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So scared to take pain meds

Posted , 10 users are following.

cathy2868
cathy2868

After about 8 days after my knee microfracture and allograft surgery i ended up at the er from impaction from the pain meds. I had to be hospitalized for 4 days to get rid of the colon infection. I have only taken tylenol and tramadol since. I came home last friday. I still cannot put weight on foot and seem to be as weak as a kitten. How ling is it going to take me to be normsl again? I am not even referring that much to the surgery. Hiw can something drain someone so fast? Some days are better than others with pain. Today has been bad. Feels like someone cracked my kneecap in two. My dr at hospital told me to take pain meds but i am so scared to do it. I was taking stool softners every day and still got impacted and sick. I go back to surgeon wednesday to get new brace to hold joints apart as i learn to walk in it again. But again scared if in pain laying on bed what the crap is the pain going yo be in pt. sorry guys this whole ordeal has taken me done alot more yhan i expected.

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • charlotte81954
    charlotte81954 cathy2868

    Posted

    I had that issue, in was in the bathroom for about an hour....finally.got relief...i.went.back.on.oxy.TODAY and had 2 fig newton's with a cup of coffee and just went to bathroom.....I was miserable Saturday. ..strained so hard I was soak N wet with sweat.....not gonna let that happen again...

    My pain is also deep on the right side of my.left knee....when i.try to use thigh muscle to.lift leg I have a sharp stabbing pain...taking everyone s advice on here and gonna take the pain killer And be patient....

    • cathy2868
      cathy2868 charlotte81954

      Posted

      I am sorry u had the problem too. Glad u got ut worked out before u ended up in er like i did. My fear is can it be controlled since my colon has been though so much? They have me taking senocot s at night and so far i am taking it every other night because rhe morning after i take it i am in bathroom over and over. I just dont have strength to run back and forth so much.
  • jean68068
    jean68068 cathy2868

    Posted

    Oh Cathy I am so sorry to hear all the horrible things happening to you.  They gave me oxycodine in hospital but I couldn't handle it, it made me feel so weird!  Then they switched to another strong narcotic, along with stool softeners.  I then ended up with kidney issues from the drugs and ended up an extra two days in hospital. I told them not to give me anything but X/strength Tylenol.  I have some pain now and again, but use ice.  My knee is coming along fine, but I am having issues with utter exhaustion, dizziness, etc.  I went to my primary care dr today and my BP is very low.  He took blood samples and asked if I lost much blood during surgery.  Now how would I know that?  I feel so much better after reading everyone's posts on here.  I thought it was only me experiencing these issues.  I hope they can find a happy medium for you Cathy, to manage your pain and avoid colon issues. Please make sure you are drinking plenty of water!  When you think you've had enough, drink two glasses more.  Good luck to you!
    • cathy2868
      cathy2868 jean68068

      Posted

      Thank you. I was so totally in shock of what those meds can do to our bodies. How can anyone abuse these drugs? I was using them correctly and got sick. I am drinking tons of water and was then. I
    • pam92068
      pam92068 cathy2868

      Posted

      Cathy,

      you have to take your pain meds.  I start each day with a small glass of prune juice..I do not like it...but bottoms up.  I took stool softener also 2 in the morning and 2 at night...fluids are essential also.  The meds dry you out.

      I also ate fruit at least 3 times a day.  Fruit and vegi's will help.  Thank god I was regular the entire time.  

      You our can rest your colon and still have your fruit and vegi's....eat chicken and fish and peanut butter for your proteins.  I did not eat red meat for several weeks......it takes a woman longer to digest red meat.

      hope this helps,

      pam

       

  • mary_ann60812
    mary_ann60812 cathy2868

    Posted

    Cathy, I totally relate to the narcotics creating issues.  I took stool softeners morning and evening - I believe just one each time and drank LOTS of prune juice and water. Along with feeling bad from pain, emotionally exhausted, no sleep, being constipated just made me feel worse. I just had thumb surgery 2 months ago and when the pain meds started to bind me up again, I got off them. I just refused to go thru that again and fortunately I could stop after 3 days as the pain was manageable with otc meds. You can't do that with knee replacement so you've got to tackle it with fluids. Good luck 
    • cathy2868
      cathy2868 mary_ann60812

