OT: Broke A$$ (literally)

[Stephen Fortner]

Some of you may have noticed I haven't posted in awhile. Welp, this is the first day I can actually sit in my studio chair and type as opposed to lying on my side with my phone. I took a stupid slip on my own stairs and landed squarely on my rear end. Doctors call it a seated fall. Hairline fractured my coccyx bone and there isn't much to do for it except take Tylenol and keep off it. Driving is still out of the question for awhile.

 

Anyone ever have a similar experience? What did you do to stay comfortable?

[ElmerJFudd]

You broke your ass bone, Steve!  
 

Indeed. I’ve fallen on my coccyx before - invisible ice on the asphalt driveway.  But I can’t say I’ve broken it.  Unpleasant, I can imagine.  Feel better!
 

For other injuries where sitting and/or laying down was near unbearable, I have used Advil or whatever the prescription was, used a pillow between the legs or jammed a few together to put and keep me in the one position that would allow me to nod off and get some sleep.   

[KuruPrionz]

I recently had triple hernia surgery and was prescribed opioids for pain relief. 

I didn't take them since they also cause constipation, which is just about the worst possible thing for recovery from hernia surgery.

 

A friend brought me some CBD gummies and they worked remarkably well for releiving pain. Might be worth trying. I felt no untoward symptoms using them. 

 

And here is a paper on the differences in over the counter pain relief. Note that aspirin and ibuprofen both provide some level of anti-inflammatory improvement while acetamenaphin (Tylenol) can reduce pain but not swelling. 

https://www.utmedicalcenter.org/know-the-difference-between-your-pain-relievers/

 

Last but not least, if you can - use ice packs to reduce swelling and relieve pain as well. 

Best wishes!!! Kuru

[Steve Nathan]

Ouch!!  No experience here, but hope it heals quickly and you can get back from being a Broke Ass to a Punk Ass 😄

[Tom Williams]

it must be a planetary alignment. 

 

A week ago today, at a tech conference, I slipped and fell down a flight of concrete stairs / steel edges.  It winded me, but I soldiered on for 3 more hours before I went to the ER to learn that I had three rib fractures, with actual separation, not just bruise or cracks.  The first three days were spent engulfed in agony, mitigated somewhat by pain medications and sedatives, just trying to find the right posture to be able to sleep.The mind-piercing agony was enough that my screams reached mezzo-soprano range in chest voice, and a spasm-ing chest at that, if I simply turned the wrong way.  I'm still off work (medical) for the rest of this week too. 

 

It doesn't help that I live in the middle of the opiate-death-zone.   No primary care provider (excepting the initial ER) will prescribe narcotic pain meds.  It's a CYA medical practice, though they prefer to call it "pain management."

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Postscript: a friend of mine who suffers from chronic pain due to Lupus shared her recipe for if-you-can't-get-opioids pain relief: two each of naproxen sodium and acetaminophen tablets run a decent second-place, and last for about 10 hours.

[Atomicsynth]

I hope you feel better soon!

[Rod S]

Hope you feel better!

 

Happened to my mother 2 years ago.  Nasty fall, cracked the coccyx.

 

She used a specialized cushion.  There were two models she tried.  The one that worked better was a foam one that is U shaped.  The other one, oddly is the type the doctor recommended but she didn't like, is round and inflates (looks like a small buoy).   She said she liked alternating between the cushion, standing a bit, and sitting in the couch.  

 

I can posts pictures if you'd like.  

 

But it's mostly navigating through it.

[nadroj]

Ouch. Bruised my tail bone 2 years ago and still get sore if I sit wrong (or on a bad bench) for a while. They can take a long time to heal. 
 

Hope you get better soon. In my case as time went on I was able to sit on more and more surfaces: started super soft cushions, then a mattress, then harder cushions.

 

Just be mindful of your back. When you start sitting again you may be tempted to sit in such a way that eases the pain for your butt, but is terrible for your back. I have a recurring back problem, and there have been a few times when my tailbone was still healing when I threw my back out after sitting awkwardly on an uncomfortable stool for an hour. Same goes for how you lie down - if you lie down in bed in a way that puts pressure on your back while taking it off your ass it’s going to cause problems. You don’t think of these things at the time because you’re just enjoying the relief, so try to always be aware of your posture. 
 

Speedy recovery, Steve. 

[ProfD]

Brotha @Stephen Fortner, wishing you a speedy recovery in getting your azz back in gear.😁😎

[drawback]

I had the same injury when my shiny new moccasins (no treads) slipped at the top of carpeted stairs and I landed at the bottom squarely on my tailbone.

 

But hey, I was 18! Need I say more on what meds I used.

[allan_evett]

Owww... Not good, Stephen.  I did that around age 14. I sat - somewhat sideways - on pillows for about a week.  Had a very strange walk for the first few days; no small amount of jokes followed in my high school hallway.

 

Meanwhile, I did somewhat the opposite this past December 14th. Missed an outdoor step-down at the teaching studio  - while trying to carry too much. Landed front left, half on grass, half on cement.  Several muscle/tendon pulls, plus what I suspect was an upper rib fracture; hurt like a bear for a month.  Scraped up both knees (through heavy denim!). Similar scrapes on the sides of each hand; those plus a RH muscle pull made work interesting the next weekend. 

 

My understanding of situational awareness has changed greatly.

[16251]

I thought this was a story of having spending too much $$ because of excessive GAS. 

[Kelly Gibson]

Steve,

Sorry for your injury.  I am an RN in a ski town. This is a fairly common injury in icy winter climates, you might find yourself a doughnut pillow or other similar device at Walgreens or a medical supply. (as also mentioned by Rod S) These take the pressure as well as some of the pain off of the coccyx. 

[David Emm]

I cringed in sympathy upon reading your story. I've had my run-ins with injury over the years. I've considered it to be a proverbial blessing when ALL it did was leave me propped up in a chair for a couple of weeks. Its a good sign that you're on here today and not a head in a bed. 👍😬

[nursers]

Speedy recovery not fun  

[Baldwin Funster]

I slipped on some ice when I was a kid and landed on my tail bone. I cant offer much advice though because it was like 45 years ago and I cant remember much about it besides it that it hurt. I'm guessing a donut shaped pillow would help. Or maybe a pillow shaped donut.

Or Vodka.

[BluMunk]

Ugh. 

My wife spent the last year in bed (hyperbole, but not much) with a spine injury, so I know a lot about pain management second hand through her. 

I second everything Kuru said. And, here in VT, you can get medicinal marijuana/THC if you go through a little process with your doc and the state.

Different drugs work differently for different people, but for my wife, CBD was kind of helpful for low-level stuff, but not really useful as a real tool to manage pain.  But, a THC/CBD tincture before bed was effective, not too debilitating, calming, and helped her sleep as well. And, let her lay off the ibuprofen for part of the day, which she was taking at maximum dosage for quite a while.