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TKR 6 mos: Great knee, bad quad

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My husband saw the surgeon's PA yesterday. She checked the incision site - looks fine. The dull redness all over the front of the knee appears to be bruising - sure enough, today I see the yellowish tinge developing. The blood seepage has stopped. PA also changed his pain meds - he was on Vicodin/acetaminophen, now it's oxycodone/acetaminophen. He seems to be doing a little better with the pain. No physical therapy until Monday and then it will only be gentle and 3X per week. Monday will be the beginning of Week 3. Hope he starts to feel better soon.
 
@Anne27 It always takes awhile to get the pain under control. If he can't get the pain under control see if the OS will add a long acting narcotic on top of his meds he is on now. Hubby had to have that for about a week when he had the blood pooled behind his knee cap. Make sure he is elevating foot above his hip and ice as much as he can stand (make sure there is cloth between skin and ice). Ice really is a good pain reliever. Make sure if the pain meds say take 1 or 2 every 4 to 6 hours, he is taking 2 every 4 hours.
 
We are worried that if he takes 2 of his oxycodone/acetaminophen(325mgs) pills every six hours, that would amount to 3900mgs. of acetaminophen in a 24 hour period. That's why he tries to stretch out the dosages and sometimes just take one pill. Probably why he still has a fair amount of pain.
 
@Anne27 actually it won't hurt unless he already has liver issues. If the doctor prescribed it as him being able to take it 2 every 4 hours then it is safe. He will eventually be tapering off it anyway. Right now what is important is getting his pain under control.
 
3000 mg (3G) of Acetaminophen is listed as the recommended safe daily dose in the USA because it is found in so many other medications. As long as your husband is not taking any other drugs that contain it, and as long as he doesnt have liver issues, he should be safe with 3,900 mg per 24 hours.

4,000 mg (4G) is the recommended daily maximum in several countries, including New Zealand, where I live.

I don't think your doctor would have prescribed as he did if it wouldn't be safe for your husband. However, you were wise to check.
 
I got by excellantly with tramadol (non narcotic), celebrex and Tylenol . Along with 2 weeks of Zarelto as a blood thinner. However most importantly was 16 hours daily of proper elevation and excessive iceing for 6 weeks straight.I found bonesmart 3 months prior to my surgery so i was well aware of what to expect and what was expected by me. I never missed a scheduled dosage either and my pain was very well managed, never went over a pain level of 4 . Im a little concerned about your husband's incision . Lets pray its no infection. Also be cautious of a rogue therapist , so dont let them over work him or force a bend to get flexion. Be his advocate . Best wishes , Iceman
 
Anne27 said:
Monday will be the beginning of Week 3. Hope he starts to feel better soon.
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Please understand that the first four weeks of a TKR recovery are called, and rightfully so, the "Dark Days" of rectory---usually people begin to feel somewhat better---albeit slowly. Once those pain meds get taken care of, and once one moves on with recovery, there is progress--- a little bit at a time---nut progress all the same.
 
tiredwife said:
Hubby was on Lovenox (blood thinner) for 9 days first knee and 10 days second knee, shots to the stomach twice a day. Hope they can do something for your husband's pooling really quick.
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I was also on Lovenox for a while---then an aspirin protocol. It is interesting to read of each OS's differing protocol that all lead to the same result.
 
@icep707, my husband said that tramadol is a complicated drug with addicting and withdrawal issues, and that big pharma "marketing" would like us to believe it isn't a narcotic. From what I can find out it's a schedule IV drug in Massachusetts, similar to Valium, but not narcotics. Very confusing.
Husband is a doc who worked, and works, with addiction disease and other stuff. He could probably draw the chemical make up of the drugs, but don't ask him to find his socks.
 
@Jane B. i had no issues whatsover with tramadol and in fact it is highly recommended by our mother hen Josephine. I wouldnt want to mislead any one but with that said alot of things can be addicting, shopping, food etc. , Iceman
 
Sigh. Morphine, heroin, oxycontin, all introduced to the world as the non-addicting or 'low abuse potential' answer to the problems posed by opium.... how's that worked out? Valium, Librium, ativan...all supposed to not cause a problem when they first were marketed.

I'm sure there's somebody somewhere eating handfuls of tramadol for fun, but eventually that person will get a clue and move up to a drug that gives more bang for the buck.

Back to the problem at hand. If it were me, I'd ask for a combination that had more Tylenol, like 500 mg per pill, since that's going to be a more effective dose, though he couldn't take it as often.
 
So long as you're keeping track and not taking more than needed, I don't think most tkrs need to worry about getting addicted to pain meds.
 
@Anne27 - My pain, too, was uncontrolled with the meds I was sent home with. I was in agony for several days until I settled down and thought about what was causing me so much pain. I decided the severe swelling I had experienced was the culprit. So I got serious with my icing and elevating and my pain settled down.
 
@referee54 Please change the title of this thread to Recovery Week 4. I had the thread tools once...now they are gone. Thanks!
 
How is your husband doing, Anne? And how are you doing? My husband is exhausted. I sent him to our summer house to watch football and give him a break from his nursing duties. He's much older than I am and getting tired.
 
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