Your health care provider may give you a prescription for pain medicine.

• If you take narcotic pain medication, gradually reduce the amount you take during the first few weeks after surgery until you no longer take it.
• Tell your health care provider about any medication you are taking, including other prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
• Talk to your health care provider before beginning new medications while you are taking prescription pain medications.

Prescription opioid pain medications can cause side effects, such as constipation, light-headedness, dizziness and nausea. Using prescription pain medications for even a short time can lead to addiction. The goal is to use the smallest effective dose of pain medication for the shortest period of time. Most people should stop taking opioid pain medication two weeks after surgery.

It is important that you take the prescribed medications exactly as instructed. Talk to your health care provider about how to slowly change to other pain-control methods. Those methods may include over-the-counter medications.

While you are taking prescription pain medications, do not:

• Drive or operate motorized vehicles or equipment.
• Drink alcoholic beverages.
• Be responsible for children or adults who depend on you for care.

Some common pain relievers can affect blood thinning. Examples include aspirin, aspirin-containing products, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), and naproxen sodium (Aleve). Ask your health care provider about what you should take to manage your pain.

If you do not take a blood-thinning medication or prescribed pain medication, you may take acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) as needed for pain. Talk to your health care provider about the dose you should take and the schedule you should follow. If you take more than the recommended dose of acetaminophen, you could damage your liver.

If you take aspirin for your heart, ask your health care provider whether you should continue to do so.