Rib/Bone Injury
 

As I mentioned in another thread, I was recently hospitalized for a collapsed lung. I had to have a chest tube put in, and then I started hemorrhaging so I had to have additional emergency surgery (meaning, another foray through my ribs) and eight blood transfusions. I am doing fine and slowly getting back into life, however, the pain is unrelenting. The surgeon's nurse said it was normal for bone/rib pain to be slow healing and suggested a heating pad. That does help...until I turn the heating pad off.

Has anyone had a serious rib injury and if so, any home remedies for pain relief? I have weaned myself off pain medicine because the stuff I was on is so strong and I had to get back into school and my internship. I could really use some suggestions- I think I have another couple of weeks before the pain starts to go away.

Dang girl! :eek: Sorry to hear about that. Hope your feeling better soon.

They say that the brain doesn't remember pain...

I say ... phewy!

As for how to relieve it --- after painful dental surgery, the dentist told me to take 800 mg of Motrin IB (4 tablets) and I was amazed. I had been taking percodan & percosett (sp) and puked for forever...but the Motrin IB actually allowed me to function with a clear head and not be so focused on the pain.

I wish I could tell you something more useful. Instead I will light a candle for you and send some healing thoughts, strength and words your way...(basically, another way of sayng prayers for you.)

Please keep us informed of your recovery...lots of us will be thinking about you.

I wanted to whish you well, and hope you will be feeling better soon! I love your posts, so you must get back to top form soon:thumbsup:

I'm so sorry to hear about what you've gone through! When I had chronic back pain I took Ibuprofen to help with the swelling and pain. Take that if you're not already taking it. You can take more than recommended also, your doctor can tell you how much.

I've heard acupuncture is really helpful for pain relief as well. Or, you could try not breathing for a couple of days and see if that helps. Sorry, just a little dark humor there. ;) Most of all just take it easy and ask your husband to do things and take care of you for now. I wish you a speedy recovery!

good lord...i have nothing to add to this conversation other than to say get well soon and sorry to hear that you've been having to deal with all of this.

OUCH! That sucks, Jannie. The only thing I can think of is if the heat helps, you could try one of those heated patches. I've never tried one, not sure how well they work, but it's worth a shot. I think they have large ones.

http://http://www.drugstore.com/temp...ram=thermacare

The ibuprofen will help with pain & inflammation, but don't take more than 800mg & not more often than every 8 hours. If you have to cough or sneeze or laugh or anything like that, splint the area with a pillow or something similar (did they show you that in the hospital?) Not that you can carry a pillow around with you at all times, but you could roll up a scarf or your coat or something.

my lung collapsed when i was young. i've got a nice round scar near one of my ribs where they shoved a tube thru the rib cage! I hate to say it, but some nice bourbon clears up the pain quite well.

I was just about to say this.

hope you feel better soon Jannie!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you. :) I need all of the good thoughts and encouragement I can get! :xoxo:

I should have mentioned that while I stopped taking the narcotic meds, I have been taking Motrin (Advil) around the clock. Thank you for your kind words. :xoxo:


Interestingly, it's not that kind of pain (thank GOD). I can even sneeze without severe pain. It's more of an aching constant pain, more than anything else. :( My husband has been incredible throughout this- couldn't have made it without him.

That is a *great* idea- I hadn't even thought of that. I could slap one of them on and go to class. I was busy trying to figure out how I could bring my heating pad to school- LOL. Or even better, when I'm doing therapy with someone, "would you mind if I plugged my heating pad in?" Heh.

For whatever reason, as I said, it's not that kind of pain. I am so grateful for that! They had to make extra incisions (one underneath where the chest tube went in- it's huge and scary looking- and one in my back). I think this is where a lot of the ache is coming from.

I'm going to the beach for a week-end with one of my girlfriends next week-end. I have already given this remedy some thought!!! :woohoo:

I hope I've answered everyone who took the time to respond. I think I *may* notice a slight improvement this morning. Thanks again, everyone. :)

hi jannie i am sorry to hear your news but i hope that you are feeling better soon.

Glad to hear you're feeling a tiny bit better Jannie! Let me know if those Thermacare things work. I'm sure they're no where near as effective as an actual heating pad, but maybe they'll help some.

