Knee replacement surgery

Good day, I am scheduled for a total knee replacement on April 2. I actually need two knees, but the ortho doctor will only do one at a time.

Not sure why they both fell apart, as I have always been a walker and exercised. I did gain some weight during the benzo taper and during my recovery, but not enough to ruin my knees. I was always a skinny kid and weighed 115 pounds when  I graduated from high school at 5'8" tall. After having two kids, I weighed in at 130, so my skeleton was used to a lean weight. I have recently dropped close to 20 pounds, so that's a plus.

 

My sleep is still typically 2-3 hours a night. The orthopedic doctor put me on tramadol for pain and sleep. The sleep was good for the first night, then less the second night and went back to 2-3 hours the next two nights. It was doing little for my pain, so stopped after four days. Then my sleep stopped. Went back to 3 hours two nights ago, then returned last night with a good 6.5 hours!! Woo hoo!!

Anyway, my question is, I will be put on pain killers after my knee surgery and wonder if anyone has any thoughts about what pain medication would be more suitable for a benzo recovering brain?  I really don't want to take anything, but the doctor said the pain will be too great not to. 

 

I had de quervain's release surgery in January on my right wrist and was given oxycodone. It worked quite well. Then the doctor switched to tramadol, which did not work, so went back to oxycodone.

I see that the doctor has hydromorphone (Dilaudid) on the list, along with Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen. Any thoughts on those?

Thanks!

NG

 

 

I had both knees replaced a week apart.  I can't imagine getting them both done at the same time.  The first one seemed easy, but the second one was much worse, probably because of the stress of having them both done.  If I could do it over again, I'd try to go without opioids.  Maybe that's crazy, Lol.  They didn't seem to help the pain much. Lots of ice helped the most.  I know a couple of people who did it without opioids.  I ended up on Suboxone to get off the opioids.  Wishing you the best.  It's a difficult thing to go through, but it was also a time a rest and relaxation.

P.S. We have similarities.  We have a similar build (I'm an inch taller, Lol).  I'd always walked, hiked, and did long-distance cycling for much of my life.  Maybe we both wore out our knees.  I'm guessing physical therapy will be a breeze for you.  It was for me.

Hi Glitter, thank you for your response concerning your knee replacement experience. I do appreciate it!

I bought the ice machine, so hopefully I don't have to take pain meds.  The tramadol really did a number on my sleep and did little for pain relief.

That's not crazy at all to not want to take pain meds!!

I looked up suboxone and saw the side effects from that. You are strong to get through this and still sound positive.

 

W

My computer started getting "snarky" with me, so I'll finish with another post. 

I'm looking forward to rest and relaxation.

 

Perhaps all of our exercise did wear out our knees. Are you back to hiking, long distance cycling, and walking since you've recovered from surgery? How long did your recovery take?

We do have similar builds!

In high school one of my classmates said when I turned sideways, I almost disappeared.  I think she was saying I was too skinny. lol

NG

I wouldn't blame you at all for using the morphine pump in the hospital.  I was glad it was there.  And you would probably need a really high pain tolerance if you don't take opioids.  My doctor wouldn't give me Dilaudid.  It's really strong.  He gave me Vicodin.  According to the list I found, Dilaudid is stronger than heroin.    I would try to stop them as soon as possible if you do take them. Suboxone is evil, Lol.  I can't really say the Vicodin didn't help much, because I didn't take a long enough break from them to know, Lol.

 

My knees have been great.  I had knocked-knees, so they had been tracking wrong all those years of extreme use.  They're straight now.  I miss wearing shorts, Lol.  I lost a lot of weight with the surgeries, and my doctor GP diagnosed me with anorexia.  All those drugs ruin your appetite. 

Oops, I meant to leave the link of opioids from strongest to weakest.  Here it is.

https://danapointrehabcampus.com/blog/2019/11/the-dangerous-list-of-opioids-strongest-to-weakest/

Hi Glitter, I opted for same day surgery, so won't have a morphine pump. I'm perhaps being sent home with a pump that will deaden the incision site. Not sure how long that is for, perhaps a day or so.  Then I send the pump back via mail.

Interesting about dilaudid and heroin.  I am surprised that is even a medical drug to treat people with except for the very worst cases.

