My doc says I can never take ibprofen again. Nor can I take my one a day

chewable baby aspirin for my heart.

He said I have to choose. Choosing between being thin or having a heart

attack?? That just doesn't sound right.

And I have arthritis. It's osteo and it's in most of my joints.

I've had a few surgeries to help it, but that does not alleviate all

the pain. Some nights I go to bed and my feet and knees hurt so bad I can't sleep.

So I have been taking liquigels for quite a while, for my pain.

Has anyone else had to take an anti-inflammatory since surgery?

I'm having doubts about having my surgery because of this.

I can't stop my aspirin without risking a heart attack and I can't

live the rest of my life in pain.

If you've had these concerns or know of a remedy, please, tell me.

Thanks,

Francine

personally, i take an NSAID when i have pain (mostly menstrual once a month if that)... but you do need to listen to YOUR doctor ...

I just got banded on april 15th and the only pain med I am on is ibprophen.... So its probably just doctors preference.

I am doing a liquid ibprophine...

It does seem to be a doctor preference. I had my band done this past Monday (14th) and my doctor says to never take ibuprofen again, but I can begin my 325 mg aspirin in another week. I take aspirin for a heart regimen as well (I tend to get A-fib every now and then and the main complication is blood clots).

I would express my concerns with the doctor.

Hi,

My doc says I can take my NSAID's. With the band they do no harm cause they do go down the big stomach. With the bypass surgery they would stay in the small pouch and cause ulcers. Sounded logical to me.. Just another opinion.

Abby:rolleyes2:

There's stuff I read that suggests that asprin can erode the band. But ibuprofen shouldn't be a problem because it should just go through into your big stomach. That's from the information that I've come across while doing research.

I have talked to my doc. He said no aspirin and no ibprofen.

But, I take baby aspirin, 81mg and it's chewable. I will continue,

after surgery to take it. With Water or a shake.

I can't see how the aspirin can erode the band. The band is on the outside of your stomach.

As for the ibropfen, I'll see how I do without it. If I take advil liqui-gels,

that is almost the same as liquid ibprofen. I always take it with something like soy milk so it doesn't irritate my stomach.

Nsaid is on the list of things I can't take.

My doc is really into bypass surgery. I don't think he changed many of

his dos and don'ts for the lap band procedure. I'm reading my paper work and finding things that do no pertain to the lap band. And this paper work was supposed to be just for lap band patients. It's almost like he's erring on the side of caution.

But it puts my health at risk in another way and I'm not willing to risk a heart attack. I have way too much to live for. That's the reason I'm having the surgery in the first place.

Lowering my risk of heart attack, diabetes, stroke and many other illnesses that befall obese people.

Thanks to all who have responded. You've helped me make my decisions.

"Anti-inflammatory drugs that may irritate the stomach, such as aspirin and NSAIDs, should be used with caution." quoted from Lapband.com - Risk Information

My Dr. says Tylenol is ok but I still feel nervous about it. Tylenol is not an NSAID. Sorry I can't be of further help, I too need to learn more on this subject.

just to clarify: when we say band erosion, it's not talking about the eroding of the silicone of the actual band. it means that your band starts eroding INTO your stomach, and it can be serious. your stomach is continuously shedding it's lining. essentially, you have a new stomach every day. so, if something is limiting that replacement of the lining, it can thin the area around the band. i don't know for sure, but this could be how aspirin can lead to erosion.

if you aren't satisfied with the care that your surgeon is giving you, have you considered finding a new surgeon? especially if he says things like "choose between being thin and taking pain meds". i know you have your date set already, but you really need to think about if this guy is the right surgeon for you. is he going to take your health into consideration and work with you to find a safe alternative, or is he just going to stick to his guns and be an a$$ about it?

on the other hand, if you do lose down to a healthy weight, you probably wont need to take aspirin everyday, and your arthritis will likely be better too.

Have you consulted a cardiologist to find out what they would say if you stopped an aspirin regimen? If you are self medicating (I'm not saying you are) it's not always the best. It seems like if you drop a lot of weight then you won't be as high of a risk for heart attacks.

