hi all. well, it turns out that i'm not getting my physical therapy at stanford--they didn't seem at all happy about dealing with someone who had had na rather than surgery , so i am going to a place called hand rehibilitation associates, which is actually closer to me. the person scheduling the appointments clearly knew nothing about dc or na, but was very nice. so we'll see.

I'm so glad to hear you're not getting your PT at the Stanford Hand Clinic. I'm in the trial there and I've never dealt with such an unprofessional, disorganized and arrogant group of people in my life. They totally discount NA, they talk out of both sides of their mouths and cite different statistics on OS vs NA vs Auxillium/Xiaflex each time you speak with them. During my weeks in the trial so far there they've lost my phone number several times, have actually run out of "equipment" for blood draws and I've had to re-schedule an appointment after showing up with no prior notification of the problem--a 1.5 hour round trip,- I've had to wait 1.5 to 2 hours for "guaranteed" appointment times, they've skipped part of the exams and measurements listed in the study, they've been rude and blase about adjusting my splint, they've given me incorrect paperwork and wrong ID numbers for blood draws, they've called me 5 times, automatic robot calls- I just hung up in fact-- about appointments I have coming up or appointments I've missed-- all of them incorrect. They even billed me and my insurance company for the cost of the blood draws. And-- the principal investigator in the Stanford trial is on the Scientific Advisory Board of Auxilim and is compensated for this-- can you say conflict of interest?

Good luck on your hand therapy. Should you need a recommendation on a hand PT specialist, I can recommend one in the Peninsula area.

quote:
hi all. well, it turns out that i'm not getting my physical therapy at stanford--they didn't seem at all happy about dealing with someone who had had na rather than surgery , so i am going to a place called hand rehibilitation associates, which is actually closer to me. the person scheduling the appointments clearly knew nothing about dc or na, but was very nice. so we'll see.

If you are looking for a good hand PT in the SF area one option is to call Dr. Denkler's office and ask for a referral/contact info. I live in LA, had NA done by Dr. Denkler, whose office staff volunteered to search for and locate qualified hand PT offices in my area of LA!!! They did exactly what they said they would do and I ended up with a hand specialist PT that had some familarity and experience with both NA and the Auxillium trials.

I hope this doesn't post twice, as some of my others seem to have done. I don't think it's anything I'm doing.

So . . . after 48 hours, I took off the bandage and splint and about 1 1/2 hours later went in to PT for the first time.

There is very little swelling, if any. (I did a good job of keeping my hand elevated for the 48 hours.) Most of the punctures are scabbed over--only a couple of places where the most was done are still open. There is a bit of bruising, but I bruise if you look at me cross-eyed. Even without any PT, my ring and middle fingers are very, very straight. I concentrated on the little finger so much that I didn't pay much attention to what degrees of contracture they were, but now they are my straight fingers and the ones I didn't bother with having fixed are the ones that are bent.

My little finger will, of course, need PT to reach it's maximum straightness. I have a new splint from the PT that I am to wear essentially 24/7 and am going in Friday to get a straighter splint on. She thinks a spring splint is too much pressure for right now--I'm not sure if that's what I get Friday or if it will be next Tuesday when I go again. I will, of course, do the PT and get the finger as straight as possible, but I could certainly live with it the way it is now.

I liked the therapist at Hand Rehab Associates. She wasn't super familiar with NA, but had had one other patient who had had it done--she thought from Dr. Denkler. She was familiar with Dr. Denkler's name and knew that he was well-known for NA. She commented on what good shape I was in compared to people who had had OS.

I would describe my hand as slightly tender rather than as sore (the only pain medication I ever took was one Vicodin the first night). The split is the only thing that inhibits my ability to do things. I certainly could drive, but would probably take off the splint if I did. Mostly my husband and friends are being nice enough to drive me around.

Thanks, Wolfgang. I don't think I'm clicking "confirm" twice, but will be very careful from now on.