Pain After Surgery
Lismore Base Hospital Post Anaesthetic Care Unit RN Jo Tully attends to the regional block pain control of Byron Bay patient Mr Leslie Dunn.
We all have pain at some time in our lives. Pain is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong. This information was developed to tell you about pain and the options that may be available to assist you, whilst you are trying to cope with your pain.
Pain after surgery
During surgery nerve endings are cut or bruised. When this occurs a message is sent along the nerve to the spine and brain. This message is interpreted as pain. There are many things we can do to help control the messages interpreted as pain.
Pain control
Pain control is an important part of your health care. Uncontrolled pain has negative physical effects such as increase in blood pressure and pulse. It also has negative psychological effects such as feelings of sadness or depression.
Although there are techniques available to help reduce your pain to a comfortable level, the benefits of these techniques must be balanced with the adverse effects. Therefore it is not always practical or desirable to eliminate all post operative pain.
Options for pain control
Oral Medications There are many types of tablets or liquids given to control your pain. Oral medications are given when you are able to take liquids by mouth and may be used in conjunction with injections, epidurals, patient controlled analgesia (PCA) or other oral agents.
Oral medications as with all pain medications are most effective when given regularly at 3-6 hour intervals.
Paracetamol is the most common pain control medication. Paracetamol when given regularly is effective for reducing pain. Paracetamol is often given in combination with other agents ie codeine.
Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) contain properties which reduce the inflammatory process associated with tissue injury thus reducing pain. NSAIDs can be given orally, rectally or by injection. They are not suitable for all patients.
Injections may be given into the muscle (IM), into the drip in your vein (IV) or into the fatty tissue under the skin (subcutaneous). A plastic subcutaneous cannula left in place allows medications to be given without repeated needle pricks.
For more severe pain Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA), regional nerve blocks or epidural analgesia may be used. If it is appropriate for you to have one of these techniques, information brochures on the technique are available to you.
What can I do to get the best results from my pain control?
Help the doctors and nurses to ‘measure’ your pain. You will be asked to score your pain on a scale from zero to ten, zero being no pain and ten being the worst pain imaginable.
- tell your nurse if your pain is not well controlled
- remember to do the deep breathing and leg exercises as instructed. If you are on strong pain medication you may be given oxygen enriched air through a mask or nasal prongs ensure you keep this in place.
- simple relaxation techniques may be helpful, try slow deep breathing.
- when permitted to take liquids by mouth, drink plenty of water to help to avoid constipation. If you are taking strong pain tablets staff should also give you a laxative to avoid constipation.
Research shows that if pain control is effective in the early stages following trauma or surgery, recovery is enhanced and length of stay in hospital is shortened.