Has anyone here broken a rib? Advice needed

[Fiction]

Basically, five days ago I was diagnosed with pneumonia. Took all the meds, etc. Laid down day before yesterday, had a coughing fit, and suddenly there was searing pain.

I toughed it out until 2 am (I laid down at 2 pm) but had to go to the ER. Coughing was and still is torture.

They told me I'd broken a rib, the pneumonia was still there. And I separated the lining of my lungs from my lungs in a small spot.

They said I should heal up fine.

My question: everytime I cough, or stand, or shift, something pops and grinds in there. If I cough more than twice, it turns into this hot, sharp pain that makes me worry I am bleeding or something.

Is this normal with a broken rib?

 

[Halo 2]

Call up the doctor.

 

[Dennis8K]

Call the doctor just in case.

 

[thesoapster]

It's been over 10 years since I broke a bunch of ribs, and I remember horrible coughing pain. That said, if you're concerned, it's safest to call them.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Yeah, that's unfortunately normal. Breaking a rib and recovery is awful. It'll take more than 5 days.

 

[mjc]

I'd probably call them just to double check, for peace of mind.

 

[Soph]

It's going to be hell for a while, coughing adds a lot of strain to your ribs. It'll heal up fine, there's not a lot they can do about it.

They didn't give you any pain killers?

 

[Kareha]

It's going to hurt unless you take any prescribed painkillers, there isn't an awful lot that can be done with broken ribs other than to wait it out.

 

[Dullahan]

It's godawful. I legit could barely do anything when I broke a rib. Just bending over to open the freezer was hellish. The pain is fierce. I almost got stuck in place, at times. It will oddly heal itself faster than you expect. I just used lots of ice. It barely helps but it's better than nothing. It's legitimately a matter of toughing it out. I had the same grinding pain when I sneezed (3 cats and I am allergic). But it does go away quicker than you expect. Yet, not fast enough.

 

[danowat]

It hurts like hell, for what seems like forever, plus I developed Costochondritis, which means I get lots of popping around my sternum.

 

[Fat4all]

my sister broke a rib, and she told me it was basically torture cuz she knew what was up, but didn't know if it was getting worse or better for a while no matter what she did, and she felt like shit through a lot of it

she contacted her doc a lot and got help and guidance, but she was still paranoid the entire time even then

still best to consult, it's your doc after all they'd know best

 

[Plasma]

If you're in the UK call 111 for the NHS advice line.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Diagnosing a broken rib is pretty hard unless it's a clear break. They will usually do a check of your organs by touching & asking questions of different areas.

I bruised mine last January and I still get occassional pains. The area basically never has a chance to rest because of where it is and what it's doing. Sleep on a couch if you can and keep yourself propped up. Once things begin to feel better walking and moving around being to do some basic movements, like lifting your arms above your head, so you can get those muscles stretched out. It was excruiating but I laid on my back and did this but it really help to get my ribcage stretched out.

I don't know how you could get one from pneumonia, but perhaps it's just REALLY sore in the muscle area.

 

[shintoki]

Everything from walking, coughing, sneezing when I broke mine was continual pain for quite some time. That's normal. I was out of commission for about 2 months.

A pop and grind I don't recall

 

[Aurongel]

I can't speak from personal experience but I remember when my dad got out of the hospital after breaking a rib from falling off the roof of our damn house. He could handle a lot of the passive pain but was almost entirely unable to lean over or extend his torso upwards. He was maybe 40 when it happened and it took him a good two weeks before he was able to reliably lean over and that was with prescribed painkillers.

 

[Fiction]

I made an appointment with my GP, I need to follow up anyhow.

And yes, apparently you can break a rib from prolonged coughing

They gave me tramadol but it's not helping at all.

 

[bangai-o]

My bicycle handlebars broke a rib during a biff. It hurt for what seems like nearly a year.

 

[bionic77]

Its been like 20 years since I broke my ribs. I do remember that everything I did hurt. Eating, sleeping, going to take a piss, watching tv, etc. It was a miserable week or so until it became something I could live. So it sucking and hurting all the time is normal as I remember it.

But I don't remember anything like a popping or grinding though.

I would echo what others said and get that checked out again. Probably nothing, but better safe than sorry.

 

[Fat4all]

They gave me tramadol but it's not helping at all.

Click to shrink...

yeah then you might need a bit more then mate

 

[Arttemis]

That's definitely what a broken rib feels like, but I don't know about the popping. It usually takes 6-10 weeks to heal, but you have my sympathy considering your illness. Definitely seek additional advice from a professional, because coughing can be incredibly violent on the body.

 

[Parthenios]

You can't really "treat" a broken rib so you're left with waiting for it to heal, which is all around awful.

 

[TransEuropaExpress]

Basically what everyone else said. Having a broken rib, or ribs, basically makes every little thing hurt like a bitch. Getting out of bed and coughing or sneezing were the worst I can remember.

I forgot one morning and was startled awake by my cat and kind of bolted up...I saw a stars, that's how much it fucking hurt.

That being said, again like everyone else, if you're concerned it's beyond regular "damn this hurts" pain, call the doc!

Edit: I do have a popping in my sternum area after for years now but that doesn't sound like what you're describing.

 

[Osahi]

That pain should be normal, but if in doubt, call a doctor. Don't know about the grinding and popping though...

I didn't break my ribs, but concussioned them after a fall with my bike (steering wheel hit me right in the ribcage), which apparently hurts almost as much but heals a bit faster. Everything you do hurts as hell at first (to the extent I avoided watching tv at first, in case something made me laugh), and it takes weeks until your completely painless. So hang in there.

