Medications that I've always taken. Will they be too much volumn after VSG?

Hi again, I am such a stalker and over-thinker, but you all are so very motivational, helpful and thoughtful. This is a great site for any and all info on WLS.   Ok, so I currently take several meds a day....including an antidepressant. This is something I feel I cannot miss. Will it count as a meal? Haha. Just joking, but seriously, I take a handful of meds right now. I assume I will be able to go off some of them ( blood pressure, cholesterol, acid reducer)  but not the antidepressant or the anti-inflamatory.  

The pre-op class that I took on Monday told us that we have to have meds that can be crushed or in liquid form or a capsule that can be opened. Also they told us no anti-inflamatory's after surgery.

My doctor wanted no pills until 8 weeks post-op.  Everything I took had to be crushed or opened and sprinkled.  I take Effexor XR which I was told couldn't be crushed or opened.  I had to switch to regular Effexor and cru****  It didn't work for me as the whole dose is released immediately.  I was desperate and went back to my Effexor XR and opened the pills and sprinkled the little pellets on yogurt.  Worked just like it did pre-op. 

Find out which meds have a chewable or liquid...some are absolutely nasty.  Yoplait light (vanilla) was my friend and it made taking my meds so much easier.

Funny you mentioned meds counting as a meal.  I sometimes felt like that was all I could eat at first.  I used to take the sugar free chocolate calcium chews and looked at my co-worker one day and said, "You know you're desperate for something to eat when you look forward to taking your vitamins."  Good luck with it!

i had to switch to a liquid form for a week and a half for my largest pill, which could not be crushed.  But i take about 15 separate pills a day.  its very doable, you just have to take them one at a time with water in between.  it's a lot slower than normal at first, but within a few weeks you'll be fine with it.

you'll probably be keeping the acid reducer since these help protect the stomach lining also ... esp with a needed anti-inflamatory med (talk with your doc to make sure it's ok of course, you might be able to find a different form of anti-inflamatory that is easier on stomach, coated or something).

I would definitely clear the anti-inflammatory with your surgeon.  If it is an NSAID which is very likely there can be issues especially th first couple of months using that.  NSAIDs unfortunately can be very tough on the stomach and have been known to cause ulcers among other issues.  With your stomach being so stressed out post op and weakened along the staple line and NSAID could very well be a very very bad idea.  Don't let anyone else tell you different.  

All advice on medications should really be coming from a medical professional such as your surgeon.   Do not let anyone that isn't a doctor say it is OK to use any medication or even for that matter not OK.  I am not a doctor and cannot tell you which medications you should or should not use.  That being said I would be very concerned about the anti-inflammatory.

I can tell you that I personally had to get off both of my blood pressure medications during my pre op diet because my blood pressure would drop and cause extreme light headedness.  I have never been put back on them as I don't need them anymore and I am about 14 months post op.

I also came off of my cholesterol and diabetes meds pre op.  Never to have been taken again so far.

Your acid reducer is a questionable medication.  Some people have this surgery fix acid reflux and some have it create acid reflux.  It really seems to be hit and miss as to whether or not that will resolve or continue.

Please ... if you take nothing else from my response I really feel it is extremely important to talk about all your medications pre op with the surgeon and what to expect post op.  The one that concerns me the most is the anti-inflammatory.  And I can't stress enough that medical advice should only come from your surgeon and or primary care physician (and then only if that PCP knows about your surgery and issues with NSAIDs post op bariatric surgery wise).

You won't be able to take your handful of pills for a while, you will be able to handle most individually while you sip,sip,sip your water; the main exceptions being some of the horsepills like our calcium supplements. I used chewables for those for a while, but some will use the petite variation that splits the dose into more smaller pills. In time you will be able to take multiple pills with a swig of water as you do now.

As usual, follow whatever instructions your doc provides, but in general, the sleeve doesn't require long term use of crushed or liquid medications - that's a holdover from RNY practice where there is concern over getting things like pills or corn kernals stuck in the stoma (the little hole in the bottom of the pouch that does what our pyloric valve does, only not so well....) Likewise, you will hear different things on anti-inflammatories depending upon the surgeon's background - NSAIDs are a big no-no with the RNY due to some of its structural deficiencies that aren't a problem with the sleeved stomach, and many practices carry over this protocol to their sleeve patients until the docs get comfortable with the differences between the surgeries.. I was able to use NSAIDs for pain relief as soon as the prescription narcotic pain relievers were no longer appropriate (say, a week or two post-op) though I had no need to. This comes out of a practice with some twenty years of sleeve experience.

I resumed my thyroid pill and my antidepressant 2 days after surgery. I took the pills to my surgeon and they were small enough he ok'ed them. I may would do the same. I take Celexa and the pill is TINY. I haven't had any problems with any of the medicine I've been taking post op. Def get your surgeon to ok though.

And make sure the surgeon knows what anti-inflamatory you are on. It could be a blood thinner! And, if its not - it could cause problems in the first little while following surgery. My surgeon told me only Tylenol for the first 3 months. 

i use liquid calcium i find it easier , I was told I could take most pills as soon as I get home from the hospital, if they are to big (metiformin) I could brake them in half , but check each pill with the doctor or pharmacist to check if you can brake them or crush them 

if nsaids are a must there a drugs the doctor can give you to protect your stomach , coated pills don't help it is the medication in the nsaid that stop some coating of the stomach from being produced

Ask your surgeon an do what they say. 

That said, I'll share my experience. I was taken off my diabetes meds before I started the pre-op diet. I was told to stop all other supplements except my anti-depressant a week before surgery. I also take celexa. I was instructed to take it with a tiny sip of water on the morning if surgery. The day after surgery my surgeon brought it to me and asked me to try it in her presence and it went down fine. So that was it. No disruption from celexa. My new acid-reducer pill is the same size, as is the anti-nausea pills they gave. For now I'm not taking anything larger though. 

Hi!

We can all give you input...but it'll all be different because our surgeons are all different.

Mine for example allowed us to take pills but they could be no larger than an m&m ( I'd rather just have the m&m's!).Then he had other meds in liquid form. He was more concerned about damage to new surgery belly.

Now with this all said...depending on how tight of a VSG you get, how swollen your insides are, and your tolerance level...your VSG will tell you how much it can tolerate.

Bottom line...talk to you surgeon. He will lead the way.

Also...stalk and post as often as you need!!!

Peace

~Deb