Surgeon only gives Tylenol after surgery

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Without saying what surgery it is, it’s really hard to tell whether this is reasonable or not.

+1

And it’s not clear if the doctor even said they’d NEVER give anything more. It sounds like their default plan, which is reasonable for many surgeries.

I just used Advil after my two c-sections because I can’t tolerate narcotics. It was fine. I went home in <48 hrs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I met with a surgeon today for a consult for significant and urgent surgery. There were a number of things I was unimpressed with but one was that they only give Tylenol. I feel like they would probably give more if a patient was in REALLY bad shape but her take was “some discomfort is normal after major surgery but it should be manageable with Tylenol.” That’s jacked up. We invented medication so that you don’t have to feel pain. Give a patient 3-5 days of pain meds. I’m meeting with other surgeons because this one seems heartless.

Apparently your surgery isn't that urgent.

Quit doctor shopping for drugs. Tylenol and ibuprofen will mitigate most pain. Neither has significant side effects, withdrawal symptoms, addiction potential or other complications. You don't need 3-5 days of narcotics, and if you do, you can be prescribed them when you need them. Demanding drugs you probably won't need in advance is drug-seeking behavior. No, you should not have an expectation of 'zero pain' post-surgery. You should anticipate and prepare for discomfort at a level commensurate with whatever procedure you're having done, and be with it for the brief time it's present because that's life in a body. I would strongly suggest you avoid opioids like the plague they are, as the withdrawals kick in after even short-term use, and 3-5 days is more than enough to trigger addiction.

-long-term chronic pain patient who has BTDT with pretty much all of the painkiller options

[Anonymous]

I had two c-sections, and absolutely needed pain meds after both of them. Kudos to those who can do it with Tylenol/motrin alone.

That said, DD recently had her wisdom teeth out and the surgeon said during the consult that they no longer prescribe pain killers as a matter of course (whereas I remember being sent home with Vicodin after my wisdom teeth surgery). DD did do fine with just Tylenol and Motrin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had two c-sections, and absolutely needed pain meds after both of them. Kudos to those who can do it with Tylenol/motrin alone.

That said, DD recently had her wisdom teeth out and the surgeon said during the consult that they no longer prescribe pain killers as a matter of course (whereas I remember being sent home with Vicodin after my wisdom teeth surgery). DD did do fine with just Tylenol and Motrin.

I think it’s a good place to start for many procedures.

[Anonymous]

I’d give them extra points for compassion because they don’t want to get you addicted to hard drugs when you actually don’t even need them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I met with a surgeon today for a consult for significant and urgent surgery. There were a number of things I was unimpressed with but one was that they only give Tylenol. I feel like they would probably give more if a patient was in REALLY bad shape but her take was “some discomfort is normal after major surgery but it should be manageable with Tylenol.” That’s jacked up. We invented medication so that you don’t have to feel pain. Give a patient 3-5 days of pain meds. I’m meeting with other surgeons because this one seems heartless.

Apparently your surgery isn't that urgent.

Quit doctor shopping for drugs. Tylenol and ibuprofen will mitigate most pain. Neither has significant side effects, withdrawal symptoms, addiction potential or other complications. You don't need 3-5 days of narcotics, and if you do, you can be prescribed them when you need them. Demanding drugs you probably won't need in advance is drug-seeking behavior. No, you should not have an expectation of 'zero pain' post-surgery. You should anticipate and prepare for discomfort at a level commensurate with whatever procedure you're having done, and be with it for the brief time it's present because that's life in a body. I would strongly suggest you avoid opioids like the plague they are, as the withdrawals kick in after even short-term use, and 3-5 days is more than enough to trigger addiction.

-long-term chronic pain patient who has BTDT with pretty much all of the painkiller options

You've BTDT with all the painkiller options for YOUR body. Stop speaking for other people.

[Anonymous]

Let me guess OP. You go to the doctor every time you have a sniffle and demand antibiotics. And the doctor gives them to you because it’s easier than arguing and trying to educate you, so you never learn, just create superbugs that the rest of us need to live with.

[Anonymous]

I didn't need it for wisdom teeth. Did need it for c-section and a fracture.

If I tell a doctor going in what I think I'm going to need, that's not drug seeking behavior. That's preparing for pain relief that I'm the most intimate with since nobody can feel my feelings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t be a baby. Pain is temporary. Tylenol is sufficient.

