Surgery

Hi . It can be scary going into surgery, knowing you are unable to take the strongest and most common post-op pain medication. We have plenty of people in this community who have successfully undergone knee replacement. Hopefully, they will chime in here. I do not have MS (My father did.), but I can speak to surgery without pain meds. My nephew became addicted to pain meds after he was given them while in the hospital, and died after a 15-year battle. So, I feel strongly about doing without when possible. I went through two foot surgeries with no pain meds after. One surgery involved cutting out a chunk of tendon and sewing the remaining tendon to another. I had no pain meds in the hospital after surgery. Instead of a prescription for pain meds, I was sent home with a continuous ice machine. (I think they are commonly used after surgery on any limb now.). It is basically a small cooler that you fill with ice water. The coolers is attached to a hose and a piece that wraps around your knee, foot, hand or arm. It circulates cold water around the surgery site constantly and significantly reduces pain. After both surgeries, I was fine with just Tylenol. (That is until the pain from the nerve the doctor damaged kicked in, but that is another story. ) My daughter also used an ice machine with no pain meds for her two knee surgeries (ACL). Insurance doesn't always cover the machine, but it is worth it. You might even be able to borrow one from someone who had knee surgery already. Just make sure you bring it to the hospital on surgery day and that you have bagged ice at home to us with it. You will need more than your ice maker can make. I hope this helps and that your surgery is a huge success. Keep us posted if you feel comfortable doing so. Thinking of you. - Lori (Team Member)

Thanks for your encouragement!

, Such a timely discussion. I need to write about my recent total knee replacement surgery that took place 7 weeks ago. The medications my surgeon prescribed for home use after surgery included celebrex (for one month) which I had not been taking previously, gabapentin (at higher doses than I had been taking), aspirin (for one month to avoid blood clots), and dilaudid (hydromorphone hydrochloride, which was refilled once) for pain control. The anesthesiologist also installed a device in my thigh after surgery that provided nerve blocking medication for a couple of days. It was very helpful. Be sure to talk to your surgeon about different pain relieving options. One thing I found very helpful was almost constant use of ice as well. The hospital sent me home with extra ice packs that could be strapped around my leg. My surgeon also required almost immediate (48 hours after surgery) outpatient PT to begin. I think that early and aggressive PT made a huge difference in my recovery which is still ongoing.
Best wishes, Lisa, MS Team Member

Hi Lisa! Thanks for the info! When I had my spinal function is was worried about the MS. Great suggestion I woul have to say about the chronic pain I have in the spine going down the right leg. I know it will be tough but know the longer I wait the back an hopefully not the MS would be worse. Just another challenge in life! I hope you are recovering well!