pain medicine?

[coopaloop]

Hi y'all I'm now 4 days post op of a pcl reconstruction, the surgery went well and I was given oxycodone 5mg and norco 7.5 mg for the pain. I was told by my surgeon to take the oxy and then ween off to the norco.So I did so and i am finding that my pain is easily controllable during the day with norco and little oxy, however, for the past 4 nights I haven't slept well at all and find myself waking up about every hour or two if I'm lucky, in pain. Once I wake up i don't just pop more medicine for I dont want to overdose or go against the doctors prescription. So I just lie awake until four hours comes along and I can take more medicine. But this morning I really thought about it and ive been taking 10mg of oxy every four hours at night for the past four nights this time span is the when I take the most pain meds and I would really like to minimize my pain med use when I sleep and in general. I do, however, want to sleep soundly so my recovery time will be less so i think today im going to call the office and request a time-released version  of the medicine.  Here's  the thing I don't want to sound like an addict calling in for more powerful pain meds but in reality i've had this medication  before prescribed by this doctor for  other surgeries. So I hope there will be little trouble but if any of you readers have any advise as far as pain management after knee surgery or if you just have an experience in this area i would love the input.

[CariG]

HUGS!!! I hope you've managed to get some sleep since posting this. And I applaud your decision to consult your dr for a more effective treatment to pain...and hopefully enabling some sleep.
I take 10mg Oxy SR twice a day....when I first wake up and then just after dinner, or 12 hours later, whichever comes first. I've found it to be far more beneficial than taking 8 - 12 panadiene forte tablets daily...and my body is thanking me for that!! It might make us sound like druggies, but the reality is managing pain relief whilst minimizing long term complications caused by said pain relief.
Good luck and hopefully sweet dreams!

[Im139]

I'm questioning too on how to ween myself off of the Oxy without putting myself in a painful position during rehab/PT. My sleep has been sparatic and not solid. I'm  10 days post op and down to one Oxy every 6 rotating 3 Advil and 3 Tylenol every 4. When I see my OS on Tuesday I'm going to ask him about Ambien for sleep as long as I'm off the Oxy. I was told 1 day post op that you can't mix Oxy and Anbien.

[CariG]

Over the past years there have been times when thankfully I can say goodbye to the heavy duty painkillers and get by with the occasional panadol or advil. Those days of weaning myself off are tough....for me personally, and for my household and partner. Why they haven't killed me is one of those great mysteries!!
Currently, as I'm in for a long haul, I actually give myself a 'day off' from Oxy, Tramadol and stick with my NSAID (Mobic) and panadol. And drink a few litres of water to flush my system!! I nearly always plan these days to be the ones where I don't do any exercises, I'm not expected to go out and about, and the majority of the housework is under control.....and spend the day with heat/ice packs, TENS machine hooked up and attached to my hip and a load of aromatherapy burning in the house.
It helps if the granddaughter is over for a bit of it, as I refuse to 'dope up' when she's around.
Currently, I'd advise you to not push yourself on weaning. Some pain is a great indicator of both healing and problems....it prevents us from overdoing it. Give yourself another week or two.....but you know your body far better than anyone else, so do what you feel, and believe, is best for you.
It sounds like you're approaching this with a strong mental and emotional outlook....good luck for Tuesday!!!

[LindaM]

Hey there,

The fact that you're worried about your pain meds is what will keep you from every having problems getting off them.  So put that aside and ask for what you need.  I have found that at least for me, oxycodone keeps me awake-I mean awake all night.  Some of these meds can have that effect, and you might be suffering from that as well.  Without good sleep your pain is worse, so the waking might be adding to the pain, not just a result.  Be sure to talk with your doctor about a sleep aid when you talk about the pain meds.  They are used to this and you have a history of previous surgeries and know how to use the meds properly.  If you don't want to use another prescription, you might try 3mg. melatonin or try Alteril which is another with melatoniin and other natural ingredients.  They help get you to sleep and stay in deeper sleep.

Good luck and good healiing.

Linda

[coopaloop]

thanks for the reply's everyone I enjoyed reading all of them. Just an update my surgeon did approved the oxycontin giving me 14 pills to take every twelve hours. I did so and it helped immensely I slept like a baby and only took one to none of the immediate release oxycodone for “break-through” pain. Also I only used 10 out of the 14 pills over the past week and now I don't even need it!  I saw the surgeon yesterday and I told him I had weaned off the oxy and only needed hydro for I do have some moderate pain. So he gave me that, I have no pain during the day anymore and see myself only taking them at night but honestly I have a problem taking 325mg of tylenol per 7.5mg of hydrocodone and I wish there was a generic preparation of just hydro but o well.  But in my previous pcl surgery when my therapist started bending my knee I remember it being really painful. So even though I’m in relatively no pain now I’m not out of the woods yet. So here's another question I have for all of you readers:

Does anyone know of a non-narcotic pain reliever, other than tramdol or NSAIDS, that I could utilize to minimize my narcotic pain medicine consumption now and when I start knee manipulation?

