Broken Rib(s) Anybody?

[Structo]

Man, I did something stupid the other day.


[img:900:900]http://www.healthandcare.co.uk/user/pro ... l-size.jpg[/img]


I was walking through the doorway to our garage which has one step down to the floor,
when the carpet that is on the step slipped, causing me to fall forward.
No chance to break my fall, I just fell like a ton of bricks on my right side on the concrete floor.

I laid there for a moment to take stock to see how badly I was injured.
I got up a bit shaky but didn't see any blood so.....
Soon after, my upper right side ribs began to really hurt.

I went to the doctor on Friday and she said not much they do for broken ribs, just something time will heal.
No X rays or anything, just a bottle of Vicodin.

They don't really like to wrap the chest with Ace bandages (elastic) anymore because that can
cause you to breathe too shallowly, which then can make you susceptible to Pneumonia.

Anything I do like sleeping, (side sleeper) coughing, reaching, standing up, etc gives me so much
pain and muscle spasm, I almost feel like getting sick.
To even get out of bed, I have to grit my teeth and know that
it is going to kill me to move like that.

So I guess in time it will heal but she said plan on taking it easy for a couple weeks.

I may go back on Monday for an X ray just to give me some peace of mind about what is actually going on there.

Anybody else have a similar war story?

Or give me advice what I can do to minimize pain and speed up healing?

Vicodin? check
Tequila? check
Vodka? check
Grumpy wife? check

Waaaaaa, I want my mommy.

[NickC]

Don't mix Vicodin with alcohol.


Keep a sheet of paper with the Vicodin bottle. Mark date, time and quantity of pills as they are taken. That way you can't forget that you forgot you'd taken meds and accidentally take more ..... which leads to more forgetting. A vicious and potentially deadly cycle.

Get well soon!

[skyboltone]

Don't mix Vicodin with alcohol.


Keep a sheet of paper with the Vicodin bottle. Mark date, time and quantity of pills as they are taken. That way you can't forget that you forgot you'd taken meds and accidentally take more ..... which leads to more forgetting. A vicious and potentially deadly cycle.

Get well soon!

Au contrail maize-e-laize. Though they are much better with scotch.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Had bruised ribs after turning a deer into venison stew meat with my Chebby-ban Nov. 96. Well, it was only fair, the deer caused me to have to spend $1300 rebuilding the front end plus replace the gas tank. Got me at both ends, the blighter, and caused me 6 weeks of heart-attack-like pain besides. I was offered pain pills but didnt take 'em, so I could get some work done. The old fashioned analgesic - booze - got me through. At least I had an excuse ... Rib injuries are just about impossible to treat effectively. You can't put a splint on 'em. Then again - they are designed to be the "bumper" that protects some of your vitals from damage. Small consolation for the pain.

"Tincture of Time" is what one doc says. For this, there's no quick fix.

[eniam rognab]

another TAG member down

i think its BB coming to get us!!

damn, if i even think about having a drink on ANY pain med negative results ensue (read vomitous)

if we got together, i could laugh and breathe and upper body stuff and you can walk around do load bearing things,

we will be a whole person in no time

[Bob S]

You have my sympathy Tom.
Broken ribs hurt like hell.
Lasts for weeks & not much you can do about it.
Pain meds don't help much - you have to take enough to knock you out.
Not a good, or safe, option.
I put my arm in a sling on the same side to stop me from using it.
Reaching or lifting something on the bad side was excruciating.
Hope you heal soon buddy.
Edit
DONT SNEEZE !!!

[Reeltarded]

Ouch. Nothing works for me. Twice in that situation.

Bob has my advice.

Ouch. Get used to it but heal fast... damn.

[Phil_S]

I guess you didn't go roll in the snow with your dogs. Sorry to hear about your mishap. The body will heal itself. Take it one day at a time. You'll get better.

[CHIP]

Take it easy. Hope your pain subsides quickly.

[ampgeek]

Arghhhh....that sucks! I can TOTALLY feel your pain.

Was helping a buddy unload his boat by standing on the hitch end and rolling the boat of its trailer into the water. The bow got hung up on one of the final rollers so I inched down to give it a final boot. Shouted something like.."its off and afloat" once it separated but the driver took that as a signal to drive on up the ramp. Drove the trailer right out from under me and my right side whacked the trailer dead-solid-perfect.

Pretty good cracks in two ribs. Not totally through...but close. I have been pretty banged up from motocross, skiing, and other crazy poop througout my life (even received an artifical knee at age thirty eight) and that still stands as the most prolonged/painful injury I have ever sustained.

Sorry to say that it took a full three months to get perky again. For reference, that would mean feeling like I could make love without "losing it" to the pain... even being on the bottom!

No words of wisdom to share unfortunately. I lied really low during the recoup as my ortho told me that anytime you make it hurt, you are extending the recovery period.

Worked from home alot, read a lot of books and lightly managed the pain "herbally" (of the combustion variety). I had a bunch of opiates to use but they falsely made me think that I could be more active than I should have been. Lasted only a couple of days on those.

I am kind of surprised that no X-rays were taken. Do you have a big, ugly contusion? That might prompt the MDs to take a closer look.

Hang in their buddy....this too shall pass!!

Sincerely,
Dave O.

[M Fowler]

Yeah broken ribs hurt for a long time.

I had one broke on the receiving end of a round house kick during tae kwon do match.

My daughter broke 5 ribs in a roll over accident and then slipped down my icy steps winter time and broke 2 more ribs poor girl.

[LeftyStrat]

Twice.

I hit a pothole on a bike and went over the handlebars. Still not sure how the ribs were involved. If I hadn't had a helmet on I'm pretty sure I'd be an organ donor.

Second time was running to catch a bus, turning a corner and slipping on a mossy sidewalk, with my laptop wedging between my ribs and the sidewalk.

Best advice I can give is stay away from anything that makes you laugh.

And it's not really all that bad. It only hurts when you breathe, and worse when you laugh.

It's gonna suck for at least a month. Tell the doctor you're going to need more drugs. You will.

[cbass]

Oh man that sucks Tom. Hope you feel better soon.vicodins ain't shit call back and tell them you want something better.

[LeftyStrat]

Oh man that sucks Tom. Hope you feel better soon.vicodins ain't shit call back and tell them you want something better.

Oxycontin. But be careful.

[skyboltone]

Oh man that sucks Tom. Hope you feel better soon.vicodins ain't shit call back and tell them you want something better.

Oxycontin. But be careful.

It's an interesting topic. When my dad was living his last few months he was in pretty bad shape. They moved him from Vicodin to Morphine Sulfate and he didn't respond they way they had anticipated. The Hospice folks told me that their experience with pain meds is that some people respond to Oxy and some do better on Morphine. It has to do with each persons internal chemistry. They put him on Oxy drops under the tongue along with atavan drops. He was more or less comfortable till the end.

Personally the big Vicodin knock me flat. Lost in the ozone kinda flat. I had a staph infection a few years ago that went off and burst open requiring a open wound healing process. Before we got the infection under control was at a 10 on the pain scale when I moved. They gave me Oxy and I swear it did nothing! They changed me over to 7.5 Vicodin and it was all I could do to drool. Odd that.