Folks Of Interest Don't worry, he's 'Armless.............

You need to educate yourself about your predicament, and probably the internet has all the info you need to make an intelligent decision.

There are forums for everything.............so pick some brains.

Prayers out and best of luck.

 

Having the pleasure of reading your post of your Army service and being a fucked up Vet myself,I know you can make it through this.You got a wheelbarrel full of NUTS.Dig in a little deeper and avoid DR. Sawzall.. good luck

 

Great advice on here doc. Praying for ya brother!

 

I think the internet is a good tool in your situation, you can e mail doctors all over the world to see who specialize in your kind of troubles. Make it a full time job, I'd bet some one somewhere has a new idea. Don't give up, you are only out time, Good luck I'm wishing all the best.

 

Given the choices bud, I would leave it as is and take some pain killers when necessary.
Good luck, and hang in there.
Pete

 

Doc I just read your post and that's just horrible to hear. In your predicament I would absolutely not go for the amputation unless the arm were gangrenous or otherwise life threatening. I live with back pain every day after having screwed it up and had spinal surgery over a decade ago. At least now I can walk, which I was not able to do for nearly three years and after a while you just live with it. Pain meds such as Oxycontin can fuck you up reallly bad too, as you doubtless well know. There must be other options and as others have said you need to exhaust every option before you make your decision. Best of luck mate....

 

File a claim with the VA ... Good luck ...

 

Amputation, my ass. Don't do it, Doc. There is somebody out there who has better options for you. Find them. Do whatever it takes.

Best of luck to you, mate. I'm pulling for you.

 

Consider more than traditional Western medicine. Perhaps Chinese medicine has an option you can try before doing anything permanent.

 

This as an option....My wife had problems, and it was a hollistic (spelling?) doctor that made her better. Not going to lie- was $$ but worth it in the end.

 

Go international. Consult specialists in the USA or other countries. Known you for many years on various forums and yer like a brudder.

 

Sorry to hear that Doc. Hang in there!

If worse comes to worse, can always have a prosthetic arm. Then, like the bad guy in "Enter the Dragon" (but with a hot rod slant), you could have it fixed up so that you could unscrew the hand (think dzus fasteners) and screw on a drill, angle grinder, or other power tool.


(not intended to be insulting or diminish your situation)

 

A lot of good advice given already, but yeah... I wouldn't go getting it removed until I had explored every other option. Sorry to hear the predicament you're in man, that's gotta be rough.

As someone else mentioned you have the whole internet at your disposal, so get Googling for Doctors everywhere who specialize in this kind of thing. Good luck and God bless.

 

I am posting this without reading the 4 pages of responses, but none the less.....

FUCK those options, get a better doctor, or better yet, find one of the "top ten" in the world for dealing with your issue and get that shit fixed.

Yea, it might cost you some dough, but just how much is an arm worth?

If you can find some medical talent akin to some of the metal/fab talent that can be seen on the HAMB, your arm can be saved, and as more than just a useless appendage.

edit >> The more I think about your "options", the more it pisses me off, limiting options is the same as taking rights. Come to the US and get it fixed while we still have the option here to pay for whatever medical care we want. >>

 

I know you mean well with your suggestion but I can tell you from experience that what you really need is an advocate to search the internet for you. There is a lot of great information but there is also lots of "misinformation" that can give false hope and frankly scare the crap out of you. I would not recommend anyone going it alone on the internet.

I was fortunate that I had someone willing to help me, I did not find an answer but I did not drive myself crazy with false hope and perhaps even some dangerous alternatives.

There are always options, you need a plan and you need to talk to as many experts as you can who have expertise and actively practice in your area of need. Always take someone with you when you talk to doctors and have that person take lots of notes.

Again I wish you well, you will find answer.

 

As someone close to this (my wife lost both legs over a 4 yr period), I can only echo what everyone is saying to get the BEST second/third opinions you can. Whereas your local doc might only see 1-2 cases in his career, a specialist or top teaching hospital will have seen 10's or 100's of similar issues or have the network to contact someone who has. I'm not really good at putting my life on the intranetz so feel free to PM me.
Jerry

 

The internet is a tool, anyone who is on the HAMB for a while knows that they have to filter the shit form the good stuff.

A few years back I had a parathyroid tumor. I went on an online quest for knowledge about my situation.

One of the first websites I encountered had a LOT of detailed information, which I am not going into that much here except to say that they explained the differences between "traditional" surgery where they do a 4 hour "fillet of neck", which involves a certain risk of general anesthesia, a week in the hospital for recovery, and a heightened risk of the nerve to my vocal cords being severed, and their new minimally invasive procedure.

