Yes, I'm that naive!

[teacherforhi]

You didn't mention whether you had a knee replacement or just some kind of scope. As a therapist, I've seens thousands of people with knee surgeries and they are painful!! Knee replacements can be painful for up to 3 or 4 months after surgery so I wouldn't worry about it since your surgery was so recent.

Also will you be having physical therapy? Pain meds are necessary to dull the pain enough to fully participate in and make progress in therapy.

Partial knee replacement. Physical therapist comes to my house three times a week to torture me.

 

[ZPT1022]

Just an FYI, oxycodone and oxycontin are not necessarily the same thing. You can look it up if you want, but oxycodone is a component in MANY different drugs, including percocet and darvocet, both of which are in my cabinet right now. Maybe this eases your mind a bit?

 

[powellrj]

We have had this same discussion at our house. I had total knee replacement 3 weeks ago and was given the same meds. I stopped taking the oxycodone a couple of days after I got home from the hospital. They made me feel worse than no pain meds at all.

Everyone had told me to make sure I took my pain meds as ordered and not to worry about becoming addicted to them. I wasn't worried about becoming addicted to them, I just hated that they made me feel worse than no meds at all. Other than an occasional Tylenol, I don't take anything except Celebrex.

Don't use me as an example. Talk to your Dr. and your PT and they can help you decide what to do.

Good luck with your recovery. I was expecting it to be much worse than it has been.

 

[honeymom]

Just for kicks I just did a search on the painkiller I've been taking since my knee replacement surgery on December 18th. For some reason (maybe because of the drugs?), I didn't put together that oxycodone would be a generic name for OxyContin...the highly addictive narcotic that goes for about $20 a pill on the street.

I knew it had codeine in it, but didn't think much of it. I've had hydrocodone before, but now I'm worried about becoming addicted to my pain medication.

After my hysterectomy I was on oxycontin. I was able to take advil at the same time. Whenever the pain wasn't too bad, I just took the advil, filling in with the oxycontin as needed. By 10 days after the surgery, I did not need the oxycontin anymore. About a week later, I didn't need the advil either. I think people just need to push the pain threshold a little and it isn't so bad to get off the drugs.

 

[goofyforlife]

Oxycodone is the generic for Percocet, I believe... I have also taken it for my gallbladder pain and it works nicely.

Glad to see dr suggested something.... While i was waiting for mine out i was taking a full 2 pills a day and still in pain... Which is how i knew my GB was kaputz....

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Glad to see dr suggested something.... While i was waiting for mine out i was taking a full 2 pills a day and still in pain... Which is how i knew my GB was kaputz....

The dr didn't suggest it...self medicating. But I do consult with the surgeon on Thursday and will ask him about what to take.

 

[themarquis]

hehe ... you could be making lots of $$!!!

just kidding ... I'm taking a medication that is completely unrelated to the one you're on (its for anxiety) and unfortunately it is physiologically addictive like yours. I am now doing really well and am in the process of tapering off the medication. It's a pain in the butt because although I don't really need it much for my anxiety, my body gets pretty upset every time I take a smaller dose. I do experience withdrawal symptoms. The trick is to taper off very very slowly with the help of your doctor.

A lot of people freak out about the idea of taking an addictive medication, but unfortunately it cannot be helped. For the relief of severe pain or anxiety, the only meds that really work are addictive. Many people can take them for a very short period (like for example, my sis was in a bad car accident many years ago and was on a morphine pump for a few days -- a short enough period of time that addiction is not an issue). Some people, like those in your or my situation, need to take addictive meds for a longer period of time, long enough so that the body gets used to the med and gets upset if it is withdrawn.

The important thing to remember is that there is nothing wrong with addiction. It sounds so scary and terrible, but for a person who is "addicted" for a relatively short time period for a necessary reason (like severe pain), there is nothing wrong with it. Most of us associate with scary things we see on the news or on talk shows or with crack cocaine or other very dangerous recreational drugs. But medically, addiction is a natural process that happens when the body becomes used to some kinds of medication. It does not function well without the medication, and in fact, when the medication is taken away, some physical processes happen to the body that can be very uncomfortable. When I start tapering down my medication, my skin feels itchy and sensitive, and I feel nervous and have trouble sleeping.

The important thing is to not beat yourself up about it. This is a medication that is beneficial to you right now. There are not adequate alternatives that you can take to be relieved of pain. If you were to stop taking it, your pain would be severe enough to be considered more life-altering, destructive, and debilitating than the addiction could be.

The other important thing is to realize that when it is time to go off of the medication, you will be able to over time. It might take a while. Your doctor can help suggest a good schedule for tapering off. There may be some side effects. But you can handle these mild side effects if you do it slowly. At some point in time, you will be off the meds and pain-free. There will be no lasting effects from your time on the medication. You are not going to be dependent on the medication forever. But for now, it is the best thing to be doing.