Injured Wrist - How to See Specialist Soonest?

[IronMac]

Ok, on July 6th, I fell off of my bike and whacked my right wrist pretty hard. I went down to St. Michael's Hospital where they took x-rays and the doc there said that he didn't see a break and sent me home.

Last week, my wrist was still slightly swollen and I do not have the full use of it. So, I headed over to a walk-in clinic who sent me for additional x-rays. They asked me to come back and told me that there was a break that was not healing properly so they want me to see a specialist. They said that they consider my case "urgent" given how much time has passed and they thought that I should be able to see a specialist this week.

They called this afternoon and told me that they found me an appt for Feb. 20th!!!

Ok, what are my options now? Head back to St. Mike's? Call the walk-in clinic again? Call St. Joseph's to try to get an earlier appt? I certainly don't want to wait another three months because I can't put any stress on the wrist without incurring pain.

Thanks.

[Shaner]

Do you have a family doctor? If so, go there and they'll set you up with a specialist.

If you don't have a family doctor, go back down to the hospital. It's possible they didn't see the break due to the swelling. Now that the swelling is gone down, they'll be able to see the break and they will deal with it accordingly.

Walk in clinics aren't any good for broken bones, at least not in my experience.

[vanessie]

Do whatever you can to get it taken care of ASAP. If it was still swollen after being injured for months, you've certainly got a problem. If it was fractured, the longer it sits outside a cast, the less likely it will heal properly. Can you check another hospital, or try heading to an emergency room? My brother recently broke his thumb and my parents waited a week because they thought it was nothing. One trip to the emergency room and the x-rays and cast were taken care of within a week.

Good luck

[molala]

go to the ER..my friend broke his finger earlier this summer and went to the ER, they did an x ray and got him in the fracture clinic withing a week along with the physiotherapy...he got appt every week and it was all healed in less than 2 months

[onepixel]

I can't believe that wait time. I broke my wrist after a fall two years ago. I went to Markham Souffville Hospital. They have a fast track system for possible broken bones. Had an xray. Was told to come back the next day for a temp. cast. A few days later I had a full cast on my wrist. Excellent and fast.

[CSK'sMom]

What did they tell you to do in the meantime? I would almost be willing to bet the appt isn't till Feb because it's already been 3 months since the initial break. Usually when a break isn't healing correctly it means surgery to re-break the bone and re-set it. They could be waiting for further "healing" and bone growth before they go in and fix it..... This definitely isn't like dealing with a fresh break by any means.

[IronMac]

Wow, thanks for the great replies!

A. Yes, the walk-in clinic doc said that the doc at St. Mike's may not have seen the break due to the swelling.
B. It does not seem to be a "gross" fracture but a "separation" of the bones. Whatever! I still can't lift a full Brita jar of water without supporting it with my left hand.
C. I'm praying for casting rather than a plate.
D. The walk-in clinic did not tell me what to do in the meantime while waiting for the Feb. appt. I don't think that they're waiting for further "healing".

Ok, I'm going to walk back down to St. Mike's this morning along with the x-rays that I got from the clinic.

[belowzeros]

ya I'm going to triple and 4x the go to the hospital ER.

unfortuneately in Canada it's the fastest way to get a break like that properly taken care of. specialists and family doc's are often backed up 2-3 weeks and that's not gonna work for you.

I hurt my knee working out and the wait was 6 weeks for a sports clinic...ummm ya but it hurts now lol

go to the ER, bring a book cuz they'll make you wait since you aren't bleeding out your eyes

[IronMac]

Ok, bolstered by everyone's support here I walked down to the St. Mike's emergency entrance armed with several newspapers and mags and my x-rays. Got in at 8 am...got out at 9:15!

Doc looked at x-rays and says that there is a break and a chip. St. Mike's should have had a radiologist look at my first x-rays rather than just the physician on call the day of the accident.

Doc tried to get me in to see a specialist today but no one available so I had to call the Fracture Clinic after leaving. I am now due to see a specialist on Tuesday morning at 9 am.

Thanks again, everyone!

[Eyies]

Till then make use of R.I.C.E.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.I.C.E.

[IronMac]

Geeze...I did RICE for a month after the accident!

St. Mike's offered to splint my wrist today but I said nahhh...I can tough it out.

[Eyies]

Same thing for me, got a fracture on my toe from being landed on in volleyball. Not much I can do, but with simple steps healing has been fast.

[RowaH]

Wtf is with all this pseudo-scientific information? Only give medical advice if you're qualified.

[watching]

Wtf is with all this pseudo-scientific information? Only give medical advice if you're qualified.

How do you know nobody here is qualified?

[cgtlky]

They called this afternoon and told me that they found me an appt for Feb. 20th!!!

Ok, what are my options now? Head back to St. Mike's? Call the walk-in clinic again? Call St. Joseph's to try to get an earlier appt? I certainly don't want to wait another three months because I can't put any stress on the wrist without incurring pain.

Thanks.

Its not bad you just waited a few months, in my case its almost 6 months already I haven't seem the wrist specialist although the gave me a schedule which is almost the same schedule as yours.

For the meantime what you can do is put a wrist support to lessen the pain on your wrist.