How long did you take meds?

lovebug33

I was wondering how long I will need to take meds. I am afraid I will become a lortab addict! I really hate taking any narcotics, but I have to keep the pain away!

RumbleLina

You are not going to become an addict.  The first week I was home I kept on top of my meds and then I just took as needed for pain which is how I eventually phased it out and took less and less. Eventually I started feeling better so I didn't need to take pain relievers. I never even finished my rx.

juliane2004

I took the percocet 2 pills every 4 hrs as allowed in the hospital. Once I got home, I dropped to 1 pill every 6 hrs, and also took advil (NOT TYLENOL).

Then once my percocet ran out (at about 6 days PP), I took tylenol and advil as prescribed on the bottle. I took that every 4-6 hours as allowed for about 7 more days. DD2 was in the NICU for 11 days, so I was not resting as much as I should've been.

Now, at 3 weeks PP, I take tylenol or advil (usually not both anymore) as needed, which is maybe once every day or two.

Mystisai

As my doctors keep telling me, the pills aren't supposed to take all the pain away.

11 days post-op and I just had them renew my prescription for oxycodone, and I'm still taking ibuprofen and tylenol, as much as I can safely take in a day. They also prescribed me some antibiotics today saying that my pain could be an infection, though she doesn't actually think I have one... But it's severe enough pain that I will wake up in the middle of the night crying.

My nurses were also telling me that it seems the surgeons decided to make my incision a little smaller than normal, they had to be pretty rough to get the little guy out, hence the extra bruising. My ob hopes that by the end of the week I will only need to take pain meds twice a day.

So hopefully yours isn't as bad as mine. 

Neener73

I alternated Vicodin and Ibuprofen until I was one week post-op.  Then I just took Ibuprofen as needed (usually at night) for a few more days.

nic5606

You will not get addicted to the pain medications if you are using them for true pain. 

Since you are taking vicoden (has tylenol in it) you can also take ibuprofen (advil) in addition.

I had a ton of pain after my c section. I was on dilaudid (narcotic) 2mg every 3-4 hours for 10 days and was also taking tylenol 500 mg every 4 hours and ibuprofen 600mg every 6 hrs around the clock.

I still used the tylenol and ibuprofen till about day 16 and then as needed.

Hope the pain gets better soon.

jesselayne8

I never took any narcotics.  Just alternated tylenol and ibuprofen for about 12 weeks.

 

nosoup4u

I took everything they gave me, which was probably for 7-10 days. Then I switched to taking Advil regularly for another week or so.

There was a point in the hospital where I got behind on the pain pills, and it sucked. Definitely stay on top of the pain - you won't become a pill popper if you take what's prescribed for the amount of time it's prescribed.

And FWIW, I took Advil regularly for the first 10-14 days after having a VBAC. Giving birth is hard work, period, and your body needs time to recover/heal from it (hence taking meds!).

ewilliams1127

nosoup4u:

I took everything they gave me, which was probably for 7-10 days. Then I switched to taking Advil regularly for another week or so.

There was a point in the hospital where I got behind on the pain pills, and it sucked. Definitely stay on top of the pain - you won't become a pill popper if you take what's prescribed for the amount of time it's prescribed.

And FWIW, I took Advil regularly for the first 10-14 days after having a VBAC. Giving birth is hard work, period, and your body needs time to recover/heal from it (hence taking meds!).

 

Ditto minus the VBAC.  I was prescribed Percoset every 4-6 with 800mg Advil every 8.  I tried to be a superhero and not take the pain meds the first week and that was a BIG mistake.  I ended up phasing the narcotics out on week 2, then the Advil on week 3 or 4.  Week 2 was the worst for me in terms of recovery.

Zimger

I was on percocet and Ibuprophen. I took both for about a week and then phased out the percocet over the next week. Taking the ibuprophen was the key. As long as the swelling was kept down it didn't hurt as much.

Kie310

I was taking the heavy stuff at night for about 2 weeks. Otherwise advil was fine during the day. 

HotChocolate79

I was on Dilaudid around the clock for 5 days, then started tapering it off, and stopped altogether on day 8. I may have taken an odd tylenol or ibuprofen here and there after that, but didn't have the kind of pain that required narcotics afterwards.

mrsmklynch

My doc for my RCS did such an amazing job, I cut back to extra strength tylenol the day I went home, so after 2-3 days. I remember taking them much longer the 1st time around but that was an emergency c/s after 17 hrs of labor. I've heard other people say that they too had harder recoveries if they labored before their c/s, so I chalk it up to that.