+1. I admire this surgeon. More of them should have this attitude. Opiates should not be a first resort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I met with a surgeon today for a consult for significant and urgent surgery. There were a number of things I was unimpressed with but one was that they only give Tylenol. I feel like they would probably give more if a patient was in REALLY bad shape but her take was “some discomfort is normal after major surgery but it should be manageable with Tylenol.” That’s jacked up. We invented medication so that you don’t have to feel pain. Give a patient 3-5 days of pain meds. I’m meeting with other surgeons because this one seems heartless.

Apparently your surgery isn't that urgent.

Quit doctor shopping for drugs. Tylenol and ibuprofen will mitigate most pain. Neither has significant side effects, withdrawal symptoms, addiction potential or other complications. You don't need 3-5 days of narcotics, and if you do, you can be prescribed them when you need them. Demanding drugs you probably won't need in advance is drug-seeking behavior. No, you should not have an expectation of 'zero pain' post-surgery. You should anticipate and prepare for discomfort at a level commensurate with whatever procedure you're having done, and be with it for the brief time it's present because that's life in a body. I would strongly suggest you avoid opioids like the plague they are, as the withdrawals kick in after even short-term use, and 3-5 days is more than enough to trigger addiction.

-long-term chronic pain patient who has BTDT with pretty much all of the painkiller options

Asking for pain medication after major surgery is not “drug seeking behavior.” People have lost their minds!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t be a baby. Pain is temporary. Tylenol is sufficient.

Are you the maternity ward nurse that has been telling this to all the c-section moms?

Can only speak for myself, but I was appalled at how hard they pushed Oxy after my c-section, even after I told them Tylenol was all I wanted.

My doctor didn’t push oxy, but all I needed was Tylenol as well

Me too. I hardly had any pain.

[Anonymous]

Wanting narcotics before the surgery even happens and there is pain, and shopping around to find someone who freely gives them out is a pretty big red flag. A lot of docs now only use them in a very controlled way for people whose pain isn’t managed in other ways. They don’t just send people home with bottles of narcotics anymore for just in case reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I met with a surgeon today for a consult for significant and urgent surgery. There were a number of things I was unimpressed with but one was that they only give Tylenol. I feel like they would probably give more if a patient was in REALLY bad shape but her take was “some discomfort is normal after major surgery but it should be manageable with Tylenol.” That’s jacked up. We invented medication so that you don’t have to feel pain. Give a patient 3-5 days of pain meds. I’m meeting with other surgeons because this one seems heartless.

I agree with you 100%. That level of rigidity in pain management would be a red flag to me - what other subjects are they rigid about that might effect the surgery and my recovery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had two c-sections, and absolutely needed pain meds after both of them. Kudos to those who can do it with Tylenol/motrin alone.

That said, DD recently had her wisdom teeth out and the surgeon said during the consult that they no longer prescribe pain killers as a matter of course (whereas I remember being sent home with Vicodin after my wisdom teeth surgery). DD did do fine with just Tylenol and Motrin.

My son had his wisdom teeth out and they prescribed narcotics. Pain should be treated. When pain isn’t treated, it takes longer to heal and the patient is more susceptible to infections as the pain disrupts their resting/ability to sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I met with a surgeon today for a consult for significant and urgent surgery. There were a number of things I was unimpressed with but one was that they only give Tylenol. I feel like they would probably give more if a patient was in REALLY bad shape but her take was “some discomfort is normal after major surgery but it should be manageable with Tylenol.” That’s jacked up. We invented medication so that you don’t have to feel pain. Give a patient 3-5 days of pain meds. I’m meeting with other surgeons because this one seems heartless.

I agree with you 100%. That level of rigidity in pain management would be a red flag to me - what other subjects are they rigid about that might effect the surgery and my recovery.

This is OP. It's this exactly. Rigidity in a way that doesn't seem to care about the patient's experience. They also don't release pathology results when they become available. You have to wait until your follow up appointment with the surgeon a couple of weeks later so the surgeon can "contextualize" them. I suspect they have that policy because people called the office upset after reading their results on MyChart, and they don't want to deal with crying callers. But very few people need context to understand "carcinoma" or "benign." They just don't want to deal with outside of the follow up appointment.