TKR patients that have had previous ACLR?

[Weezy]

Hi Rungout.
I seem to have a very good day followed by a bad one and that has indeed been my pattern.

Being on drugs is also a big concern for me and so I've been trying different drugs and combinations to find the minimal effective dose. Not having much previous experience with drugs, this has been quite the process. I find that the pain really varies and affects my ability to exercise and just plain cope with life in a big way.
Mag

Mag--your pattern is very similar to mine. I can have a "rather" busy day (its all relative at this point!) and then the next couple days are pretty miserable. I had that pattern for my LTKR and it seems to be repeating for my RTKR. I'm learning to plan for down days and make sure that I'm not trying to do too much two days in a row so I can recover.

I shared your concern about pain meds (notice the PAST tense?), especially on my first knee. However, I struggled SO much with the pain that I took the advice of so many folks here and made sure that I got enough drugs and took them regularly until I really really really didn't need them any more.

In the end, I did NOT get addicted, even though I was on various meds every day for about 3 to 4 months, and after that when needed. I naturally started tapering off when I really didn't need them, just forgetting to take them and not hurting if I missed a dose.

However, I know that addiction is a big worry, and some of the folks here did talk about becoming addicted, but they were able to taper off and it was not a long-term problem. I saw that as a very positive thing and it helped me to quit worrying so much about addiction and do better pain control.

I'm doing better with this knee, although I still find myself wanting to cut down on pain meds too quickly (I'm 2.5 weeks right now). I hate the fuzzy feeling and the lethargy, but its better than screaming! Which reminds me, its time to take some more....

Weezy

 

[maggy]

Hi Weezy, just saw your post. Thanks for sharing your experience re being concerned about addiction too. Just thought I'd tell you what's working for me now. I'm at my 6 week mark today...yay! I'm taking 2 Tylenol 1's (more makes me sick) every 6 hours and 1 Ketorolac (anti-inflammatory for sciatic nerve pain) 2x a day. I do take a 5/325 percocet before physio twice a week.

However, just when I think I've figured it all out things change and I'm struggling again. Again with the up and down pattern. C'est la vie! I've got my fingers crossed this time.

Right now I can't imagine doing the other knee. I'm going to try to lose enough weight to save it for a while. I don't know how you got the courage to do it again.

Good luck with it, you're getting through the hardest part now.

Rungout, I hope things are getting smoother for you. Keep reading and posting.
Mag