What type of pain medication did you use after giving birth......

[RN2003AZ]

Where I am then confused is that you as a professional should advise your patient that if her pain level truly is 9/10 she Should not be able to text or laugh with Friends and that It would be almost impossible to talk or move. I don’t know I’m not an expert here but wouldn’t the nursing staff “consult” the patient and say listen if you can do this your pain may not be that bad, to maybe start with the IBu and let’s wait it out and see what happens in an hour???? I don’t know as a patient I would except the medical staff to be honest and tell me how it is and not cuddle me like I’m at some day spa

I can consult someone and advise that it may not be necessary but ultimately the patient has the final say. If the medication is ordered and available to them, they are allowed to have it. Most facilities will have a range, for example if the stated pain is 1-3 then it’s Tylenol. 4-5 then Motrin. 6-8 then 1 Tylenol with codeine. 8-10 is 2 Tylenol with codeine. So if said patient is saying she’s a 9/10 and that’s what I have to chart (can’t lie on that but I can document my perception of her pain via the faces scale) then I have to medicate appropriate based off the orders.

 

[IndianaMouse]

We weren't aware before hand but DD's head was 19.25 inches at birth. She only weighed 7 pounds , so not a large baby, but her head more than made up for her body size. Thank God I was able to deliver her fast and safely, as no one knew there was a problem until she was in the birth canal and had the cord wrapped around her neck .I ended up with 4th degree and periurethral tears from her birth . We still don't know know how many stitches I had , but it was a lot. I hate medication more than pain so only used Tylenol/ Motrin and numbing cream for about a week to 10 days after her birth . Baby wipes and cold packs became my best friends during the long healing process though.

 

[bellebud]

I had 30 stiches with my first (vaginal delivery), but don't recall pain meds after (this was 18 years ago). I was sore and tender of course, but like muscle soreness and bruising, nothing I had ever used medication for. Using a donut to sit on at home was helpful, walking slowly, taking it easy for a week on the couch. (I went back to work 2 weeks after giving birth).

For my 2nd baby, I had 2 stiches, and was up and about right after and had hardly anything to deal with pain-wise. I was super lucky.

 

[aprilchem]

I had 3 c-sections; after the first one I took Percocet for a couple of days, but didn't really need it so I stopped. After the second two I didn't take anything once the anesthetic wore off.

 

[Vicki926]

I also think people have such different pain tolerance. My husband got his wisdom teeth out, in a dentist office, with Novocain. Never took even a Tylenol afterwards. Never had any pain. He just had surgery to get a piece of his skull replaced(removed in September for brain swelling due to a brain bleed), 55 staples outside, I don’t know how many sutures inside.. he took 1 Percocet the next morning, other than that, nithing, no discomfort.
I was prescribed, and took, Vicodin, when I got my first wisdom tooth removed. Nothing but OTC for the other 3 teeth.

Plus some people don’t like any discomfort at all. I’m one of those people. I’ve only taken prescription painkillers 3 times in my life(wisdom tooth, and then after the birth of the kids, and only while in the hospital) but if I’m in the hospital and they said you can have some Advil and it will take the edge off or you can have Vicodin and you’ll have no pain at all, I’m going for the no pain at all option.

 

[RangerPooh]

4 vaginal deliveries and I just had Tylenol or something similar. But each delivery was slightly different. No tearing or stitches, but my biggest baby was almost 10 pounds. Perhaps more painful was the first BM following delivery, lol. That was a scary adventure

 

[smiths02]

I had my first in 2006. They kept trying to give me Percocet, but I had that before for my wisdom teeth and knew they made me loopy, so I just took ibuprofen. (also worried about breastfeeding and passing along the medication) They kept trying to give me the Percocet, though. I did have stitches and I was in pain even with the ibuprofen because I was moving around way too much (my son had a stay in NICU so I was walking a lot)

I then had twins in 2012 and again had stitches. I was offered Percocet once and declined for ibuprofen. They never offered the Percocet again. Guess times had changed.

 

[smiths02]

I also think people have such different pain tolerance. My husband got his wisdom teeth out, in a dentist office, with Novocain. Never took even a Tylenol afterwards. Never had any pain. He just had surgery to get a piece of his skull replaced(removed in September for brain swelling due to a brain bleed), 55 staples outside, I don’t know how many sutures inside.. he took 1 Percocet the next morning, other than that, nithing, no discomfort.
I was prescribed, and took, Vicodin, when I got my first wisdom tooth removed. Nothing but OTC for the other 3 teeth.

Plus some people don’t like any discomfort at all. I’m one of those people. I’ve only taken prescription painkillers 3 times in my life(wisdom tooth, and then after the birth of the kids, and only while in the hospital) but if I’m in the hospital and they said you can have some Advil and it will take the edge off or you can have Vicodin and you’ll have no pain at all, I’m going for the no pain at all option.

I think people have different medication tolerances as well.
I have taken narcotic painkillers three times in my life. Every time I was completely passed out...once where I felt awake but could not wake up.
I didn't want to do that after I had my children because I had babies to take care of and breastfeed.

Meanwhile, I know several older relatives who take some amount of narcotic painkillers everyday. They don't ever seem "high" or unable to function.

 

[cabanafrau]

I thought Percocet wasn't even available anymore, something they stopped dispensing?

