New here. Need some advice/ help.

Hey guys how are you all? Little about myself. 25 years old big city firefighter working at a busy ladder company. Now my job is very high stress/ high impact high demand. I have had acl surgery, ankle reconstruction, and two wrist tfcc repairs. I suffer from pain daily but other days after a tough day of work it is severe pain. I take motrin 800 mg every day but it isnt doing the trick. I have a young family that i need to support so leaving this job isnt an option, it provides us with personal choice insurance a prescription plan that only charges me $1 and a salary of $75k. Any advice?

Thank you for the reply. I was given vicodin that i would take after a tough shift and it worked but i freak myself out as i didnt want to become dependent on it. Most of my pain is in my ankle and wrist/hand since my duties involve alot of heavy lifting/bull work. My hand swells and i can hardly move it after a tough day. I gues you guys consider it breakthrough pain. Im in pain every day but deal with it, but the breakthrough pain is getting harder to deal with.

Can you tape your ankle and wrists to provide some support? Or braces of some sort? There are some pretty helpful ways to tape injured joints to protect them. Compression can prevent swelling. Alternating ice and heat is another way of helping with swelling and pain.
As for the knees, there are some really good compression braces available (open patella) that provide stability and aren't so bulky so you can wear it under your pant leg. Taping/braces and NSAIDS during working hours might be enough to get you through the grunt work, ice/heat for breaks, and then stronger meds if needed when you aren't working.
I wouldn't tape your knee because it can cut into your skin, but it works great for ankles and wrists. There's a type of spongy gauze that you can use under the sports tape to help cushion the edges of the tape. The tape and cushion gauze can be found in most sporting goods stores and many chain pharmacies. It's probably cheaper at the sporting goods stores and available in multiple quantities.
Check with your doc or physical therapist for instructions on how to tape an ankle or wrist. I have two bad knees from skiing accidents when I was young and a daredevil, and use the knee braces when working out. My daughter had bad ankles from competitive sports for many years when she was young and we found that taping and really good supporting shoes and orthotics helped.
Hang in there. I'm in my 50s now and have had chronic pain for many years. Still have to work (not as strenuous as a firefighter, but still in the trenches). You eventually figure out your triggers and limitations and then adapt.

Hi there LG....I was a volunteer Firefightet/EMT for 10 years back in my 20's...(I'm 44 now)..Do you all have the shift system of 3 days on, 3 days off?

As others mentioned...for the awful inflammation which causes a lot of pain...things like steroid injections or a Lidocaine patch. Along with some prescription strength Ibuprofen can help.

If you have the schedule where you have a few days off then taking some of the Vicodin should be ok as directed by your Dr...but it only makes it worse if you are taking a bunch of them for a day or two, and then none, and the repeating as the ups/downs can make the pain "seem" worse on the off days.

So I would hope that you can work with a good Board Certified Orthopedic surgeon and/or an actual PM Dr. who understands that you are a Firefighter and have to be extremely careful about the opiates and not having it still in your system by your shift....You should be able to find one in your area who has worked with other FFs, Police, etc.....and work out a good plan of treatments that can help keep your pain at a decent level.

Also mentioned are types of splints/braces depending on whether they are ok'd by your Captain/Battalion chief to not inhibit your work.

Or the last resort is seeing if you can get assigned to a different position for a few months to allow for some Physical therapy and recovery to let the pain and swelling calm down for a bit.

It's definitely a tough situation with injuries and chronic pain and these types of jobs.

Keep us posted...

Thank's for all the replies.Braces would be an option if i could properly hide them. I dont know if you guys are familiar with the fire service let alone a career department but it is a very alpha male dominated field. If my chief found out i was hurting to the point of needing them he would send me to the medical officer in a snap and that is something i dont need.

Snowbunny we work 4 days on 4days off. As for being assigned to a different spot that is something that would hurt but i might have to go to a slower Ladder company. You said that you were in the field, so im sure you know about the pride and traditions in busy houses. But doing 2500 runs a year with over 125 structure fires is starting to wear my young body down alot sooner then it should due to my injuries. At 6ft 210 pounds and well built you would think im right where i belong but i have the insides of a 50 yr old lol im not as good as i once was but im as good once as i ever was, problem is some days i need to do it more then once and thats becoming a problem. Lifting heavy ladders and doing bull work is really taking a toll on my wrist.

1day at a time i wish i could use the tape and braces but having to hide it from work is part of the problem. And it really doesnt hit me at work, its hurting my family life. By the time i get home i can hardly move my hand and walk/stand on my ankle. With a 6 year old girl and 7 month old son that is where my life is being hit. I get sore at work but by the time my shift is over thats when the pain goes from a 3 to a 7-9 every day/night

Ok LG this is where you give yourself a break. You didnt ask for this,you got here via trying to provide for your family the best that you could.

I had 5 kids under 11 when I went to work one day and got hurt never to work again. Kids are extremely resilient. I had a 3 month old and a 2 year old out of those 5 kids that still relied on me heavily.

An old CPer helped guide me on 're-thinking my ideas of good parenting. We tend to think if we can't run or romp or we have to take 30 minutes regrouping after working we are not doing our job as a parent.

Kids just want your attention,and that's as easily to give sitting or lying on the floor or bed with them as anywhere. We had many dinners out on a " picnic" on the den floor. The baby doesn't need you to stand up or walk around holding it,just wants you to hold it. Sit down watch TV,sit the seat,swing,whatever next to you. Lots of ways to have quality time with them and not put yourself in added pain.

Rethink it and be creative with them but most all just love them and they will be fine with whatever you give them.

Your wife is another story,can you take her with you to Dr appts? Does she have all the knowledge available to her concerning your problems to make understanding easier?

And always you can come here and share with us who understand completely how your feeling. Here you will find folks who have decades of living with pain and the issues that come with it.

Vickie

Welcome back and I have to say your a very lucky guy. A great Dr,family that understands and something that works for you.

I hope life continues to be good to you and please continue to be good to your self.

Think about the future in terms of dealing with your pain causing issues and know that the point that drove you to search us out to begin with is a place you need to do everything you can not to revisit.

Your injury/surgeries etc.are going to always be there and remind your self of that in terms of your job and daily activities,use more then the vicodin to ease your pain,it doesn't take long until you find it takes more to get the same kind of relief.

I guess I just don't want to see you here in months having to make career choices due to your medication being needed more and more for relief..It's easy to get into the habit of reaching for it first and not last after everything less fails to work.

I'm not raining on your parade!! I'm too happy for you just want this story to end well.

Vickie

Susie the gel taken in conjunction with the pill form has a very high rate of success in treating RA.

I have seen more and more rheumatologist using the combo this year.

Just for info.

Vickie

Hey LG! Welcome to HW! After reading some of the responses I just wanted to add a few things. I am wondering when you say you go from a 3-7 in pain at night and swell if your not having an Immune response. Sometimes when we are active and work our adrenaline goes way up and then when we come home it sinks...thus the swelling and pain. Used to happen to me bad after work and I lived on 800 mlg of Ibuprofen too..tore my stomach up later. I couldn't figure out how I could make it to work then CRASH after I came home...I agree with the post that maybe you should look into some type of steroid use to stop the swelling which could slow down your pain. I'd ask your regular GP Dr. recommend you to a Rheumy for some additional testing of this "swelling" and pain. Seems fishy to have all this pain so young...even after surgery. Meanwhile...is their any type of work in your field that doesn't require so much physical labor? There has to be people behind the scene that plumb out work and such that need your experience. Look into that long term and I think if you knew you could slow down some your stress would lesson ...and your pain. Good Luck and be sure to let us know how your doing! Take Care