2 weeks post surgery

shazb

Hi I’m a newbie so first post on here. I have a couple of concerns that you may be able to help with. I had a THR 2 weeks ago and I feel it went really well. I can get in and out of bed, walking ok, can make a meal, wash up etc. The pain is fine, I have been on Cocodamol for the past 2 years waiting for my hip replacement, I feel like the pain doesn’t warrant taking them so I stopped a few days ago. I have felt so ill since and realise it could be withdrawal symptoms. Anyone had this problem. I’ve started taking them again and feel better but think might need the GP help? Also I’m really emotional and tearful is this normal or am I expecting too much from myself? I live on my own and don’t really want to worry my family so advice from others who understand would be helpful. Thanks

Treaksy

It may depend on the amount of cocodamol you have been using per day over the 2 years? If you are using 4 x 60mg cocodamol per day then yes I suspect there may well be with drawl symptoms. If you only use 30mg once a day (or 15mg twice per day) then that would be more unlikely. If you are using the higher end of the dose I am sure your GP would advise trying to tritrate your dose down, so taking less per day in a step wise sequence. So every week for say a month reduce your dose, but do check with your GP as with everything you may have other factors specific to you going on. Also consider that having had a big anaesthetic for your op you need time to recover from that as well. I generally feel out of sorts for some time after anaesthetic, I think that is fairly normal.

shazb

Thank you I have been taking the higher end dosage. I have made an appointment to speak to GP

Janlyn

@shazb welcome and well done on coping so well after your hip replacement. I can't help with your questions on Cocodamol as I avoided taking it pre-surgery (eight weeks ago) and found paracetamol enough afterwards. But I do think it is good to hear you've made an appointment with your GP as it does sound as though you need to withdraw more slowly.

I live alone too and I think it is easy to get emotional - we go through such a lot with the surgery and the pain of waiting and it is such a big thing to be 'on the other side'. Even, or maybe especially, when it has gone well and we are doing so much more than we've been able to do. I do think it maybe takes a long time for the anaesthetic to leave us so all you say is perfectly understandable. After two weeks I wasn't sleeping well at night but having around three deep-sleep naps during the day - without them I wouldn't have coped, and I can still need one, maybe two a day, if I do too much. Maybe you need to be kinder to yourself, listen to what your body wants, congratulate yourself on what you've achieved but most of all ask your GP about the Cocodamol.

Take care and good luck with your GP appointment.

shazb

Thank you @Janlyn for your kind, wise words. I think lack of sleep is a contributory factor, mind you not had a good nights sleep for the past 2 years 🙈. At least that constant pain has gone.

Janlyn

@shazb oh, I do understand the lack of sleep. I think at almost nine weeks post surgery I am still on 'catch-up' from lost sleep in the years before surgery plus all that's happened since. It is so good to have lost the constant pain too - I don't think I quite realised how much impact the pain and lack of sleep was having to my quality of life. We really need to take our time and be kind to ourselves.

swimmer60

@shazb

Another person living on their own here. I think you are doing brilliantly. It's a major operation and your body/mind will take time to recover, be kind to yourself. Have you got friends you could share a cuppa with, just for some company? I hadn't realised what good friends I had till after the op! Good advice above re a gradual withdrawal from co-codimal too. All drugs have side effects.

Very good idea you've got another appointment too. Good luck.

shazb

Following on I had a telephone appointment with my GP this week, he said it would take a couple of months to wean off the Cocodamol and definitely should not just stop taking them 🙈. I wish I’d never started taking them as they never really helped the pain they just helped with sleeping. On a brighter note I have been out to lunch a couple of times this week and it was such a joy to be able to get in a car no problem and also to sit at a table without having to get up every 10 minutes because of the pain. I would also like to say thank you to this lovely community it has been so helpful reading others’ experiences. It’s sometimes difficult talking to family and friends you want to shelter them from how you are feeling but it’s good to know you are not alone and someone on here will understand exactly how you are feeling.

Nurina

Starting to feel "normal" is a fantastic feeling @shazb I hope you don't have problems with the cocodamol "withdrawal" . We are here to help each others. Nobody else can understand this hard process. Take care.

