railroad tracks then ER

methods

1 GW
Joined
Aug 8, 2008
Messages
5,555
Location
Santa Cruz CA
doh....
Now I am one-handing it

In charge of Tow
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12S 15Ah 30C - goes good enough
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The fail device
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Was riding safe
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Biffed it hard on RR tracks. Got in 3 long strides... should have slid, tried to roll, didnt get my arm forward and plowed shoulder straight in at something under 20mph.
Rolled onto feet, used 3 seconds of shock to signal OK and got to side of road.
Sat down, knew hurt, tow girl went for truck.

Doc says "Only separated, not all the way, go see specialist"

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f7CK3R hURTS
1 /2 WHEN still
10 when any muscles flex or moveit in any way.

Dont crash is my advice. 50MPH is wicked fast. 15MPH can hurt you bad if you fall unwisely.

-methods
 
I'm guessing the tracks were taller than a skateboard wheel? :lol:
Glad that was all you did.
 
Yea glad it's something heal-able if that's a word.

Where the tracks part of the original plan or just something in the dark not seen ?

https://www.armytek.com/products/flashlights/multi-flashlights/armytek-wizard-pro/

I love my armytek headlamp. I use it as my backup light when doing night rides.
 
methods said:
Biffed it hard on RR tracks. Got in 3 long strides... should have slid, tried to roll, didnt get my arm forward and plowed shoulder straight in at something under 20mph.
Rolled onto feet, used 3 seconds of shock to signal OK and got to side of road.
Sat down, knew hurt, tow girl went for truck.
Those tow girls sound really handy - but sounds like they must be utilized with caution.
 
No idea what all that means

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I separated my shoulder skating. Went to physical therapy for 1 day. Saw the motions they told me do. Once the shoulder was able to minimally move, I started hopping over the fence into the nearest apartment pool and steadily improved my arm stroke. Not 100% in the end, but close enough to paddle out into double over head beach break with lots of current. :mrgreen:
 
Patrick, I am glad your injuries were not worse. I am painfully aware of how even a low-speed dump can be very painful. This is one of the reasons I like fat tires. Below is a pic of an older-style drainage grate. They only changed the design after a lawsuit. The new grate cost the same to make.

seattle-bicycle-grates-street.jpg
 
@ 24hrs an 800mg dose of ibuprofen allows me to walk, sit, cough, and raise from a prone position with a sling.

Yesterday was pray for death
Today is severely irritated
Tomorrow... Maybe drive a car 1 handed.

More discomfort right now from the heroic Advil dose upsetting my stomach than the shoulder.

My tips:

As you may or may not know I train all the time. To train is defined as doing things the hard way when you don't have to.... So when you have to you can. What I missed:

* Wiping ass with left hand... To be practiced
* Sponge bathing 1 hand
* Left hand chopsticks
* Getting up without flexing all body muscles

Racking a slide requires my knees or feet.
Lighting a match in the wind is near no go
Netflix is not that bad after all

Pinky Blinders season 1

-methods
 
Damn that is a mean looking break.

Peaky Blinders is good stuff. I need to see if there is a season 3 yet only watched up to there.
 
The first series aired on BBC Two on 13 September 2013 and ran for six episodes. The second series premiered on 2 October 2014. The third series premiered on 5 May 2016.[2]

On 26 May 2016, the BBC announced they had ordered a fourth and fifth season of the show.[3] Season 4 will probably be released late 2017.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peaky_Blinders_%28TV_series%29
 
Spent all day trying to get in to the Free Clinic (aka bum hospital)

(dont ask... but I am writing a first person article on Healthcare in the US along the way)

So... let me start by saying that at least in Santa Cruz County... Clean, helpful, healthcare is available to those in need who do not have expensive private insurance. You have to be willing to wait, jump through hoops, dot i's, cross t's, be nice, ask favors, make a fuss, and otherwise get to the front of the line.

