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TKR When oh when oh when

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I was prescribed gabapentin early in recovery along with baclofen, a muscle relaxer, along with the hydrocodone. I also took gabapentin when I had shingles in 2020. It is for nerve pain.

I didn't have terrible zingers in knee, just mild ones....more like quick zappers. I can't really say if it helped with pain, but it may have helped with nerve pain.
 
I don't think it's zingers I have, more like aching, way deep, I think where the surgery took place. I don't want to think about that! All I'm using is Salon Pas patches and Advil/Tylenol, which always affects my delicate belly. I'm afraid of trying Tylenol PM because those types of drugs make me feel groggy the next day. I'm trying to have more energy and less fatigue but my method's not really working since I'm up half the night with the knee aches.
 
Stopping by to say Hi, Jammy, and wish you a Happy Anniversary, but sorry to read you're having a rough go of it with night time pain and sleeplessness. I hope you find some decent pain relief and this eases for you. Best wishes for much brighter days in the upcoming months. :console2:
 
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@Layla - thank you, Layla. Nice of you to check in. I feel better just not being so fatigued. I cut my tramadol pill in half and use sparingly. Trying to do just Tylenol and Advil which sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, ha. I also use a copper knee brace my doctor recommended for a few hours a day which helps. I've been pretty active the past few days and felt pretty good, even with the knee ouches, so I made a plan with my husband for a getaway in mid-June. Surely it'll be better by then? From reading what others say, hopefully I will. I know it won't be 100% but maybe by then I'll be able to walk without being so gimpy.
 
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I've been up since 3:00 in the morning and am past three months of having my surgery, and I'm still asking, When oh When will it get better? My knee still smarts in the middle of the night and is often stiff in the day. Also, my shin now seems to be tight and achy, how weird is that? I'm only taking the occasional Tylenol w Advil or just Tylenol. I wish I was taking tramadol, even a half, but the side effect of constipation is painful. As is everything... I did take MiraLax but got stomach troubles from that. Ugh. I just wrote to my doctor and asked for lubiprostone in case I go back on the tramadol, does anyone know about this drug? Re exercise, I've taken short walks, am doing grocery shopping, vacuuming, or going to the pool. @EalingGran or @beachy, is there a medical person on the site that knows about these drugs? I have been up the last four nights and sleeping in the day.
 
Sorry to hear of your troubles.
The pain at night is the last thing to settle I reckon. Mine is now pretty minimal but I still like to rest my knee on the cool cryocuff at night.
I know you said earlier that you don't like to feel hungover in the morning- but as you really are sleeping so badly- why not ask your GP to try a sleeping pill? It is good to keep in reserve. I only take zopiclone now if I am visiting my son and sleeping in a different bed and can't ice. I am going to use it when travelling to see other family in a couple of weeks
I have no experience of lubipristone I'm afraid. Have you tried dulcolax or dulcoease?
 
The side effects of pain medication can take a toll on our state of mind and really put us in a “blue state of mind”. And constipation is awful. I discovered that drinking a 1/2 cup of prune juice before bedtime works so well for me. I nearly gag on the taste but it’s worth it because it’s effective.

Hang in there!
 
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I know you're tired of hearing it, but you are in the early stages of healing, just 1/4 of the way through this year-long recovery. Having an angry knee after doing certain things is normal. That's where icing and elevating come in. The longer you can do that, the better your knee should feel. I found that if I did one thing, then sat down and iced and elevated for an hour it kept my knee happier.

Vacuuming is really rough on a body, especially a new toddler knee. Can you sit down while you do some of it? I would move from chair to chair as I vacuumed. The first month I used my rolling walker and sat on it while running the vac. I found that helped me. I also bought a Roomba, which was a huge help. Being alone and having to take care of everything led me to discover easier ways of doing things so my knee would pitch too bad of a fit. Carrying groceries in the house is adding extra stress to your knee. Can someone else do that for you? I remember that I carried in two gallons of water and suffered for about 5 days after that! I learned my lesson and asked a friend for help for a month or so after that. And the last thing, if you are walking around in the pool, the water is adding a restriction to your knee's movement, and it is like having weights on it. It feels good while you're doing it, but oh no, not that night!

The main thing is to watch out for overdoing things and get plenty of rest with ice and elevation. Sleep whenever and wherever you can. Sleep is important and naps are an added bonus in this recovery.
 
