has anyone else ever cut their own cast off?

[Calvin19 0]

wondering. i did it when i was 15, i broke all 5 metetarsals in my right foot. 3.5weeks into the break, i wanted to take a shower, so i sawed it off, was super carefull, took a shower, and spent the next 2 weeks with a duct taped on cast. taking it off every other day to shower.

now i have a cast on my right ankle again, toes to 10cm below knee. and it is really bugging me. i had surgury for tendon release in my #2 toe, and a 'zeeplasti' (sp?) on my big toe. i got the stitches out today, and doc put a new cast on, and it is really bugging me. im getting ideas.

[wildcard451 0]

it's your leg. if you really decide you wanna foul up the healing process, go right ahead. You don't heal quite like you did as a growing 15 year old boy now.

In other words, dumb idea.

[Calvin19 0]

fuck dude. am i really getting old? im twenty two and a half. thats kinda depressing. i like to think i can still hea pretty good, just not as good as when i was 15. but better than 5 years from now.

and its a tendon, i spent 2 hours without a cast at the docs today, he told me to stretch my toe when i am bored at home, i cant see why haveing it off for a shower every48hours, with no weight bearing on that leg at all. (i have spent 6 out of the last 11 months in a wheelchair, so im good at ass scooting)

sigh. maybe your right. but its really tight, and i cnt sleep. obviously

[Zep 0]

I've done it twice, torn tendons in the ankle (both), Main reason was it stopped me from driving,
didnt stop me from jumping though

Now as the years have passed I suffer from weak ankle tendons an I regret not letting the tendons
take the time they needed to heal properly.

Gone fishing

[matt1215 0]

I had a long arm cast on my left arm after fracturing my scaphoid and ulna .

I thought about cutting it off several times in the 10 weeks I had it. I resorted to threading baby-wipes into a .22 rifle rod slot-end and fishing it down both ends. Gets rid of the stink for a few days and feels heavenly, tho I ripped out lots of hair.

[karenmeal 0]

I would call your doctor's office and tell them that the cast is driving you nuts and see if there are other options.

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[sartre 0]

Since when do you listen to sensible advice?

I'm quite sure your DOCTOR had better advice than random skydivers on dz.com.

As great as they are, unless they tell you what you want to hear you're not going to listen anyway.

IMO.

[sunshine 2]

I cut my cast off. But i'm kinda stupid and my orthopedic surgeon was waaaay pissed. In other words, don't do it. The Sunshine has spoken!!

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[swedishcelt 0]

Don't do it. Won't he replace it every two weeks?
My Dr. replaced it with a new one every two weeks and most Dr's will if you request it and can pay for the office visit. That gave me the will power to stay with it even when it was unbearable, I knew in two weeks I would be able to wash it. The nurse would help me wash it with babywash each time.

[matt1215 0]

I had mine replaced at 3 weeks. They set my elbow at about 100 degrees on the first cast, a little further out the second. Made it a lot easier to drive a stick.

[wildcard451 0]

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I'm quite sure your DOCTOR had better advice than random skydivers on dz.com.

As great as they are, unless they tell you what you want to hear you're not going to listen anyway.

IMO.

Occasionally, there are a few doctors that even chime in a bit of sensible advice around here too....

[lisamariewillbe 1]

I say go for it, need any help? Screw the crutches to, its just the man trying to hold you back

Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

[swedishcelt 0]

LOL!! Don't encourage him. It can get pretty stinky and icky though. Why do you think I was the "nun" for awhile.

[lisamariewillbe 1]

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LOL!! Don't encourage him.

He's invincable, he will be okay

Quote

Why do you think I was the "nun" for awhile

Cause you were sick of boys, looking for men ive a feeling even with a stinky cast you were the product of many kittens being killed

Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

[Calvin19 0]

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I say go for it, need any help? Screw the crutches to, its just the man trying to hold you back

yeah! damn the man!

well, anyway, you kids are missing my point. im not going to cut it off and go jumping. im going to cut it off so i can relax it and NOT MOVE FROM THR COUCH OR SHOWER.

also, doctors know way more about this shit than I do, i know that. but that does not mean they know what is best for me. doc put a cast on me because he knew that i would go paragliding right away if he just left it on for 2 weeks and then put a boot on me.

ps, is there any repercussions that i might get if i do cut it off? i mean, what cn my doc do to me? worst case?

