How long did you take pain meds?

[Maribelle 0]

I am usually tough about pain, but I have a sharp pain in my left side (near my port) that will not go away. I have been taking the liquid vicodin on and off for the past three days since my surgery. Is this normal? I thought most people stopped using the pain meds after a couple of days?

[mumof2 0]

I'm not sure of the answer to that. I had my band done on Tuesday and just had acetominaphine for pain, I took two yesterday and just one today. I am a bit sore but I wouldn't say I have pain. So from my experience I would say you probably shouldn't be in that much pain.

Everyone feels pain differently and sometimes what you feel is really painful I might think is a niggle or what i think is awful pain you may feel as a mild pain. So its really hard to say for sure exactly what you should feel, but I would say if your feeling any pain that you think isn't normal or worse than you expected and not getting any better just get it checked out, just incase.

[kaninag 35]

Pain tolerance if different from person to person. You have to remember that everything was cut and needs time to get better however if your pain doesnt improve I would contact your md

I took my pain meds I think for almost 5 days. But I would take it and it would put me to sleep. I found that the more I move though the better the pain got. good luck

[teenasline 0]

hi i took my meds for 2 days still have small amount of pain at port site but i can take it it is a lot better today i can bend down lol

[Long2BFree 12]

If you are in pain, take the meds. Everyone is different as far as their level of pain and you heal better if you take them when you are experiencing pain.

I can't really remember how many days I took them but I think it was 3 days around the clock and then I would take it when I was experiencing some pain once awhile.

[slimteacherin08 0]

I am usually tough about pain, but I have a sharp pain in my left side (near my port) that will not go away. I have been taking the liquid vicodin on and off for the past three days since my surgery. Is this normal? I thought most people stopped using the pain meds after a couple of days?

I was banded on Monday and yesterday was my first day without pain meds. That doesn't mean I wasn't in pain. I was very sore, but it was pain I could tolerate. I figured at some point I have to work through the pain. Plus, my liquid pain meds made me very sleepy and everyone said that the best thing for the pain is get up and move. So yesterday I did some shopping, cleaning around the house, etc. I was exhausted and sore by the end of the day, but this morning I feel even better. I hope you find what works for you!

[LundyLane 0]

I would say the first 3 to 5 days are the hardest. After that you really start to feel better

[beth443 0]

Long2BFree is right take your meds it will help you move around and just generally feel better. I am one week post op today and yesterday was the first day I didn't take anything for pain. Walking helped me so much but I couldn't or didn't want to unless I took my medicine

[stI24nger 1]

Why NOT take the meds?? If you're in Pain, that's what they're for. It's not like taking them for 5 or 6 days instead of 3 is going to get you addicted and Make you end up on INTERVENTION (show on A&E) or anything. Don't tolerate the pain, there's no point. Take the drugs, take the DRUGS!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHA

....Happy Friday!

[ShrinkyDink 0]

I had surgery on a Tuesday and needed the Vicodin every 4 hours round the clock through Thursday and then started to feel enough better that I was able to space it out more and more. Last time I needed it was that Saturday morning.

Everybody is different and every experience any one person has is different. I had a hysterectomy last year and only needed the meds for a day after I got home, but this surgery was much more painful for me.

[shrinknme 0]

try just taking liquid tylenol. I took it with codine for the first 3 days and then liquid tylenol for like a week after that.. it seemed to help.

[HeatherO 7]

I had pain meds while in the hospital and a script for two pills after I left. I took one and saved the other for if it got really bad . . . it is still sitting in my nightstand at home.

Pain meds are so easily addicting, it is best to avoid taking them for any length of time. Specially if you can take tylenol in their place.

You will still feel a little pain for a while after surgery but it should be tolerable. This is most true near your port incision.

If you are still having a lot of sharp pain very far past the surgery date you should call your doctor. This is specially true if you start noticing extra swelling and redness around the incisions that seems to be increasing over time.

[TerriDoodle 6]

I took the meds pretty steadily for about 3-4 days then tapered off and tried to resist. The next 4-5 days I maybe took a dose in the evening or before bed. That port pain can last for 3 weeks! But it does get a lot better after day 7-10.

Good luck to you!!!

[JRFAN88 1]

I took my pain meds until the bottle was almost empty. After about 5 days I think it was just at night to help me sleep. I hurt bad on my left side right at my port area just like you described. I'm usually very tough & have a high pain threshold. The lapband hurt me more than 2 natural childbirths. Plus it scared me cause most of the people on here were talking about their minimal pain & I was in bad pain. It was about the 4th day when the pain went from unbearable pain to just bearable pain for me. Probably 2 weeks before I was pain free. Good luck & I hope you feel better very soon.

[Kalipso2 25]

Congratulations on being banded by Dr. Curry!! He banded me back in April. I always thought I had a high tolerance for pain since I have a few tattoos and piercings but this was my first surgery.

I spent the night in the hospital and asked for meds around every 3-4 hours because every time I moved I hurt. I asked for another dose for the drive home because I live 4 hours away. I had waited to long to ask the nurse because I wanted to wait to take them right before we left but the pain was so severe I started crying and freaked my mom out. The 4 hour drive home sucked big time. My body felt every bump in the road.

I know it's going to sound horrible but I used most of the liquid vidodin to help me sleep. I have never been able to sleep on my back so I used the meds to relax me into slumber. I had even called in for a refill. I spent most of the week off sleeping the pain away.

My advice would be to try Tylenol but if that doesn't take the pain away, take the meds that Dr. C. prescribed. Being tense because you're in pain isn't going to help the healing process!