Broken arm and dont trust Dr's after they've consistently messed up.

[Br0kenarm]

Hi,
I've changed my name as this is very outing but I would really appreciate advice.
6 weeks ago I broke my humerus with a spiral.break (caught my arm in a tree as I fell and snapped it)
I have been treated really poorly and have put a complaint in with PALS but now I have no trust in them so dont really believe what ive been told.
I was told in a and e there was a large probability of an operation but they put me in a brace until I was seen by the fracture clinic. Fracture clinic saw me after a week and said brace was fine even though I said it felt very loose.
week 2 they realised brace hadn't had compression bands put on so bone had srarted to heal at a point. By that point id even got a sore. I asked if I could be allergic and was told no.
Weeks 3/4 I ended up with cellulitis under the brace caused by allergic reaction. 2 weeks of back.and forward to hospital and them just cleaning, extending antobiotocs and putting brace back on finally ended with me passing out at hospital and them taking brace off. Infection markers, blood pressure and temperature all.high.
Week 5 beginning of week was told bone in place but not healing and they'd xray again at end of week but would need an operation. end of week 5 told its beginning to heal so no operation needed

Ive now been tomd I dont need to see fracture clinic for xray until beginning of January and to start physiotherapy. I currently just have a sling supporting it.

If I hadn't had issues with brace I would of still been in it until atleast week 12 possibly week 16 but now week 7 they want to start me on physiotherapy and wean me off sling.

I still am in pain and feel shooting pains over the break. I feel its so early and that its not been supported enough. Id love to trust the drs but I see different ones every time, no consistency and I have no faith.

For people who have broken their humerus/know what im talking about 🤣 do you think its too early?

Anyone?

I broke my wrist and that was only 6 weeks in a cast, it ached during rehab but had been well since. They will have looked for bone healing on x rays and that will guide their advice. Have you not had copy letters from fracture clinic?

I bet there s a Humerus fracture group on Facebook that will be super helpful. Good luck 🍀

Upper limb 6 weeks is standard.

Upper limb fractures are quite complex- my mum broke her humerus and was in a brace for about 6 weeks, also had some skin issues due to the pressure of the brace etc.
It’s poor you haven’t had a consistent doctor though- do you have a named consultant?

I dont have a named consultant and I've not received any notes or letters. They've been awful.
I suppose I do need to start to listen to them.

@Br0kenarm well that’s just not ok- I’m a hospital nurse and have never heard of a patient not having a “named person” responsible for their care. I’m not even sure what to suggest- I’m sorry, humeral breaks are awful, you don’t need this ❤️❤️❤️.

Again I think for fracture clinic it’s standard not to see the same person. I’m not an orthopod but I think it’s always run on a shift system as these are acute issues not long term ones usually. It’s not like a normal OP clinic for planned surgery.

Fracture clinic are more expert than A&E Drs so they can change the plan. Having an operation has a higher risk of complications than brace/ cast so that’s always chosen if possible.
I would imagine that you can ask for another appointment and to see another Dr (make sure it’s the consultant not the registrar) given that you have seen different ones every time anyway. If you say you have new symptoms like more pain I expect they will see you again.

I broke my wrist, multiple fractures, my first Doctor in A&E had a pretty awful bedside manner. He suggested that there was little point trying for a perfect straight union, no point in pinning it. The pain and the doubt that I felt at his treatment caused me to eventually seek 2 different opinions, I was convinced they had totally fucked up - they kept pondering whether I needed surgery for weeks after the break. I didn’t get my pain under control. I wouldn’t let them take the plaster off at 6 weeks because it was so painful - it came off at 8 but I wouldn’t let them touch it. I insisted on Gas&Air to have my plaster off. They wanted to put it in a splint but I wouldn’t let them - I didn’t trust them with my pain.
It wasn’t the first break I’ve had but it was the most painful and the lack of faith in my doctors made the situation very difficult. I just couldn’t trust them.

I did the physio and I got good movement back in my wrist - they were quite astounded - because they thought I didn’t have the grit - I had the grit, I just had lost the trust.