      Posted

      My surgery want tkr. They wouldnt do that because of me being to young. But they did repair toen mensua , microfracutre and implanted cadaver cartlige to bone on bone. So hoping i can bear the pain. Praying dailly God heals me quickly.
  • pyesangel
    pyesangel cathy2868

    Posted

    No one told me that the opoid pain meds would tie me up in knots. They did have something for me to take in the hospital but I said I didn't need them. I was 10 days w/o a bowel movement, after I got home from the hospital. I was told to take Senokot, 2 tablets and up to 4 tablets, to get me 'moving' again. And drink, drink, drink...I could have floated a battle ship, I drank so much. If finally worked after a couple of days. It's an episode in my life I'd sooner forget...but everything came out in the end. After that I started taking extra strength Tylenol and tramadol if needed.  Pain meds are essential to getting better, since it's hard to recover without them. Hang in there, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  biggrin 
    • cathy2868
      cathy2868 pyesangel

      Posted

      That is where i am now. For the most part i am ok with the tylenol and tramadol. Today it seems ok. Yesterday was tough though but i got through
  • sue37592
    sue37592 cathy2868

    Posted

    Cathy I can relate to you, all the medication plays havoc with your insides, before my op i was changed as some meds doing things to liver, then some others to kidneys as well as constipating me. I am 6 weeks post op

    After op i did not go for 4 days and that was with the hospital giving me laxitives. The 4th day I was given a mixture of prune juice and dont know what else whic certainly worked, i sat in toilet for nearly an hour.

    When home things did not improve, i took lactulose and drank prune juice which kept me going. As i have cut down the pain relief (I only take 2 cocodamol 30/500 two-three times a day) i am now going more regularly thankfully, so it will like everything else improve. You need to keep taking meds as you dont want to be in pain. Best wishes for your recovery, xx

  • sue37592
    sue37592 cathy2868

    Posted

    Sorry meant to say as been said but it does help drink plenty and i mean plenty of water, it will help flush out your system.
  • william54660
    william54660 cathy2868

    Posted

    OK drink lots of water will help you poo pain meds will do that but got to take them it helps try step them out a bit or only take them when u kneed them
    • cathy2868
      cathy2868 william54660

      Posted

      You make a good point take when needed. Before it was every 4 hours but i was always in pain. The pain seems to be fairly controlled on tylenol and tramadol right now. But i sm still no weight bearing until tomorrow. So come tomorrow where do u draw rhe line that tylenol and tramadol r not cutting it. As i expect after being no weight bearing for 2.5 weeks it is prob gonna be fairly painful. Hoping no but how do u know when u need something stronger? I know that sounds stupid but the fear i have with these meds rught now make me question everything.
    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 cathy2868

      Posted

      Hi Cathy!

      My doctor wrote a prescription for one pill every four to six hours. At the hospital I was getting TWO PILLS. My discharge orders said TWO PILLS every four to six hours. My husband went round and round with the pharmacy on this, but they would ONLY honor what was written from the doctor.

      In the meantime I decided to take the two pills every four to six hours as I had been doing in the hospital.

      When my pills were gone I was done with my blood thinner shots as well and was able to take Ibuprofen, which is what I had taken in YEARS prior to my two TKRs.

      I was pleasantly surprised that eliminating the Oxycodone (first surgery) and the Hydrocodone ( second surgery) actually made me feel better! My bowels worked better without the narcotics, and I no longer had the LOOPY mental feeling I experienced from the narcotics.

      Regarding elimination, I found that Apple Cider, yogurt, and whole grain cereals were all quite helpful. Eliminating the narcotics and drinking LOTS of water helped, too.

      Our bodies have gone through a lot with the very brutal surgery, anesthesia, drains, nerve blocks etc. Medications that are newly introduced to our bodies can really alter our entire system. We are experiencing pain which feels different than the PAIN we had before surgery. Our mind is as rattled as our body is as we deal with the healing process that ALWAYS seems to take SO LONG! It is a lot to endure! On top of all that, we need to MOVE and do exercises. The very real possibility of blood clots looms in our minds, so we DO MOVE and we DO EXERCISES that seem barbaric after all we have been through.

      When you couple all this with the fact that few if any of us are really prepared for what "RECOVERY" actually entails, I think just getting along from hour to hour is pretty heroic!

      I did A LOT of praying.

      I did A LOT of meditation.

      I tried to keep myself as calm and as positive as I could.

      I hope that you will be feeling better very soon!

      (TKRs June and October 2015)

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