Just curious if anyone knows if you can take meds the day of surgery. I take effexor for anxiety and anyone who has ever been on it knows what it is like to skip a dose. Do you know if i will be able to take it day of? And the following days of post op? I know I can ask my surgeon obviously but I haven't met with him yet so I just wanted to see what people on here said while waiting to talk to the dr.

you should check with your pcp on that...as there are several meds that they don't want you to take... I take paxil and klonopin, but I am cleared to take them... they don't want you taking anti-inflammatories and blood thinners...those need to be checked by surgeon and pcp...

I take Effexor as well, AND I take Wellbutrin. Dr. Aceves told me to get off of the Wellbutrin for about 2 - 3 days before the surgery (mine is Oct. 11th) but the Effexor is okay. I also take high blood pressure meds but apparently those are okay to take as well.

Nina (Dr. Aceves coordinator) told me that they have found through experience that there seems to be a correlation between those who take Wellbutrin, and excessive or increased swelling. Don't know why that would be, but who knows..... Since I take an extended release Wellbutrin (300 mg), I had to go to my PCP to get a prescription of immediate release (i.e., regular) Wellbutrin that are 75 mg. each. She wants me to take 2 in the morning and 2 at night, then 2 in AM and 1 in PM, then 2 in AM 1/2 in PM, then 2 in AM only, etc. getting down to none a few days before surgery. I will still take my Effexor though.

And as with all surgeries, I am not to take any NSAID's or aspirin within about 2 or 3 days of the surgery. That's all I know right now. If you find out otherwise, please let me know!

I've tried going off Effexor on my own, don't do it! Even one day missed makes me a wreck, like crying in the produce section.

I hate effexor so much some times, I have been on it for so many years and if I accidentally skip a dose I start to feel really dizzy and lethargic. That's why I wanted to make sure I could take it with the surgery, lol. Cause recovery plus the feeling of a withdrawl from effexor would be terrible!

I was having a hard time with the Effexor tablets after surgery. They taste disgusting as it is and after surgery, made me sooooo nauseous. My doctor prescribed me Effexor gelcaps yesterday. They are much easier to take.

Is it harder to swallow the non gelcaps because you have to take tiny tiny sips of water?

Cause if that's the case, I may want to take care of that before surgery.

I had to switch from hormones to Effexor spe officially because I can't take hormones for 2 weeks prior to surgery Sibiu should b fine but they did tell me not to take it the day of surgery because your stomach needs to b empty. If u are worried take it the night before.

Is it harder to swallow the non gelcaps because you have to take tiny tiny sips of Water?

I wouldn't say it is harder to swallow them but gelcaps go down easier for me. And they are easier on my stomach :-)

I just open the capsule now and swallow. No issues. I get to go back to hormone hopefully soon!!

The night before surgery I was told nothing by mouth. So, I didn't take my Effexor the morning of surgery. I stayed in the hospital a day. My surgeon said to resume Effexor when I got home. So, basically 2 days without it. But, there's so much other stuff to think about immediately after surgery, that I don't think I missed it initially.

I take Effexor and have been wondering the same thing. I switched to the twice a day tablet. Im going to make sure to ask the Dr. When I have my pre-op. This stuff is great..... Unless you're late or skip a dose. Then you realize what a monster this med is. I plan on getting off off of it after I get to my goal weight. I'm going to taper down with a pill splitter and cut the tablets into eights, staying at each level for two weeks, then transitioning onto another anti-D at the end, then tapering of of that. I've reasearched and that seems to be the way to go. So wish I was on something else. I works really well though! :')

Thanks for asking this question. i too take the lovely drug and it was my first question for my surgeon. First he told me not to worry about it,i think he saw the look on my face he then said i will open the caps up and stir it in applesauce. i went off of it cold turkey about 10 yrs ago and the brain zaps,lips going numb,etc i was not looking forward to.

thanks again and good luck,

lori

oh great this blog is 2 years old. I am trying to find out anything on taking Effexor and major surgery I was told to stop taking my Effexor 3 weeks prior to surgery and I take Wellbutrin too, but nothing was side about that. I would rather hit myself in the head with a hammer than get off Effexor did it once and vowed I would never do it again, unless I was in a controlled situation. I really need to find out today. I have several calls in to my prescribing psychiatrist and she has yet to call me back ...and I ask the nurse if she would ask the surgeon again if it would be ok to take it and she has not gotten back with me. I am more frightened of the side effects than I am of the surgery. Does anyone know the answer to this?

I take Prozac, serequil, and clonazepam and trileptal for Bipolar. I have to have my medications or my bipolar anxiety kicks in. My psych doc changed my meds to all crushable forms (very important. If you are on an XR, SR med, it cannot be crushed!). I took my meds on schedule post op in the hospital crushed. They were nasty! But if I crush them up really fine and mix them with water, I can take them like I'm taking a shot of booze. Then walk it off. Takes about 30 minutes to take my pills every night. Don't mix them together, that makes them really nasty! Never go off your psych meds. You won't know what hit you.