Hey Dawn-
Did you take the 5 mg. of Valium twice a day? three times a day? And how many days did you do that? I don't want to get hooked on anything but I do think it helped me yesterday. I took 5 mg. this morning. So far today, no BM has happened. I have a lot of gas. My pain is less and I just took one Vicodin just now instead of two because my 6 hours was up and I haven't gone today and I could feel the pain starting to build some. Also took two Advil- Dr. said take 3 Advil every 6 hours for the first 3 days and then as needed. I think if I keep up the 3 much longer, I could start having some burny stomach stuff happening from that.
But would love to know how often and for how long you took the Valium...
Thanks!
Bambi

Hey Bambi,
I think I took them(5mgs) twice a day for about a week then I took one right before a bm in the morning because I developed a regular, predictable pattern with those pretty fast. I eventually got down to 1/2 a pill right before bm's.
I had 30 pills and still have one left.
I know what you mean about the ibuprofen. I alternated between it and the tylenol although I noticed the ibuprofen was much better.
I only took the vicodin for 2 days after my surgery then I remember taking one randomly before I got my rx for valium on day 8. I would just up the miralax a little bambi if things continue to move slow. I imagine the vicodin is causing that.
Sorry it took me so long to respond!! I didn't check in yesterday.

pss... I never mentioned this but I remember crying thinking my surgery didn't work before I got the valium and things started to settle and I developed a pattern with the bm's and figured out that I needed to ditch the colace and take the full dose of miralx. That was on day 8, so don't get discouraged with any of it. I thought I had the stool softener all figured out before LIS but I had to make some adjustments with the vicodin. The colace just wasn't effective too much before and with the little bit of pain meds in my system it didn't do anything!

Guys, I would definitely avoid Valium at all costs, it's far too addictive for my likings, and if I remember correctly NG had problems withdrawing from it a while back.
I would never take it!

Steve, it's funny (well not exactly funny in the conventional sense) you mention this, because I recently had to reinstate a low dose of Valium because the withdrawal symptoms -- even months out -- were intolerable. And I don't mean the psychological stuff like "I feel bummed because I missed my dose today" ... I mean the physical stuff of tight muscles, headaches, painful nerve impulses all over the body, stomach cramps, etc., that no amount of behavioral treatment can touch. Some people go through a protracted withdrawal syndrome even after being off benzos for a long time and it seems that I'm one of the unlucky few :( Anyway, yes, benzos are highly addictive. Check out benzobuddies.org, non-benzodiazepines.org.uk, etc., to see just how many people unwittingly got addicted to them despite assurances from doctors that the doses and duration of therapy were fine. Individual tolerances and predisposition to addiction vary, but once it happens, it's extremely hard to get off benzos, and the general consensus is that they're hands down the hardest drugs to kick.
Anyhow, short term usage is okay for the most part, so if you're taking them for week or two, I wouldn't worry too much. It's not impossible for addiction to settle in within that time frame, but it's unlikely. Just don't take them any longer than needed and you should be fine.
If I had the choice, though, I'd personally definitely take Vicodin over Valium for post-op discomfort. It always helped me a lot more with any pain, spasms, etc. Also, both are addictive, but in the worst case, opiate withdrawal is almost universally considered to be #1 less unpleasant, #2 less dangerous, and most importantly #3 MUCH shorter in duration compared to benzo withdrawal. The only downside is that Vicodin is more constipating...
Anyway, just my unsolicited 2 cents :)

I agree short term usage is safe. I took it a month and don't need it or miss it,Lol
I tried the vicodin for the spasms after surgery and it didn't do anything for me so i guess it depends on the person. Just throw the mess away after you recover, lol