Bad Fall
 

I probably will have some idea how good my bones are in a short while...
I just fell flat on my face on the brick step to my door, striking hard both knees, both elbows and the left ribcage that I fractured a couple of years ago... The ribcage is more painful than everything else...

Do I need to bump up the Vitamin D and calcium? I have to stop taking these Tuesday (7 days before all of this testing). Will it do any good to raise dose until then???

I used to think these older people who fell were really not careful. Then I got to be older. It happened sooo fast...

Cathie

Oh Cathie:

Maybe you should see your doctor???

I hope you are resting. And icing whatever hurt, when you fell!!!

Melody

cathie, you need to go get checked out. a fall like that can also cause back problems. you said flat on your face...did you hit your head at all?

i have a barfy kid home today, or i could come take you.

melody is right...you need to ice ( frozen veggies in a bag work good) the areas.

:hug:

Better to get ahead of it
 

Cathie,
Just call your PCP and have him/her check you out just to make sure you don't have a fracture. It's just better to be safe than sorry. And you know the old RICE routine.

If not here's the google: http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/spra...a/sprain_4.htm

I sure hope you didn't break anything. Don't do any extra supplements. You may mess up your testing by not having normal blood levels of the particulars.

Billye

:hug:'s--hope nothing is borken!

be careful...
 

not all falls break things. They also can rip. That is how I got my terrible groin pull. It took almost a month after the fall before the tendon gave out for me.

It has been 2 yrs of pain and anguish. Tendon injuries are much worse than breaks. So pamper yourself for a while...ice it and pray. :hug:

I'm sorry this happened, Cathie.

Brick is not good....This may sound stupid, but, you may want to pad those area with cow mats. I have a cow mat outside of my patio door. If I do go down, at least I hit a rubber surface.

My daughter suggested I tile my kitchen floor (oh so trendy).....I gave her that look....I think 'Cork' is more up my alley.

Given you broke some ribs once....maybe you should consider having some xrays??? You know how bad it is to hit the ER on a weekend.

So sorry to hear this. Do you think you tripped, or is there a chance you fell from low blood pressure (hypotension)? Hypotension does cause a lot of falls.

So sorry to hear about this fall. If you remember, I posted about falling
by stepping in a pot-hole in a crosswalk a few months ago.
My doc had me do an MRI to make sure nothing was broken.
It took at least a month for the pain of the pulled muscles to finally subside.
See your doc. Get some pix of the area for him to check you out.
Falls are a real bummer!!

I am very sorry to read of this Cathie, i hope you aren't in to much pain and i also think its a very good idea to get checked out properly especially with Xrays as even small fractures can be nasty.

Brian :)

Yes, I do think you should go get checked out--
 

--given your previous history. It's not hard to re-break bones that have been broken once before, even with "perfect" healing . . .

Please do rest and ice--you'll certainly need to explain this to the puppies!

I hope you can get through this with pain kept to a minimum.

Oh my! I'm so sorry and I hope your ok. Please your in my thoughts and ask for help. You don't want things to get worse. Maybe take a bath with epsom salt? Please hang in there and many hugs!!!!!!!!!

Cathie? This isn't how it should be....
 

BUT how it is.... Last year I fell in the house fractured a knee cap once going down, another way trying to get up! Year before was worse and entailed an overnite hospital stay [YICH!] But that time I had put a good dent in my head which was NOT detected by the EMT's the ER folks or anyone...I still think I've 'gravel pebbles' in there which will likely be found on my 'next' MRI? I don't know if you remember but last fall...late about late November? I was asking Rose and Mrs D a whole lot of questions about the Calcium, Vitamin-D, Magnesium connection. One thing I had learned at that point was that the 'anti-seizure' meds and other pain meds we take are notorious for bone loss. These meds that are supposed to 'help' us come at a substantial cost, for sure!
Then there was my Early winter-spring encounters with the Endocrinologist...I had NO recordable Vit-D, Calcium or Magnesium levels in the tests that the endo had ordered...I MEAN NONE! And I was taking a really good multi-vite and calcium tabs...Many. THEN there were the results of the 'autoimmune' thyroid tests...they were very high...but not like others I have encountered on this board or others..However, scary enough to almost put one into a panic.
As for any FRACTURE? I hope you called your doc and got instructions? For me it was YES a Friday and spent 6+hours in an ER 'outpatient' pod....one where they 'immobilized the knee' and sent me home...I was lucky to see the Orthopod [tho with difficulty and some funny moments?] and got the real skinny as to treatment...mainly MORE pain Pills and more x-rays, and a scrip for a wheelchair that I used for more than the 60 days allowed.
Most important was that I called ALL relevant docs and really LET THEM KNOW WHAT had happened! I knew the end result would be "Not Much" But I was sure it got on record ASAP...I have to tell you that it wasn't until the 3week mark that the second fracture showed up. Some/many/most hairlines do not so up until CALCIUM in the healing starts to show up really...IN THE CRACKS. Soo, I guess from my own experiences, chomp down all them thar calcium chews that you can? I know that at least they taste good....tho there are times when I just go WHAT?! Another fruitcake PILL! Enough already!
It was the re-learning of the 'bedpan' that was the hardest really tho...It seems to be something we truly would rather forget...Cannot IMGAINE WHY?

