<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
My original post told about my recent bicycle accident, and resulting
surgery to repair a badly broken arm.
I was interested to hear about the experiences from any other
middle-aged male celiacs who had had a bad fracture w/ hardware
installed.
I heard from several people, including women whose experience I
should not have excluded in my original post! I was giving too much
weight to the influence of menopause on many women's bone health,
because many women do not in fact experience bone loss during &
post-menopause.
Thanks for all your feedback - following are edited replies.
"I was biopsy-diagnosed celiac in Nov 2003... I am VERY careful about
my diet, and supplement with calcium. I fell in November 2004,
sustaining a comminuted but closed fracture of both radius and ulna,
requiring surgical repair. I had a plate and six screws. I asked a
lot of questions about bone density, celiac disease, and healing at
the time, and my surgeon was somewhat intrigued, but didn't have any
sense that celiac disease had affected my fracture. I healed
quickly, and the surgeon was impressed with my bone density. I had
the hardware removed from my arm about 18 months after the original
injury, and on a follow-up Xray 3 months after removal, it was
difficult to see where the injury had been. The screw holes were
almost invisible, too. I DO feel the weather, though less than when
I had hardware in my arm."
=-=-=
"I am female & 60 years old. Two years ago I broke a bone near my
knee, bad break but I do not have osteo, doc said if you fall hard
enough (& mine was a twisted fall) that any bone will break. I have
a plate & 5 screws. I healed very well, my doctor could not believe
it. I did all my leg exercises etc. I will say that the recoup time
was really a year & a half to get back to normal. & a good 6 months
before I was walking without crutches. I now go to the gym & do the
eliptical, the recumbent bike & the upper body weights. I have no
pain whatsoever & do not even take advil anymore. I had been wheat
lite for over 10 years (thinking allergy) & gluten free for one year
at the time of my accident. Hang in there it will get better. The
only thing is that I wish I had gone back to the gym sooner. My
advice would be not to go too soon, but not to wait too long... Eat
a healthy diet..."
=-=-=
67 y.o. male, no hardware, healed well
=-=-=
male now 3 yrs GF had hip replacement - doc reported good bone after
initial osteopenia was resolved w/ calcium supplements & more weight
bearing exercise,
=-=-=
"I was dx Celiac about 5 years ago and two years ago had a serious
car accident. Right leg from the knee to the ankle broken in 8
places. Numerous pins, rods, plates and screws put in place. Was in a
wheelchair for 6 months, then a walker until I learned how to walk
again. Still in therapy x2 per week. Good point is that I healed
very fast due to taking colustrum. Bad part has been that it seems
that my body is rejecting the Titanium parts. I get odd rashes and
red blotches in different places. I hope to be walking good enough in
another year to stop using my cane." (also, this writer noted that
the bone healing was so fast that a few temp screws could not be
removed.)
=-=-=
The mom of a girl w/ celiac & rickets, writes that she was helped by
the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) "... She also takes large
doses of iFLORA probiotic from
<http://www.sedonalabs.com>www.sedonalabs.com . A celiac friend uses
DDS+ Gold Formula probiotic available at Whole Foods and health food
stores. Both of the take L Glutamine as recommended by one of the
ladies on the list to help heal the cut and it has helped both of
them. Our daughter takes Solgar bonemeal with B12, magnesium from
Solgar and their D1000. In the beginning she had bonepain and
rickets and needed 2000-3000 units of vit D a day until the bone pain
went away. Friend takes the same bonemeal, magnesium and D, and
thrives on the SCD 24hour fermentation yogurt which eliminates
lactose; our daughter is still dairy intolerant but still benefited
greatly from the diet..." Boron supplementation w/ the cal/mag/vit.D
was also recommended "to help the bone knit more securely."
=-=-=
One woman's perspective affirms my own thought that I really hit the
sweet spot, to have so thoroughly shattered both bones: ".. we don't
have to ride like the pros in The Tour to ride with a fair amount of
momentum... I think the crushing and splintering is like starting a
billiards game. Hit the group of balls from just the right
angle--you needn't use much force, but the billiard balls disperse
widely and with power. Our bones are encased in tissue so they can't
disperse, but they can shatter without great force
... many a non celiac I ride with has broken some (several) bones
with minor falls and have strong bones that just hit wrong."
=-=-=
another wrote: "My brother, a non-celiac, did worse damage to his
right arm/wrist at age 24 by tripping over a sprinkler in the back
yard. His surgeon said it was the angle of fall and the force with
which he landed that caused the damage. Over the last 20 years, he's
had 6 surgeries and a wide variety of metal hardware to repair the
damage. Not everything is celiac!"
=-=-=
finally, another woman wrote " I remember my own experience with the
titanium plates and screws. I fell down while doing yard work and
reached behind me to break my fall and it broke the end of the radius
off, necessitating eight screws and a 'pi' plate to fasten it all
together. That was in '98 (before celiac dx). By 2003, the screws
were wearing on the tendons and I would have spasms of pain that
would cause me to drop whatever I was holding, so I had the screws
and plates removed. That was a 'nothing' surgery and I was out
driving the next day. So, don't be afraid to have them out if they
start to hurt."
thanks again , listmates!
Jack
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