So I just got banded two weeks ago, quick recap: Surgery on the 25th of Aug, everything was going great. I went home that same day, slept a lot and started the clear liquid diet. On the 27th of august, having taken full sized pills on both the previous days, I tried to take a Vicodin for some discomfort and it got stuck. :thumbup:

Now, I've passed four kidney stones in the last two years and each one was an epic tale of pain and suffering but they didn't hold a candle to this. After the pill got stuck and I was rolling in pain for about two hours, I emailed my doctor who quickly got back to me stating "it will dissolve, just keep drinking warm liquid".

Fine, started drinking warm liquid and began throwing it up. Four hours went by, still drinking and puking. After six hours, I emailed the doctor again. "Come in tomorrow morning when we open and we'll take some out of your band." was his reply.

So there I am rocking back and forth in pain with another ten hours before I could get some relief...I won't bore you with the suffering that took place that night.

The next morning we rushed in to meet them as they opened the doors to the doctors office. The doctor pulled the 1/4 cc that was in my band, out. The pain remained, I was looking like death and the doctor admitted me to the hospital, which took another two hours....IESH!

Finally got into a hospital bed, waited another hour before they got permission from my doctor to start pain meds. After three heavy doses of morphine I was still in a sever amount of pain. I don't know the exact measure but I remember the nurses expression when she was telling me how much Dilaudid they were giving me and I can still remember that sweet sweet relief that washed over me as the super-dope took hold. Finally, I was saved.

It took another three days of puking up the most disgusting fermented stomach juice you've ever seen/smelled before they finally decided to do an upper GI, at which time they discovered my band had slipped down to the bottom of my stomach and the top half was mushroomed around the band so that I had this bowl for a stomach with the band acting as a drain plug.

The next day, they repositioned the band and bada-bing bada-boom, I was allowed to go home a day later. I felt and continue to feel great.

Moral of the story, CRUSH YOUR PILLS!! I know some people have no trouble taking pills and neither did I for two days but it's so worth taking the time...imo.

I do have a question about fills. I'm a big fan of being completely independent and I'm wondering if there are any of you out there that do your own fills or continue to lose weight without getting a fill? I realize it's always safer to consult the doc, which I will do but I'm curious if anybody has gotten to the point where they don't need their doctor anymore.

Wow... that is just crazy!!!!:thumbup:

My doctor gave me liquid vicodin for pain, which I took... I also bought liquid Vitamins, which taste like crap, but after reading your story I am not going to complain ANY more!!!!:w00t:

I am glad that all is ok now.. I hope you continue to heal and have a much better relationship with your band going forward. I was banded on the 26th and as of now I am starting to feel hungry... and the creamy liquids are just not cutting it. I have started some purees but I have been really careful, I just seem to not get filled up!! I see my doc for a 2 week post op on Wednesday... can't wait until I get the official ok for mushies...

Take care.. and no more pills for you!!!!!

that is scary.. im so glad that you are on the mend!!!

Thank GOD my doc didn't fill me any during surgery.

oh my god how horrible for you. I guess the moral of the story is get what you can in liquid form huh.

Can I just give everyone a wee warning about crushing pills/splitting capsuals etc though (not to be a super nag or anything) make sure that you can do this first as crushing some pills changes the way it is used/licensed and if there are any ill effects the company can't be held liable. It also goes into your system faster. Don't want anyone to get sick or have bad effects from doing this!!!

Hope you are doing great now though and onward and upward!! xxoxo

Not all will have issues with pills, and as plumplump says, not all pills can or should be crushed. If you are worried, check with your surgeon or pharmacist. I take about 20 pills uncrushed each day and have for over a year now (many are vitamins) but I didn't start out with fill.

Actually the pill getting stuck probably wouldn't have caused such dire issues if you'd had time for your band to heal, but PB ing isn't something to ever hope for.

It's safest to not take pills until you're into the mushie stage, at least, and if your doc fills you any during surgery, be especially careful.

I was prescribed the liquid Vicodin but I am allergic to codeine (sp?) so I was given Darvicet but it only comes in pill form. My doctor told me to break it in two, I was able to get it down with no problems but I don't think it worked properly because it was not supposed to be broken in half so it didn't provide me with much relief. My advice always try to get your pain meds in liquid form, and fill your prescriptions before your surgery date.

oh my god how horrible for you. I guess the moral of the story is get what you can in liquid form huh.

Can I just give everyone a wee warning about crushing pills/splitting capsuals etc though (not to be a super nag or anything) make sure that you can do this first as crushing some pills changes the way it is used/licensed and if there are any ill effects the company can't be held liable. It also goes into your system faster. Don't want anyone to get sick or have bad effects from doing this!!!

