The difference between pain medication given to a man versus a woman after a surgery is insane and I feel so bitter towards the situation.

For those who don’t know, a C-Section includes cutting open your abdomen and muscle layers to get a baby out; This is a major abdominal surgery that takes 6 WEEKS to be cleared for lifting anything above the weight of your baby again and begin light exercise. I was discharged after 36 hours this most recent C-Section and told to take over the counter Tylenol and Ibuprofen.

My husband on the other hand just had a vasectomy in a provider’s office - not a surgery center - and was prescribed Vicodin. A vasectomy for those who don’t know includes a tiny little single incision (sometimes 2, but usually can be done with 1), then they snip two things, tie knots, and close it up. The procedure takes no longer than 30 minutes from the time you go back into the room and start the numbing process. My C-Section required a spinal that numbed the entire bottom half my body and I couldn’t move my legs at all. So basic comparisons say a C-section is a major surgery and a vasectomy is not.

BUT THEN HE IS PRESCRIBED A SERIOUS NARCOTIC AND I WAS TOLD GOOD LUCK WITH TYLENOL AND IBUPROFEN. To be clear, my pain was managed just fine with those two and I didn’t want anything else, but thats not the point, is it? It’s the principle. It’s the fact that it wasn’t even a consideration, but for a vasectomy it’s handed out like dangerous candy.

Rant over.

Edit: A lot of people are focusing on the C-section part. This isn’t about the C-section necessarily. It’s about the over prescribing for the vasectomy.

Edit 2: Here is a reply to all the comments asking the same question. I WAS NOT BREASTFEEDING. This was agreed upon with my doctor prior to the C-section.