k2bdeutmeyer Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I feel like mine aren't doing much. I can't seem to stand up straight without everything in my pelvic region hurting. My belly button incision is also quite painful even with meds. It's hard to get up and get this gas worked out (which is also giving me a LOT of pain) when I can't even stand up without a lot of pain. Should my pain meds be doing more for me, or is this kinda par for the course? I don't wanna be a baby & I thi k I typically have a pretty high pain threshold, but I'm really hurting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Find your sweet spot with the percocet. I haven't taken it, but family members have. Too little, nada, just right, you are on vacation, too much, you want to end it all. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k2bdeutmeyer Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 I've been taking it every four hours. Do you think I need a stronger doseage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I have had the same surgery twice, and the day after was bad. It gets better soon. The incision continued to bug me for a while. The first time I had it on a Friday and was back to work on Monday with no issues apart from discomfort. Anyway, I don't think pain meds work the same for everyone. I don't expect them to eliminate pain - just to take the edge off. I still had to function as a mom, so I didn't want something to totally knock me out. So I do think even with meds, you will hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Call the pharmacist and ask them how strong it is. It would be better to up the strength than to take more. Also, we take NAC from the health food store when taking a lot of anything that contains acetametaphin. Too much of that hurts your liver and the NAC prevents that. Today will probably be the worst since it is the day after surgery. In days gone by, you would still be in the hospital getting whatever pain meds you wished... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I've had lots of surgeries, and many of them were similar to the one you just had. ...We're all different on pain meds, but for the day after surgery, I generally hope that the meds will take the edge off the pain so that it's bearable. It sounds to me like you might need to call your surgeon. It might be time to switch meds. It never hurts to call and ask. FWIW, I have many allergies to pain meds, and have had to switch meds after surgery often. Some give better pain relief than others. Believe it or not, I am very allergic to morphine and besides the allergic reaction, I get zero pain relief from it! Discovering that wasn't fun. ...I'm wondering if you might get better relief from another pain med, based on that experience... Could be worth asking the doc. It will get better. :grouphug: The first day is usually the hardest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k2bdeutmeyer Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 They are 325mg tablets. I don't expect to be pain free by any means, but I wish they were making things at least a little more bearable. I can't even tell when they kick in/wear off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Pretty much par for the course. Take the pain meds,wait 30 minutes and then get up and walk around for 10 minutes or so. You might call and ask if you can take ibuprofen in between...that usually helps quite a bit. Tomorrow will be better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBear Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I've been taking it every four hours. Do you think I need a stronger doseage? Call your doctor - when I've need a bump up in the relief department after surgery, I've either been allowed to stay ahead of pain by taking the narcotic every two hours and/or alternating the narcotic with 750mg ibuprophen every two hours (narc, ibu, narc, ibu). I preferred the latter since it didn't make me as loopy as the former. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBear Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 They are 325mg tablets. I don't expect to be pain free by any means, but I wish they were making things at least a little more bearable. I can't even tell when they kick in/wear off. Ask if you can either double up to 650mg every four hours (very doable if you alternate with ibuprofen after two hours) or get a new script for 500's - 325 is nothin' really! Or see if 325 every two hours until you start to wean back down in a couple of days will be okay. Just be aware that the higher your dose, the more likely it is you'll become constipated and/or feel queasy. There is a good middle area with the pain meds, you just need to tweak with your doctor to find it so you don't puke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Everyone tolerates different amounts of pain. Your pain pills aren't wearing off totally in 4 hours so you don't know how bad you might feel without them. It never hurts to call the doctor, maybe you can take a little more medicine for a day or so. But it does hurt not to get up and move even if you feel like you will fall apart. When you go to the bathroom take a little walk through the house. Breath deeply and keep that gas moving. I'm a big baby when I'm in pain. :grouphug: After my last surgery I finally got comfortable and didn't move for many hours and ended up with a blood clot - not good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k2bdeutmeyer Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 I actually went over 8hr without meds overnight & didn't really notice a difference once back on them today. I went ahead & had DH call the dr's office for me. I know Percocet worked well for me when I broke my wrist last winter, but I'm thinking they were probably 500s?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeetime Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Didn't you just have surgery? I've only had minor laparoscopic abdominal surgery- but I was in BED for 3 days. No way I could get up because of pain and fatigue. Take it easy, take your meds on time and don't get behind the pain. Personally, I would take the max. dose and just count on sleeping for a few days. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Call your doctor, when I had surgery I took percocet with ibuprofen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I'd call the dr. I've had to up pain meds before. Usually you can also take ibuprofen in between for breakthrough pain. Did that when my wisdom teeth were cut out. I was taking some type of med every two hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k2bdeutmeyer Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Dr is having DH pickup a Lortab prescription and told us to alternate it with the percocet. He's on his way to pick it up right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBear Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Dr is having DH pickup a Lortab prescription and told us to alternate it with the percocet. He's on his way to pick it up right now. Not to be a PITA, but how much is your daily acetaminophen dose if you alternate the percocet with lortab? They're both acetaminophen combo's and you may want to check since acetaminophen is hard on the liver, which is why most doctors alternate percocet/vicodin/lortab/etc with ibuprofen....to reduce the load on your liver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Percocet is stronger than Lotab (hydrocodone) but they both have acetaminophen (Tylenol) in them. I don't understand why your dr. would have prescribed a weaker med to rotate with Percocet when this would increase yout acetaminophen load. Acetaminophen is very hard on you liver. You should not take more than 1000 mg at a time or 4000 mg per day. They have recently been lowering the amount of acetaminophen in combined products but you still need to keep track. You can take both acetaminophen and ibuprofen at the same time or alternate them every two hours. If this is not making your pain bearable then you need to call your dr. so that he can change your prescription to increase the narcotic to acetaminophen ratio so that you are getting better pain control with a lower amount of acetaminophen. If your dr. is hesitant about increasing your narcotics ask about Tramdol. It is a synthetic pain med that doesn't contain acetaminophen and supposedly has a lower risk of addiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k2bdeutmeyer Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Well, I have no idea what she was thinking. I'm frustrated. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Two things: Your pain will be better every day - most likely. Today was probably your worst day. You need to stay on top of the pain. Don't go 8 hours without meds. It's harder to make it go away then to keep it at pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 The 325 is the amount of acetaminophen. What's the first number? It would either be 5 or 10. That's the amount of oxycodone. If what you have is 5/325, you can see if the doctor will give you 10/325 and take ibuprofen between Percocet doses. That way you won't be upping the acetaminophen. Different people react to pain and pain meds differently. Also there are different kinds of pain. I think for the most part though, unless you have a very strong pain med, the best you will get is pain reduction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASDAQ Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 When I had my second c-section, I mixed up the acetaminophen with the ibuprofen and didn't take the ibuprofen. It really, really hurt. Too much acetaminophen is not going to do it. I think pain medications should at the very least relax you enough that you're not consumed by being in pain. If it isn't doing that for you, keep pressing for something that does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 ((((Kristin)))) Praying for you. When you *do* get up, make yourself *stop* and try to straighten up as best you can before you start to move. It might take a couple of minutes at first...but resist shuffling around all hunched over or you will deal with more pain from that. Stand. Straighten. THEN walk. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 ((((Kristin)))) Praying for you. When you *do* get up, make yourself *stop* and try to straighten up as best you can before you start to move. It might take a couple of minutes at first...but resist shuffling around all hunched over or you will deal with more pain from that. Stand. Straighten. THEN walk. :grouphug: :iagree: Hope you feel much better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Not to be a PITA, but how much is your daily acetaminophen dose if you alternate the percocet with lortab? They're both acetaminophen combo's and you may want to check since acetaminophen is hard on the liver, which is why most doctors alternate percocet/vicodin/lortab/etc with ibuprofen....to reduce the load on your liver. NAC from the health food store remedies this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I agree with PP, be careful with the acetaminophen. Lortab is not that much different from Percocet except that the Percocet is maybe a little stronger. It is not all that uncommon to dose 2 Percocet 5/325 every 4 hrs and taking 600-800mg ibuprofen every 8-12 hrs. Honestly there is not much more that a surgeon is going to prescribe for laparoscopic surgery. Since darvocet was pulled from the market the only other pills for pain are strong narcotics such as demerol, morphine and dilaudid. If you are in more pain than Percocet can handle you need to be seen in the office to rule out complications, otherwise each day should get a lot easier. Feel better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlylocks Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 ((((Kristin)))) Praying for you. When you *do* get up, make yourself *stop* and try to straighten up as best you can before you start to move. It might take a couple of minutes at first...but resist shuffling around all hunched over or you will deal with more pain from that. Stand. Straighten. THEN walk. :grouphug: :iagree: Did they suggest "hugging" a little pillow against your abdomen when you need to get up? It really does help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I just had a total abdominal hysterectomy 6 weeks ago and couldn't even get up for the first 3 days ( I know yours is different). But anyhow, for the gas, I took some Gas-x, or the store brand of it until I could get up and around. It really did help. As far as the pain, I was on the Percocet every 4 hours and alternated with 800mg of ibuprophen every 6 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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