Who Should You Contact First If Pain Worsens After Surgery or Your Pain Medicine Is Running Low?

Before you leave the hospital after surgery, ask the surgical or pain team to write down what pain to expect, how to use your pain medicines, whom to contact if problems occur, and where to seek local care as a backup. If your pain suddenly changes significantly or keeps getting worse, have a doctor assess the cause rather than simply taking more medicine yourself. If breathing becomes slow, the person is hard to wake, or severe difficulty breathing occurs after taking medicine, call local emergency services immediately.

Key Points

• Know which medicines to take on a schedule and which to take as needed, including the exact dose, interval, maximum amount, and whom to contact if you feel unwell. Do not change doses or combine medicines on your own.
• Record where the pain is, when it started, what it feels like, how it has changed, and which activities it affects. Tell the doctor about any fever, wound changes, or other symptoms.
• For new chest pain, severe difficulty breathing, fainting, or difficulty waking, call emergency services immediately. Do not wait for a remote reply.

Ask the Team to Write Down Your Personal Pain Management Plan

Ask your doctor or pharmacist to check each medicine’s name, ingredients, strength, dose, how to take or receive it, dosing interval, treatment duration, and stopping instructions. For medicines taken as needed, also ask when to use them, how long to wait to assess their effect, when you must not take another dose, and whom to contact. Tell the team about other prescription medicines, cold medicines, sleep aids, and supplements to avoid taking products with the same ingredients or causing harmful interactions.

Discuss whether pain interferes with deep breathing, coughing, sleeping, walking, or necessary care, and which goals are appropriate for your current recovery. Ask the team to explain what pain to expect and which changes need reassessment. Write down whom to contact during the day, at night, and if you cannot reach your usual contact.

If you use a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump in the hospital, ask a nurse to explain how to use it and how its alarms work. Family members or friends must not press the button for the patient. If the patient is excessively sleepy or hard to wake, notify ward staff immediately; do not press the button to give a dose.

How to Report Changes in Pain

Explain where the pain is, when it started, whether it is constant or comes and goes, how it differs from before, and whether it affects breathing, eating, or activity. Report which medicines you have taken recently, when you took them, and how well they worked, along with any fever, swelling, wound drainage, or new numbness or weakness.

Contact the surgical or pain team promptly according to your personal plan. If you cannot reach them or the pain is worsening rapidly, seek prompt assessment at a local healthcare facility. For sudden chest pain, severe difficulty breathing, fainting, changes in awareness, or other critical changes, call local emergency services immediately. If the wound opens severely, tissue is exposed, or there is heavy bleeding, also seek help immediately without waiting for an online reply.

When Medicine Is Running Low or Side Effects Occur

Before your current supply runs out, contact the prescribing team and a doctor or pharmacist at your destination. Give the medicine’s name, strength, remaining quantity, next scheduled dose time, and your location, and confirm prescription, supply, and monitoring arrangements. When carrying medicines across borders, check separately with the relevant authorities at your departure point, destination, and transit locations, as well as your carrier. Do not assume a prescription is automatically valid in another region.

If you develop nausea, constipation, dizziness, or other discomfort, ask the team to assess how to manage it. Do not add other medicines yourself or suddenly change long-term medicines. Particularly after taking opioid pain medicines, slow, shallow, or difficult breathing, or difficulty waking, are emergency warning signs: call emergency services immediately. If the team has provided naloxone and taught you how to use it, use it as instructed; emergency care is still needed afterward.

Frequently Asked Questions

If the pain suddenly gets worse, can I take an extra pill first?

Do not increase the dose beyond your personal prescription on your own. Contact the responsible team and explain the change. If you cannot reach them promptly or your condition worsens rapidly, seek local assessment. In an emergency, call emergency services immediately.

What if I still cannot cough or walk after taking pain medicine?

Tell the doctor where the pain is, how well the medicine worked, and which activities are affected so the team can reassess the cause and treatment plan.

Can a family member press the PCA button for a sleeping patient?

Do not press it for the patient. If the patient is too sleepy to respond normally, notify a nurse immediately. Abnormal breathing or difficulty waking is an emergency.

Can I take two pain medicines together if they have different names?

First ask a doctor or pharmacist to check the active ingredients, doses, and dosing intervals. Do not combine them on your own.

What if my medicine is running low and a local doctor has not yet taken over my care?

Contact the original prescribing team and a local healthcare facility immediately to confirm a bridging prescription or other arrangements. Do not wait until the day you run out, and do not substitute medicines yourself.

What should I do about constipation or nausea after taking medicine?

Tell your treatment team and ask what you can do and when you need an assessment. If vomiting persists, you cannot drink water, or your condition worsens, seek local medical care promptly.

What if pharmacies do not have the same brand after I return to my home country?

Bring the original packaging, generic name, strength, and medication record to a local doctor or pharmacist so they can verify whether a substitute is suitable and how to continue treatment.

Sources

• U.S. FDA: Safe Use of Opioid Pain Medicines: Emergency warning signs of slowed breathing and excessive sleepiness.
• Cambridge University Hospitals, UK: Patient-Controlled Analgesia: Only the patient should press the PCA button; the specific hospital’s equipment and procedures must be confirmed separately.
• U.S. FDA: Naloxone and Opioid Medicines: Emergency management of a suspected overdose.
• U.S. CDC: Traveling with Restricted Medications: Restrictions on carrying medicines in different countries. Accessed: 2026-11-06.