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TKR Sooz Bionic Knee Journey

Hey Sooz ! Thinking of you (and counting on you to cheer me on in a few weeks ;-) )
No seriously, from my point of view you are really hitting all the numbers - resting, asking questions - you just need the healing time to start piling up hour by hour, day by day, ...
I was thinking that maybe I will start an origami chain of cranes or flowers to make my path the healing visual - for those moments when I'm feeling that progress is slow...I did that to motivate me to go to the gym for upper body weight training in the beginning of the year - I'll post a pic later of my flower chain.
Anyway - hang in there - you've got this !
By the way - we have a cat which looks something like your profile pic - I'll tell you more about her later...
 
@sooz58, huzzah! This is a great report for Day 6! Sleeping well is almost unheard of, so huge kudos on that score! Getting the leg over the tub is challenging at first but it improves with time and practice. I am not vertically challenged but, the longer the leg, the more there is to get over, or get hung-up; hah! The grab bar and bath mat have definitely saved me a few times.:SUNsmile:
 
@sooz58, here I am again, with a pic of my origami flower chain and our cat Suzy :) we call her Sooz for short. She is the very mostest amazing cat, when you get bored with other things let me know and I will share some Suzy stories.
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Sent from my iPhone
 
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@nensi awesome flower chain and cat!!!! very cute! Heard of terrorist attack there in Belgium, please stay safe!

Funny how I wake each day wondering just where I will have a new little muscle pain, seems like there is never pain in the same place. Can't remember who's post op forum I was reading about leg jump, when i was drifting off today this happened to me... Really missing being among my friends, swimming mornings, coffee shop crew, my cats at home. love my mom loads and appreciate all she does for me.

How do you know when you can start pulling back on the pain meds?? What are the signs?

Wondering if I had bilateral knee replacement if they could have made me taller??!!
 
The time to start cutting back on the pain meds is when you forget to take a dose until late, and realise that you haven't suffered increased pain. There's no set time for that, because everyone is different.
The most important thing is to cut back gradually, so you don't get withdrawal symptoms.

When the time comes, this is what Jamie suggested:
Here is a suggested schedule for cutting back on prescription pain medications. Stay at each level for 3-4 days or even longer if you notice the pain symptoms increasing. This schedule assumes you are starting with one pill every 4 hours before beginning the reduction process.

1 pill every 6 hours and 2 at bedtime
1 pill every 6 hours and 1 1/2 at bedtime
1/2 pill every 4 hours and 1 1/2 at bedtime
1/2 pill every 6 hours and 1 1/2 at bedtime
1/2 pill every 8 hours and 1 1/2 at bedtime
1/2 pill every 8 hours and 1 at bedtime
1 pill if you are really doing something active during the day and 1 at bedtime

It is usually better to wean off these meds over several weeks, not several days. But.....if you are still having pain, then your body is healing and you still need pain relief. And in this case, I would discuss your pain management with your GP instead of your surgeon.
 
@nensi, what a beautiful kitty!

@sooz58, lol at "could they have made me taller!" Answer: No. However, if you had had a bi-lateral hip replacement, yes they can, but just a bit; hah! So, just love the height you're in.:friends:
 
Day 11, seems like every other day is a pretty good day. Still trying to figure out the pain meds and when tylenol will work. This morning I took a couple of extra strength tylenol instead of oxy now I just have an aching. I just don't like being on they oxy... guess I will take one to ward off any pain worse than aching... Guess maybe I should work on the schedule above for it.... I know my family has addictive tendencies and I do not want that to take over. I also know that when I am no longer on the oxy, I will be released to drive, but then I don't want to hamper any healing either. Sometimes I just think too much, going a bit stir crazy...
 
In my opinion it's too early to wean off pain meds. It's best to wait until you begin to forget a dose here and there. I was worried about becoming addicted, but my friend who has had multiple surgery told me not to worry. I began forgetting doses around week 3-4 and began cutting back at that point. I never experienced any signs of addiction or withdrawal. The oxycodone did make me tired and fuzzy, but I just gave into it and slept as much as I could.
 
