Starting pre-op diet tomorrow - question about meds post surgery

Hey all.  I am scheduled to have surgery on October 15th.  Can't believe it's so close.  I've been trying to have surgery for over 2 years.  I had basically given up, but then decided to contact my insurance and they actually approved me!!!  I was in shock!

I'm a bit worried about how things will be after surgery as far as taking my prescription medications.  I suffer from depression and it can get pretty bad, so I need to be able to take my medications.  The surgeon knows what I take and said it is all find to take after surgery and they are not very big (I checked with a pharmacist and he said I can crush the tablets and open the capsule if I need to), so hoping it won't be a problem.

Just curious if anyone has had problems getting all thier vitamins and stuff as well as prescription meds in?

Also anyone have depression and it got worse after surgery?  I've been dealing with the depression part for a long time and can usually tell when I really need help, but it's kind of scary since I will be 3 hours from home for the surgery (thankfully my parents live there) and 3 1/2 hours away from my psychiarist.

Anyway, hoping it will be fine and I can just start a new chapter in my life!!

 I had surgery in April and I, too, suffer from depression.  I simply crushed up my pills from day 1 after the surgery and have never had an issue.   PM me if you want to talk privately.  KAREN

I, too, suffer from depression & take prescriptions for it. I was worried about taking Cymbalta because it is a time released or sustained release (?) capsule that cannot be opened. I asked my surgeon about it & he said it should be fine to take. He said there is no solid evidence about the absorption rate of this medicine with gastric bypass. He did tell me that it is imperative to listen to my body as it relates to depression & seek medical attention as necessary. You can also PM me if you'd like to discuss this in more detail privately. Good luck to you!

Thanks for the reply.  None of my meds are time released, so I guess I don't need to worry about that part.  I hope you are doing ok.

 I too am starting my preop diet tomorrow with surgery on the 15th. Also like you my journey started two years ago. Now that the time is here that doesn't seem that long ago, wishing you the best of luck. 

Thanks, good luck to you too!

Depression is a somewhat typical issue for mosst post ops.  If you were on depression med prior to surgery, ask you surgeon when you can start them again. My surgeon had me continue them with no issues. BUT, if you're taking an extended release form, you should likely change. Extended release meds may not always be full absorbed, so you may have to take non extended meds more often.  Your prescription strength may need to be adjusted or you may need to try another med if your original isn't working well after surgery.  You need to make a schedule of when to take your supplements and scripts. With supplements, you need to make sure you take calcium citrate and any iron supplemets at least 2 hours apart.  You do need a good support system as a post op.  AND, if an emergencey should arise, and you surgeon says to go to the hospital, make SURE you get to the hospital where your surgeon has operating priveledges.  DAVE

Thankfully none of my are extended release, but I do take twice the recommended dose of Celexa.  Hoping that it will still work for me since I've been on it for 12 years and nothing else has even come close to helping as much.

I did know about the iron and calcium, only because my son was born with kidney failure, so has been taking them his entire life.

I am a bit worried about coming home.  They only do weight loss surgery in two cities in the state (I'm in Montana).  Where I will be is the only Medicare center of excellence, so that's where I have to go (plus my parents live there, so I will have some support while I'm up there)  The surgeon is 3 hours away, and the other city is 2 hours from here.  I have an appointment with my primary care doctor a few days before my surgery (couldn't get in before then), so I will be making sure he is aware  of everything and find out what I need to do if a complication occurs here.  The hospital is only 10 miles down the interstate, so not too far, and then I guess they could fly me up to Great Falls if it were an emergency or something.  Just praying I won't have to go down that road!

My parents actually said I could stay with them for a month after surgery, but my husband really can't take that much time off work.  We have a 6 year old (he goes to school, but has autism) and then our 20 year old who is post kidney transplant, but also has autism.  Makes life interesting.

I guess we'll see how I do after surgery and go from there!  If things are rough, we'll find a way for me to stay up there.

I was swallowing pills in the hospital no problem.

Hi Shelly,

I had my gastric bypass two months ago and struggle from depression as well. I did have to go off one of my medications (was weened off over a period of 2 months) because it was a capsul and the pharmacist said that it could not be opened up. The other meds I am on, I was told if they are smaller then an M&M (I cant understand why they would use this analogy with bariatric paitents) then we can swallow them whole. Between that and the pain meds (which I scored into fours because I could not stand them crushed in food), it was alot to get in and I had to space it out. The reason I had to do this is because there is a limit as to how much liquid we can drink at once so I had to take my pills over the corse of an hour or so.

As for the depression, I did get depressed in the month or so after surgery, but I also had complications. I went off some of my phyc meds as well as my birth control and was missing food. Now I am doing much better but stil get very moody, not really depressed though.

I hope you will have a smoothe and sucessful journey (im sure you will). If I can help you in any way, feel free to contact me.

Take care,
Meg