[sartre 0]

It's not what your doc can do to you. It's what you can do to yourself.

Since you are sure only you know what's best for you, have at it, my friend.

By the way, how's that been working out for ya so far ?

[lisamariewillbe 1]

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ps, is there any repercussions that i might get if i do cut it off? i mean, what cn my doc do to me? worst case?

Yes there are , he gets to fuck your girlfriend....

Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

[airtwardo 7]

http://www.brooksidepress.org/Products/OperationalMedicine/DATA/operationalmed/Procedures/PlasterCastaForearmFracture.htm


Look pretty basic to me....if ya don't have a fancy 'cast' saw thingie, I hear a chainsaw works well!!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Calvin19 0]

what do you mean? i have a feeling you dont like me that much.


and is it just me, or does everyone on earth have a blind faith in their doctors? im not saying its a bad thing, but im not like that. i should be.

i think i am going to leave it on, for a while. i get it off on the 20th, and that should be the final thing (besides physical therapy) that i have to do for my accident. sigh. i guess 11 days is not that bad. today, i got invited to go wingsuiting with the boys. it is literaly the first time in my parachute career that i have turned down an invitation. sigh, i jumped in the last 6 months in a boot, barefoot, etc and just landed on my ass, or carefully on my feet.

so, knowing what is best for me has been going extremely well, since you asked.

[tigra 0]

Possible repercussions could include screwing up your insurance coverage.

I totally understand the instinct, though. I never did it, but I remember at one point, the itching/burning sensation was so bad that if I had the tools handy, I probably would have! Seriously, if the cast is driving you crazy because its too tight or pinching a nerve, call your doctor and tell him, and if he doesn't take you seriously, keep calling until he does. And if it gets really bad, go to the ER and make THEM cut it off- especially if it is too tight and your leg is swelling.

[Calvin19 0]

whoa, its not that bad, it is just annoying, and im sick of being bed ridden(ish). it is tighter then the last one i had on the last two weeks, but im not swelling, and its not pinching a nerve. I thought about doing something that would make it ok for me to take it off, without haveing to go to the ER, i am mildly alergic to chlorine, and it is a waterproof cast, soo... hmmm... you know what im getting at.

i had a close call in febuary with insurance, dont want to do that. almost had to pay my 850,000 bill, thank god my pops knows that truth is relative. he saved my ass.

[steve1 5]

Back when I was young and dumb, invincible and bullet proof, I almost always cut off my own cast. My thinking was, why pay a doctor to do something I could do myself.

One time I showed up at a new job in the woods with an arm still in a cast. It was way back in the boonies and it took a week before one of the main bosses showed up. I was running a chain saw that day, when he came walking up. He had his heart set on firing me because my arm was still in a cast. So that night I cut it off and returned to work the next morning. Since my cast was gone, they kept me working.

Oh, I could go on and on about some of the other stupid things I've done. One summer, I broke another arm at a rodeo. Since it was my free arm I could still ride broncs (during the weeks that followed). So that's what I did.

I had another friend who rode bulls with his spur embedded in a cast on his foot, and he rode well that way.

Never have broke anything skydiving. Have sprained the hell out of a my ankle a few times. I hope my luck holds. Now that I'm an old fart, my bones may be getting brittle....Steve1

[wildcard451 0]

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and is it just me, or does everyone on earth have a blind faith in their doctors? im not saying its a bad thing, but im not like that. i should be.

No, you shouldn't. I'm still very new at this whole Dr. game, but my patients that have blind faith in my opinion are kinda scary. You wonder why on he first time that they see you, they take your word as gospel. Those pt's are becoming rarer, as the paternalistic version of medicine is dying.

I want my patients to ask questions, and be involved in their plan of care. That's the only way either of us are going to learn anything about how to help them best. "take these and call me in the morning" doesn't work anymore.

Ok, enough of my opinion. I gotta get back to reading.

[Calvin19 0]

my orthepedic doc gets annoyed with me because i ask to many questions.

[wildcard451 0]

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my orthepedic doc gets annoyed with me because i ask to many questions.

I never said I didn't get annoyed by pt questions sometimes....

you do hawever have the right to ask them, and in the long run, it's better for both of us that way.