Anyone with information, please advise.

I have two questions.

1.) For the most part, I can open gel caps and dump the powder in with Protein powder, but what about pills you can't dump out or find in a liquid? Like what if you are in an accident and you get sent home with pain meds? will a pill fill us up so we can't eat?

2.) Does medication effect us differently after surgery the way they say alcohol will? I take medication to sleep and now I wonder, am I allowed to swallow it and also will the dose I am used to seem crazy high?

Immediately after surgery, I had trouble with pills, puked up a vitamin and my birth control. That went away about a week post op. Following surgery, I took liquid pain meds and sometimes still do. I try to avoid NSAIDs since they can irritate the stomach, making sure I take the least dose possible if I do take them and never on a completely empty stomach. I usually take liquid Tylenol if needed for pain.

Check with your surgeon. I was given pills the same day as my surgery, that night. Just be sure to cut them up if they are large. I take Ambien at night and post op it doesn't seem to be as effective. I believe it's due to not being able to fully dissolve before its passed through. We were also told some extended release pills are not as effective post op. I'm almost 2 months post op and the majority of the meds I take are pills. I got tired of the gummies and chewables.

I took my metformin ER tonight for the first time since surgery. Took a couple of big gulps to go down. A few minutes later I took my pain pill which is tiny. I noticed that it felt like one was stuck in the back of my throat. I continued to sip water to get it down but no help. I also tried to see if I could get it out and when I did it felt like a huge lump in my throat. Kinda nervous to go to bed like this. Anyone else have this happen?

I was able to take my thyroid pill the day after surgery. No problem. I was given other meds crushed and was told I can take them with a small amount of applesauce to help it go down. I was given a pill crusher/cutter in the hospital. It was about a week before I could take things without crushing. You can cut pills in half or quarters to make them small enough to get down with Water. No worries...you will be able to take all your usual meds in no time. Your doctor will work with you on how to do it the first few days.

Make sure your medical team is aware of all medicine and supplements you are taking. They will advise you as to whether you can swallow the or if you need to find a chewable version. They will also review what may or may not need to be temporarily discontinued. Also be careful opening gel caps. Some were not meant to be taken that way and aren't as effective if you do.

Do not cut the Metformin ER without checking with your surgeon. Actually for any extended release you need to check with a doctor or pharmacist. Those types of pills/capsules are not designed to be cut or crushed due to the extnded release properties.

My surgeon said I can swallow pills smaller than an M&M. For the Actigall, which is a capsule, I take it with warm Water to soften it and with dairy such as yogurt, pudding, cottage cheese so it stays in the stomach longer and acts as a buffer.

I took small pills from day 5ish after returning home and it was not an issue. I tried crushing larger ones (the ones that are safe to crush, not all are so check with your doc)! but the taste was SO bad I ended up cutting in half and swallowing the 2 pieces. After a couple of months even large pills were not a problem. I take a time release Calcium that's pretty big and it's a non-issue. I DID find that Mucinex gave me kind of a tummy ache when taken on an empty stomach. It's s largeish time release thing and having a couple crackers before hand solved that problem.

Alcohol: YMMV, but I don't find that my tolerance is significantly less, (some, yes, there is almost 100 pounds less of me to metabolize it after all), but one drink does not put me under the table as I was led to believe. It's probably as much of a factor that I avoid food\liquid together (it's one of "the rules" AND it makes me uncomfortable to put liquid on top of food so I just don't) so I tend to drink on more of an empty stomach than I used to.