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| Pain Management After Hysterectomy? |
Date : 05-17-2004 - 10:22 AM - Readers : 20726 |
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What choices are there for post-op pain management do I have? The last time I had surgery was over fifteen years ago and the morphine wasn't a good choice for me. It made me sick.
Its important to know and understand which medications might be intolerable to you. If you know of any allergies to medications, be sure and tell your nurses during your pre-op appointment and to your nursing staff and anesthesiologist once you arrive at the hospital for check-in.
There are some newer procedures and/or products that might make post-op pain management a bit easier.
Pain Management in the hospital:
On-Q:
The ON-Q Pain Management System provides a continuous drip of a local anesthetic (like lidocaine) directly into the patient’s surgical site for postoperative pain management.
The On-Q Pain Management System is a tiny tube that is inserted into the incision site while you are sleeping which delivers the medication that numbs the area continually. The tube is attached to a little pouch with a long strap that can be carried over your shoulder when you get up. It stays in your incision for about 2 days until all the medicine is gone. Removing it is not painful.
Morphine Pump:
The morphine pump is attached to your IV. The patient has control over the delivery of the medication as the patient "clicks" the mechanism providing a dosage as needed. The morphine pump is set to deliver a limited amount of pain medication to the patient so that overdosing should not be possible.
Many patients who report Demoral or Morphine making them ill found that Toradol was an excellent alternative.
Pain Management at Home:
Patients are usually sent home from the hospital with a prescription for pain medication and instructions to take the medication as directed (usually every four hours). It is important to take the medication as directed for the first few days in order to "stay on top" of the pain. Once pain controls the patient's body, it is difficult to find a level of comfort easily.
Write down your medication schedule and post it on your refrigerator or near your prescription bottle. It is easy to forget if you took your pills. Mark it down and check it off.
Examples of these medications for home pain management post-op hysterectomy:
Tylenol 3
Toradol
Demoral
Motrin
Rarely is a refill required as most hysterectomy patients report pain easing within the first few weeks.
If you are experiencing ongoing pain after the first month post-op that can not be handled by Tylenol or Motrin, discuss this with your surgeon as this pain is not typical.
If you find that you require a pain medication refill, talk about it to your doctor. Your personal physician is the best person to help you manage your pain.
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