 

This is good to know that your knees are doing great and the knock knees are gone.  Will you be wearing shorts this summer to show off the new knees? Speaking of scars, my wrist surgeon suggest I try silicone scar sheets on the incision site once it healed, so I did. At this point, it looks like a skin crease, not a scar, so I'm getting some for my knees. They are washable and reusable. I add a band-aid to keep it in place.

Thanks for the opioid link, I will check it out.

NG

 

 

 

Hi, nightingale! Holy smokes, you're a brave one for not staying at the hospital for a couple of days.  Will your physical therapist be coming to your house?  Are your surgeries a week apart?  If so, you'll be walking fine before the second one.  I hope you have someone around to help you.

 

I haven't really been wearing shorts in public since the surgery.  I love shorts and like wearing them all year.  You might inspire me to stop worrying about the scars and just wear them, so thank you!  I'd never heard of silicone scar sheets.  Thanks for letting me know. 

I'm back again.  I just ran on to this page on the forum.  Maybe you've already seen it.  He mentions painkillers and anesthesia.  It's interesting.  It sounds like short-term opiates are fine. 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=5500.msg47554#msg47554

Glitter, thank you for the link. I read it all. If I need them I will agree to the short term opiates, but steer clear of tramadol. It messed with my brain. After two weeks of stopping, I finally felt tired last evening and even dozed off.  For the last two days I napped for an hour in the early afternoon. I stopped doing that, also.

Two weeks seems to be the recovery "point for me."

 

I had never heard of the silicone scar sheets until my hand surgeon suggested them. They are found at pharmacies and run $20 plus for  a box, but are reusable and washable. I'm definitely using them on my knees.

 

My husband has mid stage Alzheimer's and so didn't want to put his care onto our children. As it is, our son and his girlfriend are spending the weekend with us and will possibly stay into the following week, if necessary.  She is a CNA at a hospital and is 3/4 of the way through nursing school, so will be quite helpful.

I could opt to stay for a night after the surgery, but with them here, I might as well go home.

 

Enjoy the weekend! It is going to be nice here for a change.

 

I can't say which pain relief meds to take. I don't have the wisdom on that,  but with post op - ICE IS YOUR FRIEND. No matter what pain reliever you choose, be sure to keep it iced !

I can't say which pain relief meds to take. I don't have the wisdom on that,  but with post op - ICE IS YOUR FRIEND. No matter what pain reliever you choose, be sure to keep it iced !

 

Yes!  SO true.  I was packing ice night and day (by the fireplace, Lol).  It's the best medicine.

Hi, nightengale, wow, that's crazy about Tramadol.  My mother takes Tramadol and Klonopin.  She's getting so forgetful, and it's harder to communicate with her.  I have to talk her into stopping the drugs.

 

I hope your son and his girlfriend will be around for you.  It's hard to do much when you're on crutches. 

 

I hope you're enjoying your weekend and that you'll let us know how everything goes with your surgeries.  I hope all goes well for you.

P.S. We have similarities.  We have a similar build (I'm an inch taller, Lol).  I'd always walked, hiked, and did long-distance cycling for much of my life.  Maybe we both wore out our knees.  I'm guessing physical therapy will be a breeze for you.  It was for me.

 

Wow, I was just reading this. I wish you good luck nightengale on April 2. My mother had her TKR in 2015. She is 76 years old so she was 71 when it was done. The recovery was painful but worth it in the end. IMO, she should have gotten the 2nd one done after she recovered from the 1st one, but she refused.

 

I am curious. I am 58 years old and I am having some knee problems myself now. @ Glitter and nightengale, how old are you both if you do not mind sharing? I wonder if knee replacement surgery is also in my future. I did a lot of long distance running when I was in my 20s and early 30s and my knees and other lower body joints took a beating from all that pounding on the pavement.

I can't say which pain relief meds to take. I don't have the wisdom on that,  but with post op - ICE IS YOUR FRIEND. No matter what pain reliever you choose, be sure to keep it iced !

 

I agree (keep ice on it). The hospital will probably give you one of those polar packs to take home with you. They gave my mother one and a walker.

Wow, thanks for all of the comments! You all gave me so much good information!

