2 months and 10 days out. Only pain relief I'm using any more is a pair of OTC time-release acetaminophen (650mg) morning & bedtime, 1 Norco 5/325 at bedtime (and about to wean back to half a pill, which I had been using pre-op just for sleep); and the occasional application of Voltaren gel before either physical therapy, a long driving trip, or having to perform standing up >1 hr. Didn't notice any anxiety from tapering down drastically from opioids (remember, when I returned home from rehab I was on 5 mg. time-release hydromorphone twice a day and six Norco 10/325 per day). For a couple of weeks, I had to add 5-10 mg. of valium after throwing out my back; I'm off that now, using topical menthol liniment (Sombra) instead. This brings me in just under the 3,000 mg. daily recommended max for acetaminophen (though in the UK 4,000 mg. is considered permissible). No oral NSAIDs ever again.
However, one unpleasant side effect is that my culinary appetite has returned to near-normal levels, and my sweet tooth and carb cravings are coming back as well. While I was still on 60 mg. of Norco plus twice-daily hydromorphone, my PT had explained, after I boasted I was eating like a bird and had no sweet cravings, that when when taking all those opioids the brain's pleasure center (endorphin receptors) is occupied by the opioids and there is neither room nor need for sugar or starch (or whatever type of dietary no-no floats your happy-boat). Now my brain is saying, "Hey, you don't need those opioids anymore, so gimme bread, pasta and sugar." (Oddly, no desire for potatoes or rice).
So it's back to disciplined low-carb eating. The difference, though, is my pre-op diet was protein, fats, green veggies, berries, unsweetened almond milk, nuts, occasional Greek yogurt and flax/chia seeds and very low-carb (<2gm/slice) bread on alternate days--no portion control necessary other than satiety. Now, however, I am practicing portion control, have switched to healthy fats (more fish than meat), and have added more fruits (still no bananas, apples or pears due to high glycemic-load) and a very small occasional amount of high-fiber starch such as wild rice, quinoa, buckwheat groats, flax and muesli cereals--plus the prunes necessary to counteract the side effects of iron supplementation. Bye-bye pork rinds. Trimming the fat off my steak. Adios, prosciutto. Bacon only 2-3x/wk. No more heavy cream in my lattes--just unsweetened almond milk. My weight has held steady at 187--where it was a month post-op. (Upon leaving rehab it was 197; after last year's RTKR it was 224--I don't count the 234 I weighed when released from hospital to rehab due to the post-op edema--and when I began my diet in Feb. it was 217).
United StatesI'll bring in some icepacks for the office.
