I understand that I wasn't allowed to have ibuprofen/advil during recovery, but I am currently 4 months out and was wondering if it's okay to have now? I've got a real bad headache and Tylenol never works, but Advil always did so I was wondering if I can finally use it again?

I haven't had any since my surgery eight years ago, but the PA at my clinic said it was OK to use it very occasionally - for rare situations like the one you have - bad headache that Tylenol isn't touching at all. But if you're a bypass patient, you can't use it regularly (our clinic told the sleeve people the same thing - although I know some surgeons are a little less rigid with sleeve patients)

I was told if I had to have ibuprofen , just take it once in a while and take a Prilosec before taking it. I'm 5 months out from gastric sleeve and have taken it about 3 times already with no problem. I also have some pains that Tylenol just won't help.

Ibuprofen was the only thing that worked for me too. Might as well have a mint than an paracetamol or acetaminophen. And codeine messes with my head. It was two years before I was allowed to take it again with strict instructions: half dose, not on consecutive days & not regularly. In the last two years I’ve taken an ibuprofen a handful of times (& that was through an unpleasant Covid & several times my back went out).

Check with your surgeon is always the safest. They may have different advice to mine & others.

In the meantime try a cold compress or freeze a wet washer & suck on that, dab peppermint oil around the tooth or sip peppermint tea, dab vanilla extract around the tooth. There over the counter gels which numb the area available too. You can always rub some brandy around it - it was the old wives treatment for teething babies. ?

If you have the bypass, then yes. If you have the sleeve, you can have it VERY rarely and sparingly after around 6 months or so, but never regularly.

2 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Ibuprofen was the only thing that worked for me too. Might as well have a mint than an paracetamol or acetaminophen. And codeine messes with my head. It was two years before I was allowed to take it again with strict instructions: half dose, not on consecutive days & not regularly. In the last two years I’ve taken an ibuprofen a handful of times (& that was through an unpleasant Covid & several times my back went out).

Check with your surgeon is always the safest. They may have different advice to mine & others.

In the meantime try a cold compress or freeze a wet washer & suck on that, dab peppermint oil around the tooth or sip peppermint tea, dab vanilla extract around the tooth. There over the counter gels which numb the area available too. You can always rub some brandy around it - it was the old wives treatment for teething babies. ?

She said she has a bad headache, not a toothache.

I’m eight months out and take it on occasion without issue.

I use the gel liquid caps and make sure to take it with food

I was told to have it occasionally when nothing else works since ibuprofen is associated with a higher risk of stomach ulcer and being a sleeve, the risk is higher.

I am allergic to Tylenol so I have had NSAIDs this whole time. However, it is very sparingly, when I had a fever my surgeon told me to only take 600mg max every 8 hours. I had to give up my knee meds as they are NSAIDs and a 3 time a day pill. I had the gastric sleeve. Talk with your surgeon about it to get their recommendations.

21 hours ago, SleeveToBypass2023 said:

She said she has a bad headache, not a toothache.

That’s hilarious. I wonder where I got toothache. Don’t think brandy would help with a headache ?.

2 minutes ago, Arabesque said:

That’s hilarious. I wonder where I got toothache. Don’t think brandy would help with a headache ?.

???

This was one of my first questions during my consult with my surgeon. Tylenol was always the equivalent of a shot of water and a prayer for any actual pain/headache. He was careful to tell me that it's not exactly a never ever, but rather a rare thing on such a pressing occasion as a headache that doesn't respond to Tylenol. So basically as most said, it just cannot be for any type of chronic pain. It would be that one off headache and watch the dosage. Aspirins and NSAIDS were always rattled off as having the potential to cause stomach issues. I suppose with some of our eating habits pre surgery it wasn't a big deal to regularly pop 800mg at a time. But with our new tummies being so small the risks are higher for ulcers and leaks.

Your team should be able to advise as to the best guidance is in dosage and frequency.

@Arabesque Maybe some whiskey could make you forget your head hurts, lol.

I take it no more than once a week. Tylenol just doesn't work on certain kinds of pain. If I were to develop new acid reflux or stomach discomfort I would discontinue them but I haven't yet had an issue because of how infrequently I take it.

This conversation is interesting. My program stressed no NSAIDs after bypass but put no restrictions for sleeve patients. In fact, I was discharged in a Tylenol and Motrin regimen for pain control.

On 11/20/2023 at 5:09 PM, BoilerBob said:

This conversation is interesting. My program stressed no NSAIDs after bypass but put no restrictions for sleeve patients. In fact, I was discharged in a Tylenol and Motrin regimen for pain control.

Did you have a bypass or sleeve? The sidebar says you had a bypass but it sounds like you had a sleeve? You might want to update that if it is wrong!

There was a Scandinavian study published in 2022 that looked at the medical records of 41k patients, both bypass and sleeve, over a period of several years. They compared patients with no known NSAID use with those who had been prescribed NSAIDs (in other words, not just over the counter use but a set dosage daily for a trackable amount of time). The total rate of ulcers was 1.9% of patients, nearly all from the gastric bypass group. They found no increase in the risk of ulcers in the sleeve patients who took NSAIDs. They did, however, find an increase in the likelihood of ulcers in bypass patients who took NSAIDs for 30+ days, but not in patients with temporary use of less than 30 days. Do with that information what you will the next time you have a headache. (But remember, I am not a medical professional! I am a romance writer!). Doctors, however, will generally tell you not to do something, (not ever, never, ever!!!), knowing how few patients actually listen to a word they say. (Of course, trusting what they say would also be easier if it matched the peer reviewed literature. But that's an issue for another day.)

Edited November 23, 20232 yr by NickelChip