In my case - we were at it all day... even at the finish line they tried to send a nurse out to shuffle us off.

I saw a doctor.
He pointed out that the 1" gap in my X ray was... uh... not there before... and showed me what my bones were supposed to look like :shock:
Separated ACL
He said that basically I will have a bump there and it will look funny... and that I wont be at 100% again for overhead work... but that most people (9 out of 10) dont get surgery and they just work around it. He said it will only be maybe 6 weeks till I can raise my hands over my shoulders, write on a white board, and "use" my arm. He made no promise as to how well it will work.

Humpf...

As you guys know I have been rallying HARD against the prescription drug industry... shit is root of much evil if you ask me.

That said... I now have to adjust some of my rhetoric... as I have been a bit short on empathy. Immediately after an injury like this... uh.. I was INCAPACITATED with pain. Unbelievable pain. They prescribed 20pcs of some mixed pill (5mg Oxycodone mixed with Tylenol). The medication took me from "frocking shoot me" pain to... "meh".

Now its been a couple days. I tried immediately to move over to heavy doses of Ibuprofen and got a wicked stomach ache. Doc prescribed me some sort of Ibuprofen that is topical... so it should work but I dont have to digest it. Sweet!

But as to my hatred (and it is hatred) of the prescription drug epidemic that we are currently in...
Man.. I can see how it happens. The pills not only take your pain away... but they give you a sense of undeserved well being.

Dangerous shit I tell you...

I have worked with a lot of kids on the streets who got strung out on the higher end prescription drugs. Story is always the same... somehow they think it is less dangerous because it is not heroin or crack... little do they know its WORSE... its f'ing ENGINEERED heroin lol.

From my readings and observations there is a loop that pill addicts fall into.
They take the pills in the beginning out of genuine need
They continue taking them because it makes them feel good
At some point... they saturate with the stuff... and then just "not" having the pills causes them extreme discomfort.
Basically they go through a withdraw period where there is extreme heightened sensitivity in the body.
Worse over... the bodies natural "feel good" system becomes broken. It was described like this:

"
Picture the natural "feel good chemicals (Dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins) being a machine in your body
One side of the machine shoots out different shapes... stars, boxes, circles, octagons, etc.
One side of the machine has matching holes... so stars, boxes, circles, octagons, etc.
When a shape jumps the gap and lands in a hole... you feel pleasure
A prescription drug is like a new shape... but it will fit into ANY of the holes.. so call it a Dot.
Over time... the body adjusts... and all of the holes end up the shape of the prescription drug.. so you have nothing but Dot holes.
Your body does not produce dots...
So your body is trying to produce your natural feel good shapes... stars, boxes, circles, octagons... it does... but the holes they go into (which make you feel good) are all Dots now...
They dont fit
You dont feel good

And it can take months or YEARS to undo this damage and return the body to natural function.
That is the argument for why you should not fool around with powerful prescription drugs.
I believe it to be a true and correct analogy based on my observations.

You can see the rub... its a true physically addicting set of drugs that alter your body and leave you broken
IF - you abuse them... and abusing them means taking them for more than a couple days or a week after an injury.

The solution (or visualization) to break free of it if you are already stuck in it goes like this:

Picture your body as a long tube... full of marbles.
Black marbles
White marbles
All mixed up... sometimes a long string of white... some times a long string of black
Black is bad, equates to frocking sorrow.
White is good, equates to carefree living

The key is maintaining a conscious effort to delay gratification, to have faith that you WILL feel better later, and to drop nothing but white marbles.
Ok... a black marble falls in... dont drop in more!
White marbles... as many as possible.

Food
Exercise
Friends
Productivity
Change....

Lots of white marbles.

Eventually... after a while.. integration over the curve leaves you feeling like a white marble.

