Pill Crushing- Gag! :(

[watchamacolit 0]

I also had my surgery on the 27th....I am on soft foods already and I have been taking my meds whole from day one. My DR told me it would be fine and to start on soft foods right away as I could tolerate them. I can't eat a lot or I should say I don't eat a lot because I'm scared mainly.....I eat three times a day and only like a couple teaspoons full of food.< /p>

I had my surgery June 27th (still on full liquids). Was told I could swallow or crush as 'tolerated'. I've been to afraid to swallow them whole,,,I crush in juice, ,,gagging them down..after reading these replies, decided to try it. Made a cup of hot chai tea..and did it! Wonderful! Did 1 at a time,,,45 minutes a part,,no problem..thanks everyone!

[Wheelchair 13]

When I said ask your surgeon about breaking them up rather than crushing...I am basing it on the fact that the surgeon told the OP to crush the pills in the first place. And that the pills would therefore be a crush-able/breakable variety.

What I meant was ask the surgeon if it would be OK to SWALLOW the pills rather than crushing them. Before I had my surgery my surgeon went over all my medications with me and the dosages. He said there was no need to crush them. The stoma could accommodate my pills with no problem as long as I took them one at a time.

I think it IS appropriate to ask your surgeon if you can swallow a pill whole. He'd know if your newly formed pouch can handle it. I don't see that as a question for a pharmacist.

Again, pills that are scored down the middle do NOT necessarily mean that they can be crushed. Pharmacokinetically, by crushing a pill, you are exponentially increasing the surface area of the medicine. This will cause it to be dissolved much faster than you may want.

Do not ask your surgeon. Surgeons may not know the pharmacokinetics or the pharmacodynamics of a certain formulation of a pill. In layman's term.. the surgeon may not know exactly how your pill will be absorbed by the body and what effects it will have on your body.

Do yourselves a favor and ask your pharmacist.

[Pammie Sue 0]

I'm four days post-op and I take 4 different meds on a regular basis plus the prescribed pain meds and antibiotic. My question and problem... Being only on a clear liquid diet for this first week I am struggling getting the crushed meds down. Anyone have any suggestions? Week 2 I get to add a few other liquids like creamy soups... I just don't know how I'm going to pill crush all the time. It makes me sick!

I was banded on 6/27/11 and I have giving up on the crushing...now I just chew them up before i swallow...it's not to bad actually!

[54Shirley 105]

Mine was switched to liquids, and his meds., he had me crush them, and put them in pudding.< /p>

It was easy to swallow the pudding "small spoon" and then drink some Water to chase it..

[Cocoabean 430]

Again, pills that are scored down the middle do NOT necessarily mean that they can be crushed. Pharmacokinetically, by crushing a pill, you are exponentially increasing the surface area of the medicine. This will cause it to be dissolved much faster than you may want.

Do not ask your surgeon. Surgeons may not know the pharmacokinetics or the pharmacodynamics of a certain formulation of a pill. In layman's term.. the surgeon may not know exactly how your pill will be absorbed by the body and what effects it will have on your body.

Do yourselves a favor and ask your pharmacist.

You are missing my point. I said to ask the surgeon if a band can handle a certain sized pill to be swallowed. I am not talking about crushing them at all.

I suppose breaking them into smaller pieces might be considered crushing, so I'll say ask your surgeon if you can do smaller pieces then confer with a pharmacist if that would be OK with the meds you are on. That work? But I've been given scripts that say to cut a pill into quarters when it is scored into only halves. I don't consider that crushing; however, that's the way it was prescribed.

[Cindy C 150]

The general rule about cutting or crushing pills is if they are scored its OK. As for the taste, some of them are just nasty. When my siblings and I were little our mother didn't want to risk us choking on pills so she would put them on a teaspoon, dissolve them with a little hot Water and add some sugar.