Well, I am 75 years old. As my mom said to her sister when mom was 90, I'm not old yet. Of course she never took a benzo in her life. She is 101 and still lives alone on the farm with her original knees. When she was my age, she was running around Norway visiting family with a cousin and his wife. I want to go back to traveling after I get both knees replaced. 

Maybe after the knees are fixed, my sleep will get better, again. I am in a lot of pain, with RLS and more knee/leg pain during the night. 

 

AntiBenzo, I bought an ice machine at the ortho doctor's office and will take that to the hospital so they can set me up with it before I come home.  I will keep that on 24/7 for as long as it takes.  I won't take tramadol, as it did so many strange things with my sleep and very little for the pain I am currently in.

 

When I was in my early 60's, I worked at the University Health Science Center doing DNA research concerning people who had polycystic kidney disease. Whenever I would get in the freezer to move the stored DNA around, my knees would kill me for a few days. I assumed it was from the hard tile floor that I was kneeling on. Looking back, perhaps there something going on with my knees.

I also walked and jogged throughout the neighborhood 90 mins a day, and participated in the BolderBoulder 10K every year, so I've always been fairly active.

My older sister and my mother have also always been very active and still have their knees. I'm blaming it on the benzos and the lack of sleep over the last 4-5 years. 

NG

 

How long have you been in really bad knee pain nightengale? Most ppl do not start considering surgery until the pain gets almost intolerable? I assume you are in constant daily pain. Does it hurt a lot more when you are standing/walking, putting weight on your knees? On a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the worst, how would you rate the pain? Is one knee worse than the other or about equal? I know you have trouble sleeping like I do. If you are in a lot of pain even when not standing, this is probably impacting your ability to get good nights of consistent, quality sleep of adequate duration.

Hi Antibenzo, my knees started bothering me with stiffness, in the fall/winter of 2019. I went to my PCP who ordered x-rays and came back with the diagnosis of osteoarthritis and bone spurs in both knees. Moderate to severe. 

 

The PCP sent me to a rheumatologist in February of 2020, because by then I had developed pain in my left knee. She gave me a shot of cortisone, but shortly before I got in to see her the pain had gone away when I walked, but when the knee was pressed on, I felt pain. The rheumatologist also ordered physical therapy, which helped.  The pain stayed away until Super Bowl Sunday of 2021, when it came back.  My right knee, which had not been painful, also became painful and is currently what I find to be severe pain ranging from 8-10 out of a scale of 10 when I walk. I cannot lie on my back as the pain is too severe.

 

The shot I had last month, in the right knee, seemed to have made the pain worse, or at the very least did not help.  My left knee is still not quite as painful, but when walking the level goes up to a 7-8. As I sit and type this with my knees up on the recliner, the pain level is 0.

 

I decided it was time to see an orthopedic surgeon and the new x-rays showed bone on bone with severe osteoarthritis and bone spurs.

He gave me the options of continuing with the shots, to do nothing or to have the surgery. I chose the surgery.

 

NG

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, Nightengale, your mother is amazing.  You have good genes.  My mother just had a knee replaced at 78 years.  It took her longer to heal and probably because she's not flexible.  She didn't like physical therapy.  I have a feeling you'll do much better than her because you've been so active, plus you're a few years younger.

 

Your surgery day is so coming quickly.  I wish you all the best. 

Good morning, Eric,

Thank you so much for the feedback on pain killers. In my pre-op folder, Hydromorphone (Dilaudid) is one of the pain killers on the list of drugs I might receive.

The others on the list are: Oxycodone, Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen, Hydromorphone, and Tramadol.

I will certainly ask for this drug prescription before I leave the hospital. I am having same day surgery so will be released later that day.

 

That is reassuring that your mother does well on this drug.  I am sorry she has chronic pain. I understand a bit what she is going through with the constant knee pain I have been having.

 

Thank you also for the link on clinical trials!

 

NG

 

 

 

Hi eric,

I will never take tramadol again if I am able to speak. ha

In January, I had de quervain's release surgery on my right wrist after having two cortisone shots and pain for the better part of a year. Because I needed to drive myself to the surgery center and back, I opted for a tourniquet instead of being put under. It worked amazingly well and the pain is 100% gone. I am sorry I waited for a year before I had the surgery. 

Anyway, the doctor originally gave me 8 oxycodone  pills, then switched to tramadol. It did nothing for the pain, so I asked for another prescription of oxycodone.

