Almost 6 weeks post op/painkiller q

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I had anterior/posterior surgery about 6 weeks ago with Dr.

Rand in Boston. The surgery went well although I had an allergic

reaction to the surgical tape (lucky me). I stayed in the hospital

8 days.

I'm doing fairly well now. I found the first three weeks to be

hard, dealing with side effects from the pain killers (some fun

stomach issues) and just getting moving again. These days, I'm

going for walks of about 20-25 minutes once a day and starting to

work remotely from home.

I was told I could drive at 6 weeks, if I am off all painkillers. I

am still taking MS Contin. I was wondering how long folks stayed on

painkillers post surgery. How long did it take you to get off them

once you started trying? I've been told to do it gradually, take

one less every few days but I'm still having withdrawl symptoms -

sweats, chills, headaches, etc. I'm almost tempted to accelerate

the process, deal with the symptoms and get it overwith.

BTW, I've been wondering about how to shave my legs so thanks for

the posting on that topic

[Guest guest]

I was on OxyContin for 4 months after surgery - not because I needed it for pain so much but that I needed to very slowly wean off. The first month after surgery I took 40 mg twice a day. The second month I took 20 mg twice a day. The third month I took 10 mg twice a day, and then finally the last month I took 10 mg once a day. I had no problems withdrawing from the medication by doing it this slowly.

And I did start driving about 4 weeks after surgery even though I was on narcotics. They do not make me drowsy or cause any problems for me.

Peggy

[ ] Almost 6 weeks post op/painkiller q

Hi,I had anterior/posterior surgery about 6 weeks ago with Dr. Rand in Boston. The surgery went well although I had an allergic reaction to the surgical tape (lucky me). I stayed in the hospital 8 days.I'm doing fairly well now. I found the first three weeks to be hard, dealing with side effects from the pain killers (some fun stomach issues) and just getting moving again. These days, I'm going for walks of about 20-25 minutes once a day and starting to work remotely from home.I was told I could drive at 6 weeks, if I am off all painkillers. I am still taking MS Contin. I was wondering how long folks stayed on painkillers post surgery. How long did it take you to get off them once you started trying? I've been told to do it gradually, take one less every few days but I'm still having withdrawl symptoms - sweats, chills, headaches, etc. I'm almost tempted to accelerate the process, deal with the symptoms and get it overwith.BTW, I've been wondering about how to shave my legs so thanks for the posting on that topic

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

Whether or not to take meds and when post revision people get off

them varies greatly on this site. Some are able to taper down or take

a pain killer that is not so strong. Some in a few months/some in

years. Some are med free and some are on meds for years. I can not

give an average since it varies so much among members. I can tell you

this, I do not know that " cold turkey " is the way to do it. Besides

shocking your system, you might find the pain is not really

tolerable. Six weeks is not long and I wouldn't push it but I

would check with your doctor on it. I went med free at three months

and found I was pardon the expression, " tearing everybodys head off "

not knowing really I was doing it because I still had pain. I went on

a lesser pain killer for the next three months and then became med

free again. That time I tolerated it. So, I guess my .02 cents is,

know your body, talk to your doctor about a lesser pain killer and

about your desire to go cold turkey. Mostly, know your body and pay

attention to if it is too early for you to be off meds. Good luck.

>

> Hi,

>

> I had anterior/posterior surgery about 6 weeks ago with Dr.

> Rand in Boston. The surgery went well although I had an allergic

> reaction to the surgical tape (lucky me). I stayed in the hospital

> 8 days.

>

> I'm doing fairly well now. I found the first three weeks to be

> hard, dealing with side effects from the pain killers (some fun

> stomach issues) and just getting moving again. These days, I'm

> going for walks of about 20-25 minutes once a day and starting to

> work remotely from home.

>

> I was told I could drive at 6 weeks, if I am off all painkillers.

I

> am still taking MS Contin. I was wondering how long folks stayed

on

> painkillers post surgery. How long did it take you to get off them

> once you started trying? I've been told to do it gradually, take

> one less every few days but I'm still having withdrawl symptoms -

> sweats, chills, headaches, etc. I'm almost tempted to accelerate

> the process, deal with the symptoms and get it overwith.

>

> BTW, I've been wondering about how to shave my legs so thanks for

> the posting on that topic

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Congratulations - I bet it feels good to be "on the other side"... I wish you much healing and a successful recovery!

Ken.

