1 week-Need help managing pain

Surgery was on the 4th of oct., returned home a day later than planned due to a stomach upset, perhaps caused by medication given to start the bowel movement! Right now the problem is general body ache and pain around the stitches, unless I take pain killer (Brufane+paracetamol), which could again upset my stomach! Trying to work around the problem. Any suggestions?

Not sure what to recommend if you don't want the pain killers. I was on something every 3 hours around the clock for the first 10 days. Is there anything you tolerate well or have you tried taking it with food to see if that minimizes the upset stomach?

Hi, I got a pamphlet from when I went to my pre op and other than suggesting pain meds, it says to try to relax and listen to your favorite music...anything that will distract you from the pain basically. You could try that then, or something you can relax and enjoy doing to pre-occupy your mind.

I also have fibro and have had some painful times that I didn't want to live on pain meds...what helped me was to do some meditation. I would sit comfy and close my eyes and visualize a happy place, and keep saying to myself things like the pain is fading, I don't feel pain..just mind over matter stuff..it does work.

Good luck and I pray you'll soon be pain free.

Hug, love and prayers!

Can you try something like Extra-Strength Tylenol? I took the narcotic pain pills for 2 days after my surgery, but they made me really depressed. So I used the Tylenol and got along fine.

Is your pain really, really bad? Can your doctor prescribe another pain medication? I think there are lots of different ones they can use, if a particular one isn't working for you. Call the doc and ask.

i had surgery oct.2 yesterday feeling good so put on a pair of my pants only wore them for a couple of hours now today i am paying for it. hope i did not hurt any thing.

I now swear by ibuprofin. dr said in addition to relieving pain, it is an anti inflammatory, which is good for healing
I take it with yogurt to protect the tummy. The pain meds literally made me throw up




Harley

my tummy hurts even to touch it after putting on my pants did i hurt anything will it be ok?

I used nighties until Thanksgiving i think. I found using ice on the area helped me. I don't like to be on meds much, so I prolonged it with that. It helped.

Even though I read as much as I could, I still didn't know what to expect right after surgery. My skin felt like someone took sandpaper to it, my stomach was upset and my belly was really sore at first.

What I found worked for me was to take short walks, 5 minutes even or less at least once an hour, it keeps things moving and relaxes some of the muscles. I drank lots of water and ate really bland food, toast, soup, oatmeal, mashed potatoes and such which seemed to ease a bit of the queezy feeling. I kept some crackers by my bed and life savers. The peppermint ones soothed the belly aches a bit. I stayed away from caffiene as much as possible as this can upset things too.

I took my pain meds when needed and rested a lot. You are very early in recovery and I know how scary it was for me so I want you to know that what you are feeling all sounds very normal. Ice packs helped the first week for me, sort of numbed things and kept some of the swelling down. I also just wore big t shirts and nothing around my stomach area...no pressure was the best. Try to focus on a few other things...movies, books, music, look up stupid things you always wanted to know about online and come here often to check in.

It will get better and we are all here to support you when you need it!

Hi there, I used an ice pack to my incisions for 2 weeks, but because I had no nausea issues I alternated the pain medicatin with Ibuprofen around the clock too. Since the pain medication causes you to feel ill, I would try the ice to your incision. It will numb the area and decrease the pain, or at least I hope you'll have the same response. Good luck!