NOT THIS, Seriously as a multi time practitioner of 4-6 broken ribs with collapsed lungs each time as a cherry on top, Harden the fuck up. The drugs in ICU and step down were sweet but the best thing my wife could have done she did. She said get off the painkillers or you're not going home, I was pissed, I also saw quite quickly how fucking right she was.
I slept in my lazy boy when I burst two vertebrae, broke ribs front and back and comminuted left collarbone in April. Pillows under your arms. Legs propped up too. You may not want the opioids but you need the rest. Drink lots of water and get lots of fiber. LOTS. You basically want to suspend all your limbs off of your torso.
I had a very light dose of oxycodone. It was just enoygh that I could sleep. The Advil was almost as good. There oxycosone barelytook the edge off. And I only resisted to it when it started getting bad or an hour before sleep. Do NOT drink. It'll make you sick. I was on morphine and some other super shit and had I think 2 beers like 5 hours before I was in the hospital. It's a good thing that stuff is strong, because I was puking my guts up with a collapsed lung and broken ribs. Don't remember any of that pain. When they released me from the hospital, I walked most of the way home, 2 miles before I was able to wave a cab down. Lol, wearing jeans and a hospital gown. Good times.
Not read one Gahdamn reply. But here's my take on your original question.... Log out of the beeb. Turn off phone. Lay on couch/bed and whine like fuck till your ol lady gets irritated. When she asks you "what the fuck is your problem" for the 100th time, tell her you need some ice cream. When she goes to the store, crack a beer, lay back and watch some cheerleader sites on your smatTV. Have some ice cream, and fall asleep. Easy peasy.
When I did my ribs, collar bone and wrist at Willow 4 months ago made an inverted V of pillows to try and prop myself up about 30 degrees to get some sleep Tried to stay off the OxyContin and stuff, just Benadryl or Melatonin to sleep Ribs are still aching now so it’s a slow road back unfortunately
Broke six ribs, through and through breaks all, and smashed my thumb in a highside at Sears last year, had to load up, drive the bike back to LA, unload, then fly 7-8 hours home to Anchorage. I got like 3 hydrocodone at the emergency room, so I called my doc in Anchorage for a prescription of enough to get me home or I wouldn't have made it. That's a long ass drive from Sonoma to LA in a bouncy worn out lurching worn out steering rental van. Things were pretty bad at night for 3 weeks or so , and especially going from lying down to upright but eventually I discovered sleeping sitting up on an angle pillow, which helped a lot. Eventually I couldn't breathe because my pleural sac, the thing each lung is in, filled up with red "fluid" and squished my lung down to nothing, and they removed 4 liters of it, then I started getting better. I'm no doc, but I was told repeatedly NOT to tape up, because it would cause pneumonia by preventing deep breathing. Same reason its a good idea to take the meds, to keep the lung clear and recover. Watch those damned meds, they are dangerous, take the bare minimum and quit as soon as you can, but better with them than without them. No Booze. At all. Take the time to heal. Good luck and get well.
Well Richie I have not had a drink or beer in 3 Months but I do like the Cheerleader idea.. thanks everyone for the advice... means a lot..I am gonna see a specialist in a week and if it still hurts like it does now I will get some meds.. right now just taking ibuprofen and Tylenol pm at night...
Just got a knee replacement. The Doc gave me aspirin and Tylenol, and said the same thing about Advil--don't use it, it slows down long bone healing.
When I broke 3 ribs and the collarbone, I ended up sleeping (poorly) vertically (on a couch) for about 4-5 nights. Once the ribs started binding back together, it got easier. I ended up using a 6" wide ACE bandage to LIGHTLY wrap my ribs so that the broke bits weren't moving on their own unless I moved. I still could take as full a breath as I could without the wrap (not too deep as the pain would make me woozy), and the wrap allowed me to sit still without pain. Was able to sleep better with the light wrap as well. Don't laugh, cough, or push too hard on the john. It'll hurt like hell. Sucks to have an off like that. Heal up.
Very slow road. I did the upright sleep routine for quite a while. Coughing was the worst. Finally being able to move and get into the hot tub was a blessing. Still amazes me how these motogp guys can break bones and be back on the bike in no time whatsoever....those guys must have the really good drugs.
Check out Post #14 in this thread: http://forums.13x.com/index.php?threads/diet-and-supplement-to-heal-bone.307895/#post-4148764 I thought I remembered a thread about bone healing supplements, and I think this is it.
one other good thing about opiate pain killers when it comes to broken ribs - they are also cough suppressants
7 ribs, collar bone, and shoulder blade. Only place I could sleep for 3 weeks was a recliner .pillows under each side . 2 hydrocodone before laying down. Ibuprofen the rest of the day.
Good advice, and some stories of some hurt dudes! I broke 4 ribs, a vertebra, and shattered my left scapula (shoulder blade), in May '17, But, Did they give you an incentive spirometer? If they did- use it several times a day for weeks. If they didn't, look it up. I just treated a rib fracture in the ED at work- and I ordered her one for one broken rib! Incentive spirometer FTW- helps reduce low grade fever from atelectasis and possibly getting pneumonia.
Yep, broke 4 ribs in practice on Sat, raced on Sunday, went to work on Monday, wife made me get x-rays on Thursday. One was broken in two places so it floated a bit and would pinch me, kept doing it for about 3-4 months. Haven't told the wife about the break from my cyclocross crahs on sat and not getting this one x rayed for confirmation, the sneeze test did it for me. Like K5 said, breathe deep on a regular basis
I would advise that if you take painkillers that may cause constipation, avoid laxatives. You can develop a dependency on laxatives also which you don't need. Adjust your diet to naturally loosen things up. I find that a big glass of V-8 juice every day helps. Different vegetables will help, eating summer squash seems to help me. Or eat fruit. Lot's of fluids. And you can always throw some vodka and a celery stick in that V-8 and it's a party. And be thankful you can wipe your own ass, that's a huge plus.
Good thread. Reminds me of the month of August with 3 broken ribs and a shattered collarbone from VIR! I'm generally on the mend, but man it took a while to feel like myself mentally. I'm still in mild pain now and again, but mentally I'm normal (I think). Getting hurt takes a lot out of you.
if this thread tells us anything, its that roadracing is more addictive than all the drugs. my orthopedic surgeon is also a client of mine (before I was his patient) my last collarbone break he told me flat out about the surgery. "you dont need it, some people are actually born without them" lol seriously.. and it was a massive break with three large fragments. he said the fragments would dissolve on their own over time. I guess they did. I am disfigured and it aint pretty but he told me that it wouldnt be too. mine havnt been all that painfull though. just mostly uncomfortable for a little while. ribs were for sure.