Guest viewing is limited

PKR ShedEnd's road to recovery<

Celle said:
Pain is a warning sign that you're doing more than your new knee is ready for, so don't try to dull it too much with the medications. Just do a little less - as you have decided to. :thumb:
Click to expand...

I will be doing less, but this comment was more intended to say that I was happy that the meds were helping. I have a high resistance to opioids, and they generally don't do much to lessen pain for me. I was just expressing relief that they were helping with the pain. I'm not going to use those as a crutch to push my knee into things it isn't ready for.
 
OK. I understand and I'm really glad you're being so sensible.
 
@ShedEnd
I remember very well when the nerve block ran out. Pain came in waves. The PT dept at the hospital have me a few exercises to work on. The first week I was only able to do minimal stretches, calf, quad and glute pumps. The leg raises gave me pain so I didn’t do them, if I pushed the flex ion stretch too much it hurt. My knee would instantly swell and be warm to the touch. The first week was very light. I only got up to go to the bathroom, shower or bed. My wife or children brought me my meals and iced and elevated pretty much all day. At week 3 I am cooking meals, doing dishes and able to walk for short distances.

I am a guy who NEVER sits still, my pre-op threads here show me talking how that is one of my biggest issues with this operation. I work through injuries, push through pain and never stop, this operation is different. One of my best friends and former lifting partner is a PT. He has helped me through injuries in the past. He keeps trying to get me in to do PT for this but just letting it heal naturally and adding stretching and strengthening exercises as my knee feels ready has been working well. I’m not trying to talk you out of PT but for your sake, don’t push it. This isn’t one of those “grit your teeth and push through” or “no pain no gain”. That has always been my motto but I beleive that letting myself rest as I did my first 2 weeks helped me get to where I am today. Listen to your knee. If it hurts, don’t do it...

I still get clicking in my knee At times, I find when it is swollen it is more prevalent. I usually ice it and it’s not as bad. People,on here say it settles with time so we will see.
 
@bowhunter8
Thank you for posting this - I was needing a bit of reassurance that what I'm doing isn't that far out of the ordinary. Pain has gone way up today, and even lifting my leg to reposition the pillows under my ankle causes severe pain. I've been getting up to go to the bathroom, and when I do I walk a short lap around the house. Still can't put weight on the leg very much. Even the ankle flexes hurt.

The one thing I'm concerned about is being stuck in bed for extended periods of time. I do have an adjustable bed, so I alternate between fully sitting up and reclining, keeping my leg elevated the whole time. Cryo cuff has been on since I woke up at 05:30 this morning, only taking it off to go to the bathroom. Tried sitting on the sofa, but it just wasn't very comfortable.
 
Stay on time with your meds. Don’t wait on the pain to take them. It will get better. It’s ok to not do anything. It may drive you crazy, as it did me, but it’s temporary. Hang in there.
 
I’m taking my meds on schedule, only deviation is that I don’t wake up in the middle of the night to take the 2am hydrocodone. My main problem is that I’m pretty resistant to opioids. I wanted to try to see if they’d work, but it doesn’t appear to be enough. I have a call in to the doc to get a prescription for torodal, which seemed to work for me when I had my kidney stones. Only downside to that is I can only take it for 5 days...
 
Elevating as much as you can is great. I did the “toes above the nose” thing when I was in bed. I also have an adjustable bed, but my knee doesn’t like it, it prefers the foam wedge my hospital sent home with me. Go figure!

When I was not in bed, I sat on the couch in the living room with my leg only as high as an ottoman. Not “proper” elevation, but my leg was happy. Over time my swelling went down nicely, so it didn’t seem to hinder my recovery.

Do what makes you the most comfortable.

Sitting with my feet on the floor comfortably took a very long time for me. I am also a partial, a Patellofemoral.
 
I also didn’t take my nightly meds at first. I didn’t feel like interrupting my sleep and run the risk of not being able to fall back asleep. I did find that mornings were and still are rough( not as bad now as they were). After 2 mornings of being in a lot of pain, I set my meds and a water bottle next to my bed, set my alarm and took it. Made a big difference for me. Narcotics hit me hard though so I felt relief. I did not purchase a cryo, that would have been great overnight. I don’t ice at night and am very glad that I can sleep on my side now with a pillow between my knees.

