How many painkillers did you guys use?

[peyroniesjr]

Good Morning Darkflame,

Did Dr Eid. okayed you to take hot baths after or on the third day, that really helps with the pain, swelling & bruising. I had had knee surgery, neck surgery & RALP. The implant for the first few days was intense, it felt like burning. Try, if you can not to take to much pain meds, it makes you more constipated.

Good Luck

Junior

[hopeful_future]

This thread is a good example of why it's not always a good idea to trust a forum for medical advice, even on pain management.

First off, don't listen to the people saying you "should" or "should not" feel a certain amount of pain. There are a ton of factors that will go into how much pain you feel. None of them make you better or worse than someone else, and your level of pain doesn't mean the surgery went better or worse than someone else's.

Second, if you are in pain, you should be controlling it. Some people brag about how few painkillers they took, but there's really no benefit to failing to manage pain. This isn't a tough guy contest, it's healing from an invasive surgery.

Now on to my "definitely not a doctor" thoughts. Most prescription painkillers are a combination of acetaminophen and an opiate. Of course, the opiate part is the one you might get addicted to. That doesn't mean you WILL get addicted, just that there's a possibility. Opiates directly block your pain receptors, and provide a certain amount of euphoria that makes something traumatic like surgery much more tolerable. When it comes to pain relief, Ibuprofen along with Acetaminophen will produce similar results (just without the euphoria).

My surgeon suggested using standard doses of ibuprofen (200-400mg) every 6 hours. Ibuprofen reduces pain by reducing inflammation, and reduced inflammation is helpful in healing regardless. Along with that, I took EITHER my hydrocodone (Norco) or a 500mg acetaminophen. By the end of the first week, I no longer needed the Norco, and only took it occasionally. I continued taking the Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen until the pain was no longer an issue.

Two important things:

1. NEVER take both your opiate drug and other acetaminophen. Your opiate prescription likely already has acetaminophen in it, and overdosing on acetaminophen can kill.
2. Before you change up your medication use, please talk with your doctor and check in about the meds you plan on taking, along with the dosage and how often. Most of us here aren't doctors.
3. This is intended to describe my experience and familiarize you with some info about painkillers. It's not medical advice.