[ ] Almost 6 weeks post op/painkiller q

Hi,I had anterior/posterior surgery about 6 weeks ago with Dr. Rand in Boston. The surgery went well although I had an allergic reaction to the surgical tape (lucky me). I stayed in the hospital 8 days.I'm doing fairly well now. I found the first three weeks to be hard, dealing with side effects from the pain killers (some fun stomach issues) and just getting moving again. These days, I'm going for walks of about 20-25 minutes once a day and starting to work remotely from home.I was told I could drive at 6 weeks, if I am off all painkillers. I am still taking MS Contin. I was wondering how long folks stayed on painkillers post surgery. How long did it take you to get off them once you started trying? I've been told to do it gradually, take one less every few days but I'm still having withdrawl symptoms - sweats, chills, headaches, etc. I'm almost tempted to accelerate

the process, deal with the symptoms and get it overwith.BTW, I've been wondering about how to shave my legs so thanks for the posting on that topic

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

[Guest guest]

Thanks to all who replied to my message.

I had reduced my MS Contin successfully from 3 to 2 pills a day (45

mg down to 30 mg). Apparently, I tried to get to 1 a day too

quickly. It was not worth it - I had insomnia, chills, sweats,

stomach aches, headaches. I also began to feel some post surgical

pain that I had not noticed before.

I'm now back on 2 a day. I have some pain but am able to work a

couple of hours a day from home, walk, etc. According to Dr. Rand's

office, the withdrawl symptoms will not be as bad if I give my body

more time to adjust to each step down. I may try again in a week or

two but am not in a hurry.

This site was helpful in making my decision -- I realized that 6

weeks was too soon. Thanks everyone.

I'm so glad to be on the other side of the surgery instead of

counting down to when it would finally happen.

Thanks again for all the help.

>

> Hi ,

>

> I am glad to hear you are doing so well. It all takes time...and

the

> early healing really is the hardest....but you will also see the

most

> progress, so it's kind of exciting too. Later on you start to

think

> you " should " be healed, and everyone else around you wants you to

be

> healed....but truely it will be a long while until you feel pretty

> much " yourself " , day in and day out. Much closer to 12-18 months

than

> you would believe.

>

> I guess that is a long way around saying that at 6 weeks you would

> almost be setting a record to be off all meds. It think the range

> here generally falls more in the 2-6 months before folks are not

> taking anything routinely...and there certainly are many patients

> that are on lifetime maintenance doses so that they can be up and

> around and living their lives. I am not sure what their driving

> restrictions are....but I am pretty sure that due to liability no

> doctor is going to tell you that it is okay to drive on narcotic

meds.

>

> I have read that a very quick withdrawal of MS Contin is a very

bad

> idea and stepping down should only be done as instructed by your

> doctor. It would not be unusual to have far worse side effects

than

> you have experienced so far....and what would you have gained?

> Another few weeks and if things go well you may find you are able

to

> tapered down to where you can stop. You could also ask if you can

> switch to another medication as you step down that might permit

you

> to miss some of the side effects.

>

> I was on Endocet(which I think is off the market now)...its a

> percocet/tylenol combo, and to step down I upped my tylenol

> (carefully since that also is toxic at certain levels)as it's

action

> in the pill is to enhance the narcotic. I think MS Contin is

longer

> acting...but with the percocet at a 4 hour dosing, once I started

to

> stretch it out (around 8 weeks) I could do it a little at a time.

> Anyway....it was done under DrRand guidance, so please, please,

> please don't do anything without talking to him (or through

> Priscilla).

>

> I bet at this point you don't realize how much the meds are doing

for

> you, keeping the stiffness at bay...so tread carefully.

>

> I am glad you have liked all the shaving tips. It takes time to

get

> where you can manage all the details of your body again...but you

> will find solutions or ability eventually!

>

> Take Care, Cam

>

[Guest guest]

,

Glad to hear you are at peace with your current regime and are giving

it all a bit more time. I know there is this feeling that if you

hurry to get off the meds you will be " better " ...but I think the

reverse might be true for many of us.

Coming off the meds you will find you are much stiffer and sorer than

you might expect a lot of the time...and that is kind of a

disincentive to move around a lot....which makes making your walking

goals kind of tough!

I returned to work around 4 months and for the first 2 weeks I could

barely get through the day I was so tired and stiff. After a few

weeks it got better, but comparatively, that was more than 2x further

from surgery than you are.

I know you will get there when the time is right. If you can actually

focus on work at 6 weeks you are my hero!

Take Care, Cam