Article: Pain - How Long Will I need Pain Medications After Hysterectomy?

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Article: Pain - How Long Will I need Pain Medications After Hysterectomy?
How long will I need pain medications? I'm one week post-op and still can't get through a day without a pain pill.

It is really hard to say how long you will need pain meds. It can depend on many things such as your personal pain tolerance, how quickly you heal, if you have days when you are too active and do too much and your overall general health.

Doctors usually discharge patients from the hospital with a pain medication prescription for a few weeks to take as needed.

Take your pain medications on time. If they are meant to be taken every four hours, plan accordingly those few few days.

It is not unusual to be taking pain meds at 1 - 2 weeks post op.

If your initial prescription for pain medication runs out, call your doctor's office if you believe you need additional meds if you discover that a non-narcotic pain med (over the counter like Tylenol) isn't helping.

Ideally, by the time your final checkup with your surgeon comes around during weeks 4-6, you should be off pain medications, not needing them.

If you are concerned about the level of your ongoing pain, discuss your needs with your physician.

This content was written by staff of HysterSisters.com by non-medical professionals based on discussions, resources and input from other patients for the purpose of patient-to-patient support.