What did he have done? Was it an accident, ACL? Torn ligaments usually end up with a lot of screws. I hope he's having a measure of success with the drip. I had a nerve block (went in upper thigh) and a patient controlled drip initially following my surgery. Once they pulled the block tube (4 days following surgery) and it wore off I found the drip to be totally ineffective even though I could push the button every 15 minutes or so. It would help but wore off very quickly. It was much better for me to have injections and even pills.
The pain management therapists told me that pills actually gave the longest level of relief of anything except the nerve block. I thought they were blowing smoke at first but found what they said to be true. Tell him to make sure they give him the right dose. Pills come in a fixed amount and it's very easy for them to give what ever amount the pills are made in regardless of body weight or tolerance. Having recently gone through a multi-level spinal fusion and knee replacement I'm a firm believer that if someone is in pain they should do what it takes to get on top of it and stay there at least for the first couple weeks. It's much easier to maintain that level of comfort than letting it wear off, start hurting again and then trying to once again get on top of it. It gets really old having a nurse come in and ask you what level of pain (1-10) you are in. I think that human nature wants to say I'm getting better and it's less than last time. For me and I believe others this often isn't the case. Steve, please tell Patrick that Dr. GearHead told him to make sure and do this.
ray: for a speedy recovery for Holland_Patrick who had some major surgery on his knee yesterday ..
:yikes:
