I have a stress fracture on my left tibia. It hurts. It means I am done running for several weeks if not months, which means I will lose everything I have worked for the last year and be back at square one when I am finally okay to run again.
I have a clueless doctor who told me, "Yep, sounds like a stress fracture -- just take Motrin and ice it for 4-6 days and you'll feel better. Do you still want a bone scan?"
Yes, I still wanted one. So I had one today, and the tech showed me my plain-as-the-nose-on-your-face fracture right where I thought it was. I will have a follow up appointment with the doctor early next week, but I have zero confidence in her recovery instructions (see above).
So now not only am I done running, I don't know what kind of timeline I am looking at. Am I okay to go on walks around the neighborhood? Can I spin? Use the elliptical? When I DO start running again, how far is okay? How often? How fast? I am already concerned that when I start again I will be so paranoid about re-injury that I won't push myself.
I am going to try to be positive throughout this setback and focus on other forms of exercise, but I am giving myself the weekend to be bummed out of my skull. Hopefully this isn't going to kill my plan to run the full marathon in Charlotte in December, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was scared I might lose that too.
WAAAAAAAAAAAA.
The end.
***UPDATE***
Dr. I-swear-she-didn't-finish-medical-school called me today and left this message on my answering machine:
"Hi Nicole. This is Dr. Idiot calling to tell you that your bone scan was indeed positive for a stress fracture in your left leg, which is shin splints. Have a good weekend!"
No phone number. No follow up instructions. No understanding of the difference between soft tissue damage and bone fractures.
So I called the hospital back, asked to speak to Dr. Idiot, got her nurse instead, who proceeded to put me on hold for over 40 minutes (hanging up on me once in the process) before finally waving Dr. Idiot down long enough to speak to me. This is an actual transcript of the conversation (that I am pulling from my steel trap of a memory):
Dr. Idiot: "Hello?"
Me: "Dr. Idiot?"
Dr.: "Yes."
Me: "This is Nicole Ter-"
Dr: "I know"
Me: "Oh. Well you called me earlier and said I do have a stress fracture on my left tibia."
Dr: "Yep -- it's a level 1 fracture, which is shin splints."
Me (trying not to let her hear my eyes rolling over the phone): "Soo...."
Dr: "So stay off it."
Me: "Stay off it? For how long?"
Dr: "You need to ice it and take Motrin (never mind that Motrin will delay the healing process in a stress fracture)"
Me (done trying to talk to someone who thinks ice will help my bone heal in 4-6 DAYS, not weeks): "Can I see an orthopedist?"
Dr: (Sigh) "Yep. You have a pen?"
Me: "Ummmm...yep. Got it."
Dr: "867-5309. Call on Monday"
CLICK.
Yes, as in Dr.Idiot hung up on me. Good thing this is all free, or I'd be a little crustier (yes, it IS possible) about this whole ordeal. The good news is I'll get to see an orthopedist sometime in the near future and get some answers on what the dealio is with my bum leg. I'll keep you all posted, because I know you are worried sick over it:)
25 comments:
But we didn't get the story about the crying and yelling at the receptionist in radiology and Branik being babysat by the random 50 year old lady...
Can I bring you some oreos? I'm up...
So this is me also too. I've decided that I'm not bothering with the bone scan - is that lame? I just kept reading everywhere that the remedy is rest. And that's free. The doc? Not so much. I've stopped ellipticalling, stepping, etc. Spinning, IMO, is good and that's what I've been focusing on.
You will have fabulous muscle memory when you get back. NO WORRIES! You'll bounce back way quicker than you're thinking. Just get better!
p.s. if you DO get some answers to the above questions feel free to pass on the advice to moi.
I've found the best remedy when you're upset and feeling sorry for yourself is to send irrational, ranting, rambling e-mails to lots of people. You'll feel much better (until you finally calm down and realize you were a lunatic). ;)
I'm sorry about your leg! December is a long time from now. Don't give up hope.
And you can always go swim at the Y. No impact on the bones, and extremely entertaining to boot.
I love a good pity party! You need some good quality time with your favorite junk foods, ice cream, chocolate, cookies, all the good stuff! Maybe a good chick flick too. Sorry about your news, hope your Dr. figures out that she has a medical degree and starts using it!
stress fractures suck!!!!! I had one in my right foot when Ty was only 1 and Zach was 3....and the doc says to me (while Scott was deployed) "you need to rest and stay off your foot"
YAH...OK!
It was the longest 6-8 weeks of my life, but eventually I did get to get back running again and surprisingly things just gelled back into the old routine with minimal effort. Muscle memory is a beautiful thing!
If you can manage to do other things while "staying off your leg" try that. The recumbent bike might be a great option at this point
Hang in there...chin up ((HUGS))
I'm sorry Nicole. This really sucks for both of us. Just when I am ready to get back in the saddle, you get injured. Hopefully you will get some more solid advice on what to do soon.
Maybe you should just stop running, exercising, and having any motivation to do anything.
That's what I do. (Think Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite).
You have hot legs. I was looking at them today (again) and you can't talk me out of it. They are hot.
I love pity parties, mostly because there is bond to be lots of junk food. My guess is (and I'm such an expert) that with all the training you have done, once you get back to it, you'll still be on track for the December marathon.
Swimming is great for cardio and overall fitness and it's no impact.
Good luck with rest/recovery!
So color me a dumb blonde, but you have a broken bone and the solution is Motrin and ice? No fancy pink cast for your fans and friends to sign? I'd be pretty freaked out, mentally, knowing it's "fractured" and just doing it's own thing while I carry on with a little more "rest." Ack.
