Update - New patient partner support

Hi again everyone,

I just have an update with a couple of questions. My partner was released from the hospital yesterday. She is doing better at home, but she is in a lot of pain. I have been reading people's stories of their first few days/weeks post-op, and it sounds like she is in much more pain than most people are reporting. I have found through experience that she does have an extremely low pain tolerance, but that is no excuse for her to be in so much pain. I left a message for her doctor today but haven't gotten a response yet. She is taking a liquid vicodin - 15ml every 4 hours. The discharge papers from the hospital stated she should also be taking ibuprofen, but I don't know how to time that around the vicodin. I remember from my c-section that I alternated between tylenol 3 and motrin every 4 hours, but I don't know if it should be the same. I would think she would benefit from the anti-inflammatory properties of ibuprofen, but I don't want to give her the wrong thing.

Also, it doesn't seem like she's on enough vitamin supplements. The doctor has her on a multivitamin, vitamin D, and calcium citrate. She is also supposed to start on vitamin a next week. I am thinking that she probably needs extra vitamin c for sure, and I wonder if she would benefit from a probiotic for digestion. We give our baby a daily probiotic, and it helps with her gas and general digestion.

I am doing my best to ensure that she is staying hydrated. She has eaten a little applesauce and sipped on a protein water, but the only thing I am really trying to push on her is liquids. Unfortunately I am at work today, but I will be home with her tomorrow hopefully. She is miserable and very much regretting this. All I can do right now is tell her that it will get better every day, but I think we need to get her pain managed before she will start feeling more positive. Is this just a wait it out kind of thing?

Thank you in advance. You have all been so helpful.

Who was her surgeon? What hospital was she at? When was her surgery? These answers are important, it's not just people trying to be nosy. That said, here's what I can offer you:

I was in a LOT of pain, after both of my surgeries. It is well documented that I am a baby with NO pain tolerance, but I had to use significantly more pain medication for significantly longer than most people report here. I simply spoke with my surgeon or his nurses when I needed a refill on my lortab, which was about once a week. After both surgeries, I needed to take it around the clock, 30mL every 6-8 hours, for 5 weeks. I could have used the pain management a little longer (maybe 1 more week) in both cases, but my surgeon and I decided that it wasn't worth the risk of addiction.

As far as the ibuprofen goes...NO!!!!! She should not be putting NSAIDS into that baby belly of hers. Because they can so easily cause ulcers and irritate the stomach, a new post-op should not take them. After 3 months out, maybe, occasionally, but definitely not now.

She is not on enough vitamins. Period. She should be following Vitalady's plan for new post-ops, and adjusting dosages starting at 3 months, each and every time she gets her lab work done. Hopefully someone will post that link for me, I don't have it.

Honestly, do not worry about her food intake. At all. She needs to be drinking water, with lemon, with crystal light, etc... anything that helps her drink more. The most important thing right now is for her to stay hydrated, and that means finding a way to fit 64oz of water into the poor tiny swollen stomach she has now. Dehydration can set in very quickly, and I noticed that when I drank more, I hurt less. My body was just generally less achy. Being dehydrated can also cause nausea and vomiting, which let me tell you, is no picnic this soon after surgery.

Good luck, it will get better. I for sure had days that I couldn't believe that I had voluntarily put myself through this... let alone twice. Now, even at only 5 1/2 weeks out of my second surgery, I'm having a hard time remembering that feeling.

I can't remember the doctor's first name. We just call him Dr. Poli****'s Dr. Lutreczkowski? I think his first name is Pavel. That's reasonably close to the spelling. She was at DMC Harper Hospital in Detroit (which is kind of a b.s. hospital by the way).

I did get the doctor to call in a refill to double her vicodin dose, so hopefully that will help.

I will try to push her to drink. She definitely did not drink enough today, and she didn't keep track of what she did drink. Bad girl. I'm staying home with her tomorrow, so hopefully I can help get her on track.

Thanks for the advice! I will check out the vitalady.

Oh, Dr. L. He's a fabulous surgeon and needs to be completely disregarded about vitamins. He believes we get most of our nutrition from food. Ain't so anymore for us. However, it's much too early to be worrying about supplements. She needs HYDRATION and pain management. The former will contribute to the latter.

If adding the ibuprofen doesn't make her life a lot easier, she needs a better pain management setup and she should barrage the surgeon's office about it.

Get her measured vessels from which to drink to help her keep track.

Oh and the surgery was last Wednesday.

 I'm going to respectfully disagree with you at this time, April.   At three days out, she really doesn't need to be on any vitamins.    She needs to worry about fluids.   The vitamins will come, usually around the one month mark.

*Head Smack* I meant to put that up there. I wanted her to have the knowledge of what she will need to be on when the time comes, but you are so right, Julie. No vitamins right now. Thanks for catching my goof.

Am I doing something wrong, or is the vitalady starter pack really $900?? 

She doesn't need to worry about vitamins yet. She needs to focus on getting in her liquids and protein right now. Her body is not going to deplete itself of vitamins immediately. She is fine with taking what the doctor suggested for now. I took a chewable multi-vitamin with ADEK and a chewable iron w/****il about 6 weeks post-op, then I switched to Vitalady's DS starter package.

Her pain will subside a bit each day. I had never had surgery before and thought it was awful, but eventually it ends up being more of a discomfort issue than it does a pain issue. I spent an extra night in the hospital before going home because I had a difficult time getting the pain under control. I hated the liquid vocidin so my doctor prescribed Tramadol instead. It worked better for me. He did not clear me to take NSAIDs until I was six weeks out. 

Let her know that the buyer's remorse will fade a bit when she gets on the scale and sees how much weight she's lost. I had a lot of buyer's remorse until then. In fact, around a week or so out I posted here absolutely miserable...and everyone said it gets better. I thought they were all lying... until it did get better. Tell her to hang in there. My mantra was "this too shall pass". Let her know that sometimes warm liquids go down better than cold. Caffeine-free green tea with lemon became my best friend. And sugar-free popsicles, which are on the complete other end of the spectrum, went down very well too.

I would not take the ibuphen, its an NSAID and extended use can cause ulcers in her small tummy. Try to get the pain meds worked out to make her more comfortable. Hydration is the key right now. Don'tworry about vitamins, she just needs to heal right now.