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Let's talk about opiods and c-sections...
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Anonymous
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Recently in another thread (that, admittedly, was asking a different question about c-sections), I gave my off-handed advice that the OP shouldn't off-handedly accept the opiods they gave women after c-sections, because, in my experience with 2 c-sections, they don't do much for pain relief but have some nasty side effects. The OP told me to STFU because people handle pain differently. That's all fine.....but I kept thinking about it because I remember that what I had my babies, they automatically wrote scripts for oral opiods and told me that it was important to take them to "stay ahead of the pain." I thought it was weird to take medicine if I didn't think really needed it, so I ignored the advice about staying ahead of the pain and instead just tried to deal with or treat the pain I had. A couple of years ago,I saw an HBO documentary about opiod addiction and one of the families profiled lost the mother to addiction that began after she was given opiods after a c-section.
Anyway, it all had me wondering if they are still telling women to "stay ahead of the pain" with oral opiods. If so, I find that troubling. A little googling found a bunch of recent articles questioning whether it's great to push oral opiods on women after c-sections, and one finding that ibuprofen was actually more effective at controlling the pain (which was my personal experience). https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/smfm/78086 Anyway, I guess I just wanted to start a conversation about this, and also let women know about my personal experience, which is that the ibuprofen helped more than the opiod pills. |
Anonymous
| Well, my youngest is 11 so that might be out of date for you but I was told to limit my pain meds for all my kids. They said to stop at two days even though the prescription was written for longer. I was told Tylenol would probably be enough. I remember feeling irritated because then I felt guilty when I took the pain meds and I was in much more pain than OTC would have helped with. But I didn’t know about much about opioid addiction then. |
Anonymous
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Depends. Exactly on how much pain there is and how people handle it. I had opioid prescriptions after wisdom teeth extraction (as an adult) - why not start a conversation about that?
After each IVF I also got a script for an opioid in case of severe cramps. Didn't have them - didn't use it. It's all good that you have a personal experience of advil helping after CS. But your attempt to push it on others is misguided. In an environment where women don't have enough support (e.g. no paternal leave or finances to hire a nurse while you're healing) staying ahead of the pain is critical because if you don't then you can't care for the baby, and there is nobody else to step in. Why don't you have a thoughtful conversation about that? |
Anonymous
| I had a planned c's and never needed pain meds. |
Anonymous
| I actually 100% agree with you. I had never taken opioids before my C section so just assumed I was supposed to and was not told of any of the side effects (like constipation so bad you want to cry and die). I honestly wished my nurse would have said look, opioids will help an additional 25% but you’ll pay for it with 60% more butthole pain on your first poop. Honestly. I didn’t poop for 1 week post birth and stopped Day 3 post surgery with opioids when I realized why. It should be communicated as a choice and explained with side effects, not prescribed as a directive. |
Anonymous
Constipation is a side effect of CS, not pain meds. Your medical providers are supposed to tell you to take extra fiber and colace in the last week of pregnancy. |
Anonymous
| They gave me percocet after my first vaginal birth. I was surprised and didn't use them. When I asked the pharmacy if they would take them back they told me to just flush it down the toilet. It's shocking. |
Anonymous
| I didn’t feel at all that my doctors/nurses were pushing opioids but I did feel like they did nothing for me except make me tired. I didn’t take them after leaving the hospital. I delivered two years ago. |
Anonymous
| Opioids constipate. Take Colace if you do fill Rx. If you don’t fill Rx shred it. |
Anonymous
I had a tooth extracted recently and was refused opioids. I was in extreme pain for almost a week. My c-section was a walk in the park comparatively. |
Anonymous
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I had an emergency c section a few years ago and they tried to give me opiods to stay ahead of the pain. I opted for ibuprofen, and the nurses thought it was weird but the opioids they put in my epidural caused me such insane itching, it was absolutely terrible and I suffered all night waiting for the effects to wear off.
Anyhow, I felt absolutely fine using ibuprofen and the pain wasn’t enough to warrent more but maybe my threshold for pain is more than for others. |
Anonymous
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5 years ago I had an emergency cs. I was in so much pain afterwards (and I generally have a high pain tolerance) that they did push more than ibuprofen. I'm glad they did because it was excruciating.
3 years ago I had a scheduled cs. That time I only needed ibuprofen and hardly any of it after the first day. Every person is different and every surgery is different I think it is hard to make blanket statements about how care should be provided. |
Anonymous
Opioid. OPIOID. |
Anonymous
| In light of the opioid crisis, you are not off base. They are prescribed much too often and for far too long. Two c’s and I didn’t take tgem because we have addiction in my family. |
Anonymous
| I'm not sure you're telling the whole story here. What particular opioid do you think wasn't as effective as ibuprofen? Taking opioids for a few days, or a few weeks for that matter, will not result in the average person becoming an addict. |