Please share your pain issues/management/meds?! Is pain pump common in hospital? Thank you!

Before I was taken into the O.R the anesthesialogist put a patch behind my ear for nausea that lasted 24 hours. After I woke up I was a little nauseous from anethesia but not enough to make me vomit so I was given Zofran IV. I was given a Dilaudid PCA pump and it helped a lot especially when I needed sleep. It caused slight nausea though so I was given Zofran IV every 2 hours. I was also given Toradol IV every 12 hours because I was in a lot of pain. I went in on a Monday and left in a Wednesday. No drain. Since I've been home I've taken liquid Tylenol twice.

Is the abdominal surgical band something they provide in the hospital' date=' or can this be purchased at the local pharmacy? Also I noticed some of you were in the hospital for 3 or more days. My surgeon said I would just be there over***ht? Is this rare?[/quote']

I was kept for 3 extra days due to complications. It depends on how your body responds after surgery. I had a surprise hernia repair that was large according to my surgeon so that added to my pain. I am almost 3 mths out now and doing fabulous!!

I used the thing in recovery. Once. The nurse threatened to put me on a CPAP machine so I stopped pressing the button. I wasn't in pain - just uncomfortable from the gas. Not being drugged helped me to walk it all off faster I believe. I guess after two open abdominal surgeries, this was a breeze.

I had a few complications and was in a lot of pain when I came to the floor. I would rate it a 10 on a 1-10 scale. They were having problems keeping my heart rate up and pain under control. The floor nurse put me on a pain pump, but I was too out of it and in agony to press the button. My sister sat beside me and pushed the button every time it became available for about 90 minutes and I finally got ahead of the pain. I have had some surgeries before and usually need Tylenol or something similar, but this was a whole different ball game for me. They left me on the pain pump--and I used it when I needed it--for 2 1/2 days. It made it easier to get moving since I could have a small dose rather than a large dose and be knocked out. I am now 4 days out and am just a little sore. I still have pain in my shoulder, but the surgeon says that it will probably work itself out in a few days. Other than the 2-3 hours right after surgery, the pain was tolerable and I had the means to manage it. Every surgeon is different. My surgeon has the attitude that you should expect some pain--this is a major surgery and you can't medicate all the pain away.