I would call the doc and get whatever works for you. I felt guilty for taking full dose of oxy for the first week but am so glad I did. I am now off them at 3 weeks.

Hang in there!! You are in the thick of it now.
 
Well, worst fears are starting to come true - the pain meds are doing absolutely nothing for me. As long as I am in bed relatively motionless I can manage. As soon as I try to move the pain is really bad. Docs upped my meds to 2 5mg hydrocodone/325 acetaminophen every 4 hours and 2 tramadol every 8 hours. I've taken two rounds of the hydrocodone and it did nothing for the pain, no drowsiness, nothing. About the only thing that it has done is backed up my bowels. Doc said that they can't change my prescription to anything else without a face-to-face visit. I'm just hoping that I won't have to wait until Monday to do that...
 
Hydrocodone at 06:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, and 22:00.

Tramadol at 06:00, 14:00, and 22:00.
 
Pain is a lot more manageable today. Still can’t put any weight on the leg, but at least when I’m still the pain subsides a good bit. I was able to sleep for about 4 hours last night.

I do have a question though. I have not had a bowel movement since the morning of my surgery (Wednesday, so three days ago). I’m normally a once or twice a day guy. I’ve been eating normally, and I really haven’t had the urge to go or feel remotely constipated. Just wondering how long I should not go before I start to get concerned about it.
 
Constipation is common. It was more than a week before that resolved for me, and surprisingly, I was not uncomfortable, so I didn’t worry about it.
 
I took a stool softener twice a day, and Miralax at each meal. This finally got me going. As long as I was on pain meds, I did this routine to keep things moving! Try adding some high fiber foods, too. I ate mixed nuts. Got my protein and helped me to go!
 
I should add that my surgeon recommended Miralax and a stool softener, so I was taking them from the time I was home.
 
My doc prescribed senokot (laxative) and docusate sodium (stool softener). I misread the instructions and was taking a half dose of the laxative until last night, so I’m hoping that the full dose plus coffee this morning will get things moving for me. If not, I’m not overly concerned yet as it is still early days.
 
I don’t know when I realized I was only taking half the amount of Tylenol I could. :doh:But was happy to learn I could double it!

One of my favorite sayings is, “this is why you travel in groups!” Someone in the group is likely to know what to do! :rotfl:
 
So like this then?
06:00 Hydrocodone 10mg +Tramadol ?mg
10:00 Hydrocodone 10mg
14:00 Hydrocodone 10mg + Tramadol ?mg
18:00 Hydrocodone 10mg
22:00 Hydrocodone 10mg +Tramadol ?mg

To be honest, I'm really not surprised they are not helping.

I'd really like to offer you some structured advice but in order to do that, I also need to ask you some questions. Are you willing for me to do that?
 
It took me 3 days to work things out. OS prescribed senecot. I took 2 In am and pm. BM’s were still infrequent after that but as you start feeling better and lower your narcotic dosage, you will be back to normal. I also made sure I drank a lot of water while taking them. I believe it helps aid in digestion and it also got me off the couch to go pee every 2 hours. I also was/am eating mostly lean proteins, fruits and veggies which obviously helps with BM’s.

Are you using a cane or walker to help get around the house?
 
Josephine said:
So like this then?
06:00 Hydrocodone 10mg +Tramadol ?mg
10:00 Hydrocodone 10mg
14:00 Hydrocodone 10mg + Tramadol ?mg
18:00 Hydrocodone 10mg
22:00 Hydrocodone 10mg +Tramadol ?mg

To be honest, I'm really not surprised they are not helping.

I'd really like to offer you some structured advice but in order to do that, I also need to ask you some questions. Are you willing for me to do that?
Click to expand...

Yes, that is the schedule. And the tramadol is 100mg (2 x 50).

More than happy to answer your questions.
 
And yet another question - I've been using the Aircast Cryo/Cuff for icing and compression on my knee. I've been getting some water on my leg at the top of the cuff, and it looks like the fabric is discolored a bit from being wet, but I'm not seeing any drops of water. I'm wondering if it is just condensation, or if it is an actual leak. Anyone have a similar experience?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Corganics CBD

Staff online

Members online

Total: 1,172 (members: 3, guests: 1,169)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom