Bilateral PKR Medication schedule

[Lovetobike]

Hello - I am a 50yo woman and had my surgery (patellofemural) on 2/13. I’ve been doing well so far. I had pretty realistic expectations pre-surgery thanks to this forum which helped a lot. I am very blessed to have my mom taking care of me for 2 weeks as I have a husband, 2 kids and a dog whose lives continue on. Its great to be able to only focus on what my body needs. It will be harder when she leaves on Saturday.

For the past 10 days I’ve been taking my medication pretty much as scheduled, sleeping a good bit, and getting some gentle PT. One of the best things my PT did was gently stretch then massage my quads which felt so good and made a big difference in my overall discomfort level and ROM. I had really good ROM pre-surgery.

I am wondering about weaning off Oxy and Tramadol. How concerned should I be that I continue to take Oxy (5mg) at night to sleep and Tramadol (50mg) mid-day? I also take Celebrex and Tylenol (1000mg 3x a day). I would love to avoid withdrawal symptoms if possible, but like not having much pain. Any tips/thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Qdogpa]

I only took the OXY as directed ,the first day or two post op...then every night to help fall asleep for 3 weeks... now off all meds as of 30 days post op, which was Thursday ...was taking Tylenol 500mg , 2 pills 3 times a day...and Celebrex...glad to hear you get some sleep, as I get miserable sleep, never more then 3 hours solid. I had no withdrawal symptoms on stopping the meds...Have pain, stiffness in knee still, though

 

[Jaycey]

@Lovetobike Welcome to BoneSmart and the other side of surgery.

You are only 10 days out of major surgery. What works for most people is when you start forgetting doses of medication you can start to wean off your meds. This is usually the dose around midday.

Right now you need to give yourself permission to control the post op pain. Take your medication as prescribed. It will help you increase your mobility.

I'll leave your recovery guidelines here for you:
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary

2. Control discomfort:

rest​

elevate​

ice​

take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

don't overwork​

3. Do what you want to do BUT

a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​

b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

the BoneSmart view on exercise​

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this Activity progression for TKRs

6. Access these pages on the website

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Closure​

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.

 

[Lovetobike]

Thanks @Qdogpa that is really helpful. It sounds like I can keep doing what I’m doing for a while longer without worrying too much about withdrawal symptoms. Is there a reason you stopped taking Tylenol if you still have pain?

 

[Qdogpa]

the Tylenol was prescription strength , so it ran out... current pain is maybe a 4, but has been for a few weeks, unless a difficult PT session...I like to enjoy a glass or 3 of wine, so less Meds, the better... ice and occasional heat on hammy, thigh, and calf, helps a lot...

 

[Lovetobike]

Got it - that makes sense. I’m looking forward to wine again too!

 

[Lovetobike]

Today is day 12 and I’m feeling human again. It’s really a marked difference. Interesting that I thought I was feeling pretty good the last few days, but something really shifted from yesterday to today. I’m thinking because I’ve decreased some of the pain meds my stomach is happier and my brain is actually clear. I’m feeling very hopeful about this whole thing! (Fingers crossed)

 

[sistersinhim]

It sounds like you're coming along really well. Lessening pain meds does help with the brain matter. At least it did mine.