TAH: Went to Pre-op today...Still have questions

Today was my pre-op with the doctor and the hospital. I asked all 38 questions I had written down and I got a straight answer to most of them. If you have an answer to these please let me know.

1. How long will I be on pain meds after surgery?
2. What pain meds will I be on when I go home?
3. Will the hospital give me a swelly belly band?

Thanks so much for your help.

1) & 2) That depends on your pain tolerance level. I know women who never used pain meds after the hospital at all, Personally i took t3 for a couple days after then just advil. Others need stronger meds longer. I need the t3 for about a week weaning off them and still on advil at 2 weeks tomorrow

3) not sure on the belly band thing as I never used any such thing at all and i had a TAH.

Afternoon Phoenix!

Melanie was right on the pain tolerance. Also, I would suggest that if certain pain meds make you queasy you let your doctor know. You doctor should be able to tell you which ones they will give you.

Also, ask your doctor about the swelly belly band. I've had two abdominal surgeries before and I'm thinking I would have had a blast with the band! I'm seriously thinking about getting one before I go.

I have a habit of pestering doctors, but if I have a question, they are the ones that are supposed to have the answers. I make no apologies for it. The more I know, the better I feel!

Blessings,
Becky

I had my preop today also.

1 - Depends on your level of pain and your tolerance level.

2 - My doctor said he would have to see what to send me home with the day he discharges me as he doesn't know until then how I will be feeling.

3 - Call your doctor or his office and ask. My doctor said it was up to me if I wanted one or not and actually told me to order one online if I wanted it.

Best of luck to you next week.

Thank you all. I will give my Doctor a call tomorrow and ask about the swelly belly band.

I needed pain meds for the first couple of days, after that ibuprofen worked fine. I didn't have much pain. On week 3 I was doing a lot of coughing due to allergies and my stomach got quite sore (I was glad to have pain pills left and used them a couple days. I got Darvocet 650's. I was surprised I wasn't given any support for my stomach, having had 4 other abdominal surgeries and each time they gave me one. So I used one of those. It really is a big help to have one:

1) I never took narcotics at home. Just ibuprofen for about 2 days.

2) I was given a prescription for percocet, but never got it filled.

3) I didn't know what a swelly belly band was before surgery. I was not given one, nor told about them. I never felt the need to buy one, never used one.

1. How long will I be on pain meds after surgery? This will totally depend on you and own pain tolerance level. I was on narcotics and advil around the clock for the first 2 weeks, every 4 hours. Then as each week went by after that I cut back until by week 5ish, I was not taking narcotics at all. I still need advil every day, but usually only a couple at a time.

2. What pain meds will I be on when I go home?
This will depend on your doctor and what you are able to tolerate. I had already been on hydrocodone for my period pain, so that is what I continued with at home after surgery, as well as added advil.

3. Will the hospital give me a swelly belly band? My hospital did not give me any type of band, nor did my doctor. I ordered one from this site, but to be honest, I only used it a few times.

My doc gave me prescription Ibuprofen (600mg) and Hydrocodone/Vicodin to alternate. I took them pretty steadily for 2 weeks and then just tapered off to only when needed. I seemed to have some dizziness from the Vicodin so I continued taking only Ibuprofen. Tylenol I tried a couple times, it did not help. So it is just personal preference and what your doc gives you.

As for the band, I knew nothing of it, was not given anything nor told about it, but in hindsight, it may have helped with comfort a little. I rubbed my sore/suture areas when they were hurtin'. It felt better to do that and the band may have helped in that regard, but not sure, it may have not. I'll never know. Worth trying though I would say.

Best of luck and let us know how you are after, Phoenixrider! We'll be here for you!
Hugs!!!
~WendyWeb