luck. [/quote]

Yes both my wrists are horizontal. My right one was worse, and due to shortening of my ulna bone there is some deformity there and slight downward twist. Generally tho it was the right decision for me.

cancan

Can I ask how you manage to do tasks such as washing and drying yourself and without been too blunt :shock: , other personal hygine functions? I can only imagine having great difficulty with fused wrists. :roll:

lindalegs

cancan wrote:

Can I ask how you manage to do tasks such as washing and drying yourself and without been too blunt :shock: , other personal hygine functions? I can only imagine having great difficulty with fused wrists. :roll:

Hi Cancan,

My experience for you in the hope it helps alleviate your worries.

My wrists fused themselves and I have no movement in them whatsoever - they haven't set in a particularly good position. I manage to wash with a scrunchy on a stick and use a microfibre towel (it's very lightweight) to dry myself. Wiping my botty (if that's what you're referring to) is still possible and on days when it is difficult it's through pain in my shoulders or hands. There is an aid you can get which is like a bent stick and you wrap toilet roll round one end - but I find this very messy :oops: :oops: here I go again, sorry people and moderators - too much information as usual :shock: :roll:

Luv Legs who'll try not to talk about bodily functions again :oops:

cancan

Hi Legs, I also use microfiber towels they are great arnt they. For washing I use baby wipes as they are thinner and easier to use then a flannel, they are soapy as well if you wet them a little. For the other :roll: I use moist tissues. Of course this is all without fusion, I have so many other problems going on at the moment I am leaving the fusion for the time being. I expect it will come to it one day though.