I had my right knee replaced three days ago, Tuesday, April 4 2023. I was sent home the same
day as the surgery, as is the policy for the orthopedic surgery center were I received the knee.
I was as home by 6 pm. I walked every two hours until 10 pm. That is when the excruciating pain hit me and my restless leg started in my surgery leg. Around midnight, I called my surgeon's office and was told the doctor on call would call me. Around 2am, I got a call from a very grumpy person who did not identify himself. I asked if he was from the surgery center. His reply was this " I am the doctor you woke up in the middle of the night." My reply was this, " Why are you on call when you are sleeping?" He hung up on me.
To make a long story short and being desperate with pain, I just doubled up my painkillers until my doctor called at 7am. I got no pain relief and was writhing in pain all night. When I spoke to my surgeon at 7am he suggested what I had already done, to take two hydrocodone instead of one. I told him that I had already done that and it did not work. He then told me that I should expect a pain level between 7-8 after a total knee surgery. I had a pain level of 10 for 12 hrs and lost a nights sleep doubled up in pain. He finally gave me a prescription of torodol. Now, I feel like my pain is under control and I can work towards recovery.
This was my second TKR. My first was on, November 1, 2022. Narcotic pain killer did not work then ever. For this surgery they switched from Oxycodone to Hydrocodone. The switch did not help the pain .I don't have thyroid. It was removed in 2013 and maybe that is why these narcotics don't work for me. But my surgeon believes that surgery cannot be done without narcotics. Is this true?

Anyway, it just stinks that an on call doctor thinks he deserves more sleep than a surgery patient.