Ouch.

I just read on Web MD that it's possible it is displaced and that is why the doctor recommended surgery. Not getting it could cause you to lose range of motion in that shoulder.

As for sleeping. I would think definitely on the back and possibly reclined. I know the woes of trying to sleep, with a broken bone.

Please keep us updated on what you decide to do.

 

omg. what a horrible thing. aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

the only thing i can tell you is i screamed the first three days with my broken radius. and how to open a cat food can.

have you seen the xray? i guess since they gave you the name of a surgeon, they think you do need the operation. if the bone segments are offset, i think what he described is really what you need. it sounds ghastly, but it is indeed what they do.

if the two bone segments are still tightly together, then maybe you don't need surgery.

Another study evaluated the long-term outcomes of nonoperatively treated proximal humerus fractures. In 650 patients with a mean age of 65 years and a mean follow-up period of 45.7 months, the study noted high rates of radiographic healing, good functional outcomes, and a modest complication rate.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1261320-treatment

they say surgeons will always advise surgery. maybe you can get a second opinion?

i wish i had some help to offer, but i really don't. i'm just so sorry you are going through this.

 

https://www.verywell.com/proximal-humerus-fracture-2548596

About 80% of proximal humerus fractures are non-displaced (not out of position), and these can almost always be treated in a sling. Typical treatment is to rest the shoulder in the sling for 2-3 weeks, and then begin some gentle range-of-motion exercises. As healing progresses, more aggressive shoulder strengthening exercises can resume, and full healing typically takes about 3 months.

In more severe injuries where the bone is displaced (out of position), it may be necessary to realign or replace the damaged bone. Determining the best treatment depends on many factors including:

• Age of the patient
• Hand dominance
• Activity level of the patient
• Degree of displacement of the fracture

 

@fruitfulandgay, how are you feeling today?

 

@fruitfulandgay ! I am so glad you posted. that wasn't a long post at all for what you are going through. I'm glad you are seeing a second doctor. i'm hoping you can let it knit by itself, esp. given your lack of lymph nodes. it sounds to me like he just wants the work. who wants hardware in their body unless they absolutely need it. blech.

after the bit of research i looked at, given that you are young and the bone is not displaced, i would think you have the best odds of anyone of not needing the hardware.

i broke my wrist on january 9. seriously, i literally screamed a few times each day those first three days. just a memory now.

i wouldn't even wear a hard cast after the first 4 weeks, and i healed up just fine. obviously we are in very different situations, but i just think the body knows what it's doing. the reason i asked for a soft brace that i could take off when i wanted to was that the two places on each side of the wrist where the round bones kind of jut out hurt like blazes, and i blamed in on the friction of the cast, although maybe it's just anatomy and that was where tendons or ligaments were healing--i don't know. in the evening when i was sitting perfectly still watching tv, i would slide the brace off, making sure the arm and hand were straight, and let it "breathe."

i went back in after the second 4 weeks and the doc said the xray showed it was about 95 to 96 percent remodeled, just as it would have been with a hard cast. the rest of the healing finishes up over months. he told me to wean myself off of the soft cast, not knowing i was already out of it more than i as in it by then. i'm supposed to hold only 2 or 3 pounds the first week, and then build up to one pound more each week. i exercise with a 32 ounce water bottle since that's just a little over 2 pounds. then again, sometimes i will lift a cat, so daily life is doing it's job of building up strength.

kaiser offered to send me to physical therapy, but i said i wanted to wait a month to see if i would regain full motion gradually just from daily life, and the doc said that would be fine. i have full left and right motion and full extension where i flare my fingers backwards, but the motion for my fingers to drop down and try to touch my forearm is the one that is restricted. so three weeks left to go on my own before i decide if i want a physical therapist's intervention. I can bend enough now to cup my hand to pet the cat, and It's just been the past few days that I have felt comfortable with 2-handed typing, so I keep seeing little improvements. My baby finger is strong enough now to manage the shift key for capitals, but I have gotten out of the habit.

See--now THAT is a long post!

Please keep me updated, cookie pie. I want to know every little thing, and I have been hoping for the best for you every day. <3

 

You should definitely try immobilizing it first and see how that goes before jumping right into surgery, especially if you don't feel comfortable with your surgeon. Any chance of getting a new one? Surgeons always want to cut, and they all are a bit full of themselves but if he's not listening to your concerns I would question how good he really is.

 

I agree. Get that second opinion.
When I broke my hand/wrist, the hospital recommended someone, but my daughter nixed that idea, as soon as she talked to her doctor boss. They decided on another doctor and I really liked him.
Ask around, as word of mouth is the best bet.

 

Sending you well wishes @fruitfulandgay!!

 

Eight years of yoga! I should think so! It sounds to me like you are doing well. The second doc only monitoring sounds right, too. All Kaiser could do besides being able to cast my particular break, was keep an eye on it. I went in after 4 weeks so they could take the cast off and re-x-ray it. then another 4 weeks and another x-ray. then another 4 weeks and another x-ray. and now physical therapy if i want it. That's it. The body does the rest.

The board assistance to move your arm sounds wonderful and makes me smile with familiarity. I would use my good arm to hold the arm with the break out in front of me. It felt great. Even for the first 4 weeks when I was in the hard cast, instead of letting the sling hold my arm, I preferred to hold that arm parallel to the ground with my good arm.

I think you are doing great. You might ask the doc if your sense of lack of communication with your upper arm indicates any nerves were hurt. But because your forearm and hand still respond the way you expect, I think the answer is that that's normal for this point in your healing, but what do I know.

I am so happy--I really think you are doing well for this stage!!!!

For me, yes, I was on my own. I DID want help, but that phase didn't last long. neuro helped me figure out how to use my silveware kitchen drawer to trap a cat food can under the pull-out cutting board so I could get downward force while i pulled the top off. At first, I asked a neighbor to do that for me. I also figured out how to break the air lock on a jar of baby food (spoiled cat) by turning it upside down and using an ancient inflexible dinner knife to pry the lid outwards instead of just screwing it off. pop! Whatever else it was that I wished I could foist off on to someone else is already sufficiently in my rearview mirror for me to not remember. I just remember wishing it a lot.

P.S. I wish I had kept up with my yoga. In the final semester of my senior high school year when I didn't want to run around in the hot sun I offered to the teacher that I could do a yoga class in the gym. She said Sure, if anyone wants to do that. So many girls opted for yoga that she had to combine with another PE teacher to get two teams to play baseball. lol

 

oh, yeah--trying to pull up my underwear with one hand--that became such an annoying project, i decided to go commando for a month. problem solved. lol

when i was officially healed up, i asked my doc if i could overdo my version of physical therapy. he said no. then a few days later i read on the live strong web site that i could so hurt the healing break. i broke out in a sweat. it IS terrifying to contemplate revisiting the pain. the doc was so cavalier, i suppose it is a rare thing to happen, but i paid attention to that warning.

i also looked on the internet for foods that could put extra calcium and vitamin D into my diet. i'm still having an egg every morning for the vitamin d in the yolk. i guess it worked, because my recent blood results had higher vitamin d than i see sometimes. (i'm post-menopausal so my vitamin d level is low normal.) i thought my spinach salads from trader joe's would be good for calcium, but apparently spinach has something that binds with calcium and makes it LESS available to the body. so you might want to google for yourself and see what foods appeal to you. <3

 

How is the hair washing going? I found it difficult to do with only one hand. I also let my roots go grey, until I couldn't stand it anymore. Then gave my daughter a quick lesson in dying hair.

 

omg, trimming fingernails. aaaaahhhhhhhhhh