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Nausea After THP

Posted , 13 users are following.

fiona_08868
fiona_08868

Hi everyone, I'm having my 2nd hip replacement next week and I only have one major concern.  I was extremely nauseous after surgery and this continued for the next week.  I've been told it could have been the anesthetic (I had a spinal but was completely asleep through the surgery), or the pain meds.  I'm wondering if anyone else has had this issue and if they've found any resolution.  I've seen so many people talk about drinking and eating after the surgery.  They wouldn't even let me have tea with milk in it for the 3 days I was in hospital.  I was so annoyedexclaim cryThanks in advance!

Fiona

1 like, 27 replies

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  • marionaa
    marionaa fiona_08868

    Posted

    I had my THR on the 29th July. I had a spinal and was sedated.  I felt more nauseated afterwards and completely lost my appetite. Hospital food was awful, but even when I got home the food my husband prepared was unpalatable to me. It look a week for my taste buds to recover and for food to taste palatable again.

    I  just ate very little - and drank iced water, decaf green tea or weak ordinary black tea. I didn't want anything. I tried a bit as I knew it would help my recovery.

    What was more alarming to me was the huge weight gain I experienced- about 6kg. I was mystified- how could I gain weight without eating? Now 11 days in I am back to my pre op weight -(which is still slightly over weight but hey ho!) I am eating normally and most things taste fine. 

    I hope your post operative phase is not as bad as your last experience.

    Best wishes,

    Marion 

     

    • dave63380
      dave63380 marionaa

      Posted

      Hey Marion , had RTHR DONE 7/27/16 MY APPETITE WAS GOOD BUT COULDNT BELIEVE THE WEIGHT GAIN. I was home 3rd day , thought scale was broken, gained 15 pounds! My wife said it was the constant IV for fluids. All is good / Sore , but better daily . Speedy recovery to you DAVE 63380
  • linda81469
    linda81469 fiona_08868

    Posted

    Hi Fiona! I too was nauseous for about a week after I got home. The day after surgery I threw up 5x!! After I got home I barely wanted to eat. I did drink a lot of water. I threw up once at home. I too had spinal but I woke up during surgery and could hear them tapping and feel them pushing on me. I was not in any pain. I think pain meds were the deal too. They had me on tramadol, Tylenol 3 & Lyrica as well as Celebrex, a stool softener and something for the stomach. I think it was just this cocktail of meds!! As I was not on any meds but Celebrex and at that was taking every other day. But I did get to feeling better. But at home they changed my pain to Norco.

  • michelb
    michelb fiona_08868

    Posted

    After my first THR, I was quite nauseous (threw up 3X as I was being discharged but I guess I had worn out my welcome as they still sent me home).  I figured it was the one of the meds so I stopped taking all of them (which wasn't ideal since I was still in some pain!) and then slowly started taking them back up again.  I figured Tylenol and Celebrex were fine since I had taken them in the past without any problems but never took the Dilaudid again and didn't have any more nausea.  

    For my 2nd THR, I requested that they not give me Dilaudid and didn't have any problems (discharged 48 hours after the surgery and felt so much better than after the first). 

    • fiona_08868
      fiona_08868 michelb

      Posted

      Thanks Michel - that's another idea that I'll throw out there!

  • fiona_08868
    fiona_08868

    Posted

    Thanks for all the input!  I was only given Tylenol 3 when I was discharged but the pre-op nurse is pretty sure that they would have given me Morphine while in the hospital.  Maybe it took a while to get out of my system??  I know I had some medication orally and some by IV so it possibly was a cocktail.  I'm in Ontario Canada and I've never heard of Tramadol before joining this forum.  I'll try and discuss this with my surgeon when I see him this week.  He tends to be a little on the OCD side so I'm not sure how he'll react to changing his standard plan! 

    • linda81469
      linda81469 fiona_08868

      Posted

      Well I finished my prescription of Norco and am now on Tramadol. Oh yeah I forgot I'm taking a baby aspirin too!! Lol so many pills!!!

    • linda38528
      linda38528 fiona_08868

      Posted

      I will look forward to this info too Fiona. I kept things down but had no appetite at all and had to force down protein to help with the healing. If it was the anaesthetic - it took forever to leave my system as I lost 14 pounds.

      Please keep me in the loop.

      Wishing you all the very best for this operation and recovery.

      Big hugs,

      L

    • linda38528
      linda38528

      Posted

      Ps - I am in Ottawa. The variety of meds and names for them is absolutely bewildering!

      L

  • kate32837
    kate32837 fiona_08868

    Posted

    Hi Fiona

    I suffered the same as you, even threw up all over a poor nurse! Get them to give you cyclizine hydrochloride 50ml tables three times a day when you have your meds and that will fix it. 

    Good luck x

  • RangerJack
    RangerJack fiona_08868

    Posted

    Had a similar experience. With the combination of a spinal as well as a general sedation, it affected my appetite for approximately 2 weeks after surgery causing a 15 pound weight loss. By week three, appetite returned and I gained the lost weight quickly. I am 12 weeks post op, only issue is the hip muscles are stiff upon standing from sitting position causing a slight limp for the first few steps. All is good. Best regards. 
    • fiona_08868
      fiona_08868 RangerJack

      Posted

      I am 13 weeks today and the operated hip is feeling great.  In my case I would have been happy to keep the lost weight off but that didn't happen!  I'm sure the stiffness will get better soon.  Take care.

  • betty07083
    betty07083 fiona_08868

    Posted

    Oh my gosh Fiona - finally someone has posted the exact fear as mine! I had a TKR two years ago. Was supposed to have spinal but for some reason they never explained, they couldn't get the needle in or something, so they put me out.

    Well I threw up the entire 3 days I was in the hospital! The poor nurses could hardly keep up bringing me empty bowls in which to immediately fill up again!

    Now I'm due for a THR and I'm more afraid of the nausea again than I am the surgery itself!!

    Truly, that was an experience that has stayed with me more than anything else related to my surgery!

    I obtained a copy of the drugs they gave me for future surgeries but I don't know if that will help, as they give you a combo of meds, so how do you know which one was the culprit??

    Anyway, glad to hear I'm not alone in this! Good luck!

    Betty

    • fiona_08868
      fiona_08868 betty07083

      Posted

      Well I have to tell you that I feel better just knowing I'm not alone in this!  It's what I'm dreading the most as well.  A number of people were coming to see me the day after surgery and I made my husband call everyone and tell them not to come.  I'm going to ask my surgeon about the cyclizine hydrochloride that Kate said works. 

      Good luck to you as well! 

      Fiona

    • dave63380
      dave63380 betty07083

      Posted

      Hey Betty, very similar surgeries here. I had TWO TKR , JUNE, SEPT 2014 and now ONE THR JULY 27 JUST 12 DAYS AGO. I do remember nausea and bad reaction to after surgery drugs with the first knee, talk to anesthesiologists before surgery they do have a lot of options. I had no problems after first surgery. They also have nausea pills but you have to get the dr. Approval for it. For some reason it was hard to get them to give me that / I forget the name of drug. Just talk to someone in advance / I usually ask at least twice if it's important, make sure they were really listening. Good luck with your HIP, I am just getting so that I can walk without walker or crutches, still sore but better every day. Seems like this is taking a little longer than the knees but all is good. Be patient and do your physical therapy. Dave 63380

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