Managing Pain after TKR

Hi Mary 

i can't advise with your pain relief only to say in first month my husband got by best on 2 X 10 mg slow release morphine morning and nightime and instant release morphine 3 times started 2x 10 mg then went down to 1 X 10 mg in the day plus 8 paracetamol a day  it worked well only side effect constipation , take care

Hi Mary if you are in pain you need painkillers. If your doctor has prescribed this medication then he is monitoring it. I was exactly the same, I had my tkr surgery on 14 th December 2015. Because I was worried I kept trying to come off them. Then I was in so much pain and my knee became so swollen I couldn't do my exercises. It's really early days for you, you can't rush recovery. I am still taking paracetamol 3 x a day and 2 cocodamol before I go to bed and have come off everything else. I would make an appointment with the doctor to discuss your worries also to check that the pain in your kidney s isn't a uti infection. Hope everything goes well. Best wishes Jannette

Omaprazole is not a pain killer

It protects against such as naproxan

Sounds like a hell of a lot of drugs to me.!! I'm not a doc, but that sounds dangerous. I was on codeine 30mg. , I think, 3x /day and xtra strength Tylenol at night. I stopped after 4 weeks.

please get some expert advice

Hi I had complete TKR 25th February the first 2 weeks were excruciating I could have put my head through the wall I was taking  dyhydrocodeine 30 500 8 a day also with paracetamol, I was changed to tramadol for a week but then changed back to the codeine. Pain decreased after the 2 weeks now just nerve pain here & there. I had got oral morphine but it made me feel sick & pain relief is only 20 mins so hardly worth it. Now I'm 6 weeks I take 1 in the morning & 1 at night, with the option to take one mid day should I need it, best to try & keep mobile do the exercises & do something to distract away from the pain. I need my other one doing but I can assure you it won't be yet. Hoping for hydro & physio next week. Sleep is also a Good healer I was going to bed every afternoon. It's a major operation I've been told that it takes a year to totally get over a T K R. 

Hi there Mary, you're in very early days and I know only too well how difficult that is!

You say you're in a right mess with your meds - in what way? Are you taking them on a schedule or waiting until the pain is unbearable and then taking them? At such an early stage you need to take them regularly, not wait for the pain to "bite".

The pain truly is horrendous, there's no escaping the fact. BUT, with gentle stretches, lots of ice and round- the-clock pain meds, you'll get through it.

The schedule of pain meds you've listed is similar to what I've been taking, give or take, for over a year.- I also have Tramadol which I switch round with the codeine (don't worry, I've worked extremely closely with my GP throughout). I've had 2 TKR'S within 7 months. I've had regular kidney screening, and touch wood I'm absolutely fine.

I'm sure it doesn't feel like it now, but it WILL get easier. Right now, your focus needs to pain relief, exercises, but more importantly adequate rest and good hydration. Everything else will come in time.

Please get your doctor to sort your meds, you need balanced pain relief. Oral morph and codeine seems a bit heavy to me. I took the omprazole once of a morning to settle stomach acid then 30 mg codeine and 500 paracetamol 3 times daily. Ibruofen I took inbetween doses when necessary. I then weaned off very slowly the Ibruofen and cut the codeine down to as and when needed. Remember pain will slow down recovery and it's a long road to recovery so be gentle with yourself x

Are you going to physiotherapy. When I had TKR 4 years ago at my first physio session after being discharged the physiothera[pist checked what pain relief I was on. She said "This will not be enough." Immediastely rang my GP and demanded that he give me stronger painkillers. She is not the kind of woman you would mess with! so I got the stronger painkillers. I think they were Co codamol.

Not sure why you are taking Omeprazole for the pain following a TKR. I take it because I have acid reflux due to a hiatus hernia and think this is what it is for.

I was never on morphine after TKR.

I would check what the Omeprazole ar for.

Take casre and keep in touch

Sarah

I'm currently waiting for a tkr and am in real pain unless I'm just sitting. Reading about the terrible pain you are all suffering post tkr is really frightening. I'm so fixated on getting rid of this non stop daily pain I just wanted the knee replaced but thinking twice about it now.