That all is beyond humbling...those who can walk and have not had this experience cannot relate AT ALL! However, we recover, re-learn, forget, and stubbornly proceed on. After all, what are the options? Give up? Who of us has an available 'person' to wait on us endlessly?

Hang in there good person! We know you have the spunk and that this is just one big whomp in the gut...so to speak. When you are up and about next, it's just gonna be a bit slower and more cautious. HUGS :hug::hug:'s - j

The last fracture, I went to the ER, they gave me Morphine, which I am allergic to. They X-Rayed me, told me there was nothing they could do for fractured ribs, and sent me home. So I thought this time, since lungs seem OK, it would probably be a repeat. I thought I would just take some pain pills, ice the area, and see how I fared. The area in the rib cage hurts, but I am fine, other than being bruised and irritated with myself.

I fell because I didn't like the way the bricks looked, so last week had someone come raise and relevel them... Not used to the new height... Dumb mistake...

I did not hit my face because I was carrying a big, black trash bag full of trash and my face got buried in that... Never thought I would be thankful to have my face in the trash... This has to be a first...

Thanks to all!

Cathie

What is a cow mat anyway? Is this something you get at a farm supply? This may be a warning sign to do something about this area. This is the second time I have fallen out there in the last week. I backed up over some potted plants and fell over backwards. That time a hanging basket broke my fall...

Cripes, it is challenging getting old, though it does beat the alternative...

Cathie

P.S. MrsD: I may have this all out of balance. Is 1672 mg of Calcium OK w/below? Thank you...

Calcium Citrate & D: 800 IU D, 1260 mg Calcium (4 gag size pills)
Vitamin: 400 IU D, 200 mg Calcium
Biotin: (has calcium in it) 73 mg Calcium (dr. said for fingernails-doesn't work)
SloMag: 212 mg Calcium, 128 mg Magnesium (2 pills)

Cathie
 

We must stop this ,Bob crashing my old body in a car. But ribs really hurt,so do other body parts. Did you take a gentle breath not too deep,hurt well
of course it did you hit hard thing...Please get it cheched out,but don't let
them do your back in,on th x-ray table....:hug::hug: Sue

cow mats
 

Hi Yorkiemom:

I too didn't know what a cow mat was - never heard of this before. I looked it up on Google and found out. Give it a try. Interesting. We learn more here by accident than some places by design!


Shirley H.

are these like:
 

the mats sold in sports places...that you stand on to exercise? They come in 12 in squares that you can customize to size..with interlocking flanges. I paid about 15 dollars for a good one at Dunham's.

Also there are inexpensive interlocking mats at Sam's club..one side is gray, the other with bright colors. Meant for basement floors or places you stand alot.

We put the gray exercise mats in my kitchen up North last year, to take the
pressure off my left leg. It was very successful.

The ones I have are about 1/4 inch deep.

Thing is about 'mat's' is where they are used....
 

There are lots of indoor mats, of different densities...and what you may want/need might be less 'dense' [pardon any unintended pun?] than much that is out there.

Where used? Indoor is/has less issues other than cleaning [say in a kitchen] than outdoor ones. If it's a say carport or area around a door, you want to be sure that any frosts or extended cold periods or snow don't make the 'product' brittle. The barn/stall mats are essentially OUTSIDE tho in a sheltererd building. They come in lots of mind-boggling types, sizes and more important COSTS. It's the cost that's gonna get you [shipping aside?]

Here is one site that presents a slew of variables:
http://www.greatmats.com/rubber.html

Here is another choice... Under a search for 'floor safety mats'
http://www.commercialmatsandrubber.com/

For all of this, well, I truly REFUSE to say: Moo? Hugs and tender walkies or whatever...truly hope you don't need the dreaded Bed Pan! - j

Random ? but what a mat in the shower or tub? I have been thinking I should get that and I wonder for others too. I bet you even places like Walmart carry those mats on the websites. I wish I could just float in a bubble then there would be no worry.

Daniella...
 

Most of the 'mats' carried in box-retail stores probably aren't gonna be thick enough to actually protect US if we fall-down-and-go-BOOM? [Known to EMT's those rescue guys as FDAGB].....Some mats are made to be in water [live in it and not get well moldy/funky] and others aren't....Alternatives for us are either going around as if we are skateboarding [with head-gear, elbow and knee pads] or going around in 'bubble-wrap' Don't know about you, but either alternative has less than desirable consequences to their protections. I have not yet discovered anything other than heaps of grab bars for bathing safety...IF I find something Daniella, YOU will definitely be the first or second to know rite away.... I am looking.

