Had hip replacement 6 weeks ago.On 1000mg paracetemol and 60mg codeine 4 times a day pain relief. Had no advice about how long I should take this medication or how to manage coming off it.
Would love a drink at Christmas. How long should I be on painkillers and can I get off them this week?
I only took paracetamol once I got home and had stopped by six weeks when I was able to drive. My sister and I checked all the data sheets from tablets I had been given on if I could drink alcohol or not. I know I had had a drink or two within six weeks. Check the data sheets.
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Thankyou.But I don't know anything about data sheets.
It is the printed instructions that you get when you buy any medicine in the packet with the product.
If the hospital pharmacy dispenses meds on discharge, you don’t always get the Patient information leaflet!
That is true, but they are always available on the internet. Whether one can drink alcohol with the tablets is always the first thing I check!!
Yes but as we know, some don't think to look... and no comment about you & alcohol 😀🤣
I often wonder who does read the data sheets. I read them from end to end. There was one I was checking with my sister and the first side effect was death! Reading the other side effects death seemed preferable. At least you could drink alcohol though.
🤣 sorry made me laugh though it could be scary for some to read that.
oh, that’s alright then..go out happy! 🤣😂
That is not a massive dose considering your major surgery. I would wean off gradually, for a further few weeks, maybe with the help of a pill cutter. Just incase you feel unwell. I imagine that a moderate Christmas drink would be fine. My dad called it the oldest anaesthetic in the world.
We don’t know exactly what other tablets GJPG may be on, so we should be careful about saying he can drink alcohol, even one glass. I was on a host of tablets when I left hospital.
yes he’d better check with the doctor who has the whole picture.
Thankyou, but not having experienced anything like this before I have no idea about dosage reduction , timescales etc, etc and I'm very nervous ,about1. Not managing pain, sleep
2. Having an appropriate safe plan for the reduction.
3. How much drink I can manage with what level of reduction.
Does that all make sense?
Taking four 60 mg. of codeine daily is 240 mg. daily. That dose needs to be slowly reduced by at least one pill a week before drinking alcohol. If you tolerate that reduction, you should be able to begin minimal alcohol consumption in a month.
Yet, 1000 mg. paracetamol (4 times daily) is a lot for the liver to process, too. Hoping you can also reduce that medication soon.
I agree that once you’ve reduced these meds in the next 4 to 6 weeks AND you’re not on any other medications, you should be able to handle a cocktail or beer. Everyone is different, so if you have adequate pain relief after reducing these meds in the next couple of months, you should be on track to stop them within 6 months post op.
Best wishes for healing and a great New Year!
Thankyou
chat to your pharmacist. He will say gradually reduce your painkillers, listening to your body as you go. He might suggest an alternative painkiller
Unless you’ve had problems with painkillers and alcohol before, there’s no reason not to have a drink
Have you tried just not taking the painkillers? You might find your don't need them at all. I was on the same as you before my hip replacement but didn't take any at all after. And I didn't stop drinking in moderation!!
You shouldn’t still need that amount of pain meds 6 weeks after operation - and have you seen surgeon for follow up appointment?
Paracetamol you can probably stop fairly easily, maybe reduce number of times taken per day over a week or so -codeine is a bit more tricky - need to speak to GP or pharmacist.
link is Patient info Leaflet piglette refers to -but picture is specific info on weaning off -
medicines.org.uk/emc/files/...
Me -3 replacement surgeries, didn’t require medication that long for any of them.
you should still be ok with the paracetamol and a couple of drinks but need to take care with the codeine. You shouldn’t just stop taking it though. In my experience (had a knee replacement 4 years ago) I would say to slowly cut down this week. Maybe today cut every other dose in half and see how you go. If you’re ok then try every dose in half the next day. Then try missing an occasional dose and so on. Or you might find it easier to stick to 4 doses and reduce each dose down a little each day til you stop. I think it may be difficult to stop completely before Christmas but it depends on your pain levels and how you tolerate withdrawal. If you’re on a tiny dose by Christmas I would think you’d be ok to have the odd drink - but take it easy! 😊
Definitely speak to either your pharmacy or ring doctors surgery. They may do a telephone consultation or at least offer advice.
It sounds as if you’re struggling in general still so I’m going to make a couple of suggestions that you might already be doing.
1. Make sure that you are doing your exercises three times a day- when getting up, lunchtime and going to bed.
2. Go to bed at your usual time every night and do everything that you can to make sure that you don’t sleep during the day or evening.
Good luck 🤞
Be careful with stopping codeine, do it gradually. It does seem quite a high dose 3 times a day at this stage though you don’t say which form of codeine you are taking. As for alcohol I don’t drink after taking a far lesser dose of codeine but everyone reacts differently to pain killers. I would imaging your tablets have some kind of name on the box they are in so even if in generic form you could still look them up on google for instructions and guidance. If still unsure then a chat with your pharmacist is a good idea as others have suggested.
Is there a discharge sheet in your info, I had a sheet with my meds on it not sure if info about when to stop/wean off. Assume you've been discharged to your GP can you do an Econsult about the matter?
I was deffo off the codeine within 4 weeks but we're all different in our needs pain wise.
Hope you get the info you require 😊
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