I cannot remember what I was given in the hospital right after my C-sections, but I didn't fill any scrips for pain meds when I went home. Because I had sections I was in the hospital a little longer than most vaginal births, so I probably had more of a chance to heal than most who deliver vaginally. Like a previous poster I struggled with the after effects of the anesthesia -- wanted to rip my face off with my first because I was so incredibly itchy. They came up with a slightly more workable formula for the second, but it just doesn't agree with me. Because I react so easily to what's in a lot of the pain meds I only took the first dose of whatever they pushed after delivery & Motrin was a much bigger help after that. I was lucky that it seemed the more I got up and walked the halls the quicker I was more and more comfortable. I know from an ER visit for a different medical issue that Demerol absolutely does not agree with me -- I was still in horrible pain & unable to rest to the point that I was sitting on the gurney contemplating ripping out my IV and making a break for the doors, something I would never contemplate rationally. I now list it as an allergy to make sure they won't consider using it on me again.

 

[Minnesota!]

2 c/s. I had Percocet or whatever in the hospital, and I think I took one day of it at home, too… about 5 days after birth.

To be honest, I didn’t have “pain” as much as I had an uncomfortable “pulling” feeling. It just was…weird, and it freaked me out.

My second son was life-flighted to a hospital about 10 miles away from where I delivered him. So, I checked out AMA the day after he was born to go visit. It required lots of walking, for 2 weeks, as he was in the NICU. I think that really aided in my healing.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

When I have a patient texting on her phone and laughing with her family but then tells me her pain is a 9 out of 10 and is requesting pain medication there are rules I have to follow regardless of what I truly think her pain is. If I chart she told me 9/10 but then I don’t follow up and do anything about it and she complains that she wasn’t taken care of then I have to be the one to answer to the higher ups. What the patient sees from their perspective and what the medical professionals see are completely different yet as the professional I have to cater to the patient request.

And for the record after my own 2 vaginal deliveries I only took Motrin.

I have seen women have c-sections and barely take medication and I have seen woman who have had basic vaginal deliveries demand Percocet as soon as the baby was out. It’s all personal preference. It it’s personal preference that must be attended to.

My delivery was easy from a delivery standpoint, but I was cut to ease the way for my premature baby with a normal size head. I did have pain meds after birth, but nothing during.

But I have to comment on the fact that a patient can distract themselves from their pain with their cell phones, is a good thing. Not something to look down on.

Now, for me, if my pain is a 9 or 10, I can't distract myself. But that doesn't mean that I don't try. While I am just sitting there, waiting for the nurse to come by to ask me how I feel, I will try to read, knit, watch TV and yes, text someone. My husband has actually caught me reading with tears coming down my face, from pain. This is coming from someone that has had multiple surgeries and have a couple of conditions that cause chronic pain.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I thought Percocet wasn't even available anymore, something they stopped dispensing?

Vicodin is the one they stopped prescribing I believe. Norco and Percocet are both still on the market.

 

[NotUrsula]

When I had stitches I got a week's worth of Tylenol 3, but with the delivery that didn't require them, I didn't even take that. (Mind you, I *got* minor oral narcotics, as in my doc gave me a scrip, but I think I took one and then decided I really didn't need them for pain.)
What I used quite a lot of was Dermoplast spray.

I never had a C-section; that usually demands much more powerful stuff. I know my sister was on Demerol for about a month.

 

[LSUmiss]

So you are pushing pain meds for convenience and good reviews?

Hmmm no wonder we have an epidemic these days.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'm the father, so bourbon.

 

[WDWBarb]

No pain meds. I don't think they prescribed any? I was nursing and I know I didn't take any.

 

[ols386]

When I had my first baby, by c-section, they gave me Demerol, which is a narcotic for pain control. This was back in 1980. AND I was in the hospital for 5 full days. I don’t think they use much Demerol these days. Times have changed sooooo much.

 

[lifesavacation]

I remember being offered pain meds in the hospital after delivery, but declined because I hate taking meds of any kind. And I was nursing but they said there were safe meds if I needed some. The nurses were great at telling me not to try and tough it out if I needed something stronger than Tylenol. I opted for ice packs in the hospital and Tylenol for the first couple of days when I went home.

 

[Vicki926]

Hmmm no wonder we have an epidemic these days.

I don’t think that’s what she was saying..when there are meds ordered, that just means they’re there if necessary, not that everyone is taking them(obviously not, looking at this thread). And there’s a difference between meds available in the hospital for 2 days vs getting a narcotic prescription filled for home. There’s also a difference between prescription strength ibuprofen, which is all I was offered with my 2nd, and OxyContin. Anyone can pop 4 Advil and make their own prescription strength ibuprofen, so getting prescription strength meds for 2 days after childbirth doesn’t mean you’re getting addictive drugs.
My husband was in ICU for a month in the fall, he had meds ordered by the doctors, standing orders..and the nurses administered them at their discretion.
If they thought he was in pain, they’d adjust his fentanyl and propofol as needed. When he was in rehab after his hospital stay, he had a standing order for oxy...which he never took, and to be honest I don’t know why they’d assume he’d need it, but it was available so that if he did need it, they didn’t have to track down a doctor to prescribe it. There were meds he was prescribed in the hospital, but never took, took in different doses, etc. the doctor doesn’t come in and check each time anything changes. But when a nurse needs to help their patient, it’s much quicker and easier to have the order in, than to find the doctor and get it written.

 

[msjprincess]

I had 3 c-sections, I took percocet while in the hospital. With the first they sent me home with a prescription for 3 or 4 days of Vicodin, with the second I got 2 days of Tylenol 3, with the third the doctor told me to take ibuprofen.

There was one nurse at the hospital that always gave patients a hard time when they asked for pain meds. I had her with all 3 kids. It was frustrating because you would have on nurse say to take the meds on schedule to keep ahead if the pain then she would come on duty and try to talk you out of taking anything.