Hello lads,
So probably one of the most debated topics here is how painful this procedure is. Pain is of course going to vary from individual, but at the end of the day if all other factors are equal (Dr skill, meds, etc) there should at least be some agreement on how much pain one can expect from this procedure.
Now first, I think everyone can agree that externals are more painful, especially on femurs. You gotta really hate yourself to do LON on your femurs.
I have a few friends who work in emergency medicine and they all say that there's no way a controlled breakage of the bone by a Dr. is going to cause excruciating pain (but it will still of course hurt), and not nearly as much pain as breaking a bone due to a car accident, and even so, once you get a ton of pain meds the pain becomes manageable after a while. What they did say though was PT and having to sit in bed for weeks is going to suck.
Anyways, to those who did internal nails with a reputable Dr, was this procedure more or less painful than you expected? Was it really painful to the point to where you were passing out as some users on the forum have suggested or was it more moderate and annoying? And how long was everyone on opioids for.
Is this surgery really excruciatingly painful?
Quote from: uponly on February 15, 2023, 06:29:45 PMIn day 9 post-surgery (Precise 2.2), here are my thoughts on pain.
Yes, it is absolutely painful to the point of excruciating. I passed out from the pain once in the hospital. I know others who have. The first week is absolute hell in terms of pain. I have been severely injured before, with high levels of pain. Nothing like this. The second and third day after surgery are the worst, when the anesthesia and/or nerve block wear off. There aren't enough opioids in the world that second day for you to not feel pain, the best you can hope for is a pain level that's tolerable enough so you can make it through.
No Dr. worth their salt will lie to you about this. Every Dr. I consulted with said there would be a lot of pain at the beginning. They also said the pain can be managed. I am also finding this to be true. Thus far, during the second week, the pain hovers at about 4-6 for me, with some exceptions, and it can be managed with prescription meds, the proper amount of rest, PT to strengthen muscles and regain motion, etc.
Sleep is your absolute best friend for pain, and everything else during this procedure. I'm cutting my days in half, napping during the day, trying to get 10 hours of sleep at night, etc. When it works, I get a natural 2 digit drop in pain the next day.
Thus far, I have found this video by cyborg4life to be a dead to rights accurate representation of my own experience with pain. I hope you find it useful.
Good video.
Yeah if you ask the Drs. about pain they usually say something around the lines of "its painful but manageable with meds"
During the first week or so, what percent of the time would you consider the pain manageable? When you were lying still, staring at the ceiling was the pain bad or manageable then, or only when you tried to move or do PT? And I'd assume the pain would be much worse at night, would you agree?
Yeah there is going to for sure be a lot of variance in what patients experience.
However, most people can still agree that this is an incredibly difficult procedure.
I spoke with Rich Rotella (The actor who did LL) and he said that this is an very difficult procedure and there will be some times you will mentally break. He said nobody who's done this nor any doctor worth a dime would tell you this is an easy procedure. Every CLL Dr. I spoke with said that there WILL be a lot of pain in the beginning and this is NOT an easy procedure.
Do not do this procedure unless you are REALLY dissatisfied with your height because this is no joke. Try wearing shoe lifts (add 1-2' to height) before you seriously think about doing this.
I read some more diaries, and I think if you are not doing a stupid method like LON femurs, for the first 2 weeks its going to be painful but manageable with narcotics while lying still. When you're moving though, that is when you will likely experience 8+/10 levels of pain. However, you must keep in mind its not just the pain you must worry about, it is also the lack of sleep, discomfort etc. Most people say its more like a marathon of moderate pain then getting tortured 24/7. Pain tolerance is also going to vary a lot, so some people will of course find the surgery more painful than others, but most people should be able to manage the pain while lying still if they take their narcotics. A controlled leg break surgery with a competent Dr is of course going to hurt, but It really shouldn't feel like you are getting tortured unless you have to move, refuse to take narcotics, or have a terrible pain management protocol. I think the media portrays this surgery as medieval torture, but in reality people break their bones and need fixator devices all the time and once they are in the hospital with pain meds, they usually aren't screaming in pain. Yes they're uncomfortable, but they manage. In a poll about the internal nail method pain, the majority of people voted somewhere between 4-7/10 in terms of post op pain. Keep in mind I haven't got the surgery so I do not say this from experience, I'm mainly going off of what the top Drs and patient dairies have said
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