On Wednesday I got knocked flying by next door's dog. Fell backwards onto gravel and the left arm took the brunt. Waited 10 hrs for ambulance. They said go to A&E by car and fitted me with a sling to ease pain. I was fitted with a brace for broken humerus and broken other bone under gas and air and given morphine before going home. I had just dropped to 1.5mg so went back to 2mg pred. Problem is I can't sleep on my good side as pulls on the bad arm and the pain sleeping on my back is agonising as I've got a slight slipped disk. I was offered codeine which I can't take so just on paracetamol. Tried to sleep upright and just can't.Question is, should I put up the pred? Would it control the intense pain do you think and has anyone else dealt with a broken humerus with pmr? Obviously can't take NSAIDS with pred ...can I?
Sorry tale: On Wednesday I got knocked flying by... - PMRGCAuk
Sorry tale
No helpful advice I’m afraid but just wanted to sympathise as I broke my proximal humerus just over 3 years ago and remember well the pain and difficulty trying to sleep. Could you borrow a recliner? Though that may not suit your back. I tried to prop myself up with pillows but ended up (not) sleeping sitting up. I couldn’t take codeine and got through a lot of paracetamol- take them regularly. They gave me a couple of naproxen at the hospital when I went in. I didn’t increase my Pred but in retrospect probably should have for a little time as I felt pretty weak for a day or two, think my adrenal function was slow at low levels of Pred. Maybe see your GP or use telephone advice line - to get more suitable pain relief- again I didn’t but wish I had!
Wishing you a rapid recovery (make sure you get a course of physio appointments early on). It’s horrible in the early days, but I’m sure others will give you good practical advice. Just offering you gentle virtual hugs, rest as much as you can 💐
Poor you, this sounds really agonising. I had a quick look at surgery supports and back supports for your kind of situation. You May find something like that helpful.
Yes, I've got a brace and wrist sling. Too painful without gas and air! Very tight. If they say I need an op I'll go mad.
They should have sorted out pain relief better than that since you can't use NSAIDs long term. However, my rheumy uses NSAIDs in such situations together with a good daily dose of a PPI or H2 antagonist as stomach protection. It is only of limited use - not something for long term use.
Can you use pillows to support the bad arm?
There are sometimes recliners on loan from the Red Cross - contact them to see if there are such options available locally.
I broke my humerus 4 years ago and was fitted with a sling and told to "HANG" my arm at all times for 6 weeks! I had to sleep sitting up, so bought a pressure-relieving cushion, which helped. Fotunately, I was able to take codeine for the pain.
Very best wishes to you - sending healing thoughts. 🌻
THANK YOU EVERYONE for all your help and suggestions, experiences and sympathy.The hospital said ask your surgery for pain meds if paracetamol no good. I have a recliner but can't sleep in it. My aim is to sleep on good side with bad arm in a comfortable position using pillows🤞But might have to sleep in bed propped up. Nightmare.
Finally 111 Dr called back today, very nice, English, and as I can't take codeine, she prescribed Oramorph which I will take at night, 5 mls. My husband rushed into town to Boots for it. Dr said I didn't sound like an addictive person. ( That made me laugh)
Finally I asked her if I should increase 1.5mg pred dose. She said No as it inhibits the healing.
No flare. Amazing as such a horrendous shock. Thought I was dying. And I felt the wretched dog licking my face.
Evidently she was very depressed the next day and not bouncy at all.
My arm was black with the bruising, from the break, down to the tip of my little finger. Don't be alarmed by that if it happens - it does resolve!
My "nightmare" would be to have a dog lick my face! 😱 🤣
Haha! And mine too!The bruising is now going down the arm but finger swelling has gone down. Did you have a brace? It's getting very tight and sore. Must ring clinic. Frightened I might need to be pinned.🤔
I had what I think is called a 'collar & cuff' sling. I had one break, just below the ball & socket joint and had to 'hang' my arm to weigh it down and keep the bone in alignment. It was an ordeal for 6 weeks, but it has healed well, thank goodness. It all happened during lockdown and I had Physiotherapy by telephone!
I hope all goes well for you - the fracture clinic will look after you, I'm sure.
Keep away from that dog in future! 🐶
Yuk! I even shudder and have to look away if someone is "kissing" or being kissed by their dog on TV - think about where that nose and tongue have been!!!!!
Hmmm - might inhibit the healing slightly - but I'll take that over the risk of an adrenal crisis after such a severe incident.
