Broken Clavicle

[woodgreen2002]

I broke my clavicle after being knocked off my bike in mid Jan (no he didn't stop!).

Main overlapping break was about 25mm but also two fractures to the outer part. Saw an orthopedic surgeon the following week who recommended an ORIF so went in a few days later.

Seemed to go well, and after initial pain subsided felt fairly good, so when I saw him 10 days later for follow up we both were happy!

Following morning I woke early hours with a lot of pain in my shoulder and eneded back up on the dihydrocodine! Pain particularly bad at night, and also still experiencing a lot of numbness around the op site. Especially bad at night time and not getting much sleep. Now been like this for 2 weeks.

Back to see surgeon tomorrow, but asking if anyone else has had similar experience. I'm not wearing the sling anymore, but I am careful about lifting things.

Regards

John

 

[Tmunot]

Forget about horizontal sleep and try sleeping half sited to prevent pressure on your broken clavicle.
The best would be to use a lounge chair, or a TV chair, because pillows are too soft and might move around changing your position at night.
My doctor's assistant gave me that advise and it was the best advise anyone gave me after not sleeping for two weeks. I dragged the lounge chair (no TV chair) into the bedroom, covered it with my camping mattress (the lounge mattress was too soft for me) and finally got some sleep. I used it for a month, before I could go back to my bed.
Try a few angels until you find the one that is best for you. I started with high angel, almost sitting position, and slowly took the angle down until I could lie down comfortably again.