I was told no NSAID's (i.e. ibuprofen) after banding. There is a lot of conflicting information being given out by the doctors (carbonation anyone?), so I was just wondering if anyone here has been taking ibuprofen at all. I've been having sciatica problems the last few days. I don't want to hurt my band, but nothing helps it like ibuprofen. I've stuck to tylenol so far. I guess what I'm asking is... Were you told by your doctors to avoid NSAID's? Do you guys think it's okay to take ibuprofen occasionally?

Thanks for your responses everyone. It's interesting that the doctors are split on this issue. At this point, my sciatica isn't so bad that I'll risk taking ibuprofen. I'm going to look into physical therapy to see if I can head it off before it gets too bad.

It seems that the consensus is that taking it once or twice a month probably isn't going to cause the band to slip, but it can't be taken on a regular basis.

I did find that with weight loss the effectiveness of other drugs seemed to improve. I can now take Tylenol for my major menstrual cramps (which used to totally sideline me) and just about anything else with great results. The only pain I had to take Advil for was a horrible strep infection that caused was an almost migraine-level headache.

Hopefully you'll find the same to be true as well.

Alex, It works better for you now because adult dosing on OTC drugs is based on a weight of somewhere around 165 lbs. So, it stands to reason that a dose of tylenol won't work as well if you're 300 lbs. Children's medicines dose on weight, adult ones should too (in my very non-medical opinion).

I guess further proof that each Doc is different. I have no restriction on pan meds (including NSAIDS) but I am forbidden carbonation. My Doc also said NOT to rely on Birth Control pills -- to use another option. I guess the more you use something, the more you have to worry about the side effects/outcomes. I don't use pain relievers much , but I do miss Diet Coke!