Janlyn

@shazb Wishing you luck with withdrawal from Cocodamol. At least they've helped you with sleeping - so many of us have really struggled.

Really good to hear you've been out to lunch twice this week - it's amazing how good it feels isn't it? Especially when it it easier to get into and out of cars and comfortable to sit down. I honestly expecting sitting down to be so uncomfortable and it really never was.

And do keep telling us how you are doing - it really is helpful to hear stories from people who 'get it'. We do try to protect people we care about from our innermost feelings and some other people just don't realise what we are going through. It's so good we've got this community to talk to. Take care 😊

frogmorton

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/718856#Comment_718856

I hope this helps I remember it well when poor @mig had a similar problem:

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/30520/how-could-i-have-been-so-stupid

I am so pleased you are getting off these darn tablets. I have codeine but am super careful to take them only as PRN these days. Mig's tale was a lesson to me because she is such a wise person.

Toni xx

PS I think you are doing fabulously well.

shazb

Thank you everyone for your kind and supportive comments. I’m a week in now from weaning off the tablets I take 2 30mg in a morning and 2 at night, not because of pain, not taking any other painkillers as it feels like a miracle I’m pain free, just to wean off the Cocodamol 🙈. Mid afternoon seems to be the worst time feel fluey, legs ache, feel cold and I’m never cold and just generally unwell. Apart from that I think I’m doing ok I went for my first walk on my own yesterday, only 15 minutes round the block was so tired afterwards then I realised I’d been more or less housebound for the last 12 months so small steps I suppose and definitely in the right direction. Also has anyone felt overwhelmed being out in the world again? I feel like I did after Covid isolation, my daughter took me for lunch and a bit of shopping at our local shopping centre, it was so overwhelming I managed lunch but had to come home. Think I have definitely underestimated the impact this has had on my life. Anyway sorry one thing led to another there. Take care x

swimmer60

@Shaz

Yes, I felt really cold after the op., and so did a friend of mine. Her heating bills have gone through the roof! I have a heated blanket, which is wonderful. As Martin Lewis, a hero of mine says, "Heat the person not the house!"

And yes, again, I felt overwhelmed at first. My first visit to Asda was a nightmare! Too many people crowded together, too many hazards lying in wait, isles too close together. Yikes!

I was very worried about dogs jumping up at me too, and kept my trusty crutch with me, long after I didn't need it, to ward them off.

I am nearly 5 months down the line but my confidence hasn't completely returned, even now.

Take care, you are not alone1

shazb

Thanks @swimmer60 this is why this forum is so brilliant! I’ve never joined one before but was at my wit’s end and nowhere to go to ask questions and now I know voice and allay worries. A heated blanket sounds a good idea, I’ve bought one of those long cuddly hot water bottles which is very comforting. It’s not that the apartment is cold just me 🥶 I have definitely underestimated the impact that the last 18 months or so have had on my life the next step is to build confidence, get out there and make the most of this new hip. Easier said than done I know 😂.

Janlyn

@shazb i hear all you say and firstly well done with your weaning from tablets programme. No mean feat at such a relatively early stage in your recovery.

I smiled at you walking round the block on your own as i felt real triumph with such achievements but the world seemed to look at me as if to say ‘so what’. I think we spent a long time slowly slipping downhill that we didn’t really realise but we’ve suddenly been given our life back and it’s going to take some time to believe and adjust. I feel it is like Covid recovery and rehab time but so soon afterwards it’s all merging. I hadn’t quite got back so socialising, maybe never will, and had also been isolating in case of getting my surgery unexpectedly through a cancellation. I also see it as a chance for a reset and to work at the life I want and let the rest change. I know I tried to cram too much in before and am determined to try to enjoy this time.

I haven’t really felt cold as my surgery was in December and I expected to feel cold as I often do, so I wore extra clothes and did use my heating more. But the afternoon slump was a definite and I found the only way was to give in and sleep. But I do wonder if medication is taking effect with you? If you’re coming off yours by having medication morning and nighttime then maybe mid afternoon is a time you’re feeling withdrawal?

Take care and keep us updated with how you are doing, please?