I have LOTS of pills that I take each morning. I am told by my surgeon that I have to crush them for LIFE. Well, I crushed them and opened my capsules and mixed it with applesauce and I have been fighting vomiting all day so far. I can't get that horrid taste out of my mouth and that continues to nauseate me. I can't eat or drink anything without breaking out into a sweat and my mouth filling with water like right before you're going to upchuck. Not a nice subject I know! I hope I didn't make a mistake by banding if I can't take the meds I need! Anyone have any ideas? I take about 13 pills a day. YUCK! :think

Did you try drinking hot liquids beforehand? Try that...it clears the mucus out and opens the band up.

Also ask about liquid forms of your meds, or chewables. I know that most meds are available in those forms, the pharmacy may need to order them but they are usually available. Also like derbygirl said, try hot tea or coffee before taking the meds. I was told that after I was healed I could swallow anything the size of an m&m or smaller. Anything larger would need to be broken or crushed. I snap tylenol in half and they go right down. Maybe after the first 6 weeks you will be able to take meds again too? ~Mandy

I've been taking my pills whole since the day I came home from the hospital. I'm on 5 different medications, two of which cannot be crushed and do not come in liquid form. I have absolutely no problem taking my pills, even 4 fills later.

Good Luck. I've never heard of anyone having to crush pills for life.

CherylB,

Personally, I would try and take the smaller ones. Crushing them all would make me sick too. My pcp changed one of my meds at my request because I thought it was too big for when I get good restriction. She originally changed it to one that I could cut or crush, but I had to take it three times a day instead of the one that was extended release. Lets just say I didn't take it three times a day. I do good remembering to take them once, but certainly not three times. So now she has me on a small capsule that does the same thing as two of my previous meds. It goes down fine. Actually it goes down better than the ones that I cut because it is smooth. Also I have a friend that was banded 3 years ago and she takes over the counter sinus meds periodically. I believe they are Dayquil. There are two and they are huge. She gets them down without a problem.

I think the previous posts suggesting warm liquids is a wonderful idea.

Good luck to you.

Thanks everyone for your help. I'm feeling a bit better now, but everytime I try to drink something, the old upchuck feeling comes back. Maybe I irritated my stomach with all that medication. I may try taking the smaller ones whole. They are very little. I showed them to my surgeon, but he said NO...they must be crushed for life. Well, I think it's worth a try! I can't live with nausea like this the rest of my life, that's for sure! I'll also try the warm liquids first. Thanks again everyone!

Cheryl,

You might want to chase the little pills with a lot of water to be sure to wash them down. Maybe that is why he is suggesting you crush them.

You may even specifically ask him why.

Good luck.

This is one thing that worries me about having surgery. I have trouble getting some pills down now, depending on the shape and size of the pill. I can easily take up to 500 mg it it is an oval shape, but my round 500 mg pills usually gag me.

Laurend,

That was my biggest question also, now I have to find a solution for me. Those big pills make bigger piles of powder when you crush them!!! If I find a way that works I'll post again.

I too take 13 in the am and 16 in the pm..so I can relate to what you are suffering thru! I have tried just about everything and in the long run I have found that cutting them into 4ths when possible and taking them 2 at a time with lots of ROOM temp water works for me. I pause alot in between and it is not a fast process, but I get them all down and they stay down which is what's important! I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Cheryl, your surgery was just 4 days ago. I will bet you that the reason you are having trouble taking the meds right now is that you are still very swollen from your surgery. Give it some time for the swelling to go down. This may just be a temporary thing. I had problems taking meds in the beginning too, but as each day went by things got better and once I started getting my fills I was still able to take meds, the key is to take them with a big glass of water preferably warm water, it opens you up where as cold water restricts. wash the meds through your pouch.

Thanks everyone. My surgeon is adamant about crushing them for life and gets angry when I try to argue it, so I'm not asking him anymore. I swallowed the smaller pills this morning and crushed the bigger pills and put them in between layers of SF pudding. Then I swallowed that with water. Again....extreme nausea about 5 minutes after they were gone and the only thing that keeps them down is to lay down on my bed until the watery mouth thing passes. I can't eat anything else throughout the day due to waves of nausea. I think I might be in trouble here. I feel sorry for anyone taking more pills than me. Could it be that the powdered pills are dissolving too fast and irritating my stomach? I am REALLY sick after I take them! Terrilyn, when were you banded?

It doesn't sound like you can get chewables for the all the pills you are taking. How about throwing them in the blender with protein shake ingredients: just a bit of protein powder, water, some frozen fruit, and your pills! You won't even taste them.

Kat.

My doctor says to crush everything and I do. When I first had surgery I took a little Protein drink and mixed the crushed pills in it. Not a lot of the drink because you might not be able to drink that much. I also tried it with yogurt and activia on the spoon. I now just put it on the spoon and add a little Water. I get it in my mouth and follow it with a coffee chaser. I guess mine don't taste bad. You might find which one tastes bad and crush it separately.

I would follow your doctor's rules. I know some say a dime size pill is just fine. I think if it gets stuck it wouldn't be so good in the pouch until it disolved which could be hours. Its the same effect of swallowing pills without liquid - it can damage the esphogus.

CherylB to answer your question I was banded one year ago Oct the 4th of this year. I have not had great success in that year... as a matter of fact alot of faliure occurred that I have now learned from and put to use. I feel like this is a brand new start for me and my band! Wish us luck...HA! Good luck and God Bless with the meds!

I only take Metformin daily and the occasional Tylenol, but I use a pill cutter to cut them into fourths. It goes down easily and seems like it would be less foul tasting than crushing it. I agree with whomever said that you are more than likely still swollen... and the warm water trick always work for me also! Hope you get over the nausea.