mtall,
I just had my surgery this last Thursday, tibia external only.
From the moment I woke up out of surgery I haven't really had any pain to speak of. Granted, the nurses gave me painkillers 2-3 times a day on Thursday and Friday, and I took one Saturday night when I got back to my apartment. When I'm walking around, I can feel soreness where the pins and screws go into my leg, but even this subsides a great deal as the day goes on.
I may give this feeling a 1/10, just for the sake of argument. My doctor told me as much has been the case for the majority of his patients, but that of course the level of pain will increase once I start lengthening next week, about 12 days after the initial operation.
*I'm not trying to paint a nice picture for you, only what I've personally experienced and what I've been told by my doctor.
No one will could have 10/10 pain and be months that way.
From my experience with internals i say 2/3 at most
Except when doing exercises with that PT guy of yours... remember your unbearable pain?
Quote from: LLuser1 on June 30, 2016, 01:09:07 AMExcept when doing exercises with that PT guy of yours... remember your unbearable pain?
Well...it makes sense that doing stretching exercises on your broken legs probably hurts a bit. Duh.
Stay on topic.
The original question by the OP is: how long does the worst of the pain last?
I don't think his question has been answered.
Hey guys. I'm the original poster who asked this question.
So, is the general rule that....the less you lengthen, the less pain you will experience?
Is there a direct correlation between amount lengthened and amount of total pain?
Quote from: CCMidwest on June 30, 2016, 02:48:57 AMWell...it makes sense that doing stretching exercises on your broken legs probably hurts a bit. Duh.
Stay on topic.
The original question by the OP is: how long does the worst of the pain last?
I don't think his question has been answered.
It's probably 3-4 level pain for the first week and then subsides gradually for the first month. When you hit your leg on something or if the AC is on too cold there are sharp spikes periodically but after about a month you don't really notice anything
I wouldn't put the pain above a mild headache to be honest and immediately after the surgery your on painkillers so you don't really feel much.
Seriously if it was that bad no one would do this surgery
Quote from: mtall on June 30, 2016, 06:41:50 PMHey guys. I'm the original poster who asked this question.
So, is the general rule that....the less you lengthen, the less pain you will experience?
Is there a direct correlation between amount lengthened and amount of total pain?
The worst pain is in the very beginning. Lengthening too much isn't any more painful, rather there's just a higher chance of complications and recovery issues
Just chiming in here, IMHO I'd add that it's not a binary or linear answer.
Most of the lengthening pain can be a dull, nagging pain in your skin and nerves as the the pins tear away at them. I say it's not linear or easy to quantify/schedule because the pain can come earlier, if you catch a nerve, then go away and it may or may not come back again.
Quote from: ub40 on July 02, 2016, 07:01:17 PMThe worst pain is in the very beginning. Lengthening too much isn't any more painful, rather there's just a higher chance of complications and recovery issues
I had intense, keep-me-up-all-night pain for a bit around 4.5-5cm, then my last .75cm (past ~6.75cm), the pain got pretty horrific. I was taking Tylenol, Ultracet, Flexura-D, and Mobizox as much as they would give me. Of course, most people shouldn't lengthen more than 6cm or so.
In consolidation, all the pain is pretty dull. A lot of it for me, was in the lower back. My knee pain was mostly because of the non-union. Also, being able to tolerate the pain is one thing...being able to function with it is another. I had sporadic pains in the L knee and fibula that I could easily tolerate in themselves, but it was so difficult to walk around on it (with a single crutch) that I chose to stay home at lot...even in bed a lot of times.
As for the 1-10 scale, it's definitely useful, but still rather subjective (which is why I keep my own personal Pain Meter). I have always had a high tolerance for pain. I've participated in some extreme fighting sports (WAY beyond the pains of American football or rugby) and I will tell you: when I accidentally set my newly-broken leg on the floor, 4th day post-osteotomy, it was surely a 9.5 for a few seconds. Had I to endure minutes of that, I would have jumped out the window...you know, a 99 on the BPM. 
Bigfaker,
What caused back pain when you did tibias?
When you are bed-bound and chair-bound for months, it's not just your leg muscles that weaken and atrophy. Your core muscles suffer a lot. It wasn't just me and my old age, either. I heard this form other patients I know personally and I also remember Sweden talking about it in his diary.
It's also possible that the mushy pads we had to sleep on -- then the block of granite I slept on in the first hotel -- did a number on my back as well. My right shoulder for sure (I sleep on my side when possible).
We all tried to do some exercises while lengthening, but had I to do it over, I would have worked more on keeping up my core strength while I was in frames. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I dealt with back pain for at least a year and a half after frame removal. I could barely stay standing at the sink to brush my teeth without some back pain.
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