Broken ulna, radius and radial head

Hi Hannah,   Wow after 5 weeks I had no flexion at all. I fell in April & dislocated my elbow & had a new radial joint & all kinds of metal work in my arm. I was still in plaster then had about another 8 weeks in a brace so I'm surprised you are allowed to start moving your elbow. 

How are you coping with the pain? 

Well basically I started out at 90 degrees and haven't made progress from that. I broke my arm Aug 10. Went to the ER. They reset my bones bc they were dislocated and almost thru my skin (ulna and radius) right at the elbow. There was really nothing left of my radial head. They couldn't do surgery until the swelling went down. They gave me oxycodone 5/325 to take every 4 hours. I had a 4 hour surgery Aug 16. They replaced my radial head and put a plate in to hold it all together just over my elbow.. they put a soft cast on and gave me a nerve block and gave me oxycodone 5/325 (which I thought was crazy). The pain was excruciating. saw my surgeon Aug 24 and they removed my soft cast and told me to try to move my arm up and down 3x a day 100x a piece as well as twisting my wrist. I couldn't do much bc it was so swollen. They gave me a brace that locked my arm in a 90 degree angle and measured how much I could move it. I went back to my surgeon 2 weeks later and he wasn't pleased with how stiff I was like I should've been able to do more. I got the green light to do light therapy but my therapist seems to be concerned with the plate over my elbow saying that's going to be really hard to get flexion. I see my surgeon again Oct 5. I'm concerned this plate is either going to rip thru my skin or something will break bc that's what it feels like

Oh Hannah, I am so sorry! I had a similar experience shattering my elbow and having a Radial head replacement along with many plates and screws. I shattered mine in January and again in February and then again in March. I am shocked that your surgeon has started you on PT already. My surgeon would not let me go near a Physical Therapist for 6 weeks after my surgeries, and even then he was very conservative in what he would let me do. Is there any way you can get a second opinion before he really damages your elbow. I am also in total shock that 800mg Motrin is helping your pain, I am still taking opiates for the amount of pain I'm dealing with. I now have really good range of motion, but extreme pain. I can move my arm really well, but it hurts constantly, and forget holding anything in my hand. This is the most excrutiating pain I have felt in my 42 years. I really hope you can get some better answers. I do think you should get a second opinion, your surgeon sounds... interesting.