If you are going to have surgery soon, you likely have a lot of questions. How long will the surgery take, how long will I be in the hospital, or maybe even how long until I can eat again? However, one crucial question you should pose to your doctor is how your pain will be controlled after surgery.
While there is no way to avoid all pain after surgery, keeping your pain at acceptable levels is vital to your healing process. Adequate pain management St Augustine FL helps speed your recovery because you will better be able to do deep breathing exercises and walk. If you can’t do those things, you’ll find yourself at a higher risk for complications such as blot clots or pneumonia. Here are a few ways that your doctor might manage your pain after surgery.
Oral Medications
After your surgery, you might be given some oral pain medications. As soon as you meet your nurses and are lucid after surgery, make sure that you communicate with them to know if you should ask for the medicine or if they will automatically bring it when you can next take it.
It is absolutely vital to your pain management that you never wait until your pain is extremely high to ask for medicine. The worse your pain gets, the harder it can be to get it under control. When your nurses ask how you are feeling, don’t ever downplay it. They need to know so they can help you the best way possible. Even if you recently took your oral meds and you’re still in pain, there will likely be more medicine that they can give you.
Intravenous Patient-Controlled Analgesia
When you entire the hospital for your surgery, you will be given an IV. This is a way for nurses and doctors to administer medicine directly into your bloodstream without having to find a new vein or muscle every time. The PCA is a computerized pump that hooks directly into your IV and has a button that allows you to control your medication. However, it should be noted that no matter how often you press the button, it will only dispense a certain amount of medicine.
A PCA is a good option for people who want the quick response of IV administered drugs but don’t necessarily need them at the same scheduled times. While your body’s response to the medicine will be quicker than with some that are taken orally, it is still important not to let your pain get too high before you push the button.
