Posted on 02/15/2010 10:00:00 AM PST by VA Voter
During a fall last Wed. night, 2/10, I completely broke two lower ribs in my right rear quadrant. The pain getting in and out of bed was excruciating. For some reason as the day progressed the pain decreased and was somewhat tolerable.. The doctor gave me a prescription for some heavy duty pain pills which were helpful except for getting in and out of bed which was still about the same.
Saturday night when the thought of getting in bed was really daunting, I chose instead to slept in a semi-sitting up position, at about a 45 degree angle, with my feet on the floor*.
Getting up Sunday morning, the pain was orders of magnitude less than the prior morning and was at about the same reduced level of pain from the prior evening. I slept the same way last night with the same result. It’s like a little miracle.
I have not taken or needed the prescription pain pills since Saturday night.
This sleeping technique was not suggested by my doctor and is probably not a part of the protocol. I’m passing it along for FReeper benefit.
Good sleeping.
* I used an extra seat cushion on a sofa so the sitting height was raised up.
Avoid catching a cold at all costs.
Sneezing will send you into orbit.
From one who knows.
This was nice of you and I hope you heal quickly and completely.
Broken ribs suck. Thanks for the tip.
Been there and know what you’re going through.
Pain meds from doctor, asperin, liquor. If all else fails, NyQuil to fall asleep.
Ouch. This injury is a nasty one. Hope you heal fast.
Unfortunately, there is not treatment for broken ribs, except to wait until they heal.
My downfall was attempting to leap over a giant chain hanging only a foot above the ground. Oooops!
Doctors.
Glad that you figured it out.
Prayers for a speedy healing.
Not all at once of course.
I had no idea that something as benign as a burp would have the same effect as a cough or sneeze.
That makes sense that it would help. I don’t know if you were warned by your doctor, but one really important thing to do is to work on breathing as deeply as you can several times a day. Broken ribs are a really good setup for pneumonia. Increase your activity (walking) as you can tolerate it - don’t overdo, but don’t underdo either.
(standard disclaimer that I’m a PT but don’t have a license to practice in your state most likely... take free advice as being worth what you paid for it... I haven’t evaluated you so I don’t know any specifics, etc., etc., LOL)
As someone who has suffered a similar injury falling off a horse I learned one thing, even what seems completely unfunny when one is uninjured tends to inspire guffaws of laughter when you are hurt.
Another thing I learned when I broke my collarbone is how many times in the course of a day you bump into stuff and it goes completely unnoticed normally but will bring sharp reminders of pain when injured.
Or worse yet, coughing your head off.
Avoid laughing... don’t go to any comedy clubs and don’t hang out with your joker friends
Oh, dude. Broken ribs are bad. Got run over by a car at 18. Was laid up so long I got a chest infection. Coughing was worse than the accident.
Are you taped up real good? If so, try some non-opiate muscle relaxers. Skelaxin is a good one and won’t make you high. Works great. Trust me this won’t be easy but at least the area around your injury won’t be stiff too.
All the best.
It’s smart to check with pharmacist or doctor for things that shouldn’t be combined with alcohol.
Sneezing, Coughing, Laughing - all bad for rib injuries!
If my experience is any guide, there's not much improvement for nearly two full weeks.
Very interesting.
I hope I never need to use it.
Try not to laugh.
When you run into your friends don’t say, “Hear any new jokes?”
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