Hi @lblazina, welcome to Connect. I am 9 days post op for total knee replacement for my right knee. I also was a little worried about the spinal tap and the nerve block since I have idiopathic small fiber peripheral neuropathy in both legs but I only have numbness and no pain. My doctor prescribed oxycodone 5 mg immediate release tablets (qty 15) for every 4 hours as needed for pain when the Tylenol 625 mg doesn't help enough. I've been taking Tylenol every 6 hours and it seems to be doing the job for me. I haven't had to take any of the oxycodone tablets. I would have a discussion with your doctor or surgeon about your concerns. My care team did a great job explaining all of the details and possible side effects with me to help alleviate some of the fears I had. I know there is always some risk in surgery but hopefully it's minimal.

I can tell you the second day was the hardest for me which I think is when the nerve block wears off. I still didn't have the piercing pain I was expecting but it was more an ache and soreness. Also the leg still looks like a watermelon so I'm hoping the swelling goes down this next week. I had surgery on the same knee back in the 70s to remove some torn cartilage and they gave me a spinal tap then too. The anesthesiologist really scared me when he came in and made me sign a release in case something went wrong with the spinal tap. I had second thoughts about the surgery but it was quite a treat for me to watch the surgery in the glass cabinets at the side of the room even though they had a sheet blocking my view of the surgeon and his team.

What is your biggest fear?