Is MORPHINE normal after giving birth?

[clarabelle]

Well I had a regular birth but an immediete crash surgery for a ruptured uterus. I was cut completely up and down my stomach. I got Tylenol. I can't imagine getting morphine for a c-section.

I can't imagine you not getting something stronger!
Either you have an incredibly high pain tolerance or your Doc is into Malpractice. Depriving people of pain med after major surgery is not productive for anyone. As a former nurse (I haven't worked in a while) I can tell you that most people after any abdominal surgery would get narcotics. Not tylenol

 

[bballmom56]

Wow, after each of 2 c-sections, I had tylenol (possibly with codeine) and that worked ok. I know there was no drip of any kind.

 

[Virgo10]

I was on Demerol IM and oral for the first couple of days. A Cesarean is major surgery.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I had a c-section 4 weeks ago and was given percocet. Every 4 hours on the dot

It was my 3 section and I had the same thing with each one.

 

[Melrosgirl]

I was given Morphine immediately afterwards (last year). I guess they had it in for about 8 hours or so afterwards. they sent me home 3 days later with Percoset (sp?). I didn't like that stuff. I thought 3 tylenol did the same job without the weird feelings associated with Percoset.

 

[skiwee1]

You sure that wasn't Tylenol 3 or something? I can't imagine anyone just giving tylenol after that kind of surgery! You would be in terrible pain

No, just Tylenol. I was bfing and didn't want the meds in my system. I was not in that much pain either.

 

[Melrosgirl]

OMG. I remember the itching too! I didn't realize it was the Morphine that caused it.

 

[aprilgail2]

Well I had a regular birth but an immediete crash surgery for a ruptured uterus. I was cut completely up and down my stomach. I got Tylenol. I can't imagine getting morphine for a c-section.

Me either! I didn't take anything after mine, not even tylenol...there wasn't that much pain that I couldn't deal with it or felt the need for pain killers....I have had morphone with another surgery and it made me SO loopy that its not something that I would take if I didn't really really have to.

 

[Southern4sure]

Yes, it is. They will usually hook the new mom up to a morphine drip which is controlled by pushing a button. I know from experience that the button will only let you push it every 11 minutes or something like that. I kept trying though!

Same thing here. DH pushed the button for me while I tried to get some sleep. After about an hour or so, I was comfortably sleeping with no pain.

ETA: I had an emergency c-section and put to sleep. The anesthesia was worse for me than the morphine.

 

[Dakota_Lynn]

I was given an extra strength tylanol. I kid you not, that is it!

 

[Christine]

I think morphine is pretty common for fairly major abdominal surgery--which is what a C-section is.

 

[Aimee K]

I had Morphine too for the first 8 hours. It was GREAT.

 

[Joanne UK]

I had morphine injections after my 2 sections for the first 24 hours.

 

[welovedisneyx4]

I had Tylenol 3 w/ codine after my 1st. I loved that stuff--took care of the pain and didn't leave me feeling weird or anything!! I took it just as recommended (or as much as I could!) and after about 2 weeks, I started to realize I wasn't remembering conversations I was having. Now, granted, it could have been from lack of sleep, but I decided it was time to cut back on the Tylenol 3! I didn't have anything but regular Tylenol w/ DS. I felt alot better after I had him than when I had DD. If I ever need pain meds for anything now, I always ask for Tylenol 3! Good stuff!!

 

[Minnesota!]

I had morphine, I think, from the time after the sugery until I could feel again. And then they offered me Vicodin and Tylenol 3 - which I didn't take. I really wasn't in pain after my c/s. The only time it was bothersome was the first time I tried to walk further than my bathroom. The stretching feeling wasn't so painful as it was nauseating...

Congrats to your SIL!

 

[Magickndm]

I had a morphine drip too, but just needed it the first 12 hours. Morphine does not cross over into the breast milk either.
After the first 12 hours I just used Advil.

 

[dcgrumpy]

It depends on the hopital, I know some who had a morphine drip after a c-section. I was given morphine during my last 2 c-sections to help with pain the first 24 hours. Then I was given percocet and ibuprofen. Unfortunately for me morphine makes me itch like crazy and want to rip my skin off.

When i came home from my first section I was given a prescription for 5 days worth of Vicodin, after the second 2 days worth of Tylenol-3, after my third they told me to take Advil. Yeah thanks a lot buddy

 

[aprincessmom]

I had it -- the self-administering drip machine -- but they removed it after 24 hours when they realized I never used it.

 

[piratesmate]

I had an emergency C-section (read "traditional cut") with DS & they gave me Morphine. After they couldn't wake me up for 12 hours they switched to Percocet, but I did better with the pain than that one. LOL

They were really annoyed with me when I told them I didn't want Morphine again. (This was Montgomery Hospital in Norristown - 14 yrs ago.) Anyway, with DD I had a planned C-section & "bikini cut" - I got Tylenol with codeine once & then just regular Tylenol...that was all I needed.

 

[Princess Dot]

Morphine is given all the time, in a drip with the timed out button to push. It is usually not a continuous drip but just goes in when you push the button.

Yes there is something called duramorph which is a long acting type morphine. I'm a little out of practice, but I think it is supposed to last for 12 hours after its given and then patients are switched to percocet by mouth.

Many people have reactions to morphine though. I've mostly seen a lot of itching from it, very rarely the hallucinations that the previous posters talked about. In fact, I've seen more people have weird dreams with Percocet than with the morphine.

Every person's pain tolerance is so different. THere are those patients that just jump out of bed post op day one and you have to really talk them into taking any kind of pain meds, then there those that on day 3 and 4 are still doubled over in pain, taking percocet every three hours! So everyone is just different.