Allergic reaction

I'm 2 days post-op and was sent home with Vicodin. I started taking it yesterday. I woke up 3 time last night to urinate, and about 8 times because my mouth was so dried out I had trouble breathing. When I got up this morning, my face and lips were unbelievably swollen. I have a throbbing headache, and sore throat. My dr. put me on Benadryl and I am going to try to tough the rest of this out without narcotics. What is the best over the counter pain killer to take? Advil, Alleve, Motrin.......? Thank you for your help!

Dove

i am allergic to vicodin, too. i have darvocet instead. otc ibuprofen and naprosyn are both good (make sure to take naprosyn with food, upsets the stomach if empty). ask for a prescription for darvocet maybe? good luck! dee

I was able to take tylenol and it worked fine but by the 2nd week post op I didn't need any medicine for pain. Hopefully you won't need it long either. Best wishes to you

I had to basically tough it out too, as I can tolerate very little in the way of painkillers (or any drugs for that matter). I just want to reassure you that not everyone has bad pain postop and I was one of the lucky ones. I felt uncomfortable and sore for sure, but not actually in pain. I used a heating pad A LOT and saved my OTC painkillers for the odd night when I couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep. This was only about twice in the first week. For me the drug side effects were worse than the pain I was in to be honest. I went into the operation knowing full well I wouldn't have the benefit of much in the way of pain relief and this was one of the reasons I put off the surgery for so long. Fortunately though, I made it through okay.

I wish you the same kind of luck.

I'm actually during really well. Bowel movements has been the most painful thing so far. I took Advil every 6 hr.s yesterday, and haven't taken anything yet today. I also haven't done much. My DH yells at me if I move to do anything besides go to the bathroom. He doen't even like me sitting at the computer. I'm still very tired and fall asleep at the drop of a dime. I feel like an infant, awake a couple hrs and then out of a couple more. I'm just achie(sp) all over. Thank you for your stories!

Dove