Question:
How long are you allowed to stay on pain meds post op?

I have a very low tolerance for pain, and a very high tolerance for pain meds, I am on pain meds right now for my back, and I have to take 3 Vicodin ES every 3 hours. So I am worried about how long the pain will last, and how long docs let you stay on pain meds and how strong will they let you have. I do not have an addiction to pain meds, my pain level is just that bad.    — Lora C. (posted on February 11, 2001)

February 11, 2001
I had liquid tylenol and codine .I had lap only needed it for maybe 3 days.
   — Mike H.

February 11, 2001
The pain meds will most likely be narcotic from the hospital and the side effects are enough to get you off them pretty quick. I was off them a week after I came home but could have been off sooner if I didn't have to slowly cut back instead of stopping cold turkey. Don't stop a narcotic pain med cold turkey - no one told me this & I was a wreck!
   — Lisa B.

February 11, 2001
Lora - if you are already taking Vicodin, I would be surprised if you will need to take additional medication for the post-op pain. I don't consider myself to have a high pain tolerance at all. I did not like the way the morphine made me feel in the hospital, so I stopped using it after about 6 hours. I had two shots of Toreadol over the next 24 hours, and then went home with a prescription for Darvocet. I had asked for Percodan, but my surgeon felt that was too strong. I took only 2 of the Darvocet for the rest of my post-op recovery (Lap D/S).
   — kateseidel