So Dr D-B says he avoids using major prescription narcotic pain meds after the first day or two in the hospital.

What's everyone's experiences with their own FFS? I have to admit I'm a little worried because I'm a wuss when it comes to pain and I've never not had narcotics with any other previous surgeries (except hair transplants).

Did your doc prescribe narcotics?
If not, how were your pain levels the first week and 2nd week?
Mostly interested in forehead/nose -related.

FFS is not a painful surgery. You will not need narcotics. Nose job pain is 1 out of 10 and forehead about 2 out of 10. The numbness is more annoying than the pain. Of course we are all different but I don't think you should be worried about the pain. More annoying is numbness, stitches in your mouth, taste of blood in the mouth, the packing in the nose, swelling, drains.... Those are annoying but not painful things. Be ready when you wake up from general anesthesia that you will not be able to breath through your nose which can freak you out. Also be ready that due to bruising and swelling you will not look human str8 after the surgery. All of this plus the post general anesthesia depression and being off hormons made me depressed after my FFS. You have to be emotionally prepared for everything that follows the FFS in order to stay strong and not get depressed.

Quote from: reborn on August 10, 2016, 09:28:47 AM
FFS is not a painful surgery. You will not need narcotics. Nose job pain is 1 out of 10 and forehead about 2 out of 10. The numbness is more annoying than the pain. Of course we are all different but I don't think you should be worried about the pain. More annoying is numbness, stitches in your mouth, taste of blood in the mouth, the packing in the nose, swelling, drains.... Those are annoying but not painful things.

Thanks for that info

Quote
Be ready when you wake up from general anesthesia that you will not be able to breath through your nose which can freak you out. Also be ready that due to bruising and swelling you will not look human str8 after the surgery. All of this plus the post general anesthesia depression and being off hormons made me depressed after my FFS. You have to be emotionally prepared for everything that follows the FFS in order to stay strong and not get depressed.

Yeah pretty familiar with all of that. I've had BA and SRS

I had some bad headaches for the first week after having type 3 forehead and rhinoplasty, and I was glad to have the pain medicine my doc prescribed (enough for 7 days). Narcotic pain medicine slows down bowel movement, so you can get constipated from it, so that may be one of the reasons your surgeon doesn't like to prescribe it; I also read on his website that he does some type of blood infusion that helps to reduce post op swelling and pain. 

Hey Debra... This is a copy/paste from my response to someone else asking about my pain meds after FFS with Dr D-B...try not to worry so much girlfriend!!! All will be well!!!!!


I didn't take any of the prescription pain meds after getting out of the hospital either time... I took probably less than 10 Motrins total post op between the two facial surgeries.. The pain just wasn't that bad!!!... You do have large numb areas afterwards that eventually get better but maybe all the numbness helps with pain management... I would say that after the first procedure especially... There are high levels of discomfort... I HATE NOSE PACKING!!! But I didn't find it that painful... Just uncomfortable!!!

Ashley

Quote from: tgirlamc on August 10, 2016, 03:42:18 PM
Hey Debra... This is a copy/paste from my response to someone else asking about my pain meds after FFS with Dr D-B...try not to worry so much girlfriend!!! All will be well!!!!!


I didn't take any of the prescription pain meds after getting out of the hospital either time... I took probably less than 10 Motrins total post op between the two facial surgeries.. The pain just wasn't that bad!!!... You do have large numb areas afterwards that eventually get better but maybe all the numbness helps with pain management... I would say that after the first procedure especially... There are high levels of discomfort... I HATE NOSE PACKING!!! But I didn't find it that painful... Just uncomfortable!!!

Ashley

Awesome thank you =) Yeah he did list a bunch of other stuff he did to counteract pain that WASNT narcotics but it's just kinda foreign for me to have surgery without them.

Mind you as Kittenpower stated, it'd be nice to not have the constipation anyway so hopefully it works well.

Definitely not looking fwd to the nose packing......

The first nite in the hospital... Your mouth will get VERY DRY... Breathing through your mouth... If someone will be there through the night with you they can feed you ice chips when you wake up during the night and it helps a lot!!!

A

Quote from: tgirlamc on August 10, 2016, 08:29:31 PM
The first nite in the hospital... Your mouth will get VERY DRY... Breathing through your mouth... If someone will be there through the night with you they can feed you ice chips when you wake up during the night and it helps a lot!!!

A

Thanks for the tip!

I had a rhinoplasty earlier this year, and the thing that helped me the most were cough drops!  Sugar-free cough drops of any generic brand at Target or Wal-Mart are just $2-$3 per bag.  With the nose packing, you'll be breathing through your mouth all the time, and the cough drops keep your mouth from getting dry!  Buy several bags!  They're super cheap and super effective!

Quote from: EmilyMK03 on August 11, 2016, 04:01:08 PM
I had a rhinoplasty earlier this year, and the thing that helped me the most were cough drops!  Sugar-free cough drops of any generic brand at Target or Wal-Mart are just $2-$3 per bag.  With the nose packing, you'll be breathing through your mouth all the time, and the cough drops keep your mouth from getting dry!  Buy several bags!  They're super cheap and super effective!

