How long after surgery were you on your pain meds?

It has been a week and I am still taking them here and there about 2 every 24 hours. I am still having some pain but feel better every day. Don't worry .

My doctors office gave me 1oz medicine cups and I sipped 1 of them every 15 min.  I think it helped a lot. Now I use a glass and sip 8 oz. every hour  or so. And my prescription is for Percocet . And I also have a nausea medicine I can take with the pain med or by itself.  Good Luck to you. I still feel some pain and I am nauseous and bloated even though I have lost some weight since surgery. I feel like I have been punched in the stomach pretty much all of the time but it is getting better. 

I took them for about 4 weeks. At first, pretty much around the clock to stay on top of the pain, later only as needed. My pain didn't leave me until about 4 weeks 3 days. I woke up one morning and it was gone. Like magic.

I took Vicodin for a week on schedule (as often as i was allowed- every 4 or 6 hours, I cannot remember) to prevent the pain from getting out of hand. If you wait until you are in pain to take it, the medication may not help. After a week, I took regular Tylenol for about another week, then I felt fine.

I was on Percocet for about 3.5 weeks. My pain was really intense, it is different for everyone, some never need the pain meds at all. I never had trouble getting in my protein or fluids, vitamins, etc. though. The pain meds made it so that I could cope enough to function and ensure my intake of those things was adequate. The key is to just keep sipping throughout the day on your shakes and water. Remember both count toward your liquid intake also. If it gets to be that you're not getting in 48-64 oz. of fluid per day minimum in though you need to let your surgeon know because dehydration is the biggest concern when they send you home.

Thank you everyone for your posts. They have been very helpful! I didn't think I wouLd need my pain meds for more than 2 days after surgery, but I'm pretty sure they are going to be my best friends for a few more days. Good luck to you all!!!!!

Took pain pills for two days in the hospital; didn't need them after that. Of course, I was very fortunate to have a pretty easy go of things--everyone is different.

Less than 24 hours. I was one of the lucky ones who didn't have much pain.