My husband just picked up all the post op prescriptions I was given yesterday at my final pre op visit with the surgeon and the pain med is in pill form, is that right? Am I supposed to crush it if I need it? It is hydrocodone. Also the antacid is in pill form. Now my surgeon lets you start swallowing pills at one week, so maybe I don't start some of these things until the one week, but I would have thought I would need the pain meds right when I got home. What did y'all get?

Peace

Laura

I take hydrocodone regularly and was swallowing the pills whole on the day of discharge from the hospital. I was given hydrocodone in liquid form while I was in the hospital. I suggest calling the surgeon's office and double check with them to see what they want you to do. Honestly, if you need pain medicine at home, it will most likely be in the first 48 hours after you get home. You can buy a pill crusher at any pharmacy to help make life a little easier to get them fully crushed. Good luck with surgery!

I swallowed the pills no problems

I was given the pill form first as well and they said to crush it up to take it. The taste was so awful that I couldn't take it so dr wrote me a prescription for liquid pain killer. I was also told not to swallow pills until 1 week out. I think it'd be wise to listen to your docs advice and if you can't handle the pill crushed ask for something liquid (the liquid is also tastes bad but is tolerable)

Edited December 12, 201411 yr by sunflowerchild

Did you have much pain and did the hydrocodone help?

I used the pain killer for maybe 5 days post op. I didn't use the hydrocodone because I didn't want to crush it. I used the liquid (lortab) and yes it helped.

My surgeon didn't believe in pain meds, he doesn't believe in crushing pills either. I have been taking whole pills since coming home from the hospital!

I was only allowed to swallow very tiny pills si I was sent home with liquid vicodin. I hardly needed it and it tastes awful. Most of my pain came from the gas they use to expand your stomach. The best things that worked for that was walking, a heating pad and gas x tablets which are chewable or they have the strips. Once that gas is out of your system I thought the pain was nothing. The gas pain was not nice. By the way, the pain killers really don't help much with the gas pain, but all that gas caused everything else to hurt more because your tummy is extended. Once it is gone everything settles down. At least this was my experience.

I was given pain meds in pill form and could take them 3-4 after surgery no problem.

My pain meds & heartburn meds were pills. Day 2 in the hospital they had me swallowing pills. I haven't had a problem.