I have no real experience but I have a friend that broke hers last winter and hers still swells a bit and hurts from time to time. She had surgery to put some type of hardware. Not sure if you are the same. I do know that it can be quite a long time for some bones to heal. Sorry, that was no real help for you.Good luck to you.

I broke mine, and had to have a plate put in. Very bad swelling after the surgery, but it went down.

I kept those gel ice packs around for when I needed them, plus I kept the hand elevated a lot. Even slept on it with a pillow.

It's been 4 years now, and no problem. I do have a wrist band, I put on when I use the weight machines at the gym.

Good luck with the healing process.

I had a son who broke his arm twice at different times, the last time was very close to his wrist, so much so that it gave a problem in getting it set straight. A week after the first setting, it had to be reset again.

We did not have much problem with swelling after the first week. The main problem was atrophying of muscles and bone from prolonged inactivity. Healing time for both breaks was 5 to 6 weeks. A big aggravation was itching under the cast.

I broke my wrist last September, a year ago. I don't recall swelling being a problem. I had it pinned, but when they took off the cast, the pins just fell out. My hand looks like it was cut off and put back on sideways. It is a definite Z shape. I'm not pleased about it at all, and even though I can make a fist and move my fingers, I have lost flexibility and can't pick up anything much heavier than a couple of pounds without dropping it. It's an aggravation because my right hand (broke my left wrist) was injured very badly when I was a small child...and I have mostly been left handed all of my life.

Thanks for the replies. I didn't have surgery but just seems like it's taking a long time to heal. Y'all are a great bunch of folks!! :) I'll just have to have patience I guess. I really miss playing my piano though!! Thanks again y'all!!!!

I was in an accident & had a compound fracture of my left wrist in Feb.of 1996. The surgeon said on a scale of 1 to 10, my wrist was an 11. After & between two in-patient hospitalizations, surgeries & casts, my arm & wrist swelled up to about one & half times its normal size.

I had both physical therapy & a 8 or 9 time session with accupuncture. The PT was needed so my fingers just didn't permanently freeze up. In addition, I used to lay in bed for hours each night religiously exercising my fist & fingers.

In the end, my orthopeadist said the swelling, because of extensive injury, would probably stay with me until August--which is exactly as he predicted.

My wrist still feels tight with the hardware buried in it, and I don't have full range of motion, but at least I can still use al my fingers to a certain extent, though I am now a right-hand only typist. This was the cause of my early retirement from my job.

Now I had a broken right wrist about 15 years previous (I'm really not accident-prone), but there was no swelling & that wrist returned 100% to normal with just a cast for a month & no further treatment.

When I was around 61, 17 years ago, took my DD 9 mo old puppy for a walk and I said--lets go--well we did, right off the third step at her mobil home. Landed on my left wrist, broke it in three places, went to ER, put a temp cast, then I kept ice on it until I got home about week or so later, by that time I had "played" with it, popped it back into place swelling all gone, had to recast it (pretty blue one) and could drive even with stick shift. (Kind of stubborn), and have about 95 % strength. Ate lots of calcium tablets etc and occasionally have a bit of trouble, but no real problems. First Dr. wanted to put pins in and I told him no way. I did it myself. Stupid Yes, but I did have ice on it alot until recasted. Just plain lucky.

I broke my right wrist the day I got my first computer...1997. The sweet orthopaedic MD said with the pins and plate I would have less arthritis pain than if just healed in a cast, so she re-broke it....she was right; these storms that bring all that dampness make my other bones ache...but not my wrist. The hand therapy was a great help as well. Summer in Central California and a cast for 6 weeks was a bummer tho! Nanny

I broke mine years ago and can't remember that it took that long, but I will say...it reminds every old once in awhile what I did to it, that's for sure!

Good Luck!

nola anne