Cuffs...Surgery

[Cuffs]

I started a thread a while back about my bicep injury. After kicking my first ortho surgeon to the curb, I found one who I am more confident with. My MRI showed that I have a complete rupture of the distal bicep tendon. Surgery is set for this Wednesday to reattach it, then I will be in PT for about 12 weeks.

I have stopped lifting since the date of the injury (05/28/08) and have been doing some running. So far I'm down about 20 pounds, 236 to 216. I was in the middle of a cut when this happened, but have lost more muscle than I wanted. That's okay though, I don't want to become a blob during my down time. I'm going to start some weight training about 2 weeks after surgery. Mainly targeting my legs and doing light with high reps on my uninjured side. Hopefully the transference will assist with slowing atrophy on my injured side.

One cool thing is my doc is going to take photos of the surgery. He told me he would give them to me the next day. If so, then I will post them up on here.

MODS, how about adding a section to this board pertaining to injuries and proper treatment? I joined up with a couple other boards that have such a section, with one of them being very helpful with my type of injury. Maybe you can run it by Bobo and see what he thinks???

Anyways, I will post up after my surgery and keep you in the loop. I'll have a lot of down time as I will be taking 3-4 weeks off from work.

 

[OCCFan023]

An injury section would be an extremely useful tool considering were all nicked up in one way or another. I remember when I got hurt, a lot of members helped me out with advice from their personal tribulations from the same injury. Hopefully Bobo and staff can really look into that suggestion.

Best of luck on a speedy recovery Cuffs.

 

[merph]

Good luck with the surgery man.

 

[Cuffs]

Went in for my pre-surgery registration today. Had blood drawn, urine test and chest x-rays. Not to mention signing my life away once again. I'm going to take it easy tomorrow and try to keep my mind off of the surgery. I have a list of things to get done while I still have two arms. I'm looking forward to all the good pain meds.:thumbsup:

 

[milwood]

Best of luck, Brother Cuffs!

 

[merph]

The pain meds are fun just be careful when I had my acl replaced I took them like I was told but when I ran out it was more than slightly painful.

 

[Mrs. Gimpy!]

good luck with your surgery and recovery. On a good note, it is kinda nice to not be at work for 3 to 4 weeks.

 

[Zero V]

Good luck with your operation bro, your gona have to throw up a log once your all mended up down the road so we can watch you regain your previous size and strength then surpass it with some new personal records :thumbsup:

 

[motiv8er]

Good luck man! I hope you feel better soon!

 

[DBinMD]

Good luck, been there myself. Keep us informed.

 

[toughchick401]

good luck cuffs

 

[Cuffs]

Well, had my surgery on the 23rd, and have been in major pain. Doc said there was a lot of scar tissue and he had to pull the tendon very tight. The surgery was supposed to take one hour, but ended up at 1 hour and 40 minutes. They gave me 2 and a half times the normal amount given for morphine, maxed me out, and it did nothing for the pain. Doc said I will be in pain for a few weeks. My arm is still bruised and the incisions are ugly, two of them. To make matters worse, I have lost a good portion of functioning in my fingers, as they can not be straightened, although I can move them inwards.

I had another MRI on Saturday, due to feeling a pop in the bicep while it was in its cast I go in tomorrow to find out if the tendon reruptured, or if it was just scar tissue. I'm in arange of motion (ROM) brace with it locked in so my arm will not go past 90 degrees.

During all this, my girlfriend, who I live with, went druken crazy for the second time in a few weeks. Last time she punched me and threatened to have me arrested. This time, she woke me up screaming at me, for what reason I have no idea, then poured water all over me and m bandages as I was sleeping. Then, once again said she was going to show the police a bruise on her arm, which she caused herself from a druken fall, and have me arrested. So, I have not seen her since and have been moving out of the house we just bought 7 months ago.

I swear, never a dull moment.

 

[crader]

Awww hugs...Thats terrible all the way around. I hope it did not rupture again so you can start healing.

