Let's talk about opiods and c-sections...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what creates addiction? Doling out drugs to desperate people who then take them desperately or take too many to cope with the pain.

My first c was an emergency and I had a lot of pain. They sent me home with pain medication for like 4 days. I came to my OBs office at the hospital on my 4th day of visiting my baby in the NICU asking for a couple more days worth of medicine and was treated like a drug addict. I had to travel to the hospital every day to visit my baby, I was in pain, and treated like a drug seeking ER scammer 8 days out from abdominal surgery. I needed to keep ahead of the pain to keep seeing my daughter.

The opiod crisis has created a culture where doctors withhold it from people who legitimately need it. Or they give them some paltry amount. That creates legitimate addiction risk. Versus giving patients the correct and compassionate dose length and monitoring the weaning off of the medicine.

I held onto my two spare oxycontin for two years wondering if I would be given adequate pain relief for c section #2.

And I have a decent pain tolerance and I got my butt up same day for #2 (I was on a magnesium drip for #1 so was not permitted to walk until day 2). I was walking every day as aggressively as I could with each kid. I was proactive in my recovery.

Do not contribute to the culture of shaming women who want to manage their pain responsibly and shaming doctors for prescribing needed temporary adequate pain relievers to women who just had ABDOMINAL SURGERY.

If all you needed was advil, great, get your opinions out of other women's medical care.

+1

+1000

From the person who told op to STFU. Find something better to do than shame women for taking pain medicine after having our abdomen CUT OPEN. Jesus.

[Anonymous]

I received Percocet after my planned c section. I did feel like I needed it, and asked for another rx when my first week was running out. The doc was extremely reluctant to prescribe, but eventually did so. I only took two pills of the new rx before deciding I was fine without (gave the rest to the county drug take-back).

Trust women to accurately evaluate their own pain and stop meds when they're ready. There are no medals for taking the least meds.

I experienced no constipation, btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what creates addiction? Doling out drugs to desperate people who then take them desperately or take too many to cope with the pain.

My first c was an emergency and I had a lot of pain. They sent me home with pain medication for like 4 days. I came to my OBs office at the hospital on my 4th day of visiting my baby in the NICU asking for a couple more days worth of medicine and was treated like a drug addict. I had to travel to the hospital every day to visit my baby, I was in pain, and treated like a drug seeking ER scammer 8 days out from abdominal surgery. I needed to keep ahead of the pain to keep seeing my daughter.

The opiod crisis has created a culture where doctors withhold it from people who legitimately need it. Or they give them some paltry amount. That creates legitimate addiction risk. Versus giving patients the correct and compassionate dose length and monitoring the weaning off of the medicine.

I held onto my two spare oxycontin for two years wondering if I would be given adequate pain relief for c section #2.

And I have a decent pain tolerance and I got my butt up same day for #2 (I was on a magnesium drip for #1 so was not permitted to walk until day 2). I was walking every day as aggressively as I could with each kid. I was proactive in my recovery.

Do not contribute to the culture of shaming women who want to manage their pain responsibly and shaming doctors for prescribing needed temporary adequate pain relievers to women who just had ABDOMINAL SURGERY.

If all you needed was advil, great, get your opinions out of other women's medical care.

+1

+1000

From the person who told op to STFU. Find something better to do than shame women for taking pain medicine after having our abdomen CUT OPEN. Jesus.

I’m the PP who had the excruciating tooth extraction and I could not agree more. I don’t know why I was in so much pain but it was so bad I was confined to my bed, rocking back and forth and crying on and off. When I asked for something more than ibuprofen I was treated like I was drug seeking. There was absolutely no reason for me to have suffered that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me personally, "stay ahead of the pain" was good advice. I tried to go no meds, then ibuprofen only the first time around, the pain caught up with me, and overwhelmed/exhausted me.

The second time, I followed "stay ahead of the pain" from the start, and felt much better and had a lot more energy.

Your mileage may very; that is my experience.

This is a good point. "Stay ahead of the pain" isn't just about the patient not feeling pain. It's about the fact that, for some people, when the body manages pain, it takes energy and focus to do so. At a time when you are already completely depleted and unfocused, pain meds help you conserve energy for taking care of yourself in other ways, and taking care of/enjoying your baby.

