Thanks for the replies about my concerns about Percocet. I'm giving myself permission to take it, but I still don't know if I will be able to relax enough to take it very frequently. I'm taking anti-inflammatories and tylenol, and I'm using Percocet for the times when the pain gets worse. I think I'll be OK with that. But, trust me--I'm not going to try to ignore the bad pain--I will take the Percocet. Thanks for caring!
Even taking it in the evening when I am able to settle down and relax to watch TV makes a huge difference in how I feel even the next day. I think tolerating severe pain makes my body go on red alert. So, I'll scratch the idea of trying to use the Percocet *too* sparingly!
I went to my hospital's pre-op joint replacement education/prep class yesterday. It was really good and I learned a lot. One great thing I was told was that I may be able to avoid needing to go for inpatient rehab by staying one additional day in the hospital. If they (and I) think that I'm not quite prepared to go home and be independent, but I'm close to that point, I can just stay one more day/night and then go home from there. An extra day can make a big difference, I'm told.
They also went through the daily schedule for the hospital stay. I'm kind of relieved that I won't have to get out of bed until the morning after surgery. They also stressed what I've read here over and over--don't judge your recovery by what someone else can do and think you aren't progressing, and that everyone recovers at their own rate. Don't get discouraged about it. Words of wisdom, for sure!
They discussed a ton of things, passed around knee and hip prostheses--first time I had seen one in person. I was really impressed at how fluid and gliding the movement was--made me very hopeful that my hip joint really WILL move great again!!
They help us get dressed in street clothes each day after the 1st day, so I need to bring regular street clothes (shorts, tees, sweats, etc and good stable shoes).
They seem to have everything down to a science. This is a unit dedicated strictly to joint replacement and spine surgery. They reminded us that it's a wellness focused unit and that we are not thought of as "sick" patients while we are there. They do everything they can to keep this unit segregated from the "sick" areas to ward off germs. That is good to know.
The nurse manager was pleasant, and she came across as rather strict and no-nonsense--I bet the nurses under her supervision take good care of the patients (or they will have to answer to her--which I don't think I'd want if I were them!), which is so important to me because I had such poor nursing care and pain management (due to the nurses, not the doctor) when I had my hysterectomy.
I'm trying to cover all my possible bases as far as post op pain control, which was the horrible time after my hysterectomy: I'll have the epidural during surgery with the residual anesthesia from that for a bit after I wake up, a morphine PCA, and a "Painbuster" catheter in the wound. I think I should be pretty much covered for the immediate post op period.
I remember waking up in excrutiating pain after my hysterectomy and I and my friends trying to reason with the nursing staff to get me adequate pain control--like talking to a brick wall--it took them over 8 hours before they called my doctor and got orders for adequate pain medication. It really made me angry when I found out that the most important and strongest drug from the "cocktail" that the surgeon had prescribed had never been brought up from the pharmacy ... and they were too lazy to get it! No wonder I felt like someone was scraping my insides with a scapel for 8 hours after I woke up!
I really think I'm traumatized from that, because that is my biggest fear--waking up in excrutiating pain ... and being at their mercy ... and not having them do anything about it. I and my friends, who will be there day of surgery, are better prepared this time and will raise "you know what" big time if things don't go well. But, really, I can't imagine things going as bad as the nursing care for the hysterectomy ... so I keep telling myself that the chances of things being that bad again are very slim.
I think I'm going to a good place that really knows what they are doing. Healthgrades.com has rated them number one ortho hospital in New York state for several years, so I think I'm in good hands.
Dorothy
United States
There is stress enough in the run up to the op - you don't need confusion as well! 