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Sorry, I don't think anyone on staff can advise you on what prescription drugs you can take. That's better left to your docs. Can you talk to your surgeon? If that doesn't help then your gp?

How often are you going to the pool?
I only ask because, for me, that's the last type of exercise I want to do now.
Pushing off the bottom of the pool, even though it's weightless and all that, actually hurt my knee pre-op. Kills me to see the indoor pool when I'm at the gym. I'm part mermaid :loll:
It could be affecting your shin pain, too.
Pedaling the stationery bike is what helps the most for me right now.
I will definitely be in that pool by summer, though. Even if its just floating on a noodle.
Why not try avoiding the pool for a week to see if that helps?
Since we both have delicate flower tummies:flwrysmile:
I take Calm. Look it up on Amazon. You mix it with warm water, it fizzes. I take it in the evening and it really relaxes me. It may also help those shin pains.
Take it easy, be gentle with yourself and try not to stress too much.
 
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Also, grocery shopping ....:hairpulling:
Kills my knee!! The stores are so big, the bending, lifting, bagging, bringing home, putting away.
I limit myself to a few items. And instacart has been a huge help.
 
I am 65 and had RTKR on 12/19 , so we are on about the same timeframe , I agree with everyone who says they were not told what a long recovery this is , me either , I just thought I would mention how After 6 weeks of no more than 1-2 hours sleep per night I listened to my wife who kept telling me maybe I should look into alternative medicine , 5 days after surgery I woke up vomiting and had a rash covering my body an allergic reaction to the norco , so from then on it was 2 , 650 mg Tylenol 3times a day for pain and that was it .
But getting back to sleep , I am in ca. and visited the local cannabis place and after speaking with the folks there purchased some night time gummies , I really fought the idea of trying anything like this but that first night I got 6 hours of sleep and woke up feeling like a new man ! Not groggy or tired but well rested , I have continued to take a gummy before bed and am still getting a great night sleep . I haven’t seen any posts with this kind of alternate medicine being used but it has been the best thing for me . I wish you all the best and hope your recovery continues to get better !
 
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2 yrs ago I was having so much pain with arthritis. Left shoulder kept me awake at night, right knee would chime in. We were in the process of making a big move. My gp advised me to get my medical cannabis card. Small dose gummies did help me sleep. Helped me relax from the pain and stress of moving. I no longer take them, but it could be worth a try.

There is still a social stigma attached to medical cannabis, but I had faith in my doc.
 
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Coloxyl stool softeners worked best for me.
 
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Thanks for your posts, they help everyone else while helping yourself. It’s a beautiful BoneSmart thing
 
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@Tino2You I have been considering cannabis gummies for the pain. Wondering are you using cbd , thc or a combo? and what kind of dosage. Cannabis legal now in my state and can’t be worse than these very evil opiates.
 
@beachy Wondering as I asked Tino2 about your cannabis type and dose. I did take some gummies before surgery with some good results. My surgeon warned not to take for a couple of weeks pre-surgery but the ongoing pain at about 6 1/2 weeks now is making me think of a trip to the cannabis store
 
I'm 65 and about 9 weeks out from a rttkr and what you described is how I am feeling too. I am doing so much better overall but still have pain and mild swelling. I guess it's a plateau in recovery. Things are still progressing but much slower. It gets discouraging. I had to stop all NSAIDs they had spiked my blood pressure. So I have tylenol and take half an oxycodone when miserable and lots of ice. The pain is nothing like the early days but it persists and wears me down. But this site really helps when I feel discouraged. The perspective of how long it takes, and being gentle with yourself always calm me down when the hurry up and heal already mindset kicks in. I did take a break from PT for 2 weeks( actually was an insurance issue) but just kept on the simple exercises recommended here and ADLs and it really helped.
BTW I love the dragon analogy.
 
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I had to look up lubiprostone. It looks like a strong laxative drug. I know my GI system was messed up the Celebrex made me nauseous and the antibiotics I received in surgery gave me diarrhea, then constipation from the narcotic. I followed my hysterectomy bowel protocol. All my OS recommended was colace. My GYN told me it takes 2-3 days for Miralax to work. As we age our metabolism slows. So, I had to take senna , colace, and miralax. When the miralax kicked in I eliminated senna then the colace. I found that the miralax worked best for me added to my second cup of coffee in the morning. In the hospital they gave it to me in apple juice. You have to stay hydrated and no fiber gummies while on narcotics.
I think you are doing great! You will be surprised at what you are able to do in a few short weeks.
 
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