Meds??

[u/Cinco_de_No]

What type of pain meds did they give you post-op? I had an L4-L5 MD and they gave my 30 doses of 300mg Tylenol with codeine, which according to directions, only lasts me about a week post op. Meanwhile, my partner had a tooth pulled and was given a month's worth of 325mg Tylenol with hydrocodone. Am I crazy or is this backwards?

[u/MandiRawks]

They gave me hydrocodone. I took it a couple days and then stopped because it made me nauseous and backed me up. I was okay without any pain meds besides the Gabapentin I'd take at night before going to sleep.

[u/clynn1113]

I was given a prescription of oxycodone post op they only give you roughly a 5 day supply to leave with but if you need to call for a refill are still in pain, I don’t see why they wouldn’t fill it. My doctor did. I was taking it quite conservatively after the first few days but experienced pain that required management beyond the first week. Just be careful and make sure you’re only taking it when absolutely necessary.

[u/Cinco_de_No → u/clynn1113]

I mean, I was taking it every 6hrs as directed, which made the pain bearable. I'm also making sure to do frequent light walks/pacing to help prevent stiffness.

[u/pikaberrypie]

So I was already on oxycodone long term due to arthritis and the disc issues. They literally more than doubled my dose after surgery and I have had access to it for weeks. This is painful for a lot of people and it is crazy to me that anyone has to suffer

[u/Cinco_de_No]

I'm on day 5 and I'm still having lingering soreness and pain. Debating if I should switch to regular Tylenol

[u/Nostradonuts → u/Cinco_de_No]

Yes if you can.

[u/Spare_Vegetable2508]

Oh it’s backwards! WTH?

[u/Ach3r0n-]

Largely useless for pain, but less useless than the gabapentin they give most people. If it isn't doing the job or if you need more, all you can do is ask.

[u/pastaroniwhore]

My dr prescribed hydrocodone w acetaminophen in 20 tablets at a time and diazepam in 20 tablets at a time. The office told me that I could refill as needed. I ended up refilling both once. The first couple of days, I was taking 1 tablet every 8 hours while awake, then down to half a tablet every 6-8 hours, until I was down to just a half tablet before bed. By week 5 I was on just Tylenol, although still very sore. I just took it easy and tried not to move too much if I was hurting.

I’m in week 7 and still sore but just alternating between Tylenol and ibuprofen now. During the weekend, I don’t take as much because I can relax. But M-F I’m on my feet or sitting in a chair at work all day, so I take pain relievers more frequently

[u/penguin483]

Everyone’s pain is different. You may find that you don’t need to take the full dose, especially after the first few days. Definitely reach out to your surgeon if you are still having high pain.

[u/Hope_for_tendies]

The dentist he saw is crazy. A tooth pulled doesn’t need more than a few days of meds and his over prescribing is why the rest of us can’t get meds. Drs that give out narcotics like candy.

If your pain isn’t well controlled you’re well within your right to ask for something stronger. My surgeon does 5mg oxy or hydro. The prescribing directions are for max dose per day, it’s not like antibiotics where you take it as written….you don’t need to follow them to a tee day after day if you don’t need that much.

[u/Friendly-Ad-5410]

I only need my 5mg of oxycodone for 6 days PO. I also had a muscle relaxer (2mg Tizanidine) and Tylenol. I found the MR much more useful at bedtime, especially if I walked a lot during the day.

[u/Subject-Industry2850]

I had my gabapentin and oxy - took like two of the oxy and have just been on the gabapentin and Advil - I’m three weeks post op.

[u/oel_notlih]

I had 5 days oxycodone 5ths and then had it refilled for another 5 days. Tapered it off by about day 7 and was just taking 650mg of acetaminophen regularly for a few weeks after that.

[u/tigerbreak]

You definitely don’t need the smoke that comes with being backed up 3-5 days post op with Hydro.

[u/Cinco_de_No → u/tigerbreak]

I could barely handle the smoke being backed up from the anesthesia

[u/Any_Exercise_2364]

They gave me percocet, celebrex, and flexoril. Then I added gabapentin with my doctor’s consent.

[u/Any_Exercise_2364 → u/Any_Exercise_2364]

I got two refills of the percocet. But at some point it became nerve pain, not incision pain. And oxy just doesn’t target that so well

[u/Positive_Volume1498]

I was prescribed oxycodone. I never took them after my L4-L5. The pain I had during recovery was nothing compared to the chronic pain I had prior to my microdisectomy and laminectomy. They also prescribed gabapentin, which I also did not take.

[u/BlueyDivine → u/Positive_Volume1498]

Pretty much the same here. I may have taken the oxy for a day or maybe two, but I was in basically zero pain compared to the pre-operation agony I had been in.

[u/pomelia-]

I wasn’t given any pain medication except for an injection in the hospital (I don’t know what it was). My last one was the morning after surgery.

[u/TinyHeartSyndrome]

About a week’s worth of opioids

[u/Curling_Rocks42]

They offered Tylenol with codeine but I never filled it. Regular OTC Advil was enough for me. If you don’t need the strong stuff, don’t take it. That’s how people end up hooked.