Broken/cracked ribs - pain help!

[allthelittleangelsriseupriseup]

On the early hours of Christmas Eve I fell and broke or cracked or bruised ribs on my front right hand side (was sober - promise!)
Spent most of Xmas in a lot of pain - took ibuprofen and paracetamol, walked around with my right arm wrapped around my rib cage. Christmas dinner was cancelled - It's still in the freezer and I tried to move around and bend/stretch as much as I could. Things were getting a bit better, and I went back to work (from home) on Monday this week.
Unfortunately I now have a pain that the painkillers don't touch - it's a burning, burning pain just where my bra underband would be, so from my breast bone, under my right boob, across to my right arm pit. Not exaggerating, but it feels like someone is pouring acid over my skin - and it's burning its way through.
Any one had anything like this?
Going to call the doctors tomorrow morning - as I am clueless as what this is, can anyone give me any ideas?

I think I'd be calling for help now.

I d go to a minor injuries unit, if not an a&e as it could be a good idea to get an x-ray to rule out a fracture.
I broke my top rib a couple of years ago and codiene was the only thing that touched the pain at all.

Seek medical help. I did the same a couple of years ago and there was little help (yes, you have borken ribs, not a lot we can do). Have a pillow strapped to the area, you may likely cough and it hurts like hell but makes you feel a bit more protected. Keep up painkillers - alternate paracetamol every four hours and ibuprofen every four hours (so you are taking something every two hours if that makes sense). Wishing you well. It takes time and SORRY, it hurts

Yes, I agree with wibblewombat - I’d be looking at a call to NHS now.

Thanks folks, unfortunately I'm in a very high COVID19 area, so I'm trying to stay away from A&E as much as possible - especially as both I and DW are on the ECV list.
Trying not to drip, drip but I can't take opiates - I throw up non stop (which I don't want with bust ribs)!

Do hug a pillow to cough, or as Pebbles says, strap one to your torso.

Very painful, you have my sympathy.

Please be aware although it really hurts you need to breathe deeply to avoid being at risk of pneumonia.

DH cracked ribs playing Footie twice and both time got pneumonia due to shallow breathing because of the pain. Only worked this out because I saw it on a hospital programme!

Look I know you're trying to avoid Covid, but your symptoms could be something even more dangerous to you. Please seek professional advice

Hi folks, sorry I haven't responded, but the painkillers knocked me out for an hour.
Yes, I know about the problems of pneumonia - I've had it twice.
Don't think strapping a pillow to me is needed - I'm about a week past that.
Am breathing deep and moving round lots ( I have asthma)
Seems like no one has had this awful burning pain - so I'm calling the docs tomorrow. The closest I have had was shingles - surely I can't have shingles on top of bust ribs!

Its not clear from you initial post, but did you have an Xray after your fall to confirm broken ribs??? Are you just assuming you have broken something? Its usually a large force to break ribs, so unless you have osteoarthritis, are very elderly, have a violent fall , car accident etc, it would be unusual to break multiple ribs from a trip!

Where you have the bra strap to under pain, is there any rash, blisters or redness? A burning type pain sounds more like shingles than a broken rib. Without further info, its hard to guess though. Have you called your GP for a phone assessment/skype call yet?

hehehe, cross post OP re the shingles!!!

I've had an injury like that twice. Worst pain ever but never felt like burning. Took 6 weeks to recover. Do call 111.

Is the burning on one side?

Could be shingles, perhaps? Have you checked for a rash?

Just seen that you mentioned shingles.

I had major chest injuries in a car crash a few years ago and developed a burning/tingling type pain due to nerve damage. The pain you are describing sounds similar to what I experienced. Gabapentin helped me with that pain more than normal painkillers though its never gone away completely. It's definitely worth you calling the doctors and asking about alternative painkillers. I was also given local anaesthetic patches but they were from the pain specialist in the hospital - I'm not sure if a GP would prescribe them or not. But definitely seek medical advice asap.
I hope you feel better soon, I know how difficult this kind of thing can be.

It’s unlikely you’d be sick on all opioid medication. Besides which, if you get them from hospital they can give you some anti-sickness medication to go with it if necessary.

Thanks for all your help folks, had an awful night- think I got about 2.5 hours sleep, have called work and have told them I'm in too much pain to work - called the GP and am waiting back for a triage call from the on duty GP - could be any time today. Then they will say if they need to see me.
I'll let you know later.

Dr's have just called. She thinks it could be Shingles - even though I haven't got a rash, she's prescribed pre - gabulin for the pain, so hope that works!

My husband bruised his ribs badly and was told he needed a muscle relaxant as well as pain relief. That helped him a lot

Just a quick update:
Took my first tablet last night just before bed (Lyrica), I got 7 hours uninterrupted sleep, and I feel better for that alone. Have just taken my second tablet - so I'll see what it's like when I am awake!
A small rash has just started to come out under my right boob - so I guess that it's shingles on top of cracked ribs!
We're having a duvet day today.

Thumbs up.

Thinking about it shingles is most likely to reappear when you are run down so I guess its not really a surprise