Upcoming hysterectomy 6/13: Can you do this without pain medication?

My surgery is quickly approaching and the nerves are setting in. June 13th is my date for a total hysterectomy laparoscopic. My question to you ladies is can pain be managed with just over the counter pain relievers? I have had 2 c-sections and my gallbladder removed and each time I had to just take large amounts of ibprophen. Prescription pain meds make me severely nauseous even with anti nausea medication.

You may need a prescription NSAID with more oomph to it than OTC ibuprofen. I've heard of people doing this with just Toradol (keterolac), which is an NSAID, and acetaminophen but without any narcotics.

I was only on narcotics (Dilaudid) for two days after surgery. After that I was fine on OTC "extra strength" (400 mg) ibuprofen.

i honestly don't know. i had IV pain meds for the first 48 hours and then i was fine with OTC. if my dr. had sent me home the day of my surgery as planned, i would have probably used just prescription strength motrin and tylenol. if you've done it before, you probably can do it again.

I was given toradol and Tylenol in my iv after surgery, but once they took the iv out that evening, I never took anything else, not even otc nsaids, I really didn’t have much pain to speak of. I think it just depends, wish you the same easy recovery that I had!

I don't like narcotics and I did it with only toradol iv and tylenol, and ibuprofen at home. I had a davinci with 5 small incisions plus a planned 5 inch bikini line incision. Worst pain was the first 24 hours, but after that it got a lot easier. I used ice pack a lot of the time. Definitely talk it out with your surgeon and anesthesiologist before so they know what you want. Good luck!

Hi blkinard -

Pain after surgery is different for everyone. Some women have little to no pain, while others have high levels of pain. I had moderately high levels of pain that was controllable with narcotics alternating with Motrin. I was on narcotics only for the first 5 days. After that, I was on Motrin only.

Discuss your problems with narcotics with your doctor. S/he will hopefully be able to prescribe something for you that will work. And hopefully you will not be in much pain when you wake up from surgery:
Communicating Pain after Hysterectomy
Pain Management after Hysterectomy

My prescriptions for pain medication included Oxycodone, prescription strength naproxen - an NSAID like ibuprofen - and prescription strength acetaminophen. I have poor stomach motility, and I found out the hard way - by throwing up on day 3 - that I shouldn't have been taking the Oxycodone; fortunately, I found that I was okay alternating the other two. The naproxen was upsetting my stomach, and I found I was better off taking it with food, and cutting the pills in half, taking them twice as often; not all pills can be split, so check with your pharmacist when you fill your prescription. Keeping your pain under control is paramount, so I would suggest discussing your concerns with your surgeon. Best wishes for a successful surgery and a smooth recovery!