A few weeks ago, I was given a prescription for tramadol because the knee pain was becoming debilitating.  It  helped very little.  What I did notice was it did a number on my sleep. I was awake during the night, then struggled to keep awake all morning. It took a week and a half to get over that drug. Thank you for the link about tramadol. I will check it out.  On my surgery follow up visit to the orthopedic surgeon, I'll hand over the tramadol to him.

 

Thank you for the good wishes. Two nights ago, I was watching TV and right before 9 PM. I had this strange feeling in my chest, then I saw this blackness starting to close in. Then my heart began thump quite noticeably. I took breath and the blackness began to retreat. I remember thinking, was this it?

I went to bed not long after that and spent a sleepless night wondering if something else was going to happen, but it did not.

I emailed the surgeon's assistant and he talked to me today to see how I was feeling. I'm quite okay.

 

Thanks!

NG

Good morning, Eric,

Thank you so much for the feedback on pain killers. In my pre-op folder, Hydromorphone (Dilaudid) is one of the pain killers on the list of drugs I might receive.

The others on the list are: Oxycodone, Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen, Hydromorphone, and Tramadol.

I will certainly ask for this drug prescription before I leave the hospital. I am having same day surgery so will be released later that day.

 

That is reassuring that your mother does well on this drug.  I am sorry she has chronic pain. I understand a bit what she is going through with the constant knee pain I have been having.

 

Thank you also for the link on clinical trials!

 

NG

 

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't take the tramadol. It is a synthetic drug and is an SNRI, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. It's side effects are horrible compared to other opioid pain meds.

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/tramadol-side-effects.html

 

Hope all goes well with your knee replacements and your recovery is quick.

 

It’s not actually an SNRI antidepressant... Tramadol is an opioid painkiller.

 

It most definitely still comes with problems of its own though, that’s for sure... 

 

Best wishes.

Good morning, Eric,

Thank you so much for the feedback on pain killers. In my pre-op folder, Hydromorphone (Dilaudid) is one of the pain killers on the list of drugs I might receive.

The others on the list are: Oxycodone, Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen, Hydromorphone, and Tramadol.

I will certainly ask for this drug prescription before I leave the hospital. I am having same day surgery so will be released later that day.

 

That is reassuring that your mother does well on this drug.  I am sorry she has chronic pain. I understand a bit what she is going through with the constant knee pain I have been having.

 

Thank you also for the link on clinical trials!

 

NG

 

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't take the tramadol. It is a synthetic drug and is an SNRI, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. It's side effects are horrible compared to other opioid pain meds.

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/tramadol-side-effects.html

 

Hope all goes well with your knee replacements and your recovery is quick.

 

It’s not actually an SNRI antidepressant... Tramadol is an opioid painkiller.

 

It most definitely still comes with problems of its own though, that’s for sure... 

 

Best wishes.

 

It has similar side effects to SNRI drugs so for some of us who are benzo injured, it can cause awful side effects. That's, most likely, the reason the OP had bad insomnia from it where as just a clean opioid is sedating.

 

"Tramadol is a centrally acting synthetic opioid analgesic and SNRI (serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake-inhibitor) that is structurally related to codeine and morphine.

 

Tramadol differs from other traditional opioid medications in that it doesn't just act as a μ-opioid agonist, but also affects monoamines by modulating the effects of neurotransmitters involved in the modulation of pain such as serotonin and norepinpehrine which activate descending pain inhibitory pathways.13 Tramadol's effects on serotonin and norepinephrine mimic the effects of other SNRI antidepressants such as duloxetine and venlafaxine.."

https://go.drugbank.com/drugs/DB00193

 

Interesting... in that case I stand corrected.

 

Other drug description sites fail to mention this completely regards Tramadol... how very odd.

 

Just goes to show, every day is a learning day... 💯

 

Thank you... 😊

 

Just goes to show, every day is a learning day... 💯

 

Thank you... 😊

 

For sure. I learn new things every day too. Lately I have learned how to make Montreal bagels, pita bread and English muffins. Didn't know they all were so easy to make and taste so much better than store bought!

 

 

Hahahaha, yes... 😁

 

I just did lasagne for the first time ever the other day, and it’s turned out really well I think... 🤔

 

Perhaps...

 

Maybe.