Ok so how long were you off your medications after having the sleeve. When did you stop taking them and when did you restart taking them.

Did pills bother you?

Hello,

I am bipolar and take an antidepressant, an antipsychotic (mania), a mood stabilizer and an anti anxiety med.

I only went one night (the night after surgery) without my meds. That was a huge relief.

I checked with my surgeon before my surgery and he said that I could break (I had to cut with scissors on some) my pills in half, and that would work just fine... and it sure did.... got them down with no problem, it was just a bunch of halved pills to take and it took me awhile to get them down. Little sip of water with each half of a pill.

Then after about 3 weeks, I was able to stop cutting them in half and take the whole pills by themselves.

I'm on ritalin(adhd) and lithium(mood stabilizer for bipolar) both twice a day. I didn't take them before surgery, my choice the surgeon said I could but I didn't cause I was scared. I didn't take them again until the day after surgery. I took the lithium the next morning after surgery and within 5-10 minutes i was throwing them up with blood. I kept throwing up after and they think it was an allergic reaction to the morphine. They tried again for my night dose and the same thing happened. The next day I refused I was so scared and thats when I started regretting the surgery. All I kept thinking was what did I do to myself over and over again. The day that I was going to be discharged the nurse convinced me to try it again and I could finally keep it down it was just a little bit uncomfortable. Once I was home it was no problem. The only trouble I have now (2 week post op) is taking the multi vitamin, calcium, ritalin, and lithium. Its just so much lol but I'm getting through it.

I dont mind not taking them fpr a couple days. I dont want to vomit like you did, that had to suck. Im pretty certain i wont be able to take my anxity meds with the pain meds, although im thinking i might not need em.

I informed my medical staff at the hospital but I wasn't allowed to take them till after my swallow test the second day. I told them part of my nausea was from not taking my meds. I wasn't anxious for surgery but not having my meds, that withdrawal illness you can get, was real and it makes you anxious. I tell this to a nurse and she suggests I talk to the chaplain about my anxiety.[emoji849] Lol you can't explain to some people how psych meds work. Anyway I've been taking them the day after surgery and have had none changed to liquid and I've had zero issues even at the hospital.

@evesta I totally know what you mean.... you really can get a withdrawal illness. I have been there and it was hell. People that have real anxiety issues, depression, or bipolar seriously need their medication and have problems when they miss their meds. That's why I was so glad that I only had to miss my meds for one night after my sleeve surgery.

On 4/20/2017 at 7:52 AM, maggieO said:

Ok so how long were you off your medications after having the sleeve. When did you stop taking them and when did you restart taking them.

Did pills bother you?

I take Lexapro for a generalized anxiety disorder, and I didn't have to skip any doses. Took my normal at night the night before surgery and took it again the next night. I had a PharmD check my meds to ensure that they were appropriate for post-op use (I have allergies, so I take Zyrtec and Singulair, and I was also on a med for fibromyalgia and one for hypertension that I didn't need at all after my surgery).

I took all doses of all prescribed meds; I was to crush them for a few weeks post-op (if any of your meds aren't meant to be crushed, talk to prescribing Doc about an alternative). Crushing is super annoying, and don't mix it with jello, it makes it way worse, just toss it back like it's a whole pill. Drives my husband nuts, but I ended up getting used to chewing a lot of my meds. It's either not as disgusting as it sounds, or I adapted to the tastes in a bizarrely easy way.

I took mine the day after surgery.
2 x thyroxine
2 x high blood pressure
1 x anti dep
And another
Not crushed at all just swallowed

I took my meds the morning of surgery (on advice of pre-op clinic), then was back on my meds the day I got home from surgery. I take Wellbutrin and Concerta. I didn't crush either of them. (Couldn't crush or split the concerta if I tried!)

I didn't take my Wellbutrin the day of surgery or the next day. I took them day three forward with no problems. Same with my insomnia meds. No crushing needed. Good luck!

Instructed to swallow one pill at a time, at least ten minutes apart post op.

Didn't take mine day of surgery but hospital gave me same dosage next morning. I had to cut mine too the first two weeks.

I was unable to take my Effexor after I was sleeved because the pills crushed up made me vomit. I ended up having horrible withdrawals because of it. But since I went through all of that I decided (with my PCP approval) to try life without anxiety- depression meds and I am 6 weeks post op now and am doing good! It was a really rough 2-3 weeks though!

Time release meds are iffy crushed because they dump into your system too fast. I can skip taking mine and be okay for a couple days, wellbutrin withdrawal is not that noticeable (as long as it is not dead dark winter time) but I hear ya on the eejits that don't understand psych meds....?