Mulish & Co.

Post-Operative Pain Management and Dreams

I've stopped all of the prescription pain meds and switched to ibuprofen. The anesthesiologist called this evening, and I am so grateful. He said most of post-operative nausea/vomitting is due to pain meds and I can believe it. I can't even keep all the names straight - percodan or percocet then a switch to Nucynta.

The Nucynta was the mildest but still made me queasy and gave me horrendous nightmares in which all innocent little animals were hateful violent. I had one dream in which I was attacked by a giant butterfly, bashing it's purple wings into my face. The fright! It also gave me auditory hallucinatons and I was hearing all sorts of scary things. When I felt chest pain with painful breathing I stopped altogether. I'm not going to keel over dead from pain management after a knee surgery.

I went to physical therapy (PT) this morning and it was a good slow start. I have a lot of apprehension. The poor guy bent my knee upward while I grimaced and groaned and when he asked on a scale of 1 - 10 how I'd rate the pain with one being the most bearable and ten being the least, I said through gritted teeth,

"About a one."

"A one?!"

"Well, maybe a one and a half. It was really uncomfortable."

That was characteristic of all interaction and then he threw in my biggest fear. The muscle stimulator aka ELECTROCUTION. He saw the fear immediately and knew it was real when I asked if he was going to taze me like in Cops. He had to explain everything. Lucky for me the muscle stimulator was left for another day. For the most part the appointment went as expected but towards the end I felt very, very sick again.

The wonderful Dr. Ali was helpful when I told him I was considering stopping the opiates. He said he could call in a nasal spray that was a very mild pain med but I declined. I feel like I can chase pain meds for days and only find the right one when I was on the mend. The meds aren't astronomical with insurance but they do add up and I was told that each day further out from surgery would be less painful. Dr. Ali recommended taking both ibuprofen and Tylenol (acetaminaphine) together. He said they are two different classes of drugs and work well together for pain management.He did say that you had to make sure to take them every 4 hours because they're excreted through the kidneys.

So this is the regimen I have started. I started with ibuporfen until we pick up Tylenol tomorrow. I took a nap and had dreams of getting beat up by an angry elephant that threw me off of a building and then jumped down on top of me. I thought I was going to die. I can only hope that this is not an sign of things to come.

ACL Recovery Part II

All I can think about is taking a shower or at least wash my hair. If anyone has any special secret or technique please let me know.

I'm doing my best to reply to all comment but I may miss a few. It seems that doing any one thing for too long makes the nausea rear its ugly head. I read a little bit about post-surgery nausea and vomiting and I am perfect match for all the likeliest candidates: female, non-smoker, prone to motion sickness and...there was one more thing but I can't remember.

The new pain med is good but stil brings on light nausea but no vomiting. I can't stand being nauseated and I wish I could throw up. I am having intense hot flashes. That doesn't help at all.

In fact, I have to cut this short. Thank you all so much. Your support means everything to me.

Nurse Slip ON DUTY!

ACL Recovery

I called the physical therapy office an hour before my appointment and told them that I had every intention of showing up but they needed to be forewarned, I had turned into a puking machine and let go every 2 to 4 hours. They offered to reschedule.

I was also given a prescription for a pukeless pain reliever. It costs as much as all five meds we picked up yesterday.

That is all.

Stanley

The most disturbing thing about Stanley is his absolute refusal to be cooperative. This, for example, happened last night. I was crutching my way back to bed after a bathroom break and I thought I brought Stanley forward. I did, but only halfway. My toes got caught under the ball of my foot causing Stanley to drag by the top of the foot along the carpet. My next step, with my good leg put my good foot directly ON TOP of Stanely giving the sensation that I had just stepped on a corpse foot. I was stepping on my own feet (thus proving that I may actually have 2 left feet afterall). It was a sickening feeling in so many ways. I guess it will be these litle things that make the recovery difficult.

They said at the surgery center that it was going to be hell when Stanley left. We'll see.

Just One Thing

I've got one thing to say....Oxycodone. And I can't move my toes because I had a whole leg nerve block. It's wild. A lot like I'm dragging around a dead guy's leg. I named him Stanley. Stanley and I do everything together. He's kind if a drag but he grows on you after awhile. Did I say one thing? I don't know what I was thinking. It's the drugs. Forgive me.

Just One Thing

I've got one thing to say....Oxycodone. And I can't move my toes because I had a whole leg nerve block. It's wild. A lot like I'm dragging around a dead guy's leg. I named him Stanley. Stanley and I do everything together. He's kind if a drag but he grows on you after awhile. Did I say one thing? I don't know what I was thinking. It's the drugs. Forgive me.