I’m getting surgery on my abdominal hernia today…I wanted some feedback about the recovery process…I told them I am in recovery…That I am an alcoholic and heroin addict…They said they where gonna give me pain meds when I leave…I dont want to take them…But if I’m in severe pain and take them as prescribed, is that considered a relapse? I will have 5 months tomorrow…Everyone Have a Great Day!!!
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It’s not a relapse if you need them after surgery. What I did for my tubal was my husband was in charge of my medication. Granted I was so scared of relapsing and getting addicted again he had to force me to take them. We keep the serious medication in the safe that he only has access to, creating that barrier helps me out a lot.
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Thank you Mary.
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Congratulations on your 5 months!! I hope the surgery goes well and you have a smooth recovery.
I love Mary’s suggestion. Is there someone that can assist you with that? And throw out any unused ones as well.
It is 100% okay to take meds as prescribed, and I can 100% understand your worry. I do know some pain can be managed with NSAIDs and acetaminophen, but don’t know if that is the case for you. I would discuss more with your doctor. Please let us know how it goes.
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Congratulations on your 5 months. I can understand your concern. It’s a big deal. The bigger part being that you don’t want to get addicted to pain pills. Hopefully you have someone to dole them out for you. My hernia repair wasn’t so bad at all. You might be able to get by with Advil after a day or 2. My brother-in-law ask his doctor if he could take 4 Advil instead of the pain meds after his surgery and the doc said that would be ok. He didn’t like how the pain meds made him feel.
Good luck with your surgery.
I always have my ear buds and music or meditation handy immediately before and after. That helps me a ton. I use the the Breethe app. There’s lots of meditation apps out there.
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I had surgery on my wrist this summer and they sent me home with Tramadol. They also sent me home with a powder that you put in the bottle, add water, and it dissolves and neutralizes the pills. I thought that was so cool! They administered some pain meds while I was in the recovery room and I waited 24 hours to ensure I would be okay with just over the counter anti-inflammatory meds (ibuprofen mostly) and cold/heat packs. It felt really empowering to dispose of those pills! You have been offered some ideas on this thread (glad you came here to ask about it) and I hope your surgery and recovery go smoothly. Everyone experiences pain differently and I hope yours is tolerable.
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I had surgery on Thursday and mailed them my alcohol dependcy and that I am now sober. I asked for one pill in the clinic and was given ibu 400. I keep my fingers crossed for your surgery and hope you have a speedy recovery!
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I used to work for a surgeon 12 years ago. The post-op pain is often manageable with ibuprofen alone. A hernia repair is a fairly non-invasive surgery. You may not need any prescription meds.
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What I was told by my sponsor years ago, was that it is not a relapse if pain meds are prescribed and taken as directed. The intent behind taking them needs to be for pain management and not of any other reason 
I had surgery years ago which required pain meds and I asked her the same questions. I was very nervous about taking them as I do get addicted to things very easily. If I’m taking them for any reason other than for pain (and not for “imagined” pain lol) or I increase the dose or how often I’m taking them, then for me that would be considered a relapse. About a day after my surgery I noticed my thinking change very quick. I was already arguing with myself about the pills and I knew right there I had to flush them. So I did. And I suffered thru the pain with some Tylenol instead to help take the edge off. But I couldn’t risk my sobriety and what I had worked hard for at that time, due to that. Hope all goes well for u
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This is definitely not a relapse and you should keep your clean time. I feel very strongly about this…4.5 years ago, two weeks after I came off a severe IV opiate addiction, I had to have my gallbladder out. I was honest about my addiction and the surgeon was compassionate… he said he would put extra freezing in during the operation and we agreed on no opiate pain meds after the surgery.
Well although I agreed I was scared of the pain so on the way home from the hospital I stole a couple of sharps containers that had a few wastages of Dilaudid in them. Sure enough, about 6 hrs after the surgery (I was discharged same day about 4 hrs post-op) I was in severe pain and had to inject the stolen opioid. Extra freezing, my ass.
Now I was not so deep in my addiction that I didn’t know the difference between real physical, surgical pain and just pretending. So yes, about two days after the surgery Tylenol and ibuprofen were enough. I went off opiates and haven’t had any since.
However, lesson learned. I have upcoming gastric sleeve surgery and I have not been upfront about being an addict out of fear that my pain will be under-treated. My plan is to let my sponsor know every step of the way, with pill counts and pictures sent to verify I’m only taking what I should. I plan to be honest with myself and get off the opiate painkillers as soon as Tylenol and Ibuprofen cut the mustard.
Be cautious, but realize you feel pain like every other human being and you deserve to have your pain treated appropriately.
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Thank you everyone for your feedback… I declined the pain medication…I’m in alot of pain but Ibuprofen and tylenol will do…You don’t realize how much you use your stomach…Thanks again…Everyone have a blessed day!!!
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Proud of you!!! I feel like that was a good choice and you listened to yourself and followed through 
Hope ur day is amazing
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Hope you have time off and heal fast! Careful getting on and off the toilet - that’s the worst for abdominal pain!!! 
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you aren’t kidding…The worst…
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I hope your day is amazing as well…
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Hope you didn’t actually laugh out loud, because that hurts, too! 
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It is so far thanks!
I know…Can’t laugh, cough , sneeze… Well at least try not to…
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Oh no, I do. I really do. 
Good luck on a speedy recovery!
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Thank you…