-Im69 to ween off the oxy you could consider switching to hydro or even codeine to manage pain and also help sleep just an idea.  I hope you’re able to find a drug that isn’t oxy and allows you to sleep and be pain free. Good luck with your PT and recovery.

[LindaM]

Hi Coopaloop,

I'm very glad to hear your are doing so well.  I have used ginger capsules to stand in for nsaids from time to time.  Three over a 24 hour period give you about the same pain relief as a max prescription dose of motrin.  You will need to take them with food since they are a little tough on the stomach without.   Both ginger and tumeric have anti-inflammatory properties. ( I picked up the ginger capsules at Vitamin Shoppe-they are available almost everywhere)  Cherries-either sweet or tart also help with inflammation but I don't know if they help at all with pain.

Good luck and good healing

Linda

[CariG]

Congrats Coopaloop!! That is great news! Looking forward to hearing how you go with PT. Sadly I'm not sure of any combination other than Tramadol/Panadiene Forte or NSAID's....but I am keen to follow Linda's advice and hunt down some of the ginger capsules. (BIG ask as ginger and I have this great misunderstanding) On my really rough days my PT is a dream and does the TENS and some acupuncture prior to making me work...that's helped in that circumstance, but as that's not post op recovery, not sure how it'd go for you personally.
Congrats again on the good news! Please give yourself a pat on the back!! 

[coopaloop]

Thanks for the replies! I had my mom go buy some ginger capsules and have been using them and they have been very effective but there are still sometimes when I need some narcotics but the ginger is very helpful thank you linda! And if I need too ill see about getting some panadiene forte I looked it up after CariG's recommended it and the drug may prove helpful in the future. but i'm having another minor problem which I do not think has any relation with pain meds but I'll ask it anyway. When I get up on crutches my foot turns bright red and swells a little and it will remain red if I stay up on crutches. Does anyone know why this may be? I'm going to contact the doc's office on Monday and ask him but any feedback is appreciated!

[CariG]

Hi Coopaloop,
Hope you've been having a good weekend. Glad to hear the ginger tablets are working....will definately find some this week...our chemist didn't have any, but he is prepared to order some in for me.
Which foot is it that's turning red and swelling? If it's the one that's recently been worked on, it could be just the pressure of your strapping/bandaging and gravity being a tad awkward for you.
Glad to hear you're going to chat to the doc about it though, and nip any problems in the bud.
Great to hear your progress....keep up the great work!!
Cari!! 

[LindaM]

Hi there,

Glad to hear the ginger is working for you.  Right now I would expect that you are elevating as much as you can.  In part your foot issue could be simply the reaction to putting it down and having a rush of blood enter, then putting weight on it when that hasn't happened for an hour or more.  Hopefully when you speak with the doctor it will turn out to be something as simple as that.

Good healing

Linda

[LancashireRL]

Hope its settling down ; I went from oxycontin 10mg to dihyrocodiene 2wks after my rebuild and it was hard (especially first 3 days when the withdrawal from the oxy gave me blinding headaches and very restless) but worth it.  Used tramadol a little too at times, especially for periods where calf cramp and ache was bad, but for pure pain blocking the dihydro was the winner.

[coopaloop]

Thanks for all the posts. Again I enjoy reading them whether they are advise and/or experience. Just an update I attended my first physical therapy visit yesterday afternoon and let me tell you what a relief it is to finally have the green light to start having my knee bent as well as to start to bear more weight. I feel so sorry for people who are in comas and their whole body looks as deteriorated as my calf and quad muscle do.  But physical therapy went exceedingly well not just because my therapist has been a long-time friend of our family but because I feel as if my recovery time will be lessened with his help. I have three visits next week and hopefully my ROM increases to at least 50 degrees but I'll post an update after I receive the therapy. 

As far as the pain medicine goes I've been taking the norco during the day when the ginger doesn't work. I usually don't need more than a half-a-pill at a time and it will last about 4-6 hours meaning I take one to two pills during the day but at night I'm still taking one to two pills at a time too ensure a night full of beneficial sleep. The strength of the pills remain at 7.5/325mg's and if I need anymore narcotics I will ask to be taken down to the 5/325mg's.

LancashireRL thanks for the post the pain has calmed down, hydrocodone has worked for my previous surgeries and is working now, however, if any complications occur I was consider the dihydrocodiene. As far as withdrawls go this surgery I've had none but for my previous ACL/PCL surgery I was prescribed oxycontin and oxycodone. I got off the oxycontin but had a problem getting off the oxycodone for I was taking 50-75 pills a week for about 2 months. When I had to get off the oxycodone I had unnecessary pain that I could easily control but since I had been masking the pain with opiates I had pain which I thought was bad but really wasn't. It scared the living crap out of me and I will never take oxycodone again on a long-term basis.

O and I called the doc and he thinks the redness in my foot is due to the non-weight-bearing. So, Linda you were right thank you for the post!

[CariG]

Hi!! 
glad to hear the redness and swelling wasn't too serious!! And great news on the PT!! You'll be back to being you sooner than later, always a great thing!!

So happy for you...keep up the great work!!