@hnbmomof3 I had thumb joint replacement in Jan 2018 and had the tendon harvested from my forearm. I remember when the nerve block came out about 24 hours after surgery that the pain was moderate. I took the 5mg of Oxycodone for the first day and found it made me sick. After that I used ice and ibuprofen for a week and it was manageable. The first cast was open on the top and rigid on the thumb and bottom of forearm. At the 2 week check they put the permanent full cast on and it was fine the first 2 weeks, then for some reason it swelled so bad I felt my arm and hand were in a vice so they removed it and re-did the cast. That lasted a week and swelling came back so they molded the brace for my thumb and forearm which was open on the top again and I had that for 3 months. It is a long recovery of 3 months, you don't start to move it or do PT until the end of 2 months in a cast. I did not think the pain was as bad as you are experiencing, but not the exact same since you had Pyrocarbon. I hope you get some relief from the pain. And be patient during the 3 month recovery it will be over before you know it and your hand should feel much better each month. I felt like the 6 month mark was when I felt normal again.