I was referred to to a local endocrine clinic where I went through the motions of attaining the diagnosis that I already knew I had, this took about 6 weeks. At the end of this procedure I was referred to a local surgeon for traditional surgery, (just like the website said they would).

I didn't make the appointment with the surgeon, and I never went back to the local clinic. I made an appointment with the clinic that published the website, had my surgery 6 weeks later, in by 6:00 AM, out by 11:00 AM, eating a steak dinner in a restaurant by 5:00 PM, on a plane home by 11:00 AM the next day, and back at work the day after that.

Whats my point in this long ass story?

1. The internet is a tool that CAN help folks make the right health decisions. Often the internet is a great tool for us to even know if, and what options are available to us.

2. Doctors don't know everything, nor do they ALWAYS make the right choices for their patients.

3. Ultimately, we patients are responsible for what gets done to us and what does not.

4. A surgeon (specialist) who does 2,000 particular procedures a year is in a better position to provide better results than a general surgeon who does 2 particular procedures a year.

Get a specialist, and a good one.

 

Your post really hit home as i have problems with both. I basicly destroyed both elbows by running a concrete removal bussiness for 23 years. At the end i had only 1/3 or less range of motion with my right arm and lived this way for three or more years, hell i raced a stock car like that for a few years. I had two surgeries to the right one a few years ago and i now have about 60 pecent of normal movement. I was told i will need an elbow joint replacement in the near future, i hope i'm gone before it comes to that.

My point is, i learned to live with basicly a fixed arm with very little range of motion before my surgery. I would think that fused or a fixed joint would be MUCH better than no arm at all..jmo. I agree with the other posters, do more research, get more opinions.

 

File a claim with the VA ... It want fiix youre arm but youll get paid for the pain .... I know how you feel , Got my leg hung up in a tank turrent in 1969 ... Hope you reported it when it happened ... Good luck ...

 

Doc, Brother I would say GET ANOTHER OPINION!!! The problem with amputation is phantom limb syndrome where your mind still believes the pain is there so there is pain in the nerve endings even tho the arm is not there. As others have said stray from amputation there are plenty of surgeons here probably willing to help your cause if nothing else, again I know nothing about the Aussie Veterans affairs or medical system!!

 

well I hope not option 3

 

Doc, Every situation is different. I strongly urge you to talk to a professional counselor who has knowledge of pain-management, separate from your surgeon's practice. Be honest about your feelings and desires for the future.
Chronic pain and overuse of medications lead to depression and resentment. THESE ARE KILLERS!!! I've lost friends and a nephew to these.
Be honest with yourself and your doctors. The fact that you talk openly about it is a step in the right direction. Good luck.

 

Get a big jar and keep it to show to the neighbor children...

But get another opinion first... Glad you've got a sense of humor about it anyways!

 

Get as many "second " opinions as you want until YOU are comfortable...there is a reason they call it "practicing medicine"......just sayin!

 

Good Luck Doc. Hope it works out.

 

I never knew my grandfather when he had both arms. This is the only picture I've ever seen of him with both arms. It was amputated after being pulled under another moving steam engine on an adjacent track. He tied his own shoes etc. no velcro back then He never built hotrods but it was unbelievable to me what he could do with one arm. He never wore a prosthesis.

I hope to hell that they can figure out a way to save it and it's usefulness. We're all pulling for ya. Don't let it get you down.

 

Doc..

can't offer anything more than what has been posted.. Best of luck in whatever the final outcome is. You have a ton of friends pulling for you fer sure!

Bill

 

Doc , Go global there has got to be a doctor somewhere in the world that can help save your arm . Option 3 seems so wrong . Rob.

 

Doc,
I hope your specialists there as as good as the ones here. I have a friend whose brother is a neurosurgeon and, according to Herman, tops in the field. I believe he's still in California and I believe he's the kind of guy who takes on cases like yours but I'm not sure.
I'm a gonna pass your note on to Herman and ask him to see what his brother suggests.
The best thing for you is to keep hope through the pain and endure 'til the end.
Easy for me to say but it's what I tell my daughter Abby (16) who has suffered with chronic
pain since she turned 2 (Juvenile Arthritis, don't-cha-know) The advise helps her.

Most if all, never forget all these folks out here have your back and will be here when you
need to air it out.

Strength in numbers, never go it alone.

As always, with upmost respect and gratitude for your service and sacrifice;
Godspeed, mate!
Mark

 

HOLD ON !

Wait to see what the new doc will say.

P.S. Don't opt for option #3 and change your name to Doctor Hook

Best of luck !!