The tube is always there
At any time you can pump it full of black marbles
In doing so... you have some margin that aligns with how well you have been treating yourself over the integration window.
Keep up with the black marbles... fail

That's the latest being propagated in non-faith based recovery circles... where I participate... for my own education and the education and support of others.

I grew up around nothing but drug addicts and losers.
Took me 20 years to surround myself with winners... and I still to this day am attracted to "broken people"

Meh... steer clear is my advise.
Broken is contagious
Sick people like to get you sick.

If you dont fool with the stuff... dont get started. I have seen it absolutely destroy perfectly normal people.
It may seem cool or mysterious or like it will make you feel amazing.
Well... thats why we have all the kids learn Calculus.

The Area Under The Curve equates to misery except in the most disciplined examples of controlled use.

Take it from Uncle Methods... I am an expert in the area of finding excess and then finding balance.
Everybody has the right to find their own path.
Some are smart and listen to the old man laying on the side of the trail... who has warnings of alligators, hoards of spiders, and long walks without water. :wink:

End service commercial.

If you take drugs regularly don't get defensive. I judge you only on how you behave and how you perform. I had to learn a long time ago that the world is full of all sorts of people doing all sorts of weird shit. Worshiping false idols, worshiping real idols, worshiping drugs, ... whatever... if we are all to get along then all that maters is that we comply with Universally Acceptable Behavior and that we perform at or above the level we are being compensated for and up to the expectations of our peers.

Another reason to surround yourself with winners...
Winners breed winners. Health and wealth is contagious.

Want no responsibility... Starbucks is waiting for you.
Want epic responsibility... the opportunity is there.

-methods
 
I've read that 500mg of Acetaminophen (Tylenol) combined with 200mg of Ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin) at the same time, every six hours can apparently work much better than Tylenol or Advil/Motrin by themselves. They each approach pain and inflammation from two slightly different ways, and the combo is like 2 + 2 = 6

Taking lots of Ibuprofen by itself is hard on your kidneys, and taking lots of Acetaminophen by itself is hard on your liver. Doing a mix was initially tried to ease up on the volume of Tylenol needed to "take the edge off", when the patient had a sensitive liver, and was unable to take opioids.
 
Interesting...
I was a bit weary as I considered it.. never heard a doctor suggest it... but they are often brand whores :eek:

I am all about not feeling this pain and at the same time not having to ingest a dangerous substance.

Currently I am icing it to the point of it being numb. If I lay still... that works.... but as soon as I become active the stiffness makes it double ache until it loosens up.

Bugger... Helmets, Jackets, thick gloves, pads... NOT ENOUGH.
I failed hard.
I hope someone learns from my lesson and avoids going through this.

35MPH is fast enough guys...
Its ACCELERATION that gives you a thrill... NOT SPEED!

-methods
 
I did my AC joint (Acriomioclavicular joint (not ACL, the anterior cruciate ligament is in the knee)) several years ago playing rugby. Not as bad a separation as Methods, mine was only a grade 3 tear. The emergency doctor needs his prescription checked, Methods has a full separation with displacement. If health cover or funds are available I would see an ortho surgeon.

Excellent advice SM. Even better than Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) + Ibuprofen is Paracetamol + Ponstan (Mefenamic acid). Ponstan is usually used for period pain.
I was taking Panadeine (Paracetamol + Codeine) with Voltaren (Diclofenac) which wasn't really covering the pain. Paracetamol + Ponstan was far more effective, and safer.

When taking any NSAIDs (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs, such as Ibuprofen, Ponstan and Voltaren) it is very important to take them after eating, as pretty much all of them can affect the stomach lining causing the gastric symptoms Methods is experiencing.
 
Thanks for the tips

I was able to two hand type for an hour today!
That means I can code... and that means I can pay the bills.

Now its back to omfg... one hand shuffle.

-methods
 
Paracetamol + Ponstan was far more effective, and safer

I would like to try that, any idea the fastest and easiest way to buy those by over-the-counter brand names? (also, what dosage for an old 200-lb sack of shit, and how often?)
 
