Apparently stem ginger is a natural painkiller and anti-inflammatory.  If you get really nice stem ginger cookies they are also excellent for taking your tablets with.  (I kept a tin of cookies by the bed for the middle of the night).

I am sure there are many more of these natural painkillers, although I didn’t look into these before the operation and I highly recommend checking out your local health food shop (I wish I’d done that beforehand!)

Although it’s not strictly speaking a natural painkiller I do highly recommend the Aloe Vera Colon Cleanser (despite the name!) as it is a gently laxative that helps your digestive system, and constipation was one of the biggest sources of pain for me post op.