Doctor Gives Perspective on Percocet Post Knee Surgery

Here I am five days post knee surgery and still taking percocet, a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen. I was prescribed 1-2 pills every 4hrs for pain. The strength prescribed was the second weakest (Percocet 5/325 – 5mg oxycodone/325mg acetaminophen). I rarely ever take pain medication even though I have been in chronic knee pain for years. I do utilize cryotherapy (application of ice) often and will be throughout this rehabilitation.

One to Three Days Post Surgery

After the surgery the first day revolved around making sure I took two percocets every 4hrs. The pain was almost unbearable even at this dosage and I was very happy to be taking it. I also needed to ‘bridge’ the 4hr window a few times with Ibuprofen (which was a recommendation in my pain management strategy).

Day Two – I continued on this regime but started noticing a very unpleasant side effect – urinary retention and constipation. The constipation is to be expected seeing as I’ve been forced to be very sedentary (unable to walk). But the urinary retention is awful – especially considering I have taught nursing students at George Brown College about kidney pathology. More on that to come.

Day Three – I still continued this regime but the retention was worsening and a new symptom appeared – itching of the skin. This got me very concerned as I made the connection from teaching kidney pathology that if you are not getting urinary clearance (normal pee pees) then nitrogenous wastes can start to build up in the bloodstream. This causes itching in the skin. I also noticed that I was starting to feel nausea and dizziness (other kidney pathology signs). This was a red flag to me that I needed to reduce my dependence on Percocet even if it meant I would have to deal with more pain.

Day Four and Onward

It may have been co-incidence but within hours of switching to one percocet every four hours I had my first bowel movement 🙂 Taking a pee also became easier. Wow – I was starting to feel like a human again!

As of day five I still take one every four hours except at night when I go 6-8hrs without a pill.

Overall I am very thankful to have the percocets to get me over this very painful part of the post surgery process. I can also see why this drug is highly addictive. I have no worries of addiction though as the side effects far outweigh the benefits in my opinion for long term usage and speaking of effects:

Here are my Top 7 Worst Side Effects of Percocet:

1. Urinary Retention
2. Constipation
3. Dry Mouth
4. Lightheaded
5. Difficulty Sleeping
6. Dizziness
7. Itching

Here my Top 4 Best Perks of Percocet:

1. Pain Relief
2. Body Buzz
3. Optimism
4. Appreciation of Sights/Smells/Sounds

This post is also featured on The GoodLife Blog.