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How long can I expect to have bad pain? I can deal with some pain but this is unreal. Ive cut my pain meds in half. Was I wrong to do this, I don't want to be hooked. How much longer until I start feeling like me.

By October 26, 2009 - 7:03pm
 
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Hi my name is Jewell and I had a car accident in which I was stuck in the drivers side door by an SUV.
Approx 3 months ago I fractured my pelvis in several places, lacerated my spleen broke some ribs and sustained a concussion. How long does it take until you stop experiencing pain? I can stand a certain amount but this goes beyond that. My orthopedic Doc has discharged me from home PT, and wants me to start aqua therapy. I look forward to the aqua therapy however, I am still having other problems that have not been addressed. Because of my extensive pelvic fractures no one is paying attention to me when I tell them that my ROM involving my neck is awful and hurting. I can not turn my head all the way to the right. The Docs were checking for DVT, they seemed so sure I was developing a clot because of the severe amount of swelling in my legs. At one point I could not lift my leg it was so heavy because of the edema. I also have a serious loss of sensation in my calf and foot and would you believe even the bottom of my foot. I was walking in small steps and was trying to make larger strides (part of my PT) and I almost fell because my right foot tripped over my left. I think it was because my left foot is so numb. Can you help me? If I only had something to base what I was going through on. I wish I had a time period for healing. Sincerely Jewell

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Jewell,

While Alison looks for that information, I want to ask you about something you wrote in your original question but didn't deal with in the body of your question: your pain medicine.

You said that you have cut your pain meds in half -- and that you are still having unreal pain. What medicine are you taking? Did you tell your doctors that you have cut your dose?

With all the bones that you broke and the discomfort you are in, you NEED this pain medication right now. You may be having nerve pain in addition to the pain from the actual fractures. Did you have surgery or pins of any kind put in? Do you have a limp or muscle damage that is still healing?

Even just a simple pelvic fracture can take three months to heal and mobility can be restricted for several months after that. And your fracture was not at all simple.

Does your pain medicine give you side effects that you find unpleasant? Or are you just afraid of becoming dependent on them but haven't talked to your doctor about this?

Please let me know the answers to these questions (again, what pain med are you on, what dosage, and whether there are side effects) as well as to Alison's questions above. We would like to help.

October 28, 2009 - 9:08am

Hi Jewell,

I am so sorry you had this terrible accident, and it sounds like you have some health care professionals helping you...up to a point. They may be lacking in the reassurance category, right?!

I will see what information I can find for you, as far as your question for a time period for healing.

In the meantime, as I was reading your story, I was wondering why you (or is it your doctors) are questioning pain that you are experiencing in certain areas, that are seemingly unrelated to an injury in another location. (For instance, you said, "no one is paying attention to me when I tell them my...neck is hurting."). It sounds obvious from reading your story that of course you would have pain in many different areas of your body, even if they were not directly impacted by injury in your car accident. Your indirect pain makes sense from an outsider's standpoint, as you may be favoring one part of your body that puts excess pressure on another part and causing your body to unnaturally realign itself. The other way to look at indirect pain is that your body is not made up of individual parts, but rather all of the parts make up the whole person...and all of the parts can effect each other directly or indirectly. I hope that at least offers some reassurance that you can indeed listen to your body, and find health care professionals that will listen to you!

Can you tell us what specialists you are seeing, and if any of them include some of the "alternative or complementary" fields (such as massage therapy).

Take care, and I will find some information to help you in your healing process.

October 27, 2009 - 9:23am
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