I truly sympathise. I broke my proximal humerus after an awkward fall, ten years ago and it was agonising. I was sent home from A&E with a sling and the advice to let my arm hang down! Like you I found it too excruciatingly painful to lie down and had to accept that I must sleep propped up. Because it happened in the middle of my radiotherapy for breast cancer and I was unable to raise my right arm to continue my treatment, I was referred to the hospital palliative care doctors who prescribed codeine plus an anti sickness medication, Cyclizine, I think, as codeine always made me nauseous, also a morphine patch! You may be able to take codeine by taking anti sickness meds half an hour before each dose. I would advise you to speak to your GP for help with getting adequate stronger pain relief. I doubt whether paracetamol is enough. Wishing you all the very best.
I can't drop my arm at all. Far too agonising. 2 really bad breaks. They said exercise the fingers and wrist at this stage. Take arm carefully from sling and put gently on the knee but don't push it. The fingers have gone down. Going to fracture clinic on Thursday when they will remove brace and examine the skin and take X-rays. Sorry...not now pmr related.Best wishes
Diana have you tried ice packs sometimes that’s the only thing that works for pain. Cold is an anesthetic. I had major spinal revision scoliosis surgery. It moved all the ribs - hurt terribly. I got a lot of help from ice packs on my ribs.
Can't ice as my upper arm has a tight brace on. Very itchy.
You can try icing the brace; it will also help the itch. I spent a year in a series of body casts itchy.
I didn't have such a break as your's, it was a wrist break, but I found a comfortable way to sleep sitting up with the afflicted arm propped up on pillows on my lap. I also have my feet up and a pillow under my knees and am sleeping better in this position than I have for years so staying with it for now, even while wrist well healed! For a while ice was my best friend.
Unless told not to, wiggle your fingers as much and as often as you can. They should x-ray you as follow-up to make sure bone still in good position. I was x-rayed at ER, five days later at first ortho visit, and for the next two weeks, and finally when cast removed. At the third ortho visit they replaced my plaster cast with a fibreglass one which they shaped (painfully) to create pressure on a broken piece of bone which was starting to shift (the radius bone was split vertically and the gap was widening). It was that or surgery and ortho said for those over 50 surgery, in a case like mine where the bone was not displaced, would not result in any improvement over the cast.
The bruising was spectacular and there were still traces even when the cast came off after 6.5 weeks. Did you know your bone bleeds? Makes sense when you think about it, because our blood is manufactured in bone marrow!
I would be very interested to learn of your progress and hope that things go well and you now have good pain relief. 🌼
It's all experimentation isn't it with pillows etc. You managed brilliantly. My brace is tight and break is so painful but last night the tiny dose of morphine worked brilliantly both on my arm and my spine. Will stop it as soon as. Today I've needed less paracetamol. But it did make me weepy and tired this morning. Thurs is fracture clinic and very nervous as might have to be pinned if brace doesn't work. So far no pmr flare. Very grateful.
Hope the visit went well. Are you going to be okay without surgery? The brace is too tight to begin with because of the swelling, I worried about my cast, but they do tell you signs to watch for if blood circulation is compromised and fortunately that didn't happen. One good thing was in the end I didn't need a follow up brace, which the ortho had expected I would be fitted with. One thing that's not likely going to be problem for you as it's the humerus which is involved, is my thumb was squashed so tightly. It took a long time after cast was removed to feel thumb was working properly again, and my finger joints remain stiff - but, truth be told, not so much more stiff than the other hand is with OA. Ah, the joys of age!
Just coincidentally a few minutes ago I ran into a fellow building resident and she regaled me with her experience as a 10-yr-old when she fell off a bike and badly fractured an arm. It was during the battle of Dunkirk and their school had been taken over by the military. So it was a soldier who picked her up off the ground and she was seen to in a military hospital. And I guess she's been dining out on this tale for the last 80 years! Certainly beats my tripping over an irregular pavement, but your dog encounter is worthy retelling!
Fracture clinic is on Thursday pm. My niece was round as she broke her upper left arm 3 months ago but went to different hospital. No follow up xray and just a sling. Physio 4 weeks later. At least Addenbrookes are thorough. Brace very tight and itchy but can put up with it till Thursday. Bruising down to above wrist. Arm feels floating if I'm not careful but that's normal evidently.Poor you re your thumb. I've
sent for a squeeze ball.... I'd rather fall off a bike than be attacked by a Hungarian Visslar!! I'm well off the breed.
Found a squeezy toy at my d-i-l's and spent the evening squeezing it. Next day could hardly move my hand - obviously overdid it. But she let me bring it home with me and I use it for a little while every day. It looks like a black cat's head and is perfect shape and squeezability!
Possibly I got more things done to my wrist because it was a joint which was affected. It's certainly been a lot more troublesome a recovery than a tibial plateau fracture I had about ten years ago (also a stupid accident, ice related that time).
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