This is an awesome tip thank you!

The thought of needing narcotics and not getting them on some general principal scares me. I've needed and received them a number of times and never had the slightest problem. It would be a major factor against any surgeon I night consider.

Quote from: AnonyMs on August 12, 2016, 12:07:40 AM
The thought of needing narcotics and not getting them on some general principal scares me. I've needed and received them a number of times and never had the slightest problem. It would be a major factor against any surgeon I night consider.

Dr D-B did prescribe the prescription level pain meds for me both times so I had them if I need but I didn't feel the need to take them!

Quote from: Debra on August 10, 2016, 07:28:29 AM
So Dr D-B says he avoids using major prescription narcotic pain meds after the first day or two in the hospital.

What's everyone's experiences with their own FFS? I have to admit I'm a little worried because I'm a wuss when it comes to pain and I've never not had narcotics with any other previous surgeries (except hair transplants).

Did your doc prescribe narcotics?
If not, how were your pain levels the first week and 2nd week?
Mostly interested in forehead/nose -related.

I had hydrocodone (a narcotic) prescribed by my FFS surgeon (Dr Z).  I took it for a week after my rhinoplasty, and it really helped a lot with managing my pain.  I also had hydrocodone prescribed by my eye surgeon, who did PRK Laser Eye Surgery on me several years ago (PRK is the predecessor to LASIK, and is still used for patients who are not good candidates for LASIK).  Recovery from LASIK is no problem, but recovery from PRK is long and hurts a lot!  Again, in that case the hydrocodone made the recovery process much more bearable for me.

Maybe Dr D-B is reluctant to prescribe narcotic pain meds because of the high risk of addiction & dependence?  Addiction to prescription pain medications definitely seems to be a growing problem these days.  And if you have a history of addiction, then you may be at greater risk.  But personally, I had no problems with hydrocodone in both cases and didn't become dependent on them at all.  I'm glad that I had them prescribed to me to help manage my pain... like you, I have very, very low pain tolerance.

Yeah I've never had an issue with narcotics addiction. Have had them every surgery up till now. But it does pique my curiosity to not need them.....it just also worries me haha

Quote from: tgirlamc on August 12, 2016, 12:29:12 AM
Dr D-B did prescribe the prescription level pain meds for me both times so I had them if I need but I didn't feel the need to take them!

Good to know!

I had Dr. Z and he prescribed Vicoden which i took dutifully and it did help with the pain.   I have had two spinal fusions, so it helped knock that pain down as well.   My worst pain was actually from my back in the recovery room.  Everyone's pain tolerence is different.   I probably would not go to a doc who wouldn't prescribe narcs just in case.

Quote from: Maria77 on August 13, 2016, 05:52:16 PM
I had Dr. Z and he prescribed Vicoden which i took dutifully and it did help with the pain.   I have had two spinal fusions, so it helped knock that pain down as well.   My worst pain was actually from my back in the recovery room.  Everyone's pain tolerence is different.   I probably would not go to a doc who wouldn't prescribe narcs just in case.

Isn't the important "take away" from this discussion the fact that at least one surgeon has figured out a way to do these very long and complex facial surgeries - - and due to the surgical technique and the pain management protocol - -  the patients are normally not having to take narcotics - -  even if the narcotics are prescribed as a back up "Plan B"?

    These recent reports of (typically) narcotic free post surgery recoveries are very different than most or all of the previous reports from other surgeons' patients.

 

Quote from: oneoftwo on August 13, 2016, 08:22:31 PM
Isn't the important "take away" from this discussion the fact that at least one surgeon has figured out a way to do these very long and complex facial surgeries - - and due to the surgical technique and the pain management protocol - -  the patients are normally not having to take narcotics - -  even if the narcotics are prescribed as a back up "Plan B"?

    These recent reports of (typically) narcotic free post surgery recoveries are very different than most or all of the previous reports from other surgeons' patients.

Yeah it is kinda interestnig

The "take away" I got from this thread is that pain perception and pain management is an individual matter and appropriate treatment should be adjusted for each patient. 

With kindness,

Terri

Today I had my final appointment with Dr. Zukowski before my surgery next month.  I guess things have changed since I had surgery with him last January.  Back then, Dr. Z had prescribed for me a narcotic pain medication (Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen, also known as Vicodin).  But now he is prescribing something else.  He said that federal regulations are making it much more difficult for doctors to prescribe these types of narcotic pain medicines.

I told him how well the Vicodin worked for me last time.  And I said how I had also taken it years before for laser eye surgery, and how helpful it was for me both times.  And that I have no history of drug addiction.  And I'm a previous patient of his, so he knows me well.  So after some discussion, he finally did prescribe it for me again.  Dr. Z really cares about his patients!!  But yea... I guess things really are changing with regard to prescription narcotic pain medications these days.  Darn regulations!