Good luck with your recovery - your situation sounds very difficult.

I broke my ankle.

in the end I went and got a review from a private bone doctor (forgot the official name) as I lost trust in the fracture clinic.

he was able to explain stuff to me and agree a plan that helped. Mistakes had been made.

I fractured my humerus last year- most painful thing I've ever experienced and I've had three children and two major operations. I was put in a low sling in A&E, given no advice really, and it was two weeks before I was seen in fracture clinic where the doctor was shocked that I was in the wrong type of sling. He put me in a collar and cuff for six weeks. I became aware of my wrist being painful but thought it was due to referred pain. Six weeks later ( 8 weeks from fracture) I was taken out of collar and cuff and, at that point discovered that pain in my wrist was because I'd fractured radius and ulna and it had gone unnoticed because pain of fractured humerus was so awful it masked wrist pain. I went privately to a physio for shoulder exercises. 18 months on shoulder is fine but wrist is still a problem as loss of strength, movement and misshapen. I think treatment of humerus fracture depends on severity of fracture.

My dad (big guy) broke his upper arm falling on a slippery tiled Italian floor.
I had to google what a brace looks like, one of these?

it sounds same as the "sling" my dad had. He was sure that couldn't be correct treatment and enough, but he got same treatment in Italy & in USA so then he accepted it.

I am curious how OP got an allergic reaction, was the brace in contact with skin under clothes?

Dad was a 70-yo-something guy & seemed to heal more easily than OP but dad really didn't have any treatment other than time and his "sling". I can only think OP's fracture was very much worse than my dad's. Was it compound, maybe, or do you find you heal slowly from everything, OP?

I hope you feel better soon, x

Disclosure - I have no medical background just what I've learnt since my accident.

Bone healing is relatively easy, it is the tendons and ligaments and other stuff that isn't. I was in horrendous pain when they removed my casts, I couldn't believe they did so soon, but they said the bones were knitting and the lack of movement would cause much more issues.

I did demand proper pain relief but it does appear it was the right course.

BUT I trusted my doctor - could you move hospitals?

Thank you everyone and yes loss of trust messes everything up doesnt it?
I think because I have no trust i dont want to phone and see someone again but yes I need too.
This is the brace. Its worn under clothes so the foam stuff is direct on skin. Hang on and ill find a photo of the reaction

This is my arm with the reaction

Is the brace washable - I get skin reactions from
new clothes, I need to wash them before I wear them.

No it cant be washed as has to be put on in hospital and cant travel without it on as pains too bad. They won't put it back on again now anyway for risk of infection again.

Hello again everyone. Just thought i'd update you all. In January they said that it was calcifying well and I was discharged even though I could barely move it, felt it clicking etc.
Two physio sessions in and they thought the tendon had been torn so sent me to a specialist clinic and discovered it was still broken and actually worse than when it had happened. I had to have a plate and screws put in abd my arm stapled. 1 week in my arm feels so much better already and I can also move it more than I could last week.
My point is, if things dont feel right then argue it.

Oh bless you. So sorry it wasn't taken seriously in the beginning.

Hope you continue to recover well

Glad you had a decent Physio who drove the right outcome for you, that is a hell of a wound!

I had a similar situation (although with my wrist) where I was discharged after 8 weeks of fracture clinic visits still in so much pain, that the staff dismissed really rudely. I went to a specialist hand / upper limb Physio who realised a few weeks in that there were issues that hadn’t been dealt with and was able to facilitate an MRI etc. I subsequently had surgery, and even though my wrist was re-broken and pinned, it got better really fast, without any of the pain that I’d had in the period whilst waiting for surgery.

I lost confidence in the medical team, but also myself. I’m a really confident person in a senior professional role, but my pain was minimised and I was not listened to, which I found frustrating and belittling.

Thank you both. Im so sorry youve steuggled too.
Yes the physio was amazing. I've emailed to say how fab he was. The second hospital have been brilliant. But yes ive lost confidence in myself too. I think also being in the constant pain and lack of movement for 5 months its overwhelming