 

[Cheeky]

Go and see doc, or visit the Accident & Emergency / Emergency Room if you are in a country with a sensible healthcare system. Often they will want to perform a quick x-ray to make sure there are no deeper problems.

The broken rib itself is sadly (usually) something that you can do little about. They need to be left alone to fix themselves.
Typically bone-breaks are around a 6-week recovery time.

 

[Mosse]

I've broken a rib twice. Both times it hurt the most about a week after and then took about 2-3 more weeks to fully heal. There's not much you can do except take some painkillers and wait it out, but you should probably check with a doctor if you feel it's getting too much to handle.

 

[Fat4all]

get sommit strong enough to help you get to sleep, and constantly advise with your physician

that's the best you can do

 

[TheLetdown]

Tramadol seems like not enough for this situation. I would definitely express to a doctor that you need something stronger, specifically for trying to sleep.

And I would not discount the opportunity to simply have the rib removed, Marilyn Manson style.

 

[honest_ry]

Co-codomol and suffering.

I broke 3 ribs in one go and have broke 1 on another occasion.

You basically just need to put up with it.

 

[Fiction]

Thanks everyone. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon and I will ask for stronger pain killers

 

[Hollywood Duo]

That was my experience. Its going to suck for awhile. The worst part for me was not being able to breathe normally.

 

[Deleted member 33887]

I cracked a rib, and yeah, sounds pretty normal. Welcome to what will likely be the worst 2-3 months of your life so far. Still couldn't hurt to talk to the doctor given the pneumonia. My cracked rib was relatively minor, and I struggled to sleep for ages. I was so happy when the pain went away.

 

[Mendrox]

Fiction I wish you well and hope that life decides to let you not have pain at all anymore. Hope you get some rest somehow and be healthy again soon! That sounds really painful and you always are in pain according to your posts since NeoGAF (are you that unlucky? :() I send you some fortune.

 

[The Albatross]

Yes, that's normal. Especially with pneumonia and a broken rib, which sounds horrible.

I cracked a rib playing basketball ~2 years ago, fucking kid literally kicked me in the chest going up for a stupid fucking layup that he missed anyway, and it was a solid 1mo - 2mo for full recovery. As someone whose had pneumonia twice, I just can't imagine how brutal that must be, because at least when I cracked my rib, I didn't have any other respiratory ailments.

I'd plan for a slow recovery, 2 weeks before you start to feel improved, and a solid 2 months before you start marked improvements.

 

[EJS]

I broke a rib a few years ago, took about three months for me not to feel uncomfortable when breathing / coughing.

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do except rest.

 

[Ohnonono]

I adult man cried in a Doctor's office when I broke my rib and had my lung rubbing my ribs from pneumonia. It hurts!

 

[Swauny Jones]

Don't laugh, don't sneeze, don't yawn, don't cough and don't take deep breaths and you'll be good. I know easier said than done and even if you miraculously seem to do all those things it's very easy to re-break the rib area once you're semi-healed with a simple yawn or sneeze. May the force be with you OP

 

[Gernau Morat Gurgeh]

I'm afraid it sucks OP, there's nothing much you can do about it beyond moving carefully and taking painkillers until it heals.

 

[Xx 720]

I'm a nurse, here is a tip. Get a small pillow, like one you would see as an accent on a sofa. When you have to cough, get up and down or anything effecting your torso, hold that pillow gently against your body, just not directly against the broken rib area, but near, it should help.

 

[Z-Beat]

That's probably normal for coughing or any kind of bending. Call up your doctor just in case.

Get well soon, Fiction

 

[Hail Satan]

Yeah, as others have said, that can happen.

Sorry to hear though. Good luck with the healing process. Hope you have a speedy recovery!

 

[Dalek]

This happened to my wife and almost happened to me-we has a really bad bout of pneumonia a few years ago. Sorry, Fiction

 

[JK-Money]

ice and lots of rest, it sucks your already coughing but once that calms down then your rib can heal properly

 

[Dalek]

The urge to cough when you're in pain like this is so annoying.

 

[lunarworks]

I may have cracked a rib in my back when I slipped on our front steps about a month ago. I get a sharp pain whenever I breathe in deeply to sneeze, but aside from that it's not much of a problem.

 

[djplaeskool]

I've cracked a rib before.
I ended having to immobilize my right arm and avoid any and all strenuous activity for a month and take these giant 800mg Ibuprofen tablets.

 

[Jesse_and_the_rippers]

I cracked a rib after getting sideswiped and colliding against a wall in high speed go karts. Only thing I could do was wait it out. It ached for six months.

 

[Spock]

I broke 2 ribs falling on ice. I didn't know till a year later when I had an x-ray for pneumonia done. I thought I just bruised my ribs when I fell. Sleeping was hard and certain bending motions. But the pain itself was on the lower end of moderate for me. Though I have been dealing with chronic pain and an auto immune issue for many years, so my perception is different in that regard.

 

[Blue Moose]

I had the same thing happen last winter. A prolonged cold and lots of coughing led to a sore side. I didn't think it was rib-related at all. I thought it was a muscle pull or tendon or whatever. Then one night: the cough that broke the camel's back.

The rib wrap seemed to help, and the painkillers definitely helped. After the ER, my pain was lessened. It's great that you're going back. You won't be comfortable again for a few weeks, but you don't have to be immobilized with pain.

I still remember that feeling of dreading even clearing my throat.

Good luck, man!

 

[Pickman]

When I broke 2 ribs it took me 2 months for the pain to subside and another two for it to be back to 100%. Heals really slow, hurts like hell, and can't be helped. Sorry for your suffering, OP. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

 

[kamineko]

Sorry to hear it, TC. I broke a rib once and it was completely miserable.