When did your suregeon Allow you to start swallowing pills again?

[Kristy 90]

Hi All!!

Hope everyone is doing well!! I will be 3 months postop on Wednesday and my surgeon is still not allowing me to swallow pills. I have to continue the Nexium 40mg powder, which I can't stand..UGH!! Just wondering how long your surgeons required you to be on liquid medications before putting you back on pill form???

Thanks Kristy

And on a good note I'm down 57 pounds today!!! WOOHOO!!

[Khy 16]

It varies... I was sent home the day after surgery with pain pills, oxycodone-acetominaphen. I was told to resume my Vitamin supplements many of which are pill form and my synthroid. The only one I have trouble with is the Biotin. I guess I wasn't paying attenion when I bought it. It is in huge capsules. I think I have seen it in small pills.

Khy

[Tiffykins 673]

2 weeks is the normal wait time for pills with our program with the exception of extended release meds which are restricted for the first 6 weeks.

[mythreechildren2001 7]

My dr won't let us take anything for 6 weeks. I'm 3 weeks out, and I cannot wait. I simply can't do the liquid calcium citrate, and I know I need it.

[Kristy 90]

See..this is bothering me that he wont let me on pills yet...I have to take chewable, powder or liquids!! It doesn't make sence!! Oh well he is my surgeon and I've been successful this far, so I guess I should just listen!! LOL

[Tiffykins 673]

See..this is bothering me that he wont let me on pills yet...I have to take chewable, powder or liquids!! It doesn't make sence!! Oh well he is my surgeon and I've been successful this far, so I guess I should just listen!! LOL

If you have a follow up soon, ask him why. It's pretty uncommon for that long of a period of time to have to wait for pills. Most release patients to swallow pills pretty quick since digestion of pills doesn't really occur in the stomach. It happens in the intestines and considering you didn't have your intestines messed with, he might change his protocol. If the chewables/powders/liquids are making you sick, you might want to let him know what's going on.

I'm still on chewables at 2 years out only because I'm a big kid and like my Celebrate chewables ha ha ha. But, everything is pill/capsule/caplet form.

[RickM 1,753]

I was on pills as soon as the IV was removed in the hospital. Granted that it was more of a PITA taking them one at a time with a sip or two of Water rather than the handfull with a gulp preop, and I use the chewables for the Calcium rather than the horsepills they normall come in, but that's not much of an issue anymore. I use the chewables now because I have them but probably won't re-order them. No mention was ever made about liquid form or crushing pills, . Though I expect that it would be suggested for those who had problems taking their pills, it apparently wasn't enough of an issue for them since they didn't mention it in their patient manual.

Has your surgeon done many VSG's? This sounds like a holdover from RNY practice that doesn't really seem to apply to the VSG. My doc doesn't even have this limitation on his DS patients, so this seems to be more of a concern about pills getting stuck in the little orifce that the RNY uses for restriction (another reason to keep your pyloris!)

[Kristy 90]

RickM..My surgeon is awsome...and has done many! He says that I can crush them, but I don't like to do that. I have had no complications at all and I was a single incision..The pills that I used to take are all large pills. I know that all surgeons are different, so this is just something I guess I will have to deal with till I go in next month.

[Marie from Michigan 11]

Another early pill popper here. I was given my regular prescriptions for high blood pressure in pill form still in the hospital. When I returned home, I found after surgery that I couldn't do the chewable vitamins. I called the Office and was told to try to swallow the big huge Vitamin I had been taking before the surgery. I did and it went down fine. Right after surgery, I had to take each pill one at a time, but now I can take the big old handful just like I used to (I am four months post-op).

[Janese58 11]

I was taking pills 2 days after surgery, given to me by my surgeon. I was told I could start taking my own 2 Rx also. One of them I was told to cut in half the other was fine.

[Rainydayz 27]

I asked at my 2 week appt. and he said I could try pills whenever I felt comfortable doing it. I just started taking the Citrical Petites (which are not really so petite) and they go down ok. I'm almost 5 weeks.

[DrMommy 4]

I take a medication daily and was told to resume taking the tablet the day I returned home from the hospital.

[phillygirl 1]

I was allowed to take pills the day of surgery. I had my surgery at 9:30 am and went home at 3:30 PM. I sent home with pain pills and was told I could resume my regular prescriptions as long as I spread them out. It hasn't been a problem so far.... 15 days out.

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

My Dr. never really had a set guideline on what to do regarding this, or at least I never heard of any guidelines. I pretty much just stayed on chews/gummies/liquids until I got to the full food stage or ran out... I figured it should be ok at that point, considering everything else was too.

I take pretty large pills and capsules or whatever and have never had any issues at all.

[NJMOMof2 17]

I was sent home with pain pills and took my regular pills (capsules). Three months is MORE than enough time. Talk to your doctor. Congrats on an awesome weight loss!