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Physical Therapy with or without pain medication?
Bones, Joints & Muscles | Last Active: Feb 5, 2023 | Replies (38)Comment receiving replies
Thanks for the comments. I just had hip replacement, 6 days ago, and am experiencing a lot of pain, but have resisted taking narcotic pain meds, however, want more info or suggestions from people that have been through it. I don't want to be sleepy/drowsy if possible. And especially not stomach sick. I was nauseated after the surgery and vomited a couple of times. I'd like to avoid the harsh side effects of narcotics. I was prescribed oxycodin for one, and extra strength tylenol, but have resisted taking the oxycodin because I'm afraid of the side effects BUT the pain is very difficult to deal with. So not sure what to do. My health care practitioner knows I'm a crazy person and tries to work with me kindly. He wants me to take the pain meds. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, in other words, if taking the pain meds (strong ones) will help me heal faster. I gotta heal. Thanks.
Replies to "Thanks for the comments. I just had hip replacement, 6 days ago, and am experiencing a..."
Hi @cindiwass, my husband broke his hip and had surgery. He was in rehab, and they wanted him to get moving right away. The doctor prescribed Oxycodone, but because he has Alzheimer's, it was risky. We made do with tylenol, two 325 mg pills, which is the recommended dosage, taken about a half hour before his physical therapy and he did fine. He did not need it constantly. I think that it's best not to let pain get a grip because it just intensifies. Also, ask your doctor if an infrared heating pad would help. It reduces pain while it's on and increases blood flow, but it may not be advisable at this point in your recovery. I wish you the best.
Take the pain meds, smallest effective dose as prescribed. The workouts will be more effective, even though not completely pain-free. Most worthwhile goals involve at least a little pain, but too much pain can cause you to avoid effective exercises and other therapies. How much pain or pain meds is too much? Your physical therapist can help you figure that out.
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@cindiwass : Excuse my additional comment here - I did not see/read your original post until just now. Regarding prescription pain killers, I really do not like them for their side effects, but I found it necessary to take them for a few days after major surgeries. Especially the shoulder surgeries, which were extremely painful afterwards. Tylenol does not really do much, if anything, for me, so I relented and took the Hydrocodone, Oxycontin, whatever I was given. But: once I decided I needed to take them, I did it on the set schedule - it is easier to keep pain at bay then to wait until you can’t stand it anymore, and the try to catch up. For me that extreme pain lasted about 4 - 5 days. There certainly!!! was a lot of pain still, but not to the point where it was all-consuming, so day 5 I started to stretch the daytime intervals to 6 hours, kept 4 hour schedule at night (after 10). Easing up more every day until only 1 Oxy at bed time, then done. Lots of ice, lots of mental tricks (listening to great music while doing the painful PT exercises, doing brain teasers to distract when pain hit), using lots of ice to keep surgery area numb. It is everyone’s choice whether to take opioids or not. For me the short period of using/needing them was the right decision.