TKR The Knees and Me - staged

@rubyyarn - Have you tried asking for a prescription for Tramadol? It's a useful step-down drug from the Percocet and you can take it in combination with Tylenol.
Also, unlike Percocet, Tramadol doesn't contain any Tylenol, so you can increase your Tylenol to 4,000 mg in 24 hours.
 
I would imagine the energy drain from the first surgery is affecting this latest recovery.:console2:
 
@Celle, if I need another refill of Percocet, I will ask the doc about Tramadol. I'm hoping to be off the stuff entirely before I need another refill. Would they let me switch to another opioid, though?
 
Tramadol is a synthetic opioid that is much milder than Percocet. That's why it's a useful step-down drug. Most people haven't had any problems getting it prescribed by their own doctor/PCP.
 
Tramadol is a synthetic opioid that is much milder than Percocet. That's why it's a useful step-down drug. Most people haven't had any problems getting it prescribed by their own doctor/PCP.
My OS wouldn't give me a refill after my foot and ankle breaks. Even my vet would have had to report it, if she prescribed it for my arthritic cat. Virginia has gotten really tight. I'm afraid to even think about another tkr until this fear of addiction and abuse is over with!
 
The knee is really sore this morning and neither Percocet nor Tylenol is helping much. I've had the ice bag on since about 6:30A. As I recall the other knee hurt in the same place (lateral side, top of calf/below kneecap), but I don't remember quite this much trouble.

I've been taking Percocet every 10 hours with Tylenol in between. Should I go back to every 8 hours or just ice and wait?
 
I'd be inclined to take an extra dose of Percocet. Don't forget to add the Tylenol in that into your daily calculations of Tylenol doses.
 
@rubyyarn, congratulations on finishing PT And getting the fabulous TKR Tough T-Shirt! You’ve certainly earned it, eh?

As they say, each knee is different, so it doesn’t seem unusual that this one is a bit more painful than the first, and especially since it’s the second tkr in just 3 months. Knowing this certainly doesn’t ease pain symptoms, but at least should make you feel as though things are par for the course.

In a few more months, you’ll most likely be running from bears, snow showing and just generally behaving like a wild woman, lol. For instance, I am just now 11 days shy of 6 months and feel GREAT, almost normal knee, close to losing the "almost", hah! Seriously, really good things can occur in the 4th and 5th month!
 
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Hiya, @Pheebs52!

Yeah, this knee seems slower painwise than the other. Moving the Percocet to every 8 hours has helped a bit. Actually, I may have joined the ODIC this past Wednesday 'cause honest...I've been a good girl!

How have you been? Have you closed on your condo yet? That is so exciting!
 
"Dancing with Drugs..." I like that! Sorry to hear that you're struggling with pain issues. I agree with @Pheebs52, though; the "Almost Normal Knee" Will eventually show up for you, too! The difficulty is in believing that it will happen, especially when you're still dealing with the effects of the opioids. For me, although the meds alleviated some of the pain, they wreaked havoc periodically on my emotions, and I would get "down" and wonder if things were ever going to improve. One thing about you that I admire, @rubyyarn, is that you seem able to keep that chin up and the jokes coming even when you are experiencing less-than-ideal phenomena!
 
Ah, @Polkadot, sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. Besides, in retrospect some of this stuff is pretty crazy. I mean, where but knee surgery is the mindset that one must become a gym rat to survive? OK, how about we cut up this old lady's legs, bang in a couple of metal plates, then run her around the block?

Sounds like a Monty Python skit to me.

And I feel that my recovery has been easier than many here.
 
I am continually shocked at the mindset from the professionals, and those who have bought into their mindset, about knee replacement recovery!:doh:
 
It’s a conspiracy by the gym rats, I tell you! :snork: I don’t understand the mindset, either. It seems so clear to me that you can “push through the pain” all you want (or can), but a swollen knee simply cannot bend no matter how strong a will you have. Not without damaging it further. :scratch: Mystifies me.
 
Gym rat, I haven’t heard that phrase since my kids were younger, and my husband and his brother were both basketball coaches and our kids basically grew up in the gym!
 
Don't know where I picked that one up, maybe here. Reminds me of those magazines that are always telling you "Create an oasis of time just for you...and exercise"

Yeah. Right. My oasis is more likely to be a book and an adult beverage.

I can admire the taut and toned crowd, but I am not one of them :ice:
 
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Besides, in retrospect some of this stuff is pretty crazy. I mean, where but knee surgery is the mindset that one must become a gym rat to survive? OK, how about we cut up this old lady's legs, bang in a couple of metal plates, then run her around the block?

Sounds like a Monty Python skit to me.

Okay, @rubyyarn, you made me laugh out loud with this. My husband came to see what I was hooting about!

I'll join you at your oasis.
 
Gym rat here . . . . :rotfl:. Not even close to being taut or toned but hoping at least to maintain some semblance of fitness and to keep the weight gain in check so that I can fit into my clothes. I definitely was not a gym rat during most of this recovery though. :treadmill:
 

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