Taking Medication After Surgery

mcgabriel · 03-15-2008, 06:38 AM

My surgeon tells me that following the surgery, I can never take another solid pill (of any size) as long as I live. I can only have pills that have been crushed. The pharmacist says that I can take pills smaller than a pea. Can anyone share with me what the practical reality is?

TerriDoodle · 03-15-2008, 07:05 AM

To be on the safe side I do as my doctor said....no pills larger than a birth control pill. That would be about 4-5mm, I guess.

However, I 'tested' my Lexapro pills which are about three times that size and are not coated in any way. (A coating or capsule on your pill should give you a hint that they are meant to pass thru the esophagus and/or stomach before being dissolved). I dropped it in a tiny bit of water to see how fast it dissolves and it dissolved almost instantly. So that told me that if I only drink a full glass of water with the pill it would have no trouble getting thru the band.

I also NEVER take any aspirin or ibuprofen or aleve (NSAIDs) unless it's a liquid and always with plenty of water. These are very hard on your upper GI system.

Hope that helps.

edieparks · 03-15-2008, 08:43 AM

I don't have any trouble taking pills. My surgeon never mentioned this fact to me. In fact he told me to take an Advil every 12 hours for pain after surgery.

edie

jelbel · 03-15-2008, 08:54 AM

My surgeon told me that I wouldn't have problem s taking pills. I put the pill on my tongue, about where the taste buds are and while I'm drinking, I roll my tongue to the back and the pill dissapears.

abby1 · 03-15-2008, 11:07 AM

My surgeon told me nothing larger than an eraser, so I can take most of my pills. Some I cut in half and one I had the doctor switch me to a different pill.

GayleTX · 03-15-2008, 04:44 PM

For the first couple of months (til the swelling went down) I crushed mine (got a little mortar and pestle from amazon.com) and took them with applesauce. After that, I just broke them in small pieces and took them in small amounts....... then eventually began taking them whole again. Best of all......now I don't need ANY meds!!

Lynn_Marie · 03-15-2008, 10:40 PM

I can swallow my meds ok, but not all in one handful like I used to both am and pm. Now it's one pill at a time over an hour and a half in the morning. One of them I break in half. Not because it's too big to swallow, but because I have a little trouble with them disolving and then wanting to come back up just a little if I don't. I can take the evening ones faster because the band seems to be looser then.
Hooray for this though... I don't have to take 2 diabetes pills a day or 2 shots of Byetta either since I got my band!!! WOOOOOHOOOOO!!!
Looking forward to the day I can be like Gayle and take NO MEDS!!!

juliegeraci · 03-16-2008, 02:45 PM

I take all sizes of pills. As a matter of fact, I just took a horse pill that is Omega 3 fats. It just depends. YOu have to test the water. Good luck. P.S. I have great restriction and have been banded for 21 months.

jfc193 · 03-16-2008, 04:22 PM

I use a pill splitter and cut the pill in half and have no problem taking pills with water.

Terranne · 03-16-2008, 09:08 PM

For non-coated pills I find them uncomfortable sitting in my pouch so I do cut them in quarters and swallow them one by one with lots of water. Otherwise it's a really uncomfortable, gross feeling for many hours after. It seems like they just stick in there and wait to dissolve.

Crazy4MyK9 · 03-16-2008, 09:55 PM

My bariatric nurse told me to use the size of a Tylenol caplet as a guide. Anything bigger should be split or crushed, when allowed. I split my Allegra-D with a pill splitter. I was recently on a short course of Amoxicillin. This was too big, so I opened the capsule and mixed with applesauce.

If I really feel the need for Advil, which is rare, my instructions are to buy the smaller Advil tablet.

MollyMolly · 03-16-2008, 10:17 PM

I don't have trouble with pills except the big ol horse pills, like is sometimes the case with multivitamins or fish oil capsules. I do chewable and liquid multivitamins (Emergen-C strawberry multivitamin is yummy!), and for fish oil the Coromega packets that you eat (pudding-like texture).

Please be sure you verify that the pill is OK to be crushed before you do it. Some really are not meant to be and I'd hate to see anyone hurt by crushing a pill that shouldn't be. Generally, anything extended or sustained release falls into this category. I take Claritin-D 24 hr sometimes for my sinus issues and it says right on the box "do not divide, crush, chew or dissolve the tablet".
Maybe your doc has seen one too many people get a pill stuck? One of the first things they gave me after surgery was Motrin pills.

I didn't have any trouble swallowing them either then or now. Although now, I always try to drink something warm first to loosen up the band. Taking a big pill with cold water is bad news.

Kristin1031 · 03-17-2008, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgabriel

My surgeon tells me that following the surgery, I can never take another solid pill (of any size) as long as I live. I can only have pills that have been crushed. The pharmacist says that I can take pills smaller than a pea. Can anyone share with me what the practical reality is?

I took larger pills but I cut them in half and have had no problem with them, however I do not have a fill, I am not sure what trying to swallow it whole would of felt like, but I would rather not risk it.

kbinaz · 03-17-2008, 07:40 PM

I take capsules with not much problem. I take them slowly if I have more than one to take, because they can get stuck. My doctor said to take any medication I could get down and so far everything has gone down. I do not, however, take big honkin' vitamins - I use chewables because those big horse pills are a PB waiting to happen!!