Hey there Alpha, I didn't get any antibiotics after surgery either.
Pain killers have always made me terribly sick to my stomach. I actually never posted this but after taking vicodin the first day after my surgery, I broke out in a sweat and just about passed out before making it back to the bed. It made me throw up... I think it's a good idea to just lay still for awhile when you first take it. They also prescribed me phenergan which is for the nausea and vomiting that can come along with taking the pain killers. I asked for it ahead of surgery because I have a history of vomiting w/ pain meds. I think the generic name is promethazine 25mgs. My CRS was really good about calling in a RX to my local pharmacy if I needed something. That may be something you want to consider if you keep getting the nausea.
As for the ibuprofen, I think I took the maximum recommended dose:) Hope things get better for you. Take care.

darn, Alpha! I'm sorry to hear that! It looks like a few of us have difficulties with painkillers. I found the ibuprofen does work, but the robaxecet also helped everything relax ... and it helped me nap too.
I think Dawn's advice is definitely worth trying - I found I tolerated the percocet better each day, I just had to stay still for a bit after I took it.
Dawn - would gravol do the job if getting phenergan is not possible?

Wow Hope, I have no clue I was hoping NG could answer this...

Thank you guy. Dawn, that is a good idea to get another med for nauseness. But i am totally alone at home now so no one who can pick up med for me.
I just took a ibuprofen instead of vicodin. So far so good.

Alpha, Hopefully the ibuprofen will be enough. I stopped the vicodin the second night so maybe this will be okay for you. I had no problems with bleeding but like others have said ibuprofen is a blood thinner so maybe you could alternate between tylenol and ibuprofen if it works?! My CRS did say I could take ibuprofen so I guess they weren't to concerned with the blood thinning...
Good Luck and take it easy:)

Alpha, Ibuprofen was my goto pain med for my surgeries since I would vomit with the percocet. My CRS told me I could take 600mg every 6 hours. 400mg (2 tabs)usually did the trick every. Advil liquid gel tabs kicked in fast. Tylenol is like taking a sugar pill for me - completely worthless.
I have been battling with nausea for months on a med I have been taking now. I did a lot of research on natural remedies for nausea. For me, Ginger Ale has been a huge help. Ginger root helps treat nausea.

Hey Alpha, I agree with all of the previous comments -- take what works for you. If it's ibuprofen, then by all means take it. I wouldn't worry too much about the bleeding risk. It's true that ibuprofen can thin blood but for a smallish incision a few days after the fact, any risk should be negligible (my personal non-medical opinion only). Ibuprofen and other NSAIDs are commonly given following surgery. Aspirin is supposed to be a more powerful anticoagulant than ibuprofen so maybe just steer clear of that.
Standard dose for over the counter ibuprofen here in the US is up to 600 mg I believe. Prescription ibuprofen is 800 mg -- that's the most you can have in a single dose due to the risk of GI tract bleeding. I personally can't stomach ibuprofen or most other NSAIDs, so I can't speak to what amounts would be effective for post-LIS pain though. But lots of folks with arthritis take the 800 mg tablets. Just make sure to always take it with food to decrease the GI bleeding risk! I think maximum daily dosage is somewhere around 3 grams for ibuprofen, but please do check that with your doctor if you plan on taking a lot of it.
And yep, opiates make a lot of people nauseous, especially in the beginning. The nausea usually subsides after a day or two. If it doesn't you can always ask for an antiemetic to suppress nausea as Dawn says.
Also, the other thing to bear in mind is that it's perfectly safe to take NSAIDs like ibuprofen in combination with opiate based drugs like Vicodin. In fact the effect is synergistic if you take them together. The only cautions here are to #1 remain below the maximum daily dose for any one drug and most importantly #2 DO NOT take anything else containing acetaminophen (paracetamol overseas) when taking Vicodin. I don't know what strength your Vicodin are, but if they're the most commonly prescribed 5 mg hydrocodone + 500 mg acetaminophen ones, then you can run up against the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen real quick. Vicodin and its cousins such as Lortabs and Norcos can contain vastly different amounts of acetaminophen so make sure you check the label clearly.
Finally, my unsolicited two cents: I've had some nagging chronic health issues (mostly chronic pain that isn't actually dangerous but just bothersome) for a few years now, and basically have a bottomless prescription to opiates such as Vicodin. Kind of both funny and macabre considering my age, but whatever. On occasion I take other opiates such as codeine, oxycodone (Percocet), morphine sulfate, etc., but mostly it's just Vicodin taken as needed. And IMO opiates are hands down the gold standard when it comes to pain (with the exception being neuralgias or neuropathic pain which opiates don't do much for). For all else, including muscular pain and post-surgical pain, there's just nothing that comes close to opiates if you ask me.
So really the question to me would be exactly how much pain you're in. If it's tolerable, then stick with what you're comfortable with. If it's really bad, I would go with the Vicodin. I felt real sick on it early on too but that stopped after a couple days in. I usually take it with a small snack (for example a few handfuls of potato chips, some crackers, or a little bowl of instant noodles). Taking it on an empty stomach causes me abdominal pain, and taking it with too much food increases the odds that I'll feel like puking. A light snack with a glass of water would be your best bet opiate-wise IMO. Also, Vicodin tablets are never enteric coated to my knowledge, so if your tablets are scored down the middle (this means that they were intended by the vendor to be splittable), you can always break them in half and take only half. That's a good way to get some pain relief and also get accustomed to the drug. Maybe half a Vicodin plus a 200 mg ibuprofen or something (they actually make something called Vicoprofen for this purpose -- it's hydrocodone + ibuprofen without the acetaminophen).
Oh yeah, and some folks like to lie down for about 20 minutes or so after taking opiates. It's supposed to help alleviate nausea and dizziness. Never did much for me, but a lot of people much more experienced with drugs than myself swear by it, so I think I'm the exception rather than the rule.
Ok and one last thing (promise :)): I saw that you mentioned sleeping. After LIS, I always took Vicodin just before bedtime. It makes me drowsy, and I'm a lifelong insomniac, so that works out nicely for me. I never got awoken by pain while sleeping, but it's possible if you don't take enough painkillers and some pain breaks through. Doesn't seem overly likely with LIS since a lot of the pain there is centered around pooping, sitting, and physical activity, but it's not impossible. Anyway if you do have trouble sleeping due to pain, there are of course also sleeping pills that most doctors are happy to give to post-operative patients. I didn't require any after LIS, but I do take Ambien (zolpidem) and Lunesta (eszoplicone here in the States but the zoplicone isomer is available elsewhere) on occasion for insomnia. Ambien is the stronger of the two but does make you feel like you're on drugs. Lunesta isn't quite as effective, but is very gentle (almost unnoticeable) and produces next to no side effects for me (the risk of respiratory depression when used with opiates is also said to be lower). Definitely no nausea. Perhaps another option to consider if you want to avoid the opiates altogether.
Anyway I'll shut up now that I sound like a major drug pusher :) Just to make it clear, ideally we wouldn't need any of these drugs. But the reality is some people do and it's really a question of whether the risks or side effects outweigh the benefits. Hopefully my unfortunately extensive experience with this stuff helps you make your decision haha.

