In Depth Pain Management with Dr. Alderman

Hi I’m dr. Amy alderman at North Atlanta plastic surgery just want to talk to you about how we’re going to manage your pain after surgery all patients are concerned about this and we are too we want you to have the best experience possible we also have a huge opioid crisis here in the US so we’re going to have a special pain management for you to make sure you have the best experience and also do the best thing universe’s opioid crisis that we have here in America so number one you’re going to start taking Tylenol before surgery you’re going to take 650 milligrams three times a day and you’re going to start that two days before surgery while this all written out for you but again well and we’ll have it prescribed for you but taking the tylenol before surgery we’ll make sure that the levels are in your system to the adequate amount to optimize your pain relief after surgery you will continue on the tylenol after surgery for seven days secondly you’re going to start taking neurontin and you’ll take a dose of that before surgery I want you to take this dose the night before your surgery you’ll take two up the pills that’s 600 milligrams and then after surgery you’re going to take one of the pills three times a day for a week so then rotten one pill the night before surgery and then after surgery you will take that one pill three times a day for one week that will really help with your pain mesh with on a completely different level than the Tom and all number three I want you to take ibuprofen now you do not start the ibuprofen until after surgery and then after surgery then night after surgery you can start taking ibuprofen and that dosage is 600 milligrams three times a day that you can just use generic ibuprofen over-the-counter and you’ll take three pills three times a day for some of the of you you will get a long-acting numbing shot that’s four my abdominoplasty tummy tucks or big body contouring surgeries you’ll get and just an X file and that will kick in the night of surgery and kind of really numb your abdominoplasty incisions and your breast incisions not all patients will get that because it’s very expensive but for my big mommy makeover cases you’ll get the X Pro which I’ll talk to you about the prior to surgery icing is an important component of your pain management but icing is only for my breast patients so if you’ve had an augmentation a reduction or a lift icing is really important you want to start that immediately after surgery do that for the next two to three days no ice on the nipples nipples don’t like ice but tops and sides make sure you have a light towel or a t-shirt over your breast and then use the ice the best or frozen piece they’re soft malleable you can refreeze them so I suggest getting a couple bags of frozen peas prior to surgery no ice on tummy tucks or an area of liposuction or a thigh lift or an arm lift if you have some eyelid surgery little white cool compresses on your eyes is fine and if you have a labiaplasty some mild icing again with a light towel over the area not directly on your skin lastly we will give you pain medicine narcotics so don’t worry you will have some of those but hopefully with the regimen that we’ve created that I just described it will limit them out of narcotics the oxycodone that you have to use oxycodone you can use to go by the directions it’s one to two pills every two to four but only use that if you absolutely have to and if the other medicines aren’t adequate and controlling your pain remember if you take the oxycodone you have to take the miralax it will make you very constipated in general the oxycodone makes you kind of high doesn’t do a great job and relieving your pain makes you constipated and so we want to limit the amount of oxycodone that you take just it’s not a great medicine lastly at the end of your treatment the leftover pills of oxycodone please dispose of those that’s where we’re having a big opioid crisis because those pills are getting in the hands of your children’s or other family members and they’re very dangerous so as soon as you’re done with your treatment I want you to throw away those pills and get them out of your home so hopefully that regimen that will help give you the best experience again we’ll have this all written down for you and please ask me if you have any questions thanks so much