Has my doctor not prescribed me enough pain medication for after surgery?

Question

My doctor prescribed me 30 oxycodone 5/325 after my face/neck lift. Now I am getting ready to have an even more major surgery to remove skin from my abdomen, sides, back along with liposuction and he only gave me a prescription for 15 pills. I feel like canceling the entire surgery. The surgery is on a Wednesday so I will be taking 1- 2 pills every 4 to 6 hours, that will have me running out before the weekend when I won't be able to get another prescription from the doctor.

Erik Miles, MD, FACS · Answer

As you know, there’s an epidemic of pain medication abuse in America.   Studies show that doctors significantly over prescribe pain medicine. A recent study showed that only 32% of pain medications was actually used after surgery.  Discuss your concerns with your surgeon. I’m sure that he or she does not want you to be in unnecessary pain after the procedure.   Their philosophy may be to see how it goes with the first prescription and provide more if needed.  Also keep in mind that pain tolerance varies among patients. Some patients riequire very little pain medicine and some require multiple refills for the same procedure. Best wishes.

E. Ronald Finger, MD · Answer

Judging from your information, I tend to agree with you 15 pain pills is not enough pain medication for a face lift. You should contact your surgeon and discussion this with him/her. I will say that face lifts generally are not very painful operations, but some pain management is necessary. Possibly, he could offer you Ultram as an alternative when you run out of the oxycodone. 
Good luck and thank you for your question.

Nick Masri, MD, FACS · Answer

Thanks for your question, CosmicCircle. Congratulations on your recent face and neck lift!
If you’re concerned about pain meds, I suggest that you give a call to your reputable and board-certified plastic surgeon to discuss it. He might have a good reason for not prescribing you a lot of pain meds right away since oxycodone is a controlled substance. As mentioned here, a lot of states have laws about limiting prescription pain meds, so that can be one reason.
If you need more, you only have to ask your plastic surgeon for another prescription.
Good luck!

Mark Clayman, MD · Answer

Thank you for the question regarding enough pain medication after surgery. A simple call to your surgeons office will likely answer this question for you, before thinking your doctor doesn't want you to have your pain controlled after surgery. Many states have passed laws within the past year that limits the amount of pain medications that can be prescribed. In Florida, this is limited to 3-days, so this may be the same in your state.  This can be a nuisance for patients and doctors, but because of the new laws, there is nothing your surgeon can do. This does not mean they can not prescribe you more, as your state law may allow for circumstances allowing more once you are evaluated after the 3 days supply.  Also, some tummy tuck/lipo procedures are not that painful depending on the technique  and what's actually performed, and many surgeons use other techniques  for pain control including pain pumps or long-acting numbing injections or blocks that limit discomfort after surgery. Again, a simple call to your surgeons office will likely clarify the reason for you.

Nicholas Tarola, MD · Answer

I recommend that you speak with your plastic surgeon about your concerns. It seems like a small prescription for the surgery you have upcoming and there may have been a mistake.

Has my doctor not prescribed me enough pain medication for after surgery?

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