Usually you do not eat or drink right after your operation so instead of pills for pain you will take medicine in a small tube placed in a vein (IV) in your arm or in the epidural space in your back. Some operations cause more pain than others, and each person responds in a different way. Your doctor will talk with you about what is best for you. The IV medicine can be given to you by your nurse or you may have a pump that lets you have some control over when you take the medicine. After you are eating and drinking you can take pain pills. There is no reason for you to worry about getting "hooked" on pain medicine. This is very rare unless you already have a problem with addiction. You do need to tell the doctors and nurses about any medicine you have been taking for pain or other reasons. Mixing some medicines can cause problems.

Here are some of the different ways that pain medicine is administered: Patient Controlled Anesthesia, Epidural Anesthesia, and Oral Analgesics.

Patient Controlled Anesthesia(PCA) PCA means that you will have some control of your pain medicine. Before PCA, when you needed medicine for pain, the nurse was called to bring it. With PCA, you press a button and the pain medicine is given through a small tube in a vein in your arm. It is carefully measured and timed by a pump so that the exact amount specified by your doctor is given. The pump has safeguards that will not give you more medicine than is percribed and is very safe as long as only the patient pushes the button. Since the pain medicine is given through the IV line it is not necessary to have a "shot" or be stuck with a needle each time pain medicine is given.   Frequently Asked Questions Regarding PCA

Epidural Anesthesia You can take pain medicine through through a small soft tube placed in the epidural space in your back. That space is close to the nerves that sense pain, especially pain in your chest, abdomen, back, and legs. Because the pain medicine is given so close to pain-sensing nerves, a small dose of the medicine usually gives very good pain relief. The epidural tube is usually left in your back until your pain is controlled with pills taken by mouth. It does not hurt when the nurse removes the epidural tube. A big advantage of this method is that the small dose of medicine will allow you to be awake and alert as well as comfortable. This helps you to get out of bed sooner, do your breathing exercises, and get your strength back faster. Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Epidural Anesthesia

Taking Pills for Pain You will be able to take pain pills when you are drinking liquids and not feeling sick at your stomach. Most people get very good relief from pain pills but you do need to take them when the pain is mild as it takes about 30 minutes for the pills to work. It is better to stay ahead of the pain than to try to catch up with it after you are really hurting. Pills cost less than most other types of medicine and are easy to take when you go home.

Talk With Your Doctors and Nurses Your doctors and nurses will talk with you about your pain. You will be asked to rate your pain on a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 equal to no pain and 10 the worst possible pain you can imagine. Giving your pain a number on the scale helps the doctors and nurses to know how well your pain control is working. You should ask questions if you do not understand the pain scale or have questions about your pain medicine. Don't worry about being a "bother." The doctors and nurses want and need to know so you can be as pain free as possible after your surgery.