5 weeks post total knee replacement surgery

id say the morphine is most likely the cause of nausea i was like that no appetite and when i tried i could not eat very much get your meds changed ,i was fine when i changed here in ireland we go to our gp for pain meds . hang in there you will improve plenty of rest more than you think so give in to it .

Although the withdrawing from opiates can be very unpleasant and painful, the symptoms usually subside after 72 hours. Maybe you can try other things to manage your pain before reaching immediately for a morphine pain killer? All the symptoms you're having, particularly the nausea are symptoms of opiate withdrawal. Everyone feels the fatigue and sleepless ness for a could of months post op but the restlessness and appetite loss indicate narcotic withdrawal. Just go over your pain medication regime and ask your doctor what alternatives there are to using the heavy opiates.

Hi Jeannette, 

i am surprised that u are on painkillers and morphine. I didn't even think that they sent one home w/ morphine. I will tell u the meds r the reason for the hit sweats and then feeling cold. Once I reduced them I no longer get the nite sweats. I do feel it normal to be tired after exercise, shower and breakfast. Ur still healing.

the narcotics are also making you very tired and nauseous !! I knew this and   Never took any in hospital. Specifically, no morphine, Percocet or vicaden.

 They started me on  deloded , but I was mildly hallucinating so I went on codeine and every 8 hrs. Tylenol. I didn't want to get nauseous in addition to the pain, so I was very careful about what I took.

i really think ur first course of action is get off such powerful drugs. Good luck!

Whilst you are on morphine, ask for oramorph, as a top up.  You can take it as and when you need it. Stronger than normal painkillers.  You must eat, it will make you feel better, and give you the energy you need.  It is still early days yet and you have a long way to go.  do not be in a rush.  You will heal, but not at the speed you expected.  Take your medication on a regular basis, that way you avoid the troughs and peaks of pain.

Hi Jannette!  Greetings from San Francisco!

I too am in week 5 now but for a partial.  Truth be told as far as I am concerned, everything I have experienced after listening to others sounds like I could have had a full.

The meds are for sure making you nauseated, as well as creating hot sweats and cold.  I too am extremely sensitive to opiates and could not even leave the hospital until they found something that I could tolerate which was Tramedol.  Even then I was queezy but nothing like the opiates. Eventually it was suggested to me to take a half  of one every 4 hrs rather than 1 or 2 every six.  This helped immensly because the dosage was smaller and more continuous if that makes sense.  I eventually quit that except for taking Motrin 800mg 3x a day.  It took me a few days to get out of that fog but for me I would rather go through this pain than not be present in order to feel somewhat normal. 

I too still have pain which is nothing close as to what it was in the beginning  and what bothers me more than anything is the stiffness which leads to the pain.  At the end of week 4 was the first time that I could tolerate sleeping on my side for a brief period of time then when I roll onto my back with pain which subsides. Such a huge victory.   I have to say that this process is excrutiatingly slower for me than I realized and the improvments are definitely there in babysteps. 

Anytime I am sitting in a fixed position for long I have to start moving around or the pain will take over. Also I am trying so hard to walk normally but have so much difficulty doing that when it is so stiff all the time.  I keep reading about other experiences of marked improvement after 6-8 weeks so I am hanging in there and hope you will as well.  After all do we have a choice?  A true test in patience for wanting to be normal and have our lives back.

I feel your pain with the morning routine.  My God after I get up, walk down 2 flights of stairs, let the dog out, feed her, get my ice together, breakfast so I can tolerate my daily pill regimine then exercise then I too am exhausted.  Then I am thinking I need to trudge back up those stairs to take a shower and get dressed.  Here is what I do know about recovery: for every hour in surgery that you under it takes a month to recover.  Now I am just talking about energy let alone the knee healing.

I walk outside as well and let me tell you the first time I ventured out I just couldn't get enough of that fresh air.  It truly rejuvenates you.

Hang in there.......I just believe that we will all make it through this and somewhere down the road it will just be a memory while we go hiking, swimming and traveling.

Hi All!

I'm so sorry to hear how much pain some of u seem to be having.

As far as anesthesia , I asked for a spinal & was sedated so that I didn't know what was going on. I had to request it, it wasn't offered to me. I've heard it is harder for them; takes too long?! I really don't know. Anyhow, I was advised to do this & it relieved me from the usual anesthesia recovery.

I'm only in 2 Advil 2x/day for now . Until 6 weeks when I stop the aspirin( to avoid blood clots) then I can take it 4x/day.

I still have the codeine as needed.

I do recommend plenty of rest, ice, fluid , exercise & in general being loving & kind to yourself😍

I had my second tkr at 5 weeks at which point I was doing well with the first knee replacement and it was rough with the second vs the first. I am at 7 weeks with the second and finally I feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel. I can identify with the exhaustion by the time you finish the exercises, shower and breakfast. Never have I napped so much in my life but I think we need it. I think you are doing fine. Be patient.