I made it/ gas pains/ thanks

Hey everyone, just wanted to let everyone know that I made it through surgery ok. There were no complications and I was able to come home last night. Today on the other hand has been something different. I have been having extreme gas pains. I mean its be so unreal the pain. All day I tried to go without my pain medication, but finally around 3pm I could not take then pain anymore and took some. It was like an instant relief of the pain. I do feel the pains starting to come back and I do not want to become dependant on the meds. Does anyone have any suggestions? I also wanted to say thank you for all the prayers, and well wishes. I will be sure to post more when I am feeling better. Thanks so much, Melissa now 3 days post op.

My advice is take the meds. You should take them on the correct schedule (4-6 hours?, it'll say on the bottle) for the first 3 days and then you can taper them off if you want to. It would take weeks to be addicted. I tried to do the same thing when I broke my leg (this time last year!) and after a week I was afraid I'd 1) need MORE pain meds and 2) become too used to them and at 10 days I felt a lot better, tapered off, never needed a refill and ended up with extra pills. Good Luck and glad you are home safe and sound. Kim

Congratulations, Melissa! I had some gas pain also the first few days. Don't be afraid to take the pain medication. They give it to you for a reason I took my pain medication almost regularly for the first 4 days and then slowly tapered off. I was completely off medication on day 7. The only side effect that I encountered was that I was edgy and easily irritated (at my kids). It stopped when I stopped taking the pain medication. Good luck, and congratulations again! Charity

Melissa: Congrats on your successful surgery. I, too, had major gas pains and they just kept telling me to walk it off. Although the idea of walking wasn't appealing to me at first, the thought that maybe it would work was enough inspiration for me. I've been up and around and no more gas pains. Hope this helps. Ann Moll (4 days post op)

Dear Melissa, I had some gas pains after my surgery and my stomach was hard as a rock after surgery. I took the meds as I needed them, but I did go out and walk. I walked and began feeling so much better. It was like nirvana! I hate to say that "passing gas" felt wonderful, but it truly was wonderful! Hang in there and take the pain meds when you need them! Terry C.

I have to agree that walking did the most good for me. I hurt so bad laying in that hospital bed and kept asking to get up and walk. The nurses were just amazed at how often I wanted to walk but it really helped. As for pain meds, you cannot heal as well when you are in pain, you need to have enough to take the edge off. If you have to much pain then it takes more and more painkiller to control it. In the hospital I had the pain pump and was in control, I didn't use it as much as I could have and was in control of the pain at all times. When I came home I started using it every 4-5 hours and now I am on day 6 and use minimum dose maybe 3 times per day. Hang in there it does get better. Sherr