1. Pain medication that is typically given is a narcotic. You can take this as needed for pain. If you have had a nerve block we recommend that you start this medication before the block wears off. This will make your pain much more manageable when the time comes. It is also a good idea to take a dose before you go to bed in case your block wears off while you are asleep. Once your block has worn off and you have a handle on your pain, take the pain medication only as necessary in order to avoid its side effects, the most common being constipation and drowsiness. It is okay to take an over-the-counter laxative if needed.
2. Lyrica is a medication that helps with nerve related pain. We give you this to take for the first few nights. It may cause drowsiness, so take it before bedtime. Avoid using any other sleep aides while you are on this to avoid over-sedation.
3. Ibuprofen is the generic form of Advil or Motrin. You should take this over-the-counter medication for the first three days after surgery. The anti-inflammatory dose is 3-4 200mg pills every 8 hours. We recommend you do this initially. After 3 days, you can take it as needed if you prefer to avoid narcotics for pain management. If it starts to irritate your stomach you should discontinue this. You can also take Prilosec OTC to help protect your stomach while you are taking these medications.
4. Zofran is an anti-nausea medication. This is given just in case the anesthesia or the pain medications leave you nauseated. You can fill this right away or hold off and fill it if nausea is becoming a problem.
5. Aspirin is one medication that we like you to take regardless of your pain. The purpose of this is to decrease your risk of a blood clot. As long as it does not irritate your stomach, we like you to take one 325mg aspirin once a day while you are non-weight bearing. If you have problems with aspirin or have had ulcers in the past, be sure to let the team know so that we can prescribe something else.