Paracetamol = Tylenol, normal adult dosage 4x 1000mg daily.

Ponstan = not sure, maybe Ponstel? Ask the chemist for the anti-inflammatory Mefenamic Acid. Normal adult dosage 4x 500mg daily after meals.
Ponstan/Ponstel might be expensive in the USA. Fairly cheap elsewhere around the globe.
 
KalSteve said:
Ponstan/Ponstel might be expensive in the USA. Fairly cheap elsewhere around the globe.

I'd never heard of Ponstan, so I looked it up. Wikipedia has this to say about it:

In the USA, wholesale price of a week's supply of generic mefenamic acid has been quoted as $426.90 in 2014. Brand-name Ponstel is $571.70.[13] In contrast, in the UK, a weeks supply is £1.66, or £8.17 for branded Ponstan.[14]

No wonder I never heard of it.

It really stinks to have the world's most expensive medical care by a wide margin, but have the quality and results of that expensive care be inferior to anywhere else in the First World.
 
No pain meds at all today - not even Advil or Tylenol.
It hurts... but only a fraction of how bad it hurt the first few days.

I cant move it - but if I keep it still... I can go in the car, type, etc.

Of course I will probably be telling a different story tonight. We will see.

-methods
 
Hi Methods,

Sorry about your injury, best wishes on recovery, and my full sympathy.
I got a similar injury about 15 years ago -- in Colorado for a nephew's wedding, was riding down a mountain, went over the handlebars, and whammo.
Limped back to condo, still in shock so not much pain.
Wife took one look at me, said "I am going to the wedding, you are going to the emergency room."
At that emergency room they see a lot of ski and bike accidents, so knew exactly what they were looking at:
Grade 3 AC separation, plus a broken rib and a cracked vertebrae. Xrays looked a lot like yours.

Initial healing was a bitch, lots of discomfort even with strong dope. Week of designer drugs, couple weeks of codeine drugs, then about a month of something they called Tramadol. Tramadol does not get you high, and they said it was not habit forming, but that was baloney. When time came to quit it, there were a few very twitchy days.

Over time the AC injury healed up pretty well without surgery. Full range of motion, full functionality. A tendency to ache when over-used or when cold, but tolerable.

Two things I'd advise long term.

Never ever use a sledge, jackhammer, hammer drill or anything that causes repeat impact stress on that shoulder for the rest of your life. Just trust me on that. Not worth it.

And learn to mouse left handed. The fine motor control of holding right arm in mousing position and making tiny mouse motions is tailor made to flare up shoulder problem.

Glad you were not hurt worse!
 
Good advice.

I used to left hand mouse when I wrote LabVIEW 24/7
I will take your guidance on that.

I need to teach my son to swing an axe in 5 or so years... But I can lay off the power tools or learn to use my left.

Sawsall
Impact wrench
...

Important tools... Will have to teach my girlfriend and boy to use them.

Pills... 2 Advil today.
The real ones get me high... I don't want to get comfortable with that sort of chemical.
It's been 20 years next month since I thought it prudent to use highly addictive substances for sport.

On the subject of drugs... Pot is everywhere. It's annoying trying to Engineer with guys who are stoned. Some people can do it and I don't even notice. Some people ... Eh... Omfg... Flying Spaghetti Monster.

-methods
 
Hi Methods --
Some good news. Don't rule out sawzall. I find I can use one fine. Power isn't the problem, only repetitive impact to shoulder like comes from a jackhammer or sledge. Saw with good blade mostly not a problem for me.
But do plan to show your lady how to use a sawzall! To put it in a sensitive new age guy kind of way: I've found that many women enjoy the sensation of mastering their environment that using a sawzall creates. To put it more simply: chicks dig sawzalls!
But be prepared for the huge remodel plans that happen once your lady friend realizes just how easy it is to disappear a wall :lol:
 
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