Pain Meds

[rangerron]

Had my AVR on 6 Sept 2011 and I am doing just fine. Very surprised on how good I feel and like most folks, this is all so very new and a bit scary.

A concern I have is: How long does someone with an aortic valve replacement typically stay on pain medications? I certainly use the meds and just want to get an idea of what is typical.

Thanks,

 

[AgilityDog]

2-3 weeks all the time, then dropping down to mostly at night, to sleep, because it hurt to turn over, and all the muscle aches, etc.
So I'd say 4-6 weeks to some extent, decreasing to advil or tylenol.

It depends upon how much you hurt. Everyone is different. My aortic surgery wasn't nearly as painful as the mitral. With the mitral I had back aches for months.

 

[Luana]

I had very little pain after surgery. The Rx I had for pain pills when I came home had no refill and none was needed. I took them more to fall asleep than I did for pain.

 

[nngbwh]

I had little pain after my surgery. I was never giving any pain medication. I just took tylenol.

 

[RobThatsMe]

It depends on the person.
One thing for sure, if you are on oxycodone, or some other narcotic pain killers for too long, you should not stop cold turkey.
Discuss this with your doctor.

Rob

 

[piglet]

I was never on any narcotic type pain killers, just took 500-1000 mg tylenol for around 6 weeks or so, after that I was only taking them at night or as needed in the day.

 

[Bina]

Hello Ranger ron and welcome !
Being totally averse to taking pills....after one week I was taking only regular Tylenol, and after 3-4 weeks nothing
except my BP and Coumadin meds. Do whatever works for YOU. Best wishes.

 

[Jason]

I took the full regimen of pain pills for about a week after coming home, and then only for sleeping aids. I think I refilled it once, so had to use at least a months worth. As others have said, it really depends on you personally and how much you need them. The right amount of pain meds is however many you need to control the pain! My nurses told me that pain meds were very important, as you won't feel like doing the things you need to do to recovery if you don't take them.

 

[rvrkumar]

Hi rangerron,

My situation is same as yours. 3 weeks post-op (almost). Trying to get out of oxycodon and move into Tylenol. Tried with out oxycodon for couple of days, but had to go pack as the pains returned. Will wait few more days before trying that again.

-kumar

 

[Julian]

I tried to stay away from pain meds as much as possible while at the hospital, I was sure they were making me go insane. For 3 or 4 days the nurses convinced me to take them every 4 hours. After that I only took them twice a day until I left the hospital. Once I got home I took a vicodin for bed time only. After a week home I stopped taking pain meds all together. I'm now 7 weeks post op and have not taken anything since.

Looking back on it I think I was feeling out of control and on the verge of insanity the first few days do to all the trauma and other drugs I had in me not because of the pain killers.

 

[RobThatsMe]

I took the full regimen of pain pills for about a week after coming home, and then only for sleeping aids. I think I refilled it once, so had to use at least a months worth. As others have said, it really depends on you personally and how much you need them. The right amount of pain meds is however many you need to control the pain! My nurses told me that pain meds were very important, as you won't feel like doing the things you need to do to recovery if you don't take them.

Well said Jason, I totally agree. A firm believer in being pain-free here!

 

[Mentu]

Ron, we can tell you our experiences but you must also keep in mind that you are an individual and may need different care. That said, I took the round the clock narcotics in the hospital for two days after I left the ICU then switched to Tylenol with a little narcotic at night. Once home, five days after surgery, I continued the same for a week and then switched to Tylenol and Aspirin with narcotic only on those nights I was too uncomfortable to sleep. I can also say, that I never had any of the problems some people do with appetite or the taste of food and I slept well. I did start waking at 04:30 AM but after awhile I always have gone back to sleep. Food and sleep may not be related to the narcotics in this case but in the past, after knee surgery, I found they did disturb my sleep. This is one of those things you have to feel out for yourself.

Larry