Hey Alpha -
Hang in there!! Advil and ice packs (ice ice baby) and the baths are what worked for me. I hate taking the stronger pain killers (but will if there's more pain then I can handle). Don't underestimate the power of a well placed bag of frozen corn though... through a thin washcloth. My doc said it will help with the swelling and ease some of the discomfort.
She also mentioned to keep the water moving in the sitzbath will help, I found putting the shower head in the bath (insert jokes here if desired) worked very well. I generally took 2 200mg Advil when I woke up, and 3 before bed if I needed them. The second and third day were the most uncomfortable.
the light at the end of the tunnel.... day 6 I was worried about going back to work - day 7 (work day) was a little exhausting and forgot the Metemucil... and today was like most any other day.
hang in there

Thank you guys, espe ally neuropathicguy for that detailed advice.
It's day two after LIS+Fissurectomy. I feel much much better now.
My last vicodin take was yesterday 1pm. And I took ibuprofen at 5pm and 9pm. Then nothing ever since. I had a good sleep and no pain as long as i stay still. So I am sure that I don't need any kind of pain killer if this doesn't get worse.
Vicodin was auwful to me. The nauseaseness did nt go away until 10pm last night.... I feel so good that i dont have to take it anymore.
I was really concerned with pooping because i have constipation issue.
I had small amount of BM in the night of surgery. Did not go yesterday. I got worried. Took milk of magnesia (3tbs) in the morning and another 3tbs in the night along with a full glass of prune juice.
This morning... Bang! I had very pleasant BM.
But it was very watery like diarrhea. and as usual, i felt no urge. I just sat on the toilet and without much effort, i pooped very watery stool. This makes me really concerned thesedays. I don't know why i don't feel urge to go. But this started to happen a while ago. I am so worried about this....

Wow NG! Somebody should give you a degree in pharmacology! I'm so glad you posted all that information.
It's good to make it clear that Robaxecet (which has acetaminophen) should not be used with Vicodin or Percocet. I had been using Robaxecet with Ibuprofen, but it's also good to be clear about which meds NOT to combine!
Alpha - Ibuprofen should help with the pain. There's no reason to worry about bleeding. I mentioned it because it can be a bit alarming to see more blood than you expect But when blood is thinned, it looks like more than there is.
I hope you're having a good day today.