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Taking meds after surgery



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Hello all, I'm getting sleeved 12/9 and am worried I won't be able to take my meds being that you can only sip Water, I have 9 different medications to take.. Plus Vitamins and such after the surgery... Any worlds of wisdom??? Thank you in advance!

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That too was a concern of mine, since I was accustomed to taking a whole handful of pills with one big gulp of Water. Start practicing now taking one pill at a time, with a small sip. It took me quite a while to take all of my meds, but I am now 4 months post op and am back to taking several at a time with a small gulp.

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@JJ shlic thank you very much! I too am used to taking all my meds at one big gulp.. The thought of taking them one at a time is a killer.. (Especially because they taste bad) but thank you for your input.. Did you have to crush them in the beginning?

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At my hospital they worked out which of my meds were crushable and which needed to be substituted by a soluble version. I was not allowed to take solid pills for 6 weeks post-op. It all tasted disgusting and I'm so pleased I'm back on the normal whole pills. I do have to take them separately now with not too large a gulp of Water rather than taking them all at once.

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When I was at the hospital...before I left they made sure I could swallow a pill ... I've taken all my meds fine ... it's just a pain that I have to take them 1 at a time...especially at night...after dinner (1 hr) is a real chore...my Vitamins for the first 4 weeks were in powder form and I added them to my Protein shakes...

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I was worried about swallowing pills too but it hasn't been too bad. I was shocked when the nurse brought me 3 large Tylenol pills to swallow less than 12 hours after surgery. I told her no way and they switched me to liquid. The next day though I was able to swallow smaller pills one at a time. The hardest part was getting it down with the very small sip of Water my stomach would tolerate. I had it all figured out which ones I could crush but decided to stick with the whole pills so I didn't have to deal with the bitter taste. (I can have whole pills but not applesauce.)

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I actually made this mistake my first night home from surgery. It was the middle of the night and I got up to take my pain meds and without thinking, gulped the Water. I immediately thought, "oh crap!" LOL I didn't throw up but I was uncomfortable for quite a while afterward. My instructions for the amount of pills I have to take is 1 pill per hour. Unfortunately, this has me taking pills all day long. Swallowing the pills isn't as big a deal as I thought it was going to be either. It's a pain but it's a small price to pay.

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Yay! 4-6 weeks! If I had to do this crushable with applesauce thing forever, I don't know how I'd handle it.

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I was crushing my pills for about 2 weeks post op and then my doctor cleared me to return to taking meds regularly by mouth. I haven't had any issue.

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2 weeks would be AMAZING! but I won't hold my breath. I know we're all different.

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Sadly at my 1 week today I asked and was told by a resident "he usually goes about 4 weeks with the chewables. There's a method to his madness and he's one of the best." My doc was not in today so I saw his partner and he was no more help in my quest--except he said I could use raw honey on the apple sauce and pills.

I'll go another week and then push it again. 2 of the anti-depressants had to be switched for other meds to be crushable and I'm super short tempered since the surgery...so I may make a plea to go back to those capsules.

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