Yeah I went to brunch yesterday and was regretting it by the time I got home. Wasn’t terrible but I needed to rest for sure.
I’ll pass on the complication part (hopefully). Doc was right for sure… if you let the pain get ahead of you it’s rough. Had a pretty rough night last night but seem to have the pain more under control as of this morning.
I’ll definitely check it out. I have my first PT on Monday so we’ll see how it goes. Right now I can’t even imagine bending my knee. The pain involved is like fire lol
1/19
Sitting about 48 hours out from surgery and the pain is real… I’m not sure what I expected, but definitely not what I am experiencing. Guess I was just envisioning gritting my teeth and getting through it.
This is a new experience for me being that there things that I simply can’t do. If my leg is out on front of me I can’t lift it. I can look at it, but no matter what it’s not going to lift onto the foot rest unless I pick it up with my hands.
Think the recovery would really be SO much easier without the two hernias, but hey it’s done and I’ll heal.
Finally got a shower today and that was an exercise in humility. Thank God for a wife to help. I’m clean finally and ready for another nap. Happy Sunday everyone
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Take your meds right on the 6 hour mark and accept it. It’s not weakness. Set an alarm for the overnight time.
My knee surgery was the most painful. I think I went through two full prescriptions of my pain meds.
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Thanks J. Seems to hurt more at night, but probably because no one is up and I’m less distracted. I’ve been running this ice circulating machine almost non stop. It is awesome. I’ll take your advice and stay on top of the meds. Man they make me stupid though. Like it’s hard to put together this post. Feel like I have a 75 IQ lol.
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As someone who’s never had to undergo surgery I’m still curious as to what the medical view is on the role of inflammation in the healing process. Like, is the medication you are prescribed primarily meant to mask the pain? Are anti-inflammatories recommended for/against?
Ice, I suppose, is a way to decrease inflammation, but at the same time would it not also be restrict blood-type flow in the area thus delaying the healing process? A hot bath with Epsom salt would also be be anti-inflammatory but also bring blood and nutrients into the part(s) of the body that are under reconstruction. I’m thinking out loud here, not trying to be critical.
I suppose extra calories and protein would also be help.
Are you keeping up with your GH shots? Hopefully so. It will pay off.
I’m sure you know this but you can alternate ibuprofen with Tylenol every 2 hours since they have different pathways towards pain relief.
Give it a few more days and the pain will be more manageable
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Meds are like weight lifting - find the minimum dose necessary to get the desired results. Try cutting them in half if you think you can tolerate it. I’d still take the full dose at night, though.
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I just took one hydrocodone instead of two. We’ll see… two at night for sure though. Makes sleeping much easier.
@Voxel
I’m not sure on your question. I know the hydrocodone is to mask pain but it’s paired with acetemenephen which is anti inflammatory. Baths off limits because I can’t get the incision wet yet.
I’d assume it’s kind of like taking medicine for a fever. Want to keep it low enough that your not miserable and then let the body do it’s thing
I’m no doctor, but I believe the theory behind opiods is to numb out the pain and get through the constant pain part. Most people start feeling better (less pain at rest) 2-4 weeks post op. It’s too early to stress the surgery through a bit of knee bend, but that will start feeling good eventually as Jack weans off the brace.
Ice, to my knowledge, has not been shown to decrease inflammation, but is used transiently for comfort, a numbing effect, and reducing swelling. Inflammation is a process that will continue after the ice is removed daily.
The ice is a huge pain reliever post-op.
The type of procedure is a factor in the post-op plan. I couldn’t take any anti-inflammatory meds for awhile after my biceps tendon surgery. I can’t remember if it was two or six weeks.
just so you know, acetaminophen is not anti inflammatory. It’s Tylenol, which is not a NSAID. Now, you don’t have any sort of substance abuse problem, and for people who don’t and aren’t at high risk for it, after a painful and extensive surgery, you should take what you need to numb the pain. I give 0 shits about that, haha. Just letting you know that Tylenol is not an NSAID, and a lot of people take it like it is. Motrin/Advil/Ibuprofen, or Naproxen/Aleve are NSAIDs and will help with swelling. Tylenol is nothing more than a pain reliever, so mixed with oxy it’s like mixing whiskey with beer - one’s just a lot stronger, but they do something similar.
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Interesting. I went digging on T-nation as a follow-up (of course there was an article), but what I found didn’t speak much to the subject of medication but the article is heavily centered on inflammation and its role in healing,
This seems to be a reasonable approach,
So, in the end, the key is not to load up on all of these anti-inflammatory supplements at once. Rather, focus on foods rich in natural inflammation modulating agents such as these below, only supplementing if inflammation becomes a major/chronic problem (this would likely be discussed with your physician first).
Also. Calories.
Hold up gents, I’ll get back to you guys on the medical stuff. I prefer typing on my pc instead of mobile.
I feel like I don’t even know what day it is. I napped too much yesterday and ended up being up most of the night in pain. I’m taking my meds on time but man this pain is intense. I have my first PT appointment here in about two hours. It’ll at least be interesting to get the cause off and see what the knee looks like. I’m sure it’s gonna be fat and bruised.
I’m m beginning to think that one week off of work isn’t very realistic. Might need to start thinking about getting coverage for an additional week.
I’m seeing a very slight improvement in hernia pain and swelling, but I don’t think the knee pain and swelling has peaked yet. Just seems to get a little more intense each day.
Gonna try to not nap quite as much today and hopefully sleep much better tonight
I’m confused - I thought it was by definition NOT a NSAID, as this article explicitly states.
I can’t find an article anywhere where it’s referred to as an NSAID.
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Shaddup, clown dick.
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Hey Jack hope you’ll get back quickly.
Pain is part of it, it’ll pass just take the meds as needed. @Frank_C said it.
Time to watch some series or great movies. Chocolate and cakes are your friends.
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1/22
No weigh in. Last night was a rough one. I pushed it harder in PT than I should have and am paying for it with swelling and ROM. That’s a bit mentally tough. I know this will be a slow process but can’t help but get ancy and want faster progress.
Swelling is strangely more in my shin/calf/ankle area and the knee itself isn’t too bad. For now the PT exercises are pretty easy. Hopefully the difficulty will ramp up. She mentioned trying the bike on Friday so I’m looking forward to that.
Just taking it one day at a time at this point and napping a lot. Will be good do get back to trainin. Hopefully next week!
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