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bmacd
climber
Relic Hominid
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 11, 2010 - 12:24am PT
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I have had a titanium rod running the entire length of my tibia since June of 2007.
Once again, right now my lower leg is totally cramped up and I feel pain the entire length of my leg. My ankle gets sore easily. Nothing seems right about my leg, though the break has healed a long time ago. I still can't run, thats too painful, and jumping is out of the question. Even stepping down does not feel right.
I think I should get it taken out.
I am assuming that by getting this foreign piece of metal out of my body this will solve these pain issues and mobility limitations.
I just don't want to go thru having me knee opened up again and all the damage that entails getting this thing out.
Could this metal be causing me to have pain in other parts of my body or causing a fatigue syndrome ?
Has anyone else here been thru this ?
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Jun 11, 2010 - 12:30am PT
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I had one for 2 years and had it removed. It hadn't worked and I had to get a plate installed. When I broke that, they took it out and replaced it with an external fixator called an ilizarov. Here's a picture of the metal that's been in and/or around my leg.
So, everybody who I know who has had metal rods in their leg has been very, very glad to get them out.
Mal
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 11, 2010 - 12:31am PT
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There's enough hardware in Mal's photo to climb a respectable wall.
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bmacd
climber
Relic Hominid
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 11, 2010 - 12:36am PT
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Mal did you experience pain relief after getting all that junk out ?
That's a horrendous assemblage my friend. I hope you are fully recovered.
I just have a single rod inside the tibia, screws at the ankle are out, but screws at the knee are still in.
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reddirt
climber
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Jun 11, 2010 - 12:41am PT
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knew a large dog who had an internal fixator on front (radius, fronts carry 60% of dogs' weight) that became a problem after it was still around past it's usefulness. Removed a after 2-3 yrs.
Have a BF who had a plate along his femur put in after it broke in some complicated way in an avy. Removed after 2-3 yrs.
Same BF had Ti plate put in along clavicle after an interstate motorcycle accident. Became nuisance after 2 yrs & had it removed. Screw holes filled in quite nicely.
removal seems to be the pattern...
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Jongy
Big Wall climber
Southern California
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Jun 11, 2010 - 12:47am PT
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reddirt must have stock in titanium?
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reddirt
climber
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Jun 11, 2010 - 12:51am PT
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They always insist that hardware doesn't stimulate an immune response but I'll never fully buy into it... actually I have (ok, had & deleted/recycled) a shiiteload of academic publications on cases of orthopedic hardware removal followed by sudden relief from immuno/rheum-ish symptoms. Rheum MD's dismissed them as not worth the paper they're written on but they didn't have any solutions either.
The surest way to avoid immuno/rheum complications is (in my opinion) to get it out. A few months of recovery is a small price to pay to avoid the complications of hardware that has overstayed its welcome in the human body.
edit: reddirt must have stock in titanium? we turned it into "leaver" pro & ice screws... kidding, but a fun thought.
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Jun 11, 2010 - 10:58am PT
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Don't forget that healthy bones have a bit of flex in them and the TiRod eliminates that. Don't know exactly what the kinesthetic ramifications of that are but getting that flex back is undoubtedly one of the reasons of the feeling of relief that people have.
My Rod was in for less than 2 years and, as I was not walking for much of the time, I didn't notice much.
Re Reddirts comments, Don't forget that it's your bone marrow that generates white blood cells which support your immune system. Replace the bone marrow in your leg with a Ti rod and you got less ability to fight off all that bad crap.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Jun 13, 2010 - 12:10am PT
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Pate,
What a dick post.
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Jun 13, 2010 - 12:22am PT
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For what it's worth....sometimes after taking out fixators, the bones react to having to bear the full brunt of the load by hurting! Hang in there, hopfully it's just yer body reacting to the new situation. Could be a few weeks to a couple of months for the adjustment to mellow out. Taking out hardware ain't no light weight thing and depending on the amount taken out, it's like fracturing the bone again. Remember....where the hardware WAS now has to fill in and take up the slack, so to speak. Good luck. Keep up posted.
Peace
Pate have yo ever had hardware removed from yer body???? Lighten up!
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Jun 13, 2010 - 01:15am PT
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I know a lot of people who have had similar issues and resolved them by having the metal removed.
On the other hand, I've had a bolt-together left leg for ten years now - big plate, lots of small screws, and what looks like a five-inch ice screw in my hip -- and haven't had any problem at all. I was told to expect arthritis, but it's never materialized.
That, of course, says nothing relevant to your particular situation, but at least shows that bad reactions to a leg full of metal aren't universal.
Hang in there Bruce. Get done what you need to get done, do the rehab, and get back after it.
D
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Acer
Big Wall climber
AZ
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Jun 13, 2010 - 01:32am PT
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Just to HIGHLIGHT a few things. Already in the thread and not.
