When Pain after Surgery? Women Want a Choice

The weeks before surgery require preparation. Who will be driving you? Is everything tied up at work? Will someone be able to help with the kids? Often times, one very important thing is overlooked: Pain management.

According to a recent HealthyWomen survey, 99 percent of women want a choice in how their pain is managed after surgery, with 94 percent of women saying if they could effectively manage their pain while not narcotics —also referred to as opioids and prescription painkillers—they would. And yet, 80 percent of the women surveyed still used narcotics to manage postsurgical pain.

“Narcotics have long been the cornerstone of postsurgical pain control because they work well for severe pain,” explains Dr. Kristi Funk, a breast cancer surgeon. “However, the pain relief typically comes with a number of unwanted aspect effects and also the potential for semipermanent use, or in the most severe cases: misuse, abuse, or overdose.”

Most women, 76 percent, are aware there are options other than narcotics to manage postsurgical pain, but it seems they aren’t exploring them during their pre-op discussions. Today, there ar many alternatives to effectively treat pain when surgery that may facilitate cut back or perhaps eliminate the requirement for narcotics when surgery. Health care professionals and hospitals are using what is called a “multimodal” approach, which means a combination of medications are used before, during and after the procedure to block the pain in numerous areas while not an important reliance on narcotic medications.

“A typical multimodal program could embrace short- and durable native anesthetics (numbing medications that may be injected directly into the surgical website throughout the procedure) and anti-inflammatories like Advil,acetaminophen and aspirin,” Dr. Funk explains. “We want a lot of education regarding these choices, and that’s why the Voice Your Choice campaign is so important.”

Now, doctors and patients have loads to debate relating to pain management when surgery.

“Ultimately, pain management is a partnership between the surgeon and the patient; the more information we have, the better we can take care of you,” Dr. Funk says.

For the ninety four p.c of surveyed ladies WHO would really like to possess a alternative in however they effectively manage their pain when surgery, here ar some resources to assist guide you through the process.