Your body may work differently, and may have different responses to pain. That's fine. But "stay ahead of the pain" isn't just about not feeling bad things for many bodies; it is about not zapping you of energy needlessly.

When used properly under a doctor's supervision, opioids are a great pain/energy management resource for many recovering from a major abdominal surgery.

[Anonymous]

I had an emergency CS for a twin birth and was prescribed opioids (Percocet) I have a very high tolerance for pain. I was in excruciating pain immediately after the surgery and I took the max dose (two pills every three hours) for four days to stay ahead of the pain. After the fourth day, I stopped because the nurse on duty basically shamed me and told me I should stop taking them. I did stop and was still in pain, but it was much less than the first day after the surgery. If you need opioids and are prescribed them, then take them. I wouldn't take them for longer than a week to avoid dependency, but in my case the pain was so bad it took my breath away and made me nauseous. The opioids made it so that I could function. Everyone is different; do what is right for your body.

[Anonymous]

I started this thread and REALLY didn’t mean to shame anyone about your choices. Clearly different people have different experiences and people should do what’s right for them. My question was more about whether women felt pressured by the medical community to take meds that they might not need and which might have some serious side effects. Maybe the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction now, but isn’t it a conversation that’s worth having, either way?
I’m happy if people are just thinking about it and making the right choice for them. As with any medical issue, I think that information is empowering and I personally found that gyn care was often “one size fits all” without providing women the information they would need to make an informed choice.

Really, no shame if you’re making your choice and it’s right for you! I think all these stories are great for women to hear so they know that there’s a wide range of experiences out there.

[Anonymous]

My doctor said to take the percs to avoid pain

Yeah right, I’d rather suffer in pain then to have those side effects from the drugs

No thanks

I had a c section and only took them the day of the surgery
My next day I was too light headed and felt an anxiety attack coming on after taking one

That’s all I needed, to know

I’m glad some people can take them without any problem

But me, I couldn’t and yes I was in pain but I’d rather than then start an addiction

[Anonymous]

I had 2 cs so I have plenty to say. But I’m not clear on what the question is, OP.

Do you want feedback or opinions? Are you open to hearing people’s stories?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started this thread and REALLY didn’t mean to shame anyone about your choices. Clearly different people have different experiences and people should do what’s right for them. My question was more about whether women felt pressured by the medical community to take meds that they might not need and which might have some serious side effects. Maybe the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction now, but isn’t it a conversation that’s worth having, either way?
I’m happy if people are just thinking about it and making the right choice for them. As with any medical issue, I think that information is empowering and I personally found that gyn care was often “one size fits all” without providing women the information they would need to make an informed choice.

Really, no shame if you’re making your choice and it’s right for you! I think all these stories are great for women to hear so they know that there’s a wide range of experiences out there.

Here's what I don't get: How a recommendation, and even a well-intentioned urging, can cause pressure. It's only pressure if you allow it to affect you.

When a doctor gives his or her best advice, I seriously consider it. I don't always take it. But I know that he or she is coming from a place of knowledge, experience and good intentions.

Ultimately, I listen to myself.

I knew that breastfeeding was the right choice for me, even without input from the medical community. I took the advice that was helpful, I left the advice that was not-so-much.

I knew that pain management post-C-section advice was helpful; the first time around, I tried no meds. The second time around, I took the meds gratefully.

I am not on a daily antidepressent against medical advice; the side effects for me make everything I've tried--five different kinds--not viable or worth it.

I happily took physical therapy advice on a separate issue.

They come from knowledge, experience and good intentions. But I know the choice is up to ME. I own my choices.

[Anonymous]

I’m not sure I’d say docs pressure people into taking opioids, but until relatively recentl, the addictive nature of opioids had been downplayed by drug makers. I’d think that most docs would offer the NSAID as a fist option now, but different meds work better or worse for different people so some people will know that an opioid is the better option for them.