I agree with KarriB. If you take the hard stuff for pain only and then as your pain decreases skip doses here and there, you should have no problem at all. You'll find that you'll sleep through a dose or forget one or two during the day. It is too soon to stop them completely!
 
This week only (day 25 now) have I started to reduce pain meds. I'm lucky that my tablets can be cut in half so that if I notice at about an hour after taking them I still feel pain, I can take another half. ( in my case :Acetomenaphen)
I have woken up due to pain and then noticed I had forgotten my midnight dose. So now I try not to forget those. Still, by 4 a.m. when I tend to wake up to go to the loo, I'll take another half. That helps till the breakfast tablet.
Perhaps on one day, when you have no other distractions, you can keep track of 'by when you start to feel pain' and schedule the next tablet for 30 minutes before that.?
My Dad did that for his (cancer) meds and he noticed that his tolerance was high and only needed tabs every 6 hours as opposed to what doc had predicted.
Also most medication testing is done on healthy strong men.
Gender medicine studies ( how they work on women) only started this decade.
 
@sooz58, everyone is different, but to me, it seems a bit early to cut back on the Rx pain meds. There's certainly no reward for being in pain, quite the opposite in fact. You could try extending the time of dosage, say from every 4 hours to every 5 or 6 and see how that works. Just this past week, I have found I can go 8 hours without an Oxy. At that point, everything starts to go south, so I take one. I know the bedtime Oxy will be the last to go....need my beauty rest!:sleep:
 
If you're starting to sleep through my med time and forget it during the day, then your body is telling you that its feeling better. That's wonderful!
 
@sooz58
Day 11 really is too early to be weaning off the pain medications. You're not likely to become addicted, in spite of your family history.
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

It's important to still take your pain medications on a regular schedule. Set an alarm to stop you sleeping through doses. If you feel you don't need them four-hourly, try every four-and a half hours.
Pain management: importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Managing your pain properly actually helps your knee to heal, as well.
 
Day 12 I may not have a choice of weaning off my pain med and go to tylenol only. Only 4 pills left. Can't get prescription unless I drive an hour to pick up script. If my son can get there before they close there is a slight possibility I could get it...but he is amidst of a business meeting, not sure when it will end. Feeling very anxious, especially after everyone said it was not a good idea to stop the oxy... May have a lunatic on their hands come Wednesday when I have a dr appt... Didn't sleep last night when I realized how few pills I had left... How could I know that they couldn't phone or fax in prescription... Good news is my rom is now 95 all on my own... a wee bit of an emotional mess, things happening... friend taking her mother off from life support today, 2 friends moving away today, one of which his mother passed away suddenly last evening. I have a new boss as of tomorrow. I need to trust in God and let things be the way they will be... no amount of this stressing will help me, nor do I have any control of it anyways... what ever will be will be...
 
Even if your son can't get to the surgery today, perhaps he could go tomorrow for you? You shouldn't need to wait until next Wednesday.
 
Yes, send him tomorrow, but I hope he makes it today. This recovery can be very emotional, and the added details you mentioned don't help. Where in PA are you?

PA has tightened their opiod laws, but even when I had my TKR 3 years ago the dr couldn't call or fax a script in. It had to be in person. I wouldn't have known either, except I have a friend who went to a pain clinic for cancer.
 
@Celle @KarriB My Boys came through!!! The one that works near the OS Office, was able to run over and grab the script as soon as his meeting was done. When he got home from work, he handed it off to my oldest son who used his brothers car to bring it home to where I get my scripts filled. In the meantime, I talked to the pharmacist and he was able to take my payment info to pay for the script. And then my son delivered!!!! So thankful for good sons! @KarriB my OS and sons are in Erie, I'm down in Warren County...
 
Good deal! Team work sure did pay off for you! Now, you can take those meds.
 
That'd great! Good organization and good teamwork. Well done everyone.
 
I'm so relieved for you! I'm about a half hour from Pittsburgh, very near Cranberry.
 
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