Are narcotics necessary?
Are narcotics necessary?
I prefer starting out with narcotics and then decreasing their use based on patient comfort. I have had patients not use narcotics, but it is very important that the patients pain be well controlled so that they may participate and progress with therapy. Playing “catch up” on pain control is not ideal. Some patients do react poorly to narcotics and final pain medication treatment will be tailored post-operatively. Patients who have been on narcotics leading up to surgery may experience increased difficulties with pain control.