Mrs D? Were the mats you have over concrete or on a wood surface? I think that would have a lot to do about 'resiliency' and or protection if one actually falls on one, don't you think?
I do know that the barn/stall mats are made to be tough and outside essentially. They are also build to wear well with 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of constant animal use...wear and tear..and they do hold up. The issue is cost/vs protection and how much protection a person needs in what location. IF I find a sale on these outdoor mats, I'm gonna get one at my nemesis point...just outside one door where I have to STEP up. I often find my feet failing at the UP or down critical IN MOTION aspect... Would be nice to have some padding there for sure. - j

the colored mat
 

I have in my car in the back of the van. A friend of mine put hers
in her basement to cut the hard and cold feelings from the cement floor (they have a sofa and other furniture there as a spare room). The colored mat is made from the same material as door mats. It was quite large, so I gave 1/2 to my son for his car because he transports musical instruments to his band practice.
They cushion the ride.

The exercise mat is in the kitchen. It gets wet.

I don't think these mats are thick enough to cushion a real fall. They might
prevent a road rash injury, but I don't think a tendon pull, or bone break can be prevented with a mat. After all people break ribs and wrists just bowling,
or lifting something heavy, if osteoporosis is there.

My mats reduce strain, very well, however on a daily basis.

Thanks all/Attention MrsD
 

Thanks all... Since Sam's is right around the corner, I will start out there. I need to find one that doesn't have that strong rubbery smell...

I am much better today. Still very sore, but I can breathe, so am OK. I have to see my doc Monday, so he will hear about it then...

I don't know why people fall like they do. I just don't recall being so clumsy as a kid. I broke my arm when I was about 4, but that was because I fell out of a chair...

MrsD: Did you get a chance to think about the Calcium, Vitamin D, Magnesium ratio?

Calcium Citrate & D: 800 IU D, 1260 mg Calcium (4 gag size pills)
Vitamin: 400 IU D, 200 mg Calcium
Biotin: (has calcium in it) 73 mg Calcium (dr. said for fingernails-doesn't work)
SloMag: 212 mg Calcium, 128 mg Magnesium (2 pills)

Many thanks,
Cathie

I understand I was just thinking not so much for protection of breaking something but to make it so one doesn't slip so easy. Like those bath mats have traction. Cathie have you been tested for osteoporosis? Maybe your bones are so weak that you fall easily. My mom takes fosomax and thinks it has helped her. My endo just wants me to take calcium with vitamin d and I take seperate magnesium and also glucosamine msn.

as long as...
 

you are not getting twitching/cramping..then that ratio is working for you.

I get muscle spasms now, if I forget my calcium. Part of that reason is that
I use a calcium channel blocker for blood pressure...although a low dose.

Take the calcium in divided doses, since there is an upper limit to absorption.
At least twice a day. (not all at once).

On the mats....cow mats are a bout a half inch think and weigh a ton...you need two full grown men (Lester and Clay) to load them in your Ford F150 pick up truck....you buy them at local farm supply stores. Once that thing is down, it is not going anywhere....it is about a 4 x 6 size, comes in a variety of colors...BLACK. It does have a half inch lip you can trip on. At the farm store it is a COW MAT.

You can also buy mats at fitness stores, but only get commercial mats similar to cow mats....there they cost twice as much, roughly 80 bucks, and you can get BLACK with red, blue or other little flecks of color.....Don't call it a cow mat there, they might take it personally....Likewise, you need 2 men (Bjorn and Lars) to carry them out to your SUV or similarly large vehicle.

Don't order them online as the shipping is by weight, and then again, if you don't have a Lester and Clay or a Bjorn and Lars at home, getting the mat where you want it might be difficult.

Don't buy any flimsy mats or you will slip or trip on them....the mats I refer to are like flooring essentially. They break your fall, but you can't expect to escape serious injury no matter what....it beats brick, concrete or ice. Did you know ice is 7 times harder than concrete? I wish some one had told me that before I decided to relearn how to skate a few years ago. (Don't worry, skates are gone, but I did get pretty good at skating...for a while anyway.) And yes, anything that contacted the ice other than the blades, still hurts.;)

Thanks... Maybe I need to learn how to fall correctly. Falling flat down frontwards is not exactly a good way to break a fall... When I was young and fell, I never gave that a second thought...

I fell a couple of times and rolled as I fell, but falling on the grass is not as hard, so it wasn't that painful. When I fell off of my shoe and fractured ribs, it was about 10:00 pm; it was on the sidewalk, which really hurt... I laid out there in the dark for a while thinking my husband or someone would come along, but then the football game was on, and you know how that goes... :) It hurt alright, but nothing like it did when I tried to get up out of a chair later on.

I guess a person could just die lying there on the sidewalk, unless it was at the end of the fourth quarter... :) :) :)

Cathie

Thanks MrsD...