Drug withdrawal

I started my recovery from tkr taking 2 10mg  oxycodone every four hours for about 10 days. Then went down to the 5 mg for 10 days. Then switched to the 10 mg Vicodin for another 10 days. After that I was able to cut down to 5 mg Vicodin when I needed it which became less and less necessary. I did start 800 mg Motrin tabletsat about 6 weeks post op and used that on and off for weeks. I am now 7 months and don’t use either regularly. Once in a while the leg will act up and I will take a Motrin before bed. You should be able to cut your Vicodin down to nothing over a short time. I know everyone is different, in my case it didn’t bother me to quit regular use. You are going to feel shaky and weak for some time after the surgery. Good luck with your recovery.

Sleeping is a problem for a long time after surgery. It still wakes me up from time to time, you just have to be patient and strong. If Vicodin at night  controls your pain, it is weaker and less of a problem to discontinue then the OxyCodone. 

It's called "titration"...up or down.  The whole idea is to decrease (or increase) the level of the drug in your bloodstream to provide a specific level of relief.  To titrate down, your case, you can take less of the med or space it out more.  Everything depends on the HALF-LIFE of the drug...this is the time it takes for HALF of the med to be flushed from your body.  Drugs with longer half-lives can be spaced out more.  Unfortunately, Vicodin has only a 3-4 hour half-life so if you wait for 6 hours to take another dose, you're already on the downward slope of effectiveness.  When you take another pill, the level of the med goes up again...then down again in another six hours.  Kind of like a rollercoaster instead of a steady level of relief.  Instead of being calm and relaxed, you may feel more nervous and anxious.

I'm not a doc but I was married to a pharmacist for 25 years and my current wife of 8 years spent 30 years as a psychiatric nurse...lots of knowledge there.  So, check with your doc about recommendations for titrating off Vicodin.  However, that being said...

You can't just stop the drug.  Not a good idea even though from a dose of 5/325, you will probably experience the worst of the withdrawal within a few days...then you start feeling better.  Could be tough or easy...we're all different.  The other route is titration.  Because of the short half-life here, I would ask your doc about maintaining the 4-hour schedule but alternate between a full and a half pill for maybe 4 days or so.  Then you would take 1/2 pill every four hours for a few days and then 1/2 pill every 6-8 hours.  You will probably be off the Vicodin in a few weeks with little to no adverse side effects.  Again, I would check this strategy with your doc but it's very typical to do this with opioids (hydrocodone...Vicodin and Norco, and oxycodone...Percocet) as well as with benzodiazepines (Xanax, Valium, etc.).

So check with the doc for his OK and get off the opioids...all of them.  For my TKR, I started out on Percocet 10/500's...took two weeks for me to titrate off them.  It was easy for me since I have a high tolerance to opioids so getting off them is always easy...but that's me...not you.  Let us know how you make out...

If you are in pain, real pain take what you need. If you are using them as sleeping pills try melatonin 10 mg about an hour before bedtime. Its herbal, non habit forming and works well for many.

Pain meds can be weaned away from by taking small diseases. Know what you are taking and why. Xanax is for anxiety and can be very addictive. My wife is in well advanced stages of Parkinson's disease. Most people associate tremors with PD but in her case tremors are minor and hardly noticeable but anxiety and depression are absolutely horrendous.as a matter of fact, we were 1500 miles from home ready to catch an early morning flight when she woke me at 1 a.m. in a wringing wet sweat and could hardly move her body. Had her transported to a wonderful teaching med center in the San Francisco are and had her checked for stroke or heart. Took an extra 3 days t o get her on the plane. After several weeks of hospitalization and a trip to mayo clinic for ac14 day stay they sent her home with inconclusive results and small diseases of Xanax and Zoloft. Several months later she was diagnosed with PD and has been on Xanax ever since. Problem is, age and severity of the disease ( she's now in well advanced stages) and nothing else has worked to stop the anxiety.

Gradually, as tge pain subsides and life resumes to a somewhat normal level you won't need the opiates. Again don't use them just to get some sleep. Talk to your Dr s, primary care docs are often better at pain than surgeons. Let them workout a proper cocktail to help you cover pain, sleep and continued healing from the surgery.

Dear j68551. TKR and Pain. Part and parcel. My advice: Switch to Tramal or Tramadol. 50 mg per day in combination with Paracetamol 300 mg. Later you can lower the dose to 25mg or half a capsule (pour the ‘powder’ into your coffee - No sugar!) Stay off OxyContin or Oxycodone. Tell your doctor. He will agree unless his got shares or other benefits from Purdue Pharma the manufacturer  of OxyContin. I’ve had unbearable pain in my femur and around the implant. I would not have been able to cope with out Tramadol. OxyContin is BIG business. In some countries like Thailand where I live OxyContin is not approved by the  FDA due to the high addiction risk. More more advice get out of bed and get out of the house. Drive a if you can. It helps. Again, ask your physician to swap to Tramadol. Good Luck. Bangkok-Johnny (Still  limping)  

 

Hi

I had TKR 12 weeks ago. My knee is doing well, but it has knocked my back out and is very painful. I have been on Oxycontin for 12 weeks now one 10mg in morning and 10 at night. I am terrified I will be dependent on it. The doctor said because the dose is small then it is highly unlikely. I need pain relief - what can I do?