Your ex-gf? should have been spoiling you and helping you to get better not acting like that!

Anyway I hope you are not in pain too much longer and you heal quickly!

 

[Zero V]

Dang bro, I will keep you in mind during my prayer.

I will say never buy a house with a "girlfriend" reserve that for a wife... A buddy at work made the same mistake and she cheated on him.... Of course he stole her identity after wards and ruined her credit....he is the hacker type...

I hope you find a real woman to be with, I mean geeze.... my ex who I dont always get along with actually gets worried still when I get seriously injured, and vice versa. I think you are going to find something MUCH better bro. Things work out in the end, you dont need that stress.

I hope heal up fast man, good luck!

 

[Mrs. Gimpy!]

sorry to hear about your fingers and the woman issues.

i hope that your healing will be good and that the time in between will be better for you than it has been. Never let your standards down, people who truly love you treat you with respect and vice versa.

 

[DAdams91982]

Well, had my surgery on the 23rd, and have been in major pain. Doc said there was a lot of scar tissue and he had to pull the tendon very tight. The surgery was supposed to take one hour, but ended up at 1 hour and 40 minutes. They gave me 2 and a half times the normal amount given for morphine, maxed me out, and it did nothing for the pain. Doc said I will be in pain for a few weeks. My arm is still bruised and the incisions are ugly, two of them. To make matters worse, I have lost a good portion of functioning in my fingers, as they can not be straightened, although I can move them inwards.

I had another MRI on Saturday, due to feeling a pop in the bicep while it was in its cast I go in tomorrow to find out if the tendon reruptured, or if it was just scar tissue. I'm in arange of motion (ROM) brace with it locked in so my arm will not go past 90 degrees.

During all this, my girlfriend, who I live with, went druken crazy for the second time in a few weeks. Last time she punched me and threatened to have me arrested. This time, she woke me up screaming at me, for what reason I have no idea, then poured water all over me and m bandages as I was sleeping. Then, once again said she was going to show the police a bruise on her arm, which she caused herself from a druken fall, and have me arrested. So, I have not seen her since and have been moving out of the house we just bought 7 months ago.

I swear, never a dull moment.

Have a swift recovery man... Hopefully the speed bumps are all past. And let me know... is this the SAME girl you were raving about in the infamous cuffs thread? I believe in that one she was hispanic.. and if so.. that would explain ALOT.

Adams

 

[DBinMD]

They gave me 2 and a half times the normal amount given for morphine, maxed me out, and it did nothing for the pain. Doc said I will be in pain for a few weeks. My arm is still bruised and the incisions are ugly, two of them. To make matters worse, I have lost a good portion of functioning in my fingers, as they can not be straightened, although I can move them inwards. .

Yeah, the pain can be pretty intense and may have been exacerbated by being forced to wait so long. Fortunately, for me they hooked me up to one of those self-administering machines. For a couple of days all I could do was wake up long enough to give myself another dose. I don’t know why they don't do this more often.

Are the fingers permanent or can they be corrected thru therapy?

I suspect the doctor will recommend pt after the incision is healed. From what I understand, ROM is the primary goal. You have all the time in the world to get your size and strength back, but a limited time to get ROM (I’m not sure how much time). My experience is mostly with leg injuries, so I can’t say for sure how it compares to arms, but the if the pt pain is severe, don‘t be brave, take whatever pain medication the doc can give you, even if he’s whiny about it. Doctors notoriously under dose for pain, mine did. The thing is as soon as the pain stopped I got off them, my bench press was more important. I did have some mild nausea for a few days of withdrawl but that was it.

Be patient, do everything you can, and things will work out (maybe not as well as you planned but good enough). Back in 2001 I lost 40lbs and was a mess, old people were asking me if I needed help. In 2007 I deadlifted 525x3 (without exogenous hormones).

