I had both knees replaced last March 17th. Wow! What a recovery!
At three months it is still very painful to get out of a chair or go up or down the stairs. By evening, I feel like elephants are crushing my thighs. Yet...The physical therapist, the surgeon, and his physician’s assistant tell me that I am ahead of the curve in healing and rehabilitation. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be behind the curve.
If I had to have this procedure redone, I think I would go completely NUTZ!
One thing the doctor was not exactly truthful about was pain management. They want the patients off all narcotics by 3 months, Except for a lortab just before bed, I am off the narcotics, but honestly Tylenol and Advil just aren’t up to the job in the day time.
Also...The doctor failed to inform me about how uncomfortable it is to get off the narcotics. Fast or gradual, it stinks. I did it fast ( about 6 weeks ago) and the process took about a week. I thought my eyeballs would melt and drip down my face. The experience was everything anyone might have seen in a movie about heroine withdraw. Now its tylenol and Advil during the day and one lortab at night, and believe me, it isn’t enough to control the discomfort.
WOW .. getting both done at the same time
is tough. I could not have handled that ..
as it is, I’m lucky to be alive. Got a
blood clot in my lung the next day .. thank
God I was awake and felt so breathless I
knew something was wrong and yelled for
help.
My D-I-L’s colleague had the same surgery
the same week. She just never woke up ..
died from the clot.
Prayers that you find relief soon .. I surely
empathize with you. I sure would be on that
doc’s doorsteps frequently to push him til he
thoroughly checks what’s happening with the
healing process and pain level after this amount
of time.
Have you tried Aleve? You may have to eat three (or four) every 6 - 8 hours for a day. Then one every twelve hours thereafter.
Aleve is OTC naprosyn (naproxin sodium). They came in horse pill sizes (up to 1g ea.) equivalent to 4 Aleve tablets).
Make sure to take ‘em on a full stomach though. Iboprufin doesn’t have stomach irritation like aspirin, but naproxin sodium can cause gastrointestinal disturbance in large doses. Acetaminephen is extremely hard on the liver. If you drink any alcohol whatsoever, you’re damaging your liver. Its as simple as that. How serious is the damage, perhaps minimal and the organ can repair itself over time.
My advice: stop taking the acetaminephen.
Ask your pharmacist what they’d recommend concerning dosage of ibuprofin & naproxin sodium combined. That may take the edge off.
Also, during the day you may want to consider taking a No-Doze with your pills. Caffeine has a synergistic affect on analgesics. That’s the whole point of caffeine in Excedrin.
My wife had one done last summer. The first few months were pretty bad, but it took 3 1/2 months before she could sleep through the night, and after 4 or 5 months she finally started to feel better off than before the surgery.
They never give you enough narcotics. Knee replacements are painful!
O.K., I know why they’ve got you on the aceteminaphen. It works synergistically with the hydrocodone you’re taking (akin to caffeine and NSAIDs).
Talk to your pharmacist concerning his recommendation as to a suitable alternative to the hydrocodone so you don’t have to take the aceteminaphin as an adjunct. Perhaps propoxyphene or tramadol? Whatever the pharmacist suggests, go back to your surgeon and ask for a prescription for that.
Maybe the’ll entertain the idea of subsituting Feldene, Mobic or Lornoxi for the ibuprofin? Perhaps that, or Aleve / (Motrin or Advil) combo will work better in conjunction with either propoxyphene or tramadol at night.