I think opioids and the ethics around them are especially difficult now. They have a place and serve a good purpose for some, but for others they’re destructive. And few people think they’ll be the ones to get addicted (and Id guess even fewer see when they’re crossing the line into addiction), so saying that it should just be a personal choice and up to the patient isn’t realistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know what creates addiction? Doling out drugs to desperate people who then take them desperately or take too many to cope with the pain.

My first c was an emergency and I had a lot of pain. They sent me home with pain medication for like 4 days. I came to my OBs office at the hospital on my 4th day of visiting my baby in the NICU asking for a couple more days worth of medicine and was treated like a drug addict. I had to travel to the hospital every day to visit my baby, I was in pain, and treated like a drug seeking ER scammer 8 days out from abdominal surgery. I needed to keep ahead of the pain to keep seeing my daughter.

The opiod crisis has created a culture where doctors withhold it from people who legitimately need it. Or they give them some paltry amount. That creates legitimate addiction risk. Versus giving patients the correct and compassionate dose length and monitoring the weaning off of the medicine.

I held onto my two spare oxycontin for two years wondering if I would be given adequate pain relief for c section #2.

And I have a decent pain tolerance and I got my butt up same day for #2 (I was on a magnesium drip for #1 so was not permitted to walk until day 2). I was walking every day as aggressively as I could with each kid. I was proactive in my recovery.

Do not contribute to the culture of shaming women who want to manage their pain responsibly and shaming doctors for prescribing needed temporary adequate pain relievers to women who just had ABDOMINAL SURGERY.

If all you needed was advil, great, get your opinions out of other women's medical care.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure I’d say docs pressure people into taking opioids, but until relatively recentl, the addictive nature of opioids had been downplayed by drug makers. I’d think that most docs would offer the NSAID as a fist option now, but different meds work better or worse for different people so some people will know that an opioid is the better option for them.

I think opioids and the ethics around them are especially difficult now. They have a place and serve a good purpose for some, but for others they’re destructive. And few people think they’ll be the ones to get addicted (and Id guess even fewer see when they’re crossing the line into addiction), so saying that it should just be a personal choice and up to the patient isn’t realistic.

Opioids used responsibly, as in short term pain relief after surgery, have a low risk of addiction. When used to treat chronic sustained pain they are dangerous.

People don't get addicted after a c section, they get addicted after back surgery where the pain is sustained over months.

As the poster who was given 20 pills (to be taken every 4-6 hours) and treated like a drug seeker for asking for two more days of medication I do not feel like I was addicted. But maybe if, denied a prescription from a responsible doctor involved in my care and desperate for relief i sought some less savory means of pain relief I could have become one. Treat patients compassionately and understand who actually becomes addicts. There's a lot of research on this it's not that much of a mystery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started this thread and REALLY didn’t mean to shame anyone about your choices. Clearly different people have different experiences and people should do what’s right for them. My question was more about whether women felt pressured by the medical community to take meds that they might not need and which might have some serious side effects. Maybe the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction now, but isn’t it a conversation that’s worth having, either way?
I’m happy if people are just thinking about it and making the right choice for them. As with any medical issue, I think that information is empowering and I personally found that gyn care was often “one size fits all” without providing women the information they would need to make an informed choice.

Really, no shame if you’re making your choice and it’s right for you! I think all these stories are great for women to hear so they know that there’s a wide range of experiences out there.

Well you REALLY did. It is correct to recommend pain management after cutting your stomach open.

If you don't feel like you need it then don't take it. No one is given a month's worth of opioids for a c section.

I'm sorry your doctor made a recommendation and you feel uncomfortable but that's what doctors do. Standard of care is to treat someone for pain when you slice them open. I get recommendations from professionals all the time that I don't necessarily take. Learn how to advocate for yourself and stop advocating for women to be denied adequate care.

[Anonymous]

I had a planned c section for medical reasons and definitely needed the narcotics. I was in a lot of pain and had a toddler at home to manage. I get the concern re: dependency, but 1-2 weeks of Percocet after healing from major surgery is not an issue for those who don’t have a history of addiction. I took colace and didn’t get constipated. Denying patients proper pain relief after surgery is cruel and unnecessary.

[Anonymous]

No epidural, no pain medication, and don't you DARE cry during labor. What are you, some kind of weakling?