Question about medications before, during, after WLS!

Okay, I am trying to make sure I have all my facts and understandings before I jump in head first!  One of the top things on my list is making SURE that I will not have to stop my medications for depression either before or immediately after the surgery.  I know that with my history of depressive episodes, stopping my medications could mean deep, suicidal depression and another hospitalization.     Not my idea of a good experience while trying to recover from the surgery.  I realize that I may experience depression after the surgery just from hormones going crazy and not being able to eat for comfort, etc., but my hope is that with my medications, it will be minimized or not as severe as it could be.  Sooo.... with that in mind, has anyone had issues with this sort of thing as far as not being able to take medications at any point?  My meds are not time-released at all. 

Thanks for the help!  This board is invaluable!  :) 
Candace

There should not be a problem with your meds, and making sure they are not time released is good. This would be a bad time for anyone to stop meds for depression, in my opinion, because surgery is stressful, being on a very limited diet for a while is stressful, having pain is stressful, etc.  So a time when anyone would be under extra stress is not a good time to stop meds, for sure.

Talk with your surgeon to make sure there is no reason your particular meds would have to be stopped.  I did not have to stop any of my antidepressants and I was on a few at the time of surgery.  I took my bedtime meds as usual the night before surgery.  Now, I did not take my morning meds the morning I had surgery, but that was the only dose I skipped.  I took my bedtime meds as usual that night.

You also want to talk to your surgeon about it because some meds are dangerous if you stop them suddenly, so you don't want to find out at the last minute you have to stop one.

Some docs recommend crushing meds in the beginning, others don't.  I just swallowed my antidepressants whole, as usually.  I had no problem.

The only other issue I can think of right now is that some docs want to do a test for leaks the morning after surgery and don't want you to take anything by mouth until then.  Which would make it difficult to take meds the night of surgery.  My surgeon tested for leaks in the OR, so I was able to have liquids just a couple hours after surgery.  So you might want to talk to your surgeon about that.

 they had me not take my pill the night of surgery, as i wasn't even on to drinking yet, but the second night was back to normal with pills

My surgeon had me not take the meds for depression the night before surgery and wanted me to stop for the 3 days in hospital (he let me take them the last day after I cried my eyes out in front of him because I was scared of what might happen if I didn't have my depression meds) but I had to crush them and let me tell you they tasted nasty nasty. I ended up cutting them in tiny pieces, even that was nasty but not as bad.It wasn't too long long before I could take them whole, (they were asprin sized).

Thanks so so much for the replies.  I hope that my surgeon will be understanding of this. Not only do I not want to have my depression return in full force, but I take Paxil and it is notorious for causing a "discontinuation syndrome" after only a couple of days of not taking it.  And, I take Lamictal which is absolutely NOT to be stopped cold turkey as it could cause a seizure or a serious rash.  I hope that if I explain to him that I absolutely must take this medication in some way (liquid, crushed, something) that he will do the best he can to ensure that I have it as quickly as possible. 

Thanks again! :)
Candace

I've read that Paxil is the WORST antidepressant for withdrawal, followed by Effexor, which I have had to misfortune of withdrawing from once.  It's a long story but the bottom line is that I had to stop it suddenly and could not taper it off and I was so sick for weeks.  I was in awful pain and sick to my stomach, and of course the depression got very bad, and I ended up in the  hospital for a couple weeks.

Your surgeon should understand this, and you can always ask him to speak with your psychiatrist if he needs more information.  Paxil has a very short half life, which is part of why the withdrawal is so severe, so you really don't want to miss more than a dose.

I am coming off Cymbalta for my surgery because Cymbalta has a little known side affect that will cause bleeding to be uncontrolled. I found out this first hand when an IV was pulled out of my hand and I lost alot of blood. We (the doctor and I) called Elli Lilly and they said I should be off the med one week prior and one week after any major surgery. So if you are taking Cymbalta, I would come off of it. As for coming off of it, I am being weaned off because you can not just stop it. I'm now down to the lowest dose and taking on 10 of the little pills in it for this week and then I'm done. This has been a "hell of a ride".