I read some more diaries, and I think if you are not doing a stupid method like LON femurs, for the first 2 weeks its going to be painful but manageable with narcotics while lying still. When you're moving though, that is when you will likely experience 8+/10 levels of pain. However, you must keep in mind its not just the pain you must worry about, it is also the lack of sleep, discomfort etc. Most people say its more like a marathon of moderate pain then getting tortured 24/7. Pain tolerance is also going to vary a lot, so some people will of course find the surgery more painful than others, but most people should be able to manage the pain while lying still if they take their narcotics. A controlled leg break surgery with a competent Dr is of course going to hurt, but It really shouldn't feel like you are getting tortured unless you have to move, refuse to take narcotics, or have a terrible pain management protocol. I think the media portrays this surgery as medieval torture, but in reality people break their bones and need fixator devices all the time and once they are in the hospital with pain meds, they usually aren't screaming in pain. Yes they're uncomfortable, but they manage. In a poll about the internal nail method pain, the majority of people voted somewhere between 4-7/10 in terms of post op pain. Keep in mind I haven't got the surgery so I do not say this from experience, I'm mainly going off of what the top Drs and patient dairies have said