BTW, heart disease runs my family history and my doctor doesn't have me on aspirin.

You definitely should check with your cardiologist. And I agree with something Tracy said - if this surgeon or people in his office aren't spending a great deal of pre-op time to prepare you for surgery, you might want to look around.

My surgeon requires a nutritional and psychological evaluation, and numerous group meetings to prepare you and answer all your questions. There are also going to be frequent post-op visits. My doctor says once he does the band, you're a patient for life; in other words, he doesn't leave you hanging. In fact, he's the only doctor I've ever had who gives out his email and responds usually within the hour, even at 10 PM!!

Jan from KY

Being thin will actually lessen your pain. Loosing one pound takes 4 pounds of pressure off your knees.

Being thin and eating well aslo lessens your chance for a heart attack.

I DO NOT think that you should take the asprin. I think it is seriously bad for the band. If they say, "don't do it"... there's a reason.

Edited April 18, 200818 yr by Pinkiegirl

Only a doctor should make the decision with you. We only have our own experiences to go by, don't make an important medical decision based on a public forum.

As far as taking the aspirin and heart attacks ("losing weight lessens the chances of a heart attack"), an aspirin regimen isn't only to prevent future heart attacks. In my case, I have A-fib whether I'm heavy or not (have had it since my twenties) and the danger for me is when the blood pools in the heart chamber too long before it pumps out, it can clot. The worst complication of A-fib is to stroke out. I'm sorry, but being thin is not better than stroking out.

Thank you all for your responses!

I am seeing a cardiologist. I have a small blockage in one of my arteries

and this will not go away without some sort of surgery. Hence the baby

aspirin once a day.

I've been to all the nutrition classes, and pre-op and post-op classes.

Yesterday, only a week before surgery, we had another one and this one was much more informative, but I was angry, because this information should have been one of the first things they give you.

My Dr. is one of the top in the field, but he is stuck on by-pass surgery and not so on lap-band. He's very good at what he does and I believe he is being overly cautious. Which can be good, at times.

Since I've been trying to figure all this out, I've found out that I can take liquid ibprofen, which may be another option for my pain.

One person, here, mentioned that my knee pain would lessen after I lose weight. I realize that, but it will not make my arthritis go away and I have it in other areas of my body. I've had surgery on both thumbs already. Since I already have a partial replacement in one knee, I will eventually need a full replacement in that knee.

And the more I find out about what to expect after surgery, I'm getting more and more frightened of what I'm about to do.

I woke up this very morning with terrible knee pain and a back ache.

I know I need to lose this weight, but the surgery is scaring me.

I will stay on liquids, until I can decide whether this is the answer for me or not.

Thank you all, again for answering my query.

I had my surgery one week ago and my doctor told me it was fine to continue taking aspirin once a day as a preventative. My entire family was put on an aspirin regime about 3 years ago after my father had a stroke. My surgeon told me that a small 81mg aspirin will pass right through the stoma - no issue. So it sounds like every doctor has his/her own set of rules.

I can't speak to your knee pain, but I have had unbearable lower back pain for about 10 years and had been told that eventually I would need to have a bunch of discs fused. My doctor put me on a presurgery diet 10 days before surgery and between that and the diet I have been on the last week (post surgery) I have dropped over 30 lbs. (that tells you how much Water I was retaining) and my back no longer hurts at all - - nothing, nada, no pain!

So good luck! For me, this was the best decision I ever made!

--Bridget

Hi Francine,

I had this same concern as far as nsaids. My surgeon's PA said that the moratorium on nsaids was a carryover from RNY's, sleeves, and other more invasive surgerys because of the risk of ulcers at their incision points. I haven't heard anything about aspirin eroding the band, but forbdding nsaids didn't make any sense to me since the internal makeup of the stomach isn't changing. Just the shape. I noticed that a lot of the initial info I got from my docs office and insurance company were kneejerk warnings that apply to bypass, not the band.

That said, I think, as someone else said, you should consult in depth more with your docs office and your other physicians. Pharmacists even have a lot of insight into these things.

Peej