My husband underwent surgery 12 months ago. His recovery has been traumatic and he is only now getting back to normal physically. However he has just told me that he has been feeling depressed since he came off his painkillers 6 months ago. He has feelings of worthlessness and feels he is has lost interest in everything. He has been going through the motions and putting on a brave face. Is this normal after this length of time. He has not told anyone about it and is worried about medication however I feel that he needs professional support. He has never felt any form of depression before and is 54. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Definitely needs to run this by the family doc. Its probably not as much coming off the meds as it is the feeling of being a little less of a man than before. Its understandable. A guy goes about life working and doing the things he wants to do and suddenly......boom.....lifecisnt what it was. You have to depend on others to help you out, take over some of your responsibilities and just not have the steam you once had. All that will com e back but on its own timetable. My dr told me that because of all the surgeries, infections, rehash etc. I'm looking at 2 years. By that time I'll be over 80 and nature will have taken a little steam out of me as well. I have a high school classmate that was recently telling a Dr friend that he just felt awful because it was taking him so long to do anything anymore. The Dr said, you damn fool, you're almost 80, you're supposed to slow down. Your husband is far to young for that so again......a sooner than later visit with your family doc.....not his surgeon.
Hi there, very sorry to hear this about your husband! I would definitely talk to your doctor about this and see what he suggests, it is not uncommon to feel down in the dumps after a tkr so at least you can tell your husband that it may reassure him but still consult your doctor or surgeon and they may put your mind at rest! All best wishes and I trust things for you both improve very soon. X
My dentist had a hip replacement and Was on tramadol. He said he was a long time and difficult coming off the drugs. It might be one of your husbands side effects. Encourage him to get ou and involved in things fun. Otherwise he might need a little help. Best wishes for the new year ahead.
Depression is one thing that most people aren't prepared to deal with after having major surgery, and post-operative depression is very common. Pain medications and loss of mobility are two common reasons why people get depressed afterwards. If your husband can stick to a regular sleep pattern and not be laid up in bed most of the day, that helps. Staying connected with family and friend and not isolating himself will also be beneficial.
If your husband just stopped taking his meds, then he will have withdrawal symptoms. If he has got this far and has only just admitted he has issues, he is a very brave man. Feelings of worthlessness and lack of interest is depression. He really needs to see his doctor. He can be prescribed antidepressants. They don't have to be long term; just a few months until he starts feeling better. They say you shouldn't just stopped taking the pills, but I believe if he is mentally strong enough, he will be able to do so. There is nothing wrong with the way he is feeling. It has nothing to do with age. He is not being a wimp. It has nothing to do with machismo. He has had a serious operation, gotten off addictive painkillers (perhaps too quickly), he should have eased off them slowly, but what is done is done. Go, get the help that is needed. With the right meds he will start feeling better within a few weeks/month. Wishing you all the very best. You will feel better too once you get your husband back. In the meantime, keep him busy, make him drink plenty of water, to flush out toxins in his system, eat lots of green veg. If he is off his food, blitz the veg into soups.
I've been posting on this forum since my knee op on 24th March 2015 (new plastic knee cap and metal trochlea). It's been a slow recovery for me due to muscle wastage and in June/July 2015 I started to feel very weepy, hot sweats, anxiety. Because of my age (I'm 56) I put this down to menopause, however this wasn't the case and since 25th November I've been on 50mg daily of the antidepressant sertraline.
Apparently depression following surgery is quite common. The first two weeks were a real rough ride and I felt absolutely drained, but things did improve until I got to new year's day and since then I've had a serious blip, which from reading on other posts on this forum is normal as it can take 6 - 8 weeks for antidepressants to kick in. My other knee is playing up on occasions but I'm trying not to think about facing further surgery as it just sets off my anxiety. I can understand exactly how your husband feels. I so expected to have the surgery, take time to recover and get back to work. I've now retired from work and seem to have lost my purpose which I suppose has exacerbated the depression. It's a very vicious circle. I'm usually a very strong person and to be suffering from depression has knocked me for six. Tell your hubby to get himself to the doctors.......I wish I'd gone sooner!
After a knee replacement, infection, removal of the knee and months without the joint on IV antibiotics, I was surprised about the amount of depression and PANIC attacks I had after. Was seen by my family physician, diagnosed as PTSD related to the fact that it had such an impact on my life.
Probably very little to do with the meds. He needs to see his family doc NOW for help. I thought I could "buck up and get over it", I'm strong, right? Has nothing to do with weak or strong.....when things don't go well, it's overwhelming. Get him to the doctor and tell him to be honest regarding how he feels. I wish you both the best.