Four months ago today, I had surgery to replace my right knee. Everything went great and I’m very happy with the results.

For the first eight weeks after surgery, I regularly took pain pills – oxycodone. I wasn’t concerned with becoming addicted. I believe that pain causes stress which slows down the healing process. But, with all the negative press about opioids – which oxycodone is – I’ve heard many people say they won’t take pain medication. For sure, if you know you have an addictive personality, it’s a wise decision to avoid opioids.

My plan to get caught-up with writing, movies, and reading during my recovery time didn’t happen. The pain medication subdued my brain in so many ways. I didn’t care about food – nothing appealed to me. I lost interest in sex, reading, movies, writing, talking. The oxycodone made me feel calm and kind of numb which was OK during the time I was recovering from major surgery.

My knee still hurts from time to time – it’s part of the healing process going on in there. But, it doesn’t hurt enough to warrant taking pain meds. And, I’m so happy to have my active, crazy, engaged brain back!