Starting

Mom's Recovery Clock

Right hand · tenolysis & contracture release · surgery Fri 28 Aug, 7:15 am

Next due
—
—

Tylenol only · last 24 h —

Oxycodone supply
Every dose, scheduled or extra, comes out of the same 8 tablets.
When the block wears off

The nerve block wears off somewhere between this evening and tomorrow morning — most likely overnight. It can go from fully numb to intense in under an hour.

  • Set an alarm for each dose. The surgeon wrote it down: "Wake yourself up out of sleep when due for a dose."
  • Give the doses even while she feels fine. Numb now says nothing about 2 am, and catching up is far harder than staying ahead.
  • Oxycodone at the first tingling or pins-and-needles, not once it hurts.
Warning signs
M Health Fairview
Main OR, Minneapolis612-884-0600 Fairview Pharmacy
University Clinic612-676-4100
Dr. Wu's office / after hours
not yet on file — add from the packet—

Call rather than waiting for:

  • Nausea and vomiting — the discharge sheet says call, and she has a history of pain medication making her sick
  • Fingers going white, blue, dusky or cold; a dressing or splint that feels tight
  • Pain getting worse rather than better after the first two days, or pain you cannot get on top of
  • Fever, spreading redness, or drainage
  • No bowel movement by day three
Doctor's instructions

"Take 1–2 tablets of extra strength Tylenol 500 mg every 6 hours. Next dose due at 12:30pm. Also take Aleve 220 mg (1 tab) morning and night."

"If you are taking other Tylenol containing medicines at home, be sure NOT to exceed 4 gram's (4000 milligrams) of Tylenol per day."

"Take on a schedule basis until you haven't needed the narcotic/opioid for 24 hours. Wake yourself up out of sleep when due for a dose. Once you have gone 24 hours without a narcotic/opioid, you can then start to taper down on this medication."

oxyCODONE 5 mg — "Take 0.5–1 tablets (2.5–5 mg) by mouth every 6 hours as needed for severe pain." Signed by Edward Wu.

Ondansetron 4 mg — "Take one tablet by mouth every 8 hours as needed for nausea." Qty 20.

The printed sheet said ibuprofen; it was crossed out by hand and replaced with Aleve. The 2400 mg limit on that sheet belongs to the ibuprofen line, so it no longer applies. The Tylenol ceiling is 4000 mg a day.

Additional instructions
  • Colace (docusate) is instructed, not optional — "be sure to take Colace as well to prevent constipation."
  • No ibuprofen, Advil, Motrin or aspirin on top of the Aleve.
  • Check every other bottle in the house for acetaminophen — NyQuil, Tylenol PM, Excedrin, most cold remedies. They all count toward the same 4000.
  • Lifting limit: about a 1 lb coffee cup with that hand. Nothing heavier.
  • No driving while she is taking oxycodone.
  • Keep the schedule going until she has gone 24 hours with no oxycodone — then start tapering.