Whether having surgery or in-office treatments such as lasers or injectables, it is an unsaid certainty that patients have concerns about pain.
Today, prospective patients shouldn’t sweat the pain issue because of the wide range of options to minimize or eliminate it entirely. There are topical anesthetics which can be applied to the skin prior to injections as well as oral medications that can be taken before or after procedures.
After a face and neck lift, chin augmentation, brow lift, rhinoplasty, etc., oral pain medications do the job. Our first choice has long been Tylenol with codeine; a non-addictive narcotic. While it may cause constipation, it is remarkably free of other side effects.
Typically, people do not need opiates such as morphine, Demerol or Dilaudid for nearly any cosmetic surgery, with the exception of the chemical skin peel. The first day or so of recovery can require methadone which is our favorite medication for this procedure since it is long-lasting and has very few side effects. Remember, the pain medication that you will be taking after cosmetic procedures is only needed for a few days. Most people feel pretty good after two to three days and rarely require more.
One comment I would like to make is that I tend to stay away from the OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin class of drugs; they have become a problem in the United States because of the high risk of addiction. According to Consumer Reports (July 2014), “Vicodin and other drugs containing the narcotic hydrocodone are now the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States… 17,000 people, per year, die from overdoses of the drugs.”
That is not good news. Now you know why I prefer Tylenol with codeine.
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