I remember being set back a couple weeks by some blisters I couldn't get to heal last summer, Not the same thing, I know, but it's so frustrating to put everything on hold indefinitely when you're a (wo)Man with a Plan. Stupid shin.
What's that saying about borrowing trouble? Don't borrow tomorrow's trouble; you've got plenty just dealing with today. (That's not right, but you get the gist.) Feel free to sulk about the sucky stuff today (pain, having to sit on your fanny), but don't worry about December yet because most of tomorrow's worries never happen anyway. You are a driven woman, dude, and I have no doubt you will heal, be smart when you start training again, and then go on to kick trash in a full marathon. (And I can only say this because I am the Queen of Worry, by the way.)
Hugs to you, my friend.
Deb,
That's sort of my point with the doctor -- she is WAYYYY off telling me I need Motrin and ice for a few days and that'll do the trick. When I go in for my follow up with her, I am going to just be rude and ask point blank to see an orthopedist. I need someone who knows bones to tell me how severe this is and give me a realistic recovery plan, as well as instructions on what is okay (bike, swimming, etc.)
And Sarah, you've been promising to teach me how to swim like a grown up -- maybe this is our chance, eh?
Thanks for letting me whine everyone. I went to the gym this morning and lifted heavier upper body weights than I usually do, in some attempt to prove to myself that I am tough. Those of you who live around here will see how tough I really am tomorrow and Sunday when my arms hang limply at my sides:)
Also too, I may have purchased some Ben and Jerry's to console myself (but just the little bitty one) and I may also have purchased some Flat Earth chips for a "farewell to carbs in high amounts" party. You are all invited to join in my gluttony, which will begin about 37 seconds after my kids are in bed and last until I eat it all (say...14 minutes).
Just as an FYI, when I was in college a teammate of mine had some HORRENDOUS stress fractures and all her rehab was in the pool! That girl swam and swam and swam. I've said it too many times...is swam a real word? Or is it swum? Swimmed? None of these are sounding right...
Crap.
Anyway. Yeah, you should swim. That way you can keep in shape, enjoy your carbs, and show off your newly ripped (off?) arms in a smokin' hot bathing suit.
Oh, NOOOO! Shin splints stink! As Grandpa Anderson used to say, "It will all work out." He was usually right.
So I've been doing a tad of research on your stuipd shin, since Dr. Idiot doesn't seem compelled to. Mostly because I'm nosey. And while it may be true that rest (as opposed to a fancy pink cast, sadly) may be the immediate treatment, how long you stay off of it and the manner in which you get back into training are more important to the long-term healing of your stupid shin.
I wonder if it was always this way: that doctors give you a diagnosis and just send you on your way to figure out what to do? Is it because of the Internet that doctors can be this lazy? I had the same problem with Chase's allergy diagnosis. If I only had the 1-page recopied-to-the-point-of-illegibility sheet provided to me by his allergist, I'd have probably funded my own wing at at the Medical Center by now via ER copays.
I think you need to page her again just so you can hang up.
Mom,
I do not have shin splints. Shin splints are soft tissue related (muscle and fascia) and I have an actual bone fracture. The problem is not that you -- a non-running early childhood education professor -- are not familiar with the difference.
The problem is that my PCM (who claims to have been on the track team at the University of Alabama) doesn't know the difference. Shin splints really do just need ice and NSAIDs and some rest to get better in a week or so. But if I followed that course of treatment with my fracture, I would do serious long term damage to my bone.
And Deb, I think you have a point. I swear, more than half the time I go to the doctor now I know more about what the problem is than they do. Granted, I spend hours researching online for specific information, but when you graduate from medical school, it seems like you should know the difference between a bone fracture and soft tissue damage, no?
Thank goodness for the internet.
Hey Nicole,
was it a military doctor? I'm willing to bet money that it was. Military doctors LOOOOOVE Motrin. According to them "motrin" will cure just about anything.
hilarious. oh, and theyre kind of lazy
Wow. That is no fun at all... there need to be more Dr. Hanks' of the world. They actually do their job.
Well, at least you have a viable reason to do nothing.
Emi,
It was in fact a military doctor, and I can verify that they use Motrin to cure everything. I had Branik in on Tuesday for an appointment and he spiked a fever the hour before his appt. It was really weird.
Anyway, when he got into the exam room and they saw that he was running about 100.4, the doctor literally called for "Magic Motrin" from her nurse. I like the stuff too, but it doesn't heal bones.
Like I said before, I am not going to complain too much, because I am not paying for any of these scans, consults, therapies, etc. I'm hugely grateful to have free health care, even if I have to deal with less than stellar providers from time to time. My overall experience has been a positive one.
But we still didn't get the story of the crying and yelling in radiology reception...
I hear ya Nicole. I get literally $3000 in meds every month FOR FREE. can't complain.
Why is your doctor such a
be-yotch? Seriously.
P.S. I worked at an Orthopedic Surgeons office. I never once heard him tell people to put ice on it and take motrin. What an idiot.
WAIT. JENNY IS YOUR ORTHOPEDIST?! SERIOUSLY?!
Am I the first one to catch that?!! COME ON, PEOPLE!
Jenny, Jenny, who can I turn to?
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to notice:) It was either that or 555-1234.
Hi sweetie - you post made me laugh. I know that wasn't your point and that you're mad as heck, but your conversation with Dr. Idiot was a riot.
Its called life and sometimes it sucks.
I waved to your family as we passed - now I'm off to Park City to do some major shopping.
Its been 5 days since I've gotten my blog fix, and it has been so hard, but I'm hanging in there.
I think you're wonderful even if you can't run.
Sooooo... what did Jenny say?
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