If you’ve ever gone through a surgery, you’ll relate to this. Everyone will give you a long list of precautions to take and how you can calm yourself during the surgery. But it’s like the world has collectively decided to stay silent about the post-surgery pain.
Perhaps, the reason why nobody talks about it is that no one knows how to deal with it. Well, let’s change that. The following tips will help you manage post-surgery pain like a pro.
1. Sleep
Sleep is a natural mechanism devised by nature to fix your body. You might have a headache one night but when you wake up the next day, there is a 99% chance that it’s gone because sleep helps heal the body. So, after surgery, give your body the time to heal itself. Boost your defense and pain management by sleeping as much as possible.
Also, if you’re asleep, you’re less likely to move around constantly which in turn rests the area that’s hurting.
2. Be Prepared
A lot of people like to wait before taking the pain medicine. If your doctor prescribed you a specific time, take the medicine at that time even if you’re not feeling any pain. Also, if you know that your anesthesia is going to wear off in a little while, you should take pain medication beforehand.
Don’t wait for the excruciating pain to put you in jeopardy. Be a step ahead by numbing the pain before it even starts. Do this for the first few days when your surgery is fresh and most likely to hurt.
3. Get Professional Help
If nothing else works for you and the pain gets unbearable, you shouldn’t delay seeking professional help such as pain management Brick, NJ has to offer. They’ll help you get rid of orthopedic post-surgery pain. Moreover, you can also consult them before surgery. They might advise you certain pain management options that can be used before surgery so the effects you’d face later are minimal.
You can also let the pain management professionals know about the precautions your surgeon has told you about. This way, you can take their opinion on a certain medical aspect too. Based on that, they might suggest some related post-surgery care options.
4. Opt for Non-Opioid Medication
You don’t always need opioid medicine. If you can avoid it, then do so. Take the normal pain medicine first. If ibuprofen and acetaminophen aren’t strong enough to conceal your pain, only then you should go for the stronger ones.
Starting off with an opioid medicine will make the pain harder to bear once that medicine wears off. Also, high doses of opioid medications aren’t healthy.
5. Accept It
Your perspective plays a huge role in how you feel. Accept the fact that you’re going to feel the pain after surgery. When you enter a battlefield prepared, you’re more likely to win the fight.
If you accept it, your stress level will also stay in control. High stress can worsen your pain by reducing your pain tolerance.
6. Protect Affected Area
Prevention is better than cure, right? You know that you’ve gone through a surgery and it will hurt. Instead of letting the treated area be affected with every sneeze and cough, you should protect it.
Sit in a position where the affected area will have the least impact. Use cushions to support this area. When moving around, get extra support for the affected area. You should also treat your surgery with caution to avoid pain.
The Takeaway
Managing pain after surgery isn’t impossible. All that you need to do is take the right measures. Your mindset and effort are the only things needed to keep your post-surgery torture bearable.
These six tips are pretty fool-proof. Next time you come back from a surgery, have these points in mind to keep your body from experiencing excruciating pain.