I have a Femur IM rod. 8 years and counting.
In the first years I had pain off and on. Weather, heavy activity, just sitting in a chair with my leg hanging off unsupported, ECT.
Bone is alive. Metal is not.
Bone flexes and deals with vibration much different than metal.
The first days I was back on a motorcycle was a bit weird with the engine vibration going through my leg.
Everyone is different with their implants.
Removal is a significant surgery. They take out IM rods with a slide hammer. Hammer in, Hammer out.
Should be 6 weeks of light duty.
If you have the means then get it done.
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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Jun 13, 2010 - 09:57am PT
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Everyone is different. Plently of people walking aroud with artificial hips that are much happier than what they were before. And while he's not people, I will include my lab in that bunch.
Butyour body may react differently.
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reddirt
climber
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Jun 13, 2010 - 10:30am PT
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Pate's comment, to me, is ignorable, esp compared to the rhematologistS (emphasis on plural) I'd love to hit upside the head with bmacd's link, my collection of publications & all that hardware we've amassed.
In the BF's case, my strongest hunch, from looking at the whole history & labwork, was that he picked up a parvo virus (on a winter climbing trip involving like 10 people- nightmare unto itself) and immune system forgot to quit reacting to it.... and maybe started to reacting to other obvious foreign shiite (Ti). Nothing like a (hard)man in his forties weeping from rheum pain while on massive doses of opioids out of necessity... Nothing like being a GF trying to distract from pain in every way possible.... would have hired strippers to make housecalls if I knew that would have helped the pain, even for a few hours.
The rheum MD (actually rheumatologist #3 of 4) was totally dismissive, mocking of my strong demand to get the clavicle Ti plate out. I wanted it out before the ever escalating pred dose went up even higher. The ti plate was kind of an outlier possibility in what could be causing symptoms. It was one variable I wanted to delete - cut out. Anyway, we'll never really be able to rule in/out what caused symptoms... immunology is very very very complex & I doubt most board certified rheum MD's have what I feel is an adequate handle on this every changing area of medicine.
A few years later, BF is still on an injectable rheum med (low dose, tried & true, not new fangled antibody ba$ed med) & sees rheum #4 at Hopkins quarterly. Leads a decent 10d clipping bolts. Too busy (& humid) to climb outside lately.
Hang in there, set any high running emotions aside & just be persistent in getting it cut out if that's what you want.
The absolute best of luck w/ your situation!!
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quietpartner
Trad climber
Moantannah
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Jun 13, 2010 - 01:48pm PT
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Good luck Bruce! Hope you're doing a lot better a month from now.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 13, 2010 - 11:21pm PT
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Well, if you have it taken out, you can always beat you-know-who on the head with it.
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drunkenmaster
Social climber
santa rosa
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Jun 13, 2010 - 11:59pm PT
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i had the same type titanium rod put in about 1.5 yrs ago and my bone feels fine but my frkn ankle still hurts also - it feels like i got the worse sprain of my life (and ive had a lot). i also have bolts below my knee that i often bump when bouldering and that sh#t hurts like mad. imagine biting a fork really hard on a fresh filling in your teeth - deep icy sharp pain from hell. i want the bolts out and my surgeon said i could after it heals more but the 15inch long implant is so deep it is not recommended. i dont like it but i have to deal with it. wish i could run more than a few miles without pain but i still cant. im working up to it tho. i am starting to boulder o k again but i shy away from highballs unless they are easy to moderate now which after having the tib/fib brake i figure is a good thing because that sh#t would have sucked to have done it in the backcountry by myself. doh. i had a short cab ride to the e r but any longer would have not been cool especially if i had to drive my stick shift. metal in you sucks unless its metal music!! hang in there.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Jun 14, 2010 - 03:59am PT
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hey there say, bmacd.... oh my... say, sounds very awful... i will be praying for you as you seek to solve this metal-mess.... and may it all go well, if you do have to go through this.... :(
will be back and check to see how you are doing...
seems awful enought, just getting it all in, but to have have it there, and then, even have to get it taken out, sure doesnt sound very "body tissue freiendly" ...
best wishes, prayers and hopeful new and better days, through all this
god bless...
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Tattooed 1
Trad climber
Sebastopol, Ca
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Jun 14, 2010 - 02:10pm PT
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I have had a rod in my tibia since 2002. I had all of the screws removed but left the rod in. I had 4 surgeries to fix mine from a motor cycle accident. I feel a little pain in the winter when the weather gets cold but for the most part I don't notice it. I run 4.5 miles 3 days a week with no pain. I have no advice but that is just my experience.
Tim
edit, one of the surgeries was to remove the rod and replace it with a shorter one ( my leg was really f'd up )That was just like going through the whole process over again. For me it's not worth going through that again.
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