I spent part of yesterday beating the ice off the deck and porch. The ice has been there since the rain last week, but it has not been warm enough to allow any of the ice to melt. Yesterday, although it was cloudy, the temps were warm enough that the ice started to soften (actually the bottom part was no longer adhering to the wood), so it was the perfect time to take on this chore.
Now my left-hand thumb is dislocated - not seriously, just a little. That thumb always dislocates when I do stuff like that. And that leads me to why I don't see doctors as often as I probably should.
Several years ago I was playing volleyball at a quasi company party (a guy at work had a party and invited several of his co-workers). I was playing opposite of Brent, who at 6'3" and 300 pounds, is just slightly bigger than I am. Too make a long story shorter, I went up to block a spike by Brent, he missed the ball but managed to bring the full force of his blow onto my thumb. Of course my thumb went directions that nature never intended it to go and I decided to sit out the rest of the game.
The next Monday, I went to the doctor because my whole hand had turned black (not to mention the sever swelling on the thumb-half of my hand). I didn't think my thumb was broken, but knew that there was definitely something wrong since I really couldn't move my thumb much.
X-rays were taken and the decision was that I had a soft-tissue injury. The doc sent me to physical therapy where they gave me exercises to rehabilitate my thumb. One problem, the exercises made everything worse. The PT was stopped and the doc couldn't figure out anything else to do, so decided it would heal on its own.
Fast forward a month or two when I had a chiropractor appointment with Jim. My left elbow and wrist were hurting me (along with the blasted and swollen thumb, which I didn't mention because I was used to it by then), so I had Jim see what he could do with them. He cracked my elbow and wrist, then started feeling along my fingers. Within seconds he found the main problem - my thumb was dislocated and was digging a new place in the joint for the ball to rotate. He pulled it back into place, and within a couple of days my thumb felt, and worked, as good as new. The thumb is still a little confused where it supposed to be so it will still dislocate if there is a lot of jarring and vibration, but now it will re-locate itself after a day or two.
About 6 months after my thumb was put back in place, I went to the Doctor for another problem and was asked how my thumb was. When I explained that it had been dislocated and the chiropractor had put it back in place, I was told that the X-ray didn't show a dislocation, so it must have really healed on its own. The doc never figured out what my (then) current problem was either. Plenty of tests were done at the hospital, but nothing seemed to show up. After a couple of weeks of forcing myself to eat something everyday (and losing about 15 pounds, which I really couldn't afford to lose), that problem finally righted itself. Then there was the mention that there was no sign of cancer after my mastectomy (I had gone in for a base-line mammogram earlier that year that had nothing to do with cancer fears or mastectomies).
So, sad to say, I don't really trust doctors to diagnose anything so I avoid them unless it is absolutely essential to go.
Not every doctor is that inept. Find a new one. If you can't...call the chiropractor for his/her recommendation. Chiropractic care and standard medicine should work hand in hand.
Posted by: Da Goddess | December 23, 2003 at 09:01 AM
I would take Da Goddess's advice. Sounds pretty solid to me. But I'm glad their tests showed no cancer. (yeah, right. I hope the other person is notified and thrilled. Providing the Doc remembers who the other person is.)
Posted by: Wichi Dude | December 23, 2003 at 10:33 AM
WD - That was my X-ray that was being looked at.
Goddess - This is just the tip of the iceburg and I have not had a diagnosis out of any doctor (in Kansas or in NH). I never found a doctor that believed I had migrains (I had classic symptoms and family history). There have also been various other problems that I have had to live with until they cleared themselves up or I still just live with them.
Posted by: Bogie | December 24, 2003 at 06:08 AM
Wish my doctor made house calls, Bogie, so that she could come see you. She is wonderful. She actually listens to her patients (or, at least, to me), gives me web sites to visit, shows me pictures in her medical reference books, explores what I think about a situation, etcetera, etcetera. She is on the staff at KU School of Medicine--Wichita. Thus, she teaches on certain days of the week (so, she is not available for appointments, then); but, she doesn't pretend to know everything. When I was having an indometrial biopsy, she actually came in to watch and ask the GYN questions in order to learn more about what she (the GYN) was doing. And, to boot, she has a sense of humor (and she's young enough that I tell her she cannot leave her practice in Wichita until I'm dead and gone!)
Posted by: Cop Car | December 25, 2003 at 07:34 AM