Friday, September 21, 2012

Pork Ribs - Excellent, Beef Ribs - Great, Cracked Ribs - Suck

I guess it has to do with getting old, with being at death's doorstep last year, and with feeling run down in general for the last month and a half or two, but I am still surprised at how much a couple of fractured ribs can be a pain in the rib cage, shoulder, back and even neck. Of course, I have been having problems with my right shoulder and upper back around that shoulder blade and m neck for a few years now so I guess the cracked ribs have just added to the exquisite intensity of the pain I have been experiencing with every little stretch, cough, reach, wist, turn, pull, push and whatever other movement of which you can think in which the ribs move even just a little. Truth be told, they have been feeling a lot better than they did 8 or 9 days ago, even much better than just a few days ago, that is until last night. It took a couple of weiss biers, 2 Naproxen sodium tablets, a 10/325 mg Percocet and a couple to a few 5 mg Hydrocodone HCL tabs to make it feel better. That may be because I have not been taking anything during the day, on workdays, to alleviate the pain except for the Naproxen sodium tablets, which are muscle relaxants. With work and driving to and from it, I decided it would be better not to be under the influence. It may also just be because I tossed a towel over my head around my upper back and shoulders, yesterday after my shower, and I twisted a bit to much or whatever and felt something stick and go click. Man, I almost let out a howl. I figured it was a fluke and stretched a bit this way and that and tried the same move again, knucklehead that I am. The second time the result mimicked the first but not nearly half as bad. I am guessing my ribs had moved, slipped, gotten pushed out of normal alignment and when I made the move with the towel - ouch. I really had not been feeling much pain at all for at least a couple of days, except when in bed and turning over, until I did that. The rest of yesterday and today have been mildly hellish.

I was told, by the radiologist who examined my x-rays, that my ribs would be very painful for a week, then fairly painful for a couple to a few weeks more. It is amazing how true that has been considering the fractures are pretty small but I guess that is the nature of the beast known as cracked ribs. I have had quite a few other broken bones and none have hurt like the ribs have pained me. Tonight, two weiss biers, a couple of the muscle relaxants (taken this afternoon) and one of the Percocet (a generic form) and one hydrocodone have done the tick - almost. Almost is good enough for me. I'll take one more hydrocodone before I hit the hay if I need it and will hopefully get a much better night's sleep than I did last night. I need the sleep, I have to be at work tomorrow morning. Thankfully, I am only working a few hours tomorrow.

Still though, I am feeling a lot better than a day or three after I broke them. I can actually cough now without feeling like collapsing or moaning in pain. I can adjust my draws, pull them up, pull up my socks, bend over, twist and turn with relative ease in most instances of each. If you have ever wondered about how it feels to have broken ribs, stop wondering, it hurts a lot and it sucks.

All the best,
Glenn B

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