Pain med options?

Hi Red...sorry to hear you are having surgery...but hope it will be able to take away the pain you are having in that area...

It's really too hard to 'recommend' any pain medicine as it's going to be up to your Dr. to decide..you need to ask BEFORE the surgery...who is going to be handling your post op pain....Is this out patient surgery?

Do you see a PM now? and what, if any, pain meds are you on now?

If you see a PM...he would work with the Dr. who is doing the surgery....if you don't see one...then it will be the surgeon to handle the post op pain for the few weeks recovery...

The good thing is there is a lot of choices for the DR...nothing has codeine in it except the old Tylenol 3....they never use that anymore really...people mistake 'codone' for 'codeine'....completely different medicines..

So if they choose a narcotic, it's most likely going to be Vicodin which is Hydrocodone and acetaminophen...or Percocet which is Oxycodone and acetaminophen...

And yes...after surgeries...they usually stay away from any NSAID's...like Aleve of Advil...

Just talk to your Dr. about this and I'm sure they will take care of you....hope everything goes well:)

I totally agree it's very smart to ask about pain control before you go in for surgery...you have every right to talk this over with the surgeon...make sure he knows of your allergies...I haven't seen too many have a life threatening issue with Vicodin..and you said it was with other medications...so hard to tell which one...but even so...there is Percocet or OxyIR or Roxicodone which is straight Oxycodone (also immediate release) or even MSIR which is morphine sulfate immediate release..

So as mentioned...there are plenty of choices to use that have nothing to do with codeine..

Keep us posted on the actual day.and your recovery...we will be saying prayers for you and I truly hope it helps that pain and maybe even have it go away!..

I've had the surgery and don't tolerate codeine or Aleve either. I do take Ultram, but it's not anywhere near enough for the pain of this - although I had 3 done at the same time. I get in trouble when I mix Ultram with just about anything, so I switch to just Vicodin for a few days for surgery.

I took Vicodin starting right in recovery. You'll have a local and think you won't really need anything, but especially since you have fibro it's necessary to get started to prevent a flare. (I get a double whammy because of post-polio, which causes the same kind of pain flare.) It's a nerve ending thing from the fibro. I prefer to start the Vicodin a couple of hours before any surgery. (There are some good websites on this.) You might ask for a Rx for Zofran too in case you get nauseous from the Vicodin. They'll probably prescribe 4 mg which may not be enough. I always need 8 mg.

Before surgery - It's not required to have Versed! That stuff only provides amnesia, has no pain relieving qualities at all. I had nothing but the local and felt nothing, not even any pulling or pressure, just nothing. There was a drape so I couldn't watch, but I would have loved to. The operation is VERY short. My 3 fingers took only 15 minutes, including the few stitches. Then they wrap it up and give you a big foam gadget that looks like Swiss cheese to protect you from bumps. Local anesthetic wore off at 3 AM, and I wished I'd taken more care to keep up the Vicodin. Pain stopped in a couple of days. Not bad.

Afterwards, the physical therapy is critical!!! You must do the exercises when the wrap comes off and stitches are out. If you don't do them vigorously enough you will get a bunch of scar tissue building up and never get your range of motion back, and it will hurt. I'm still working on my own therapy - op last summer. Scars hardly show because doc used the natural creases in my hand.

Codeine is derived from Morphine (Opiates) just like all of the painkillers. Yes it is not classified as it is a low dosage.
See below what is in Wikipedia:

Codeine or 3-methylmorphine (a natural isomer of methylated morphine, the other being the semi-synthetic 6-methylmorphine) is an opiate used for its analgesic, antitussive, and antidiarrheal properties. Codeine is the second-most predominant alkaloid in opium, at up to 3 percent; it is much more prevalent in the Iranian poppy (Papaver bractreatum), and codeine is extracted from this species in some places although the below-mentioned morphine methylation process is still much more common. It is considered the prototype of the weak to midrange opioids

Of course there is more but this says it all.

Thanks Alcie for your recount of your surgery. It is always nice to hear of others who have had it done. I have TF in all my fingers of my left hand, but only one is giving me a bunch of pain, it's curved (can't straighten it nor bend it), swelling and I have pain at the A1 pulley (index finger) that runs down to my palm. The last cortisone injection did absolutely nothing so that is why I want to have the release so hopefully I will get function back in that finger. I'm fully prepared for the post-op pain, physical therapy and recovery....as long as it means good things at the end of it all! :)

Snowbunny and Sunflower, thank you for your replies. If I do get prescribed Vicodin or any other "codone" med, I will definitely ask for anti-nausea med as well just to be on the safe side.