The less pain you experience after surgery, the better your recovery. Discover more about the medications and methods for postoperative pain relief.

Your future surgery is inevitable, but the pain you experience after that is not. Medications such as opioid analgesics, together with certain delivery methods, such as patient-controlled analgesia, can reduce or eliminate your post-surgical pain.

Choosing the most effective treatment, that balances pain control with the least side effects, can get faster your healing and recovery process. Realize your options for pain relief so that you can better work with your medical staff.

Postoperative Pain Medications

There are two common types of post-surgical pain medications: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioid analgesics. Depending on the type and extent of your surgery and the amount of pain you experience, your doctor may use one or both of these for pain reduction.

    * Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, reduce swelling and inflammation and alleviate pain and fever. These oral medications work by restraining an enzyme called cyclooxygenase (COX). This enzyme is responsible for your body's production of prostaglandins, hormone-like substances occupied in inflammation and pain. Doctors usually prescribe NSAIDs for mild to moderate pain relief after less-involved procedures, such as dental procedures or removal of small skin scratches or for home recovery. Side effects of NSAIDs include wooziness, exhaustion, headaches and bleeding or ulcers in the digestive tract.
   
  * Opioid analgesics (narcotics), such as morphine, reduce pain by decreasing spread of pain messages to the brain. Some opioids are natural multipart derived from opium; others are synthetic medications that work in an analogous way. As a rule given orally or injected into a vein, these medications are used for moderate to severe postoperative pain. Doctor prescribes this type of medication after more-involved procedures, such as abdominal or back surgery. Ordinary side effects include sleepiness, sickness, vomiting, itching and constipation. Regularly NSAIDs and acetaminophen are proscribed together with opioid medications. This maximizes pain relief with lower doses of opioids, provoking fewer side effects.

Delivery of Pain Medications

If you experience a minor procedure, your doctor may prescribe an oral pain medication, possibly in a pill, tablet or liquid form. But if you are going through a more extensive surgery, such as abdominal or chest surgery, your doctor has other ways to deliver the pain medication.