How should the Roux-en-Y patient fight a cold or the flu

Jan 03, 2012

I have the flu.  I'm chalking it up to karma.  I wasn't sure if it was a cold or the flu so I asked my primary care physician and WLS surgeon what treatments were safe for gastric bypass patients.  Their responses are below:

Original email:
I was wondering how a WLS patient would deal with a cold or flu post-surgery. I think aspirin is not allowed but what about other medicines? Is an annual flu shot recommended (not as a treatment but for prevention)? Could you help me out with the answers to these questions or direct me to a reliable source of information?

Response from PCP:
Most of the over the counter medications used to treat symptoms are ok. You absolutely should get a flu shot.

Response from Surgeon:
In terms of flu treatments (or preventive) you can do what you would have done before surgery with the exception of no Aspirin or NSAIDS (Advil, Motrin, Celebrex etc.). Flu shot is fine and most over the counter remedies are not a problem as long as they don’t contain any of the meds I just mentioned.

So there you have it.  I hope this helps others.

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