Hi All,
I am new to the board here...I just had LIS done yesterday and this is my first post-operative day. I am having some dull continuous pain at the site of the surgery and a little bit of temparature ( about 99.3 -99.9F). The doctor has prescribed Vicodine as a painkiller to be taken every 4-6 hours. So far I have had a bit of not so solid BM, because of my primarily liquid diet before the surgery. Is the dull pain and fever something I need to worry about ?
Thanks in advance

Hi Noddzy,
I'm going to assume that your CRS indicated that the surgery was successful, and that you had no signs of infection. After I had my LIS (about three weeks ago), I felt OK upon discharge from the hospital. However, later than evening when the anesthetics began to wear off, I started feeling terrible pain. I had a prescription for painkillers (vicodin) and after popping two, the pain went away.
The next morning, I did feel a dull pain in my rear, so out of fear, I took some more pain killers. Gradually however, the pain went away and since then I have taken no more painkillers.
I think that in my case I had become acutely sensitive to every sensation in my bum. So, any little flutter, any little twitch, any contraction was magnified and my brain went into overdrive - was I seeing the return of AF?
Too, I was still on my vegetable soup only diet, so any minor change in the consistency of my BM caused a panic - was I going to suffer from incontinence?
The point is: after suffering through AF and having surgery on your bum it takes a little time for you and your bum to adjust to life after LIS.
The fever, though, is another matter. I suggest you call your CRS for advice.
Good luck and keep us informed of your recovery.

Good luck with your recovery, Noddsy!
Hope the best for you. Please let us know how everything is going.

Welcome, congratulations on getting through the surgery! Do you know if you have packing in there? I had continuos pain, pressure and stinging but once I got it out, felt much better. If that's not the issue swelling could cause it, did they give you an anti inflammatory with your pain meds
I was given celebrex but ibuprofen works too. There's going to be swelling so this is important. Also imperative, at bambi's suggestion I sat on a frozen bag of peas, for 15 or 20 min at a time. This helped ALOT. I hope you heal quickly and that the fever is behind you, you really should feel some relief within a few days, after that, if there's still pain and fever I would definitely think infection. It's only the first 24 hrs, everyone's different but you'll know if something's not right, Mbpaul is right when talking about how sensitive we all get to any little sensation at all having to do with our asses! Isn't it great to have found a place where you can ask these questions and get so many answers? Glad for you, you're on the road to recovery now!

Thanks for all the suggestions. @Elphie, I have not been prescribed any anti-inflammatory drugs. I took one ibuprofen yesterday, but given that I have been prescribed Vicodin, I was not sure whether I can have ibuprofen too. I think that the fever was coming from the inflammation. Let's see how it goes today. I will try to take some ibuprofen.

Also, it seems that the inflammation an swelling at the site seems to be preventing me from having a good BM. The area feels quite inflamed though I have not really had the courage to examine the area. Is this kind of swelling normal ? Thanks to mbpaul and lost too for the words of encouragement

Ibuprofen should be fine with vicodin, I was take g percosets with mine, it really helps with swelling. Btw, I took a week before I could look, you're not alone there either. I hope today it's a little better, and better still tomorrow, try the bag of frozen peas, it made a big diff for me, eliminated the stinging and brought the swelling down too. This was pretty weird after sitting on a hot pad for a year but who cares, it helped!

So I had quite a bit of bleeding while having my first reasonable BM-- not much pain though. The on-call physician said bleeding while having a BM is not unusual-- so I am not freaking out yet. Also, it seems that Ibuprofen is not good to have if one is bleeding post-surgery. I am trying out the sitting on a ice bag @Elphie. The pain is not too significant (more feeling of swelling)- so I am wondering if switching from Vicodin to Tylenol or something else is preferable. Do people continue with a strong painkiller like Vicodin for a few days or turn it down a notch after a couple of days ?

Hey Noddzy,
I had Lis 7 1/2 months ago. I only took the vicodin a couple of days and started taking ibuprofen and tylenol after that. Some take the vicodin longer. The key thing is to keep the bm's soft while on the prescription pain killers. I would suggest and it's just my opinion, to lay down with the ice pressed against your butt and not to set on your bottom for awhile. All the swelling and bruising are normal thought. I didn't look, I'm very squeamish about these kind of things, and probably would have passed out, but I saw the bruising by accident a couple of weeks later. It took about two weeks before things were noticeably better for me.... :) Wishing you a speedy recovery! I've not regretted having my surgery once since I had it and am so happy with my normal life again.

Thanks Dawn-- yeah am trying to keep BMs soft - eating oatmeal and lots of soups and fruit juices pretty much. My main issue right now is the bleeding I am having from BMs. I think the surgeon has kept the wound open, and hence the bleeding. Since it is a long weekend, I am unable to contact him before Tuesday-- and trying to keep my mind off it..