Having surgery...Anesthesia question?

[lcarlson90]

I am having surgery for the first time this month and I am paranoid that the Anesthesia and the pain pills will make me sick. My doctor prescribed Percocet for pain and Zofran for any nausea. I have heard people complain that certain pain meds made them sick. Does anyone have any experience taking percocet? I am just kind of freaking out about the whole thing.

[BabyBearsMom]

I think it depends on your stomach. I have a sensitive stomach so even taking tylenol makes me feel queasy. Have you had issues with pain medicine in the past? If not, then I wouldn't worry about it.

[pharmjenn]

Have you had problems with pain meds, or are you sensitive in general to medications? Yes, Percocet can give you an upset stomach. If possible, take it with a little food (crackers, etc) My husband had surgery last year and had a lot of nausea in post-op. They won't release you from the post-op area until your nausea is under control, and you likely won't remember any of that time, so don't let that stress you out. If you let the Anesthesiologist know of your fear, you can request a dose of IV Zofran while in surgery to help prevent and nausea after surgery
After, while taking the Percocet, he had no nausea problems.
I will strongly suggest getting some Colace (docusate sodium) and taking that regularly in addition to your pain meds. Percocet can cause constipation, and you want to be proactive and take the Colace on a scheduled basis to prevent that.

[mackmama]

I am sorry that you need surgery. It's totally normal to be freaked out, and keep asking your doc any questions you have. Re your question -- Have you taken a narcotic before? If so, then I think you'll have a good idea of whether percocet will make you sick. Personally, all narcotics make me sick - not necessarily as in vomiting - but very nauseous. Can you ask your doc if there is a non-narcotic option? Most docs will also add a heavy anti-nausea med when using a narcotic, so you can ask about this too.

[Philly Mom]

I have had two surgeries, and two procedures where I was put under GA. I cannot take percocet. I learned that after the first. I can't take aspirin either. I have to manage pain with tylenol. It was fine. I did the same after labor. As for the four times of GA, I felt a small amount of nausea each time, but a little bit of food and juice helped. Severe nausea is often a symptom of an "allergy". My MIL has it. It is awful at the moment, but she gets over it and recovers pretty quickly. At this point, the MDs are better about how they put her under.

[kellij]

I took percocet after a c/s and it just made me tired. I actually preferred ibuprofen.

[ZeeBaby]

Are you having local or general anesthesia? If percocet will be your only pain med, I agree with everyone else. Take it with crackers and that will help avoid any nausea.

[Simon]

I have not had GA but have had oral surgery, a few times. I know I cannot use Tylenol 3 and related drugs. I can take others. When I had pain but couldn't keep the meds down, I just called the Dr. and they called in a new prescription.

[babystuffbuff]

I had two surgeries this summer, 16 days apart. It was my first time with general anesthesia and, like you, I was very concerned, even though I was very sick and the procedures were absolutely necessary. The general anesthesia did not make me sick either time. I had saltine crackers and ginger ale in recovery and I was not nauseous. I think they did put an anti-nausea drug in my IV before I woke up, so that's something to ask about if you are worried. I had Dilaudid (sp?) in my IV in the hospital, and then, like you, Percocet and Zofran in pill form at home. The key for me with the Percocet was to never take it on an empty stomach. That would make me nauseous (though the Zofran helped, and I never vomited). It also knocked me out cold, though taking it with food helped that, too. I definitely managed without it when I could, and sometimes I took half a pill so I could stay awake more. I was also on nine different medications when I first came home, so any nausea I had could well have been from the antibiotics or something else entirely!

Sorry this was so long, but I vividly remember being where you are. I hope everything goes smoothly for you! The doctors are there to help you, so feel free to ask any and every question you have - they have probably heard them all before. :)

[lcarlson90]

My Dr. told me to get extra strength Tylenol as well so I am planning to take that if I can manage the pain. The Dr. will also make sure there anti nausea meds in my IV. Does anyone have suggestions of non-narcotic pain meds or is that just extra strength tylenol?

[hillview]

I've taken percocet a few times and never had an issue.

[Zukini]

I had uterine surgery 4 weeks ago and whilst I took a long while in Recovery, I think I was very sleepy and they wouldnt move me to my room till I was fully awake. However, I was given Percocet (for pain, better than Morphine pump I had that first night) and Phenergan (nausea) in the hospital. Had no issues with nausea but I was real careful to have some liquid in my stomach with each dose - broth, jello, apple juice. (I couldnt eat for a few days).

Then when I went home, doc prescribed Vicodin and Phenergan again. I think I used the Phenergan the first night, but stopped after that cause I didnt see the need. I was still very picky about taking pills with something, not just water, even those middle of night doses. All went well.

I will say if you are worried about a reaction because of previous experience, family history, or known allergies - be very clear with your docs, pre-op nurse and anesthesia folks so they are super vigilant. I am allergic to aspirin and all NSAIDS (anti-inflammatories) and think the entire time I was in the hospital, DH and I were like the medication police, asking over and over "What is that?" before they handed me pills or put things in my IV.

[LizLemon]

I am having surgery for the first time this month and I am paranoid that the Anesthesia and the pain pills will make me sick. My doctor prescribed Percocet for pain and Zofran for any nausea. I have heard people complain that certain pain meds made them sick. Does anyone have any experience taking percocet? I am just kind of freaking out about the whole thing.

Everyone has a different response to these meds, so it's hard to predict. My response is to sometimes get nausea and vomiting and almost always get incredibly constipated. They are quite sedating for me as well (I cannot stay awake on them) so please make sure you have someone around to keep an eye on you, watch the kids, etc.

I personally really dislike opiates. I try to avoid taking them. Even after having very painful surgery on my neck, I used them for the minimum amount of time possible and barely used them after discharge from the hospital, because I tend to have side effects. Other people tolerate them better.

(I also had repeated nausea and vomiting in the recovery room for my neck surgery, likely from the general anesthesia, so hopefully you have better luck than me!)