One of the medications that I take is voltaren which I use to treat arthritis and tendentious in my hands.

It is an non-steroidal anti inflammatory which I will have to stop taking a week before my surgery.

Awful thing for me is I require 2 doses of voltaren daily to stop pain and allow my hands to actually function and not lock up.

If I forget my pills one morning, by that evening my fingers are locked together and my wrists are on fire.

It makes the smallest tasks difficult. Pushing a grocery cart, answering the phone and you dont even want to imagine how hard driving is. The vibration and constant grip on the wheel is agonizing.

Blow drying and straightening my hair is out of the question and cutting food is a pain in the butt.

I cannot even imagine a week of this.

I have a desk job where I am on the computer for 8 hours plus an hour of drive time. Luckily I can carpool with my hus-friend for that week but him doing my hair is out of the question.

Anyone else have to deal with the relapse of pain?

Another thing I am worried about, post op; bariatric sleevers should avoid NSAID's. ..... Voltaren is an NSAID.

Back to square one .....

One of the medications that I take is voltaren which I use to treat arthritis and tendentious in my hands.

It is an non-steroidal anti inflammatory which I will have to stop taking a week before my surgery.

Awful thing for me is I require 2 doses of voltaren daily to stop pain and allow my hands to actually function and not lock up.

If I forget my pills one morning, by that evening my fingers are locked together and my wrists are on fire.

It makes the smallest tasks difficult. Pushing a grocery cart, answering the phone and you dont even want to imagine how hard driving is. The vibration and constant grip on the wheel is agonizing.

Blow drying and straightening my hair is out of the question and cutting food is a pain in the butt.

I cannot even imagine a week of this.

I have a desk job where I am on the computer for 8 hours plus an hour of drive time. Luckily I can carpool with my hus-friend for that week but him doing my hair is out of the question.

Anyone else have to deal with the relapse of pain?

Another thing I am worried about, post op; bariatric sleevers should avoid NSAID's. ..... Voltaren is an NSAID.

Back to square one .....

I use Voltaren Gel. I have BAD degenerative arthritis and the pain is horrible.

I use the Voltaren Gel on my knees, feet, hands etc and it works like a charm.

Perhaps ask your Dr. about getting the gel rather than a pill.

I have a herniated lumbar disc that causes pain not only in my back but That radiates down my leg. I also had to stop NSAIDs, 10 days before surgery and I am also not allowed to take them ever again. When I had my consultation he told me that he would give me whatever pain medicine I wanted but that I had to stop the NSAID. I am a little over six weeks post op and I have noticed that as I lose more weight, the back pain gets a lot better.

I know your situation is different than mine but I wanted to give you my experience on stopping the medicine.

I almost cancelled surgery because of not being able to take Aleve. And I have hurt since until 2 weeks ago when someone suggested Arnica to me. It is working for me and hope it does for others. I do the 30C pellets.

@MissRobin I feel your pain ... I have used Voltaren ( diclofenac ) for years ... and it truly is a wonder ...

but of course .... had to stop taking it 2 week pre op ... and I'm now almost 8 weeks post op ... haven't taken it ... and I feel okay ...

I use the gel too ... as mentioned above ... it truly works!!! I have about 4 tubes open at any given time around my house ... You should seriously try that !!!

I know our situations aren't identical ... but I just wanted you to know you're not alone ...

Prayers for you !

I have also used the gel. I did ask rheumotologist and she assured me it should be fine since it doesn't process through your stomach. It is the possibility of NSAIDs causing ulcers in your new stomach that prevents the use. I haven't asked my bariatric Dr that question yet tho I suppose I should just to be on the safe side.

@MissRobin- I use Voltaren for arthritis and per my surgeon it is OK to use because it is topical. When they say no NSAIDS, they usually mean oral. Voltaren is usually one of those medications that are typically not easily obtained without special documentation from prescriber because insurance doesn't want to cover it because of the expense. Oral NSAIDS should not be used. I am a nurse, but not a doctor and I can't provide any official advice, but I feel safe using topical only for pain control. I would recommend checking with your surgeon.

One of the medications that I take is voltaren which I use to treat arthritis and tendentious in my hands.

It is an non-steroidal anti inflammatory which I will have to stop taking a week before my surgery.

Awful thing for me is I require 2 doses of voltaren daily to stop pain and allow my hands to actually function and not lock up.

If I forget my pills one morning, by that evening my fingers are locked together and my wrists are on fire.

It makes the smallest tasks difficult. Pushing a grocery cart, answering the phone and you dont even want to imagine how hard driving is. The vibration and constant grip on the wheel is agonizing.

Blow drying and straightening my hair is out of the question and cutting food is a pain in the butt.

I cannot even imagine a week of this.

I have a desk job where I am on the computer for 8 hours plus an hour of drive time. Luckily I can carpool with my hus-friend for that week but him doing my hair is out of the question.

Anyone else have to deal with the relapse of pain?

Another thing I am worried about, post op; bariatric sleevers should avoid NSAID's. ..... Voltaren is an NSAID.

Back to square one .....

I tool Voltaren for a long time too before surgery...didn't really think much of it until I was told not to take it a week before surgery..OMG, I had forgotten how bad the pain was (arthritis in my knees)....didn't find out until after surgery that we can't take it...it's murder on our new tummies! My doc gave me the gel too...works great when i remember to use it Just gotta get into the groove of it....but in general, after losing 50 lbs. so far, the knee pain has lessened a bit...that amazed me

I would ask your doc to switch you over early so you can get used to it!

Good luck!!

I took Voltaren pills for several years. I never had any problems with my insurance covering them at all.

Now I have to use the gel and it doesn't work nearly as well. It stinks. I have a lot of knee pain daily. But my surgeon says no way to taking the pills again. I get pretty much no relief from the gel.