OT: Day 3, I'm no longer a drug user...

[SoCalSteve]

as I went off the opiates this morning.

Hi all,

Seems like icing and Ibupfrofen are keeping the pain in check today. I have done 2 x Pain Therapy sessions so far as well and it's not as bad as yesterday's Pain Therapy session.

Let's chalk this up to my spending the last few months riding about 150 miles a week ( albeit mostly flat and at a very high cadence ) and doing planks, push-ups, etc. My previous PT said that a quick successful rehab is all about having strong quads and glutes.

My knee is still super swollen, but not much other " drama " in that area. My wife keeps complimenting me on how well I am doing as its only been 2 days.

Oh, one bad thing still is my " tract " is still pretty locked up. I know, I know...TMI.

Again, thank you all for the kind words. They have helped tremendously!


Steve

[guido]

Nice! Keep it up!

[Tickdoc]

as I went off the opiates this morning.

Hi all,

Seems like icing and Ibupfrofen are keeping the pain in check today. I have done 2 x Pain Therapy sessions so far as well and it's not as bad as yesterday's Pain Therapy session.

Let's chalk this up to my spending the last few months riding about 150 miles a week ( albeit mostly flat and at a very high cadence ) and doing planks, push-ups, etc. My previous PT said that a quick successful rehab is all about having strong quads and glutes.

My knee is still super swollen, but not much other " drama " in that area. My wife keeps complimenting me on how well I am doing as its only been 2 days.

Oh, one bad thing still is my " tract " is still pretty locked up. I know, I know...TMI.

Again, thank you all for the kind words. They have helped tremendously!


Steve

I was the same! Dilaudid and opiates did the trick for me for the first two or three days, then the pain was manageable with ibuprofen after that. I was sleepy enough on my own and just hated the drugged up feeling.

Are you using the traction machine? I used the heck out of it because I did not want adhesions.

I was off work for a week, then I had the funniest cankle at the end of the day from all the drainage swelling for about three weeks.

It all h als up marvelously, then you can torture yourself with physical therapy.

Glad to know you are healing and hang in there.

[oldpotatoe]

One word-suppository...and an elevated toilet seat. You will thank me later.

[Keith A]

Great to hear that you doing well Steve! Yeah, those pain meds and the stuff they use to put you under will certainly block you up...been there and done that one before :eek:

[palincss]

My knee is still super swollen, but not much other " drama " in that area. My wife keeps complimenting me on how well I am doing as its only been 2 days.

Oh, one bad thing still is my " tract " is still pretty locked up. I know, I know...TMI.


You can expect that it will take months for the swelling to totally go away, if my experience is any guide. In fact, 2 months into recovery one of my issues trying to use one of my regular bikes on a trainer was getting my Sidi Dominator closed on the surgical side: the foot and ankle were so large I couldn't get the ratchet strap to engage. As the surgeon said, "To be expected."

As far as your "bad thing" is concerned: never take narcotics without taking a laxative at the same time. Nobody told me that when I had the broken shoulder in 2003, and after five or six days things got pretty uncomfortable and drastic measures were required to restore the balance of nature.

[John H.]

I would look into a Game Ready Icer and Normatec boots.
Might be prohibitive to own, but you gotta be able to rent these.
Might even be covered under RX.
These things are nothing short of miraculous post-op.
Are there any studios that have these in your area? "Recovery" studios seem to be popping up all over these days.

[Ken Robb]

After my wreck last year I went 14 days without a BM even with stool softeners and laxatives. They were threatening me with "drastic measures" too but I wasn't feeling any discomfort in my gut.

[pbarry]

I would look into a Game Ready Icer and Normatec boots.
Might be prohibitive to own, but you gotta be able to rent these.
Might even be covered under RX.
These things are nothing short of miraculous post-op.
Are there any studios that have these in your area? "Recovery" studios seem to be popping up all over these days.

Game Ready works! The sooner the better.

[SoCalSteve]

Update: ( as I know everyone was wondering )...

Things are flowing as usual again. No outside help needed ( beyond lots of high fiber food ).

Thanks for your concern!...;)

[mcteague]

One word-suppository...and an elevated toilet seat. You will thank me later.

For sure. When I had a plate put in to reassemble my clavicle the pain meds caused real issues in that area. Don't know how addicts deal with that byproduct, or lack thereof.

Tim

[Hawker]

For sure. When I had a plate put in to reassemble my clavicle the pain meds caused real issues in that area. Don't know how addicts deal with that byproduct, or lack thereof.

Tim

Indeed, again TMI I know. But when I had a double hernia repaired no one addressed this with me post-surgery. I didn't "go" for three days and Bro....I am telling you it turned into a real issue. I have a friend who is a surgeon and he told me there have been instances when they had to operate to "remove the blockage? NO WAY you want to go down that road.

Heal fast and save me a Lortab. :)

[alessandro]

Update: ( as I know everyone was wondering )...

Things are flowing as usual again. No outside help needed ( beyond lots of high fiber food ).

Thanks for your concern!...;)

Great news! :beer:
I had surgery this year and was told not to strain for 2 weeks afterward...

Anyhow, best of luck with your continued recovery.

[Mr. Squirrel]

congratulations mr. stevesocali.
i feel the calling of nutella and arizona tea before every wheel hunting foray. i am up to three jars-bottles a week now. how can i break this nutty habit?

mr. squirrel

[Keith A]

Be careful Mr. Squirrel, I hear wheel hunting is hazardous to your health...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a386/ipodusersmustdie/PoorSquirrel_2.jpg

[metalheart]

Despite knowing about the constipating effects of opiate pain relievers, I had issues with my first TKR in January. I think it was the dose I was taking, but when the problem did happen, the "Brown Cow" (mixture of 7up, warm prune juice, and Milk of Magnesia) worked wonders.

When I came home from my second TKR this past August, on day three I told the home health nurse that I thought I did not need any opiates and I could probably get by on tylenol. But, I wanted to stay ahead of the curve on pain management, so I took and have been taking lower does of Norco. There are times when I thought it was unnecessary and other times when I was very glad I was taking something powerful for pain relief.

My guess is that you will do fine with non-opiate pain meds, but sometimes you may wish you had something more powerful. Find or borrow a bullet for those times .......