@KnitChica @Mrs. Ciz
Oh, it doesn't feel so long ago! It's the rhetoric dujour in the wake of the opiate crisis, a crisis unfortunately created by the pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Every professional along the way had the same spiel:
Opioids have terrible side effects.
They cause constipation.
They make you groggy.
And they are addictive!
The sooner you stop taking opioids the better!
I was given 50 x 5mg oxycodone with the caveat that "most people don't need a refill," implying that if I
did need a refill I was not in the normal group.
There were a couple understanding souls: my surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a PA. In fact, the PA was so adroit in stating that having a BTKR isn't always simply pain doubled, it can be pain squared. My BTKR doesn't necessarily make me extra special, because a TKR can be just as excruciating if the pain isn't under control.
All of the front line people, the people you deal with the most, had the same things to say. One nurse grilled me on how exactly I was elevating my legs. I was told repeatedly that I needed to expect some pain, as if I were trying to mask it completely.
It's just an unfortunate residual effect of cultural mismanagement of very useful medications.
If there's anything I would tell someone going in, especially a BTKR, it is this:
Don't hesitate to speak up for yourself.
Don't let anyone minimize your pain for you. It's your pain.
Don't fall prey to the generalized paranoia around opioids.
Don't be afraid to contact your surgeon directly after surgery to discuss pain.
I'm only in my third week of having both my knees blown inside out and I'm taking half the original dose of oxycodone now. And I'll tell you, there is another side effect to this medication:
It Helps With the Pain.