Hi. I was in a very bad car accident on valentines day 2010, my mom passed out behind the wheel, woke up, over corrected and our mini van flipped end over end & landed on the drivers side. I managed to get out the passengers side window to go for help, fortunately friends were right behind us so I didn't have to leave my mom trapped in the van alone, thank God. I was high on adrenalin so I wasn't feeling much, not even the deep and many cuts I received on my legs from the barbed wire fence I tripped over in the dark because the van had landed on it. At the hospital, they asked me what hurt, I thought, really? Your asking me what hurts? Everything and nothing at the same time, wait till the adrenalin wears off & ask me again. Well, my wrist was hurting a little so they xrayed that and my right side, cleaned my cuts after a few hours & sent us home. My mom only had bumps & bruises & we thought that was all I had suffered as well, not so. The next day, I felt really dirty because I had fell in mud & all that so I took a shower even tho I really didn't feel like it. While taking a shower, I noticed my right shoulder was killing me, so I started feeling of it & noticed there was a huge dent in my collarbone. My dad took me to my Dr the next day & we found out my collarbone was broken. So as you can imagine, I was more then a little upset at the hospital for missing it but I let it go & we started to recover. Well, a few months later, after my collarbone was healed up, I started having chest pains. They weren't to bad at first, just would get a sharp pain when I breathed deep, coughed, & so on. I told my parents but I wasn't real worried about it. About a month later, they started getting real bad & one day I woke up & I felt like I was having a heartache. So we went to the Indian hospital about an hour & 45 minutes away. There they didn't xray me, do any sort of tests, asked me what it felt like, found out about the wreak, said it was just pulled mussels, sent me home with over the counter meds. I was so mad, but again, I let it go. Well it eased up enough to where I wasn't scared I was about to die. Acted up here & there but nothing I couldn't handle. Now its been about 21 months & its getting bad again. The right side of my chest hurts all the way thru to right below my right shoulder blade. And now the left side is beginning to hurt right below my breast. Its worse when I'm sitting, I took a 2 & a half hour trip yesterday & came back the same day so I was in the car for about 5 hours & by the time I got home, I was crying with every bump in the road. It feels like on the left side my rids are pushing up into my chest. I don't no what's wrong. I'm thinking maybe a fracture in my chest? Or some rib heads out? & where the pain is, is where the seat belt was. The seat belt helped save my life but it broke my right collarbone & possibly more. Because the seat belt went over my right shoulder, over my chest, to below my left breast and my left ribs. Does anybody have any ideas on what could be wrong with me??
After my accident, I was taken by ambulance to the ER. They did x-rays and sent me home with a broken arm. A week later, it felt so much like I was being crushed to death that I went to another ER. One where my primary care doc has privileges. They didn't do more x-rays, they did a CT scan and found that I had a fractured rib and a fractured sternum with displacement. If the place you are going for care now doesn't do what is needed to help, fire them and go somewhere that does. Nothing causes more pain than not knowing why you are in pain. Be your own advocate and don't worry what others think.
repeat xray! My doc told me that some people who fracture or break the xiphiod process hear a cracking when they breath! PUSH FOR THEM TO DO THEIR JOB! I had too, they kept trying to say acid reflux. It wasnt!
I too have a sternum fracture although I'm not sure from what... I did have my wisdom teeth removed recently when the pain started. But I have all the symptoms of a fractured/broken sternum: bruising, uncomfortable pressure, twisting pains in my heart and spasms around my collar bone. Until I get to a doctor, how do I keep it from getting any worse?
I felt the pain every breath I took ,I was using hand trucks to carry a dresser out of a shed it had a five inch drop ,when I went down it --it kick back and hit me so hard it took my breath away and knock me back my husband caught the dresser and kept it from falling on me .The pain was horrible.About ten days later i felt still a little pain but not what I felt that first week,I thought that was the worse but yesterday I was doing exercises and a big POP happen I fracture my Sternum now I know what pain is ,I rather be in labor pains every breath I take every way I move ,sitting up it's the worst,,,,,,,Get it checked