So I got the bright idea to paint the bathroom. My arm has been killing me alllll night! My pre-surgery book says no Motrin, Tylenol, etc a month prior. (surgery may 14) any suggestions for pain?

Oooh, that is a toughie. Hope someone has a good answer.

Oh & I was told no aspirin 2 weeks before, not one month, so maybe you are okay to take something??

Maybe you can call up the Dr & ask what you can take?

I too only had the aspirin restriction. You could try a cream like icy hot or a heating pad to help with the pain.

I was only limited to no asprin, but you are smart to do what your surgeon suggests. Have you called their office to see if they might suggest something? They may just tell you to go ahead with the tylenol, but it's better not to risk it unless you know they are on board with it.

I also second the heating pad suggestion. Hopefully, it'll start to feel better soon!

Have you tried Ben Gay or maybe some of those disposable pads that heat up? Good luck and stop overdoing it!

How far out are you from sugery. I was told if I needed I could take Tylenol but NO Ibuprofin. Ibuprofin attaches to your red blood cells and stays in your body longer.

I was told I could only take tylenol...no ibuprofen, aspirin etc.

Definetly talk to your doctor, aspirine and ibuprofen are what they call NSAIDs, aspirin attaches irreversibly (cannot be detached so you have to wait to make new ones and it takes about a week) to platelets which are what causes clotting to form and many other things that keep you from bleeding to death. Other NSAID such as ibuprofen have similar mechanisms but are reversible. Tylenol is completely different is not classified as an NSAID and has little to non anti-inflammatory properties, but it helps with pain. It's why many surgeons feel very comfortable with Tylenol use but not with NSAIDs specially aspirin. Make sure you ask your surgeon and explain how much pain you are in. Heat is definetly great but what is referred to as contrast teraphy is better (I am a licensed massage therapist and can tell you that from that) and that involves 20 minutes of heat then 20 minutes of ice, and so on, as often as you can. Try not to do more than 20 minutes each because you can also cause more harm than good. Epsom salt baths is also something I recommend my patients. (I am also in med school but because I am only a student I cannot recommend anything at all as such) before you take any drugs please talk to your doctor because they will have your medical history and would be better suited to help you more than anyone of us can. Best of luck!

So my recommendations are from a massage therapist point of view

Thank you all the great info! I fired up the heating pad and took some calcium lactate. The pain started subsiding finally. I took another round of calcium lactate 3 hrs later and made it through the day. FYI this type of calcium is the fastest absorbing and great for inflammation. Who knew!?