Have you tried 5% Lidoderm patches? A lot of patients in the pain clinic have reported really good results using them for a variety of pain conditions. Of course you also have some patients for whom they don't seem to do anything. You can cut them to whatever size you need then apply it to the affected area and leave it on for 12 hours, then take it off for 12 hours before applying another one. You have to get a prescription for them, though, and they're pretty expensive. If you've got insurance it'll likely be your highest co-pay.

Just something else to toss out there. Hope you get some relief soon!

Brad

Oh Brad, I was hoping you'd chime in. ;) I will call my doctor about it tomorrow morning. I have met my deductible (the $39k hospital bill took care of that!) so it shouldn't be a problem. Thanks!

Sorry to hear about this, do hope you are feeling better and get back to 'rockin a little' real soon. Ditto to anyone who suggested ibuprofin instead of narcs, if you can. Just make sure you take it with food, else you can wind up with other problems. My favorite recipe is to alternate aceteminophin with ibuprofin, as they attack different pain receptors. Course, I'm not a doctor, nurse or pharmacist (I just fix their computer systems!)

I really don't want to jinx myself but...I think I'm improving. I woke up this morning feeling considerably better! I'm still tired, and I suspect it will take a bit to get my strength up, but I don't seem to be in as much pain. :blob2: 27 days post surgery is pretty good, according to what people are telling me. I must be super strong woman. ;)

^ Good! After that period of time, it's actually hard to believe yourself that you might actually be feeling better. I know in my situation, sometimes I have to stop & think about just what my current pain level is - you tend to get used to it, which is not really a good thing.

Glad to hear you're getting better! :)

I'm sorry you went through this Janet...
I'm glad to hear you're feeling better though.
No more of this ****, okay???
:laugh:

Okay. Love you too! ;)

Hey JannieC ---

How's the recovery going?

Jannie, I'm so sorry to hear that you haven't been well. Take care and I hope you heal soon. :)

Thanks, guys. I'm doing great. I would say 100% better. I have slight numbness and that yucky feeling around my incisions, but other than that- no pain. I'm even considering going for a walk tonight to begin some kind of exercise plan. Thanks so much for asking- I really appreciate that. :xoxo:

Glad the healing is a success, JC. If you can feel this good with classes going on, I'm sure this summer will be a breeze.:thumbsup:

- Jake

After this semester I will be a licensed social worker/therapist working for PAY!!!:blob1::blob2: :woohoo:

And your life will never be the same....

Good Luck and may the Financial Gods smile down on you and your student loans....:thumbsup:

glad to hear everything's going well.

can you believe it?! I'm so excited for you!

hi jannie i am glad to hear that you are doing better. and acongratulations on becoming a social worker. is it something that you always wanted to do?

Oh god- I can't even think of it. I'm fortunate in that I don't have any other personal debt (my old car is paid off, etc) but I'm going to be paying those loans forever!!!

You need to come to my graduation. :)

Well, when I was little I wanted to be a teacher or an actress. ;)

I started out in Psychology, thinking I wanted to get my PhD. Then I discovered I could go into private practice with my Masters in Social Work. Plus, there are a lot of other things I can do with this degree as well. Thank you for asking- it has been a dream of mine for many years. I will turn 40 and get this degree all in the same week! :thumbsup:

Wow that's so great. I'm happy to hear you are pain-free and getting that degree is so exciting! From the glimpse that I see here of who you are I think you're going to do really well. :woohoo:

Thank you, Suze :xoxo:

I really want to be good at what I do and make a difference.

How have you been feeling, sweetie??

Jannie - so glad to hear you're doing better! And I can't believe you're almost done with school - that's so great! :blob1:

Gee, guess I could read a little before I ask how you're feeling... hahah!!:lol:

Glad you're feeling better.

You might wanna try paying attention once in a while. :wavey:

:xoxo: We need a phone call, Maria.

Thank you! :)

Bitch, you've got your nerve. Popping in and out of here on occasion, and telling me I need to pay attention??? HUMPH! :mad:





:lol:

Yes, yes we do. It's been a while.

Such a great update Jannie!! I am so glad!! :D

How's your sleep?

~hug~

Better, thanks. Nice little cocktail of meds. :)