Liquid or Pill pain medicine for post recovery (TT, BA & Arm Lift)

I'm going in next week Wed. to have a Tummy Tuck, Breast Augmentation (gummy bear silicone under muscle) and arm lift.  This is being planned for out patient and I'm worried about pain management.  After the RNY surgery they put me on liquid Vicodin which did help great for pain, since then I have had the pill form of Vicodin a couple of times and it only worked once the other time it had my stomach in so much pain I thought I was going to have to go to the ER.

My question is what did you take after your surgery and was it liquid or pill form?  I'm trying to determine if I should push for the liquid form of pain medicine.  I do not have a high tolerance for pain and my mother who will be caring for me is probably more worried than I am.

Thank you for your responses in advance! :)

Hi there,

I had a lower body lift with abdominal muscle tightening and breast lift in one surgery, followed by an arm lift six months later.  Honestly, the only pain I had was my stomach and only for 3 or so days.  I had zero pain for my breasts and arms.  I went home with pills, which normally make me nauseated, but since the muscle tightening pain was pretty bad, I took them.  My suggestion - set an alarm for 4 hours later when you go to bed on your first night home!  I did not, and I woke up in so much pain I was telling my mom to call 911 LOL.  I'm not sure why I thought an ambulance would help.  But once I took the pain pills, I was fine within 20 minutes.  So just don't let more than 4 hours pass by that first day or two at home.  I ended up putting a stepstool next to my bed with my pills, a bottle of water, and some pretzels (can't take pills on an empty stomach).  And so when the alarm would go off, I would eat a couple pretzels, take my pills, and go back to bed.  I slept against a wedge pillow in bed.  The first few days my mom would come and put her arms around me and pull me into a sitting position (that was the most difficult) but once I was sitting or standing, I was ok.  I could shower on my own (I wore a lanyard around my neck with my drains hooked to it).  It was honestly not that bad.  And the results were so worth it!!!

Good luck - you will be fine!  Just know your abdominal area may hurt a lot for a couple days, and take it easy :)

Thank you for replying!  My surgeon puts in some type of numbing medicine in the abdominal area to help keep that numb for about 3 days, I am hoping that is the case!  I will take your advice to heart and set an alarm to take the pain med's at night.

Hmmm yeah, I paid like $300 on top of surgery costs for that injection (called Experal, I believe?).  I had very little pain in the hospital, stayed overnight, and went home the following early evening (so basically, 24 hours after I came out of anesthesia).  My pain was totally fine but as long as I kept up on the pain pills every 4 hours.  I definitely wasn't numb for 3 days LOL!  Well, I should say that I didn't have pain along the incision - it was strictly the abdominal muscle tightening that hurt like a B*TCH!!!!  Very survivable and I am thrilled with my results, so it was totally worth it!

If you know that liquid works better for you, ask for liquid.  I don't think it matters to the doctor which one he prescribes.

I just used PERCOCET whiched worked well

I have no problem with narco - but vicodin "rips my pouch to shreds" - or so it feel like it does. 

For major pain - my doc prescribed 10-325 narco. I could take up to 2 at a time if right after the surgery and I was fine.

Often - just 1 or 1/2 of the pill was enough to take the edge without giving the side effects.  BTW - my side effect from narco are nausea and itching - benadryl really helps me with that. Plus - it helps knocking me out so I can sleep thought the worst of it.I took up to 1 benadryl for every 10 mg of narco.  so if I toio

I think they may make even stronger narco - try that. 

Percosets do NOTHING for me.  They might as well be jelly beans. They are oxy with tylenol and since tylenol is hard on your liver, you may not be able to take the dose of oxy that you need.  FUC# percosets.  I think only lazy doctors use them.

I used LIQUID OXY, alternating with tylenol and valium - one every 2 hours, so you are never more than 2 hours from something.  This is for the first ~3days.  After that some of the pain settles down and I could go for 6 hours.

I go for liquids - plastic surgeries are LONG.  Both mine were 7+ hours, so your system is not so happy - why upset your stomach with pills.  I got the liquid.  (but stayed with valium tablets)

Even though they say not to wake up in the middle of the night to take stuff, I think for the first few days it might be a good idea.  For 2 days I was with a cousin who came home from work at midnight and I would take something and be good till 4-6 am. My first night home alone, I fell asleep after a 9pm dose, slept though midnigt dose and woke at 4am with tears streaming down my face from pain.  I took a dose and was OK within 30 min, but it was not a good 30 min.  By the end of the week, pain way down, and mostly off meds after 2-1/2 weeks.

Also, take pain meds with you on day of surgery - keep them in the car with some yogurt.  In case they do not give you post-op meds and discharge you in pain (like my ass-ho$% of a facial plastic surgeon did), you can take them in the car and not wait until you get home (a 2-hour trip for me) by which time I was in AGONY.  What I described above was what my UB Lift plastic surgeon recommended and I was fine.   

Good luck - My UB lift was worth it - the facial work not so much but I might feel better if I had a better doctor

My preference has always been to avoid the liquid narcotics if at all possible, as they act suddenly but for a short duration. The pain pump works great, and really reduces your narcotic requirement. Exparel shows a lot of promise, although I have some reservations about it at present.

NSAIDs, if Ok with your bari doc can also synergize with narcotics and go a long way to helping pain day 2 and beyond.  

"You wake up like you went to sleep" from anesthesia, so I am big on anti-anxiety meds the night before too !  Starting the pain pump well before the patient wakes up often leads to no pain upon awakening, which sets a great tone for the rest of the recovery.  

Finally, pain control program is no good if it is not monitored...it's not a "set and forget" thing. So my excellent nurses at the hospital have guidelines if pain goes over a "5" and we call our folks at home every day to be sure we keep pain under control and the meds aren't causing side effects.

Sounds involved, but if you make pain control a priority and use the resources available these days you can dramatically reduce pain, speed recovery, and get better results !