During all this, my girlfriend, who I live with, went druken crazy for the second time in a few weeks. Last time she punched me and threatened to have me arrested. This time, she woke me up screaming at me, for what reason I have no idea, then poured water all over me and m bandages as I was sleeping. Then, once again said she was going to show the police a bruise on her arm, which she caused herself from a druken fall, and have me arrested. So, I have not seen her since and have been moving out of the house we just bought 7 months ago. I swear, never a dull moment.

Do not, under any circumstances, take her back. She is obviously self-centered and unstable. Spouses (or future ones) are supposed to support each other. Your injury, though difficult, is not tragic. If she can’t think past herself now, what will happen when things really get rough? Apparently, she didn’t love you, just used you for her own needs. If you wind up losing a bunch of money on the house, considered it a lesson learned, and move on. She’s still not worth it.

I know this is considered weird now a days, but really, with the next girl friend, don’t move in together until after the nuptials. Around 75% of married couples who cohabitated first divorce. And every divorce I’ve seen has been a nightmare esp if there are kids involved. After that you’re not really divorced no matter what the papers say, IOW you will have to deal with each other until at least the kids are grown. Cohabitation: A Road To Divorce?
Sorry if I was too preachy, but you have some serious issues and I couldn’t ignore it.

I swear, never a dull moment.

Yeah tell me about it. After awhile you really do appreciate it when someone asks “what’s new” and all you can say is “nothing much”
Good luck

 

[Cuffs]

Saw my doc today and had the MRI read. Not good. My distal tendon re-ruptured from the sutures, which are still in tact with the bone. Doc said the tendon was just stretched too tight. So, I'm being set up with a specialist to have a graft done to lengthen the tendon. Surgery all over again. I am just really bummed right now. Too much going on all at once. I'm trying to stay positive, but one can only take so much.

 

[Zero V]

man, I am sorry to hear that. How do you think they are planning to go about the graft?

 

[DBinMD]

Saw my doc today and had the MRI read. Not good. My distal tendon re-ruptured from the sutures, which are still in tact with the bone. Doc said the tendon was just stretched too tight. So, I'm being set up with a specialist to have a graft done to lengthen the tendon. Surgery all over again. I am just really bummed right now. Too much going on all at once. I'm trying to stay positive, but one can only take so much.

Ouch! So sorry to hear that and no one could blame you for the way you feel. Wish I could help.

 

[OV33]

Scaphoid Non-Union

I know what you mean on the injury section it would be nice. I can tell you this. Working your legs since your arm is hurt is a great idea. I had surgery in Jan on my wrist for a scapoid Non-Union and it is a pain. I am still recovering and I messed up thinking because I needed to bulk up that I would stay out of the gym and gain some wieght by just sitting around and eating, well my pant size went up 2 sizes and I actually lost 17 lbs. I wish I would have been doing something. The bad thing about my surgery was the bone graph. They had to cut a chunk of bone from my hip to put in my wrist. My right wrist was the injury then the hip bone got took from the left. So both sides of my body where screwed and upper and lower was too. The hardest thing has been not going to the gym and feel like I'm wasting away. I almost was going to tell the Dr. to put me on anti depressants 6 months after healing. It's hard not doing what you love but I just sucked it up and I'm able to hold about 20 lbs with my wrist now with out it hurting. I'm in my first month of PT and my hip is solid now that I can work on my legs. Injuries flat out suck...

 

[DBinMD]

well my pant size went up 2 sizes and I actually lost 17 lbs..... The hardest thing has been not going to the gym and feel like I'm wasting away.

Yeah, tell me about it, I lost 40 lbs in 6 weeks and none off it was off my waist.

 

[toughchick401]

Wishing you the best cuffs, ....focus on one thing at a time and all else will fall into place...

TC

 

[milwood]

Wishing you the best cuffs, ....focus on one thing at a time and all else will fall into place...

TC

I agree! We're all thinking about you and wishing you the very best!!! Hang tough!!!