Hope you are doing great now though and onward and upward!! xxoxo

Good point PlumpPlump. I was actually instructed by my doctor to crush my Vicodin, so I know that one is safe enough but you really should consult a pharmacist or your doctor before doing this with each pill. If I can spare one person the agony I experienced, I'm happy but don't assume what's right for me is right for you.

Thanks for everyones kind words.

Your ordeal sounds terrible!!! My nutritionist gave me a receipe for a "drano" of sorts if anything gets stuck! It is 1tsp of meat tenderizer into 8 oz of Water. It will taste awful, but it supposedly works wonders on anything stuck. My next suggestion is ask your doctor for any medication that can be in liquid form. They do make vicodin in liquid, it is called Loritab and most anti-biotics and alot of other pain meds do come in liquid form. So ask!! Hope you never have to use the receipe, but it's out there for you now. Take care

So I just got banded two weeks ago, quick recap: Surgery on the 25th of Aug, everything was going great. I went home that same day, slept a lot and started the clear liquid diet. On the 27th of august, having taken full sized pills on both the previous days, I tried to take a Vicodin for some discomfort and it got stuck. :thumbup:

Now, I've passed four kidney stones in the last two years and each one was an epic tale of pain and suffering but they didn't hold a candle to this. After the pill got stuck and I was rolling in pain for about two hours, I emailed my doctor who quickly got back to me stating "it will dissolve, just keep drinking warm liquid".

Fine, started drinking warm liquid and began throwing it up. Four hours went by, still drinking and puking. After six hours, I emailed the doctor again. "Come in tomorrow morning when we open and we'll take some out of your band." was his reply.

So there I am rocking back and forth in pain with another ten hours before I could get some relief...I won't bore you with the suffering that took place that night.

The next morning we rushed in to meet them as they opened the doors to the doctors office. The doctor pulled the 1/4 cc that was in my band, out. The pain remained, I was looking like death and the doctor admitted me to the hospital, which took another two hours....IESH!

Finally got into a hospital bed, waited another hour before they got permission from my doctor to start pain meds. After three heavy doses of morphine I was still in a sever amount of pain. I don't know the exact measure but I remember the nurses expression when she was telling me how much Dilaudid they were giving me and I can still remember that sweet sweet relief that washed over me as the super-dope took hold. Finally, I was saved. :frown:

It took another three days of puking up the most disgusting fermented stomach juice you've ever seen/smelled before they finally decided to do an upper GI, at which time they discovered my band had slipped down to the bottom of my stomach and the top half was mushroomed around the band so that I had this bowl for a stomach with the band acting as a drain plug.

The next day, they repositioned the band and bada-bing bada-boom, I was allowed to go home a day later. I felt and continue to feel great.

Moral of the story, CRUSH YOUR PILLS!! I know some people have no trouble taking pills and neither did I for two days but it's so worth taking the time...imo.

I do have a question about fills. I'm a big fan of being completely independent and I'm wondering if there are any of you out there that do your own fills or continue to lose weight without getting a fill? I realize it's always safer to consult the doc, which I will do but I'm curious if anybody has gotten to the point where they don't need their doctor anymore.

Your ordeal sounds terrible!!! My nutritionist gave me a receipe for a "drano" of sorts if anything gets stuck! It is 1tsp of meat tenderizer into 8 oz of water. It will taste awful, but it supposedly works wonders on anything stuck. My next suggestion is ask your doctor for any medication that can be in liquid form. They do make vicodin in liquid, it is called Loritab and most anti-biotics and alot of other pain meds do come in liquid form. So ask!! Hope you never have to use the receipe, but it's out there for you now. Take care

:thumbup:

If the pill is time released (ER, XL, XR, SR, etc) it generally cannot be crushed or split. It ruins the time release coating and you end up getting all the medicine at once instead of over the course of the day. Always check with your pharmacist first if you're not sure.

Has anyone had experience with Cymbalta? It's a capsule and my surgeon said just to open it and mix it with something (although now I'm just "shooting" it straight with water).

Does the lack of coating impact the time release? Would a pharmacist know best?

Has anyone had experience with Cymbalta? It's a capsule and my surgeon said just to open it and mix it with something (although now I'm just "shooting" it straight with water).

Does the lack of coating impact the time release? Would a pharmacist know best?

I'd ask the pharmacist. However you may always be able to take it. I can take pills still, without any problem, and I take a BUNCH of big ones.

As far as I remember (I'm a certified pharmacy tech) the packaging for cymbalta says not to cut, crush, chew, or open. I would check with your pharmacist just to be sure. Like RM, I can take pills just fine too. You may not ever have a problem.

Wow! What an experience. I'm so sorry that you had to go through of all it.

My doctor wanted me to check with my PCP and have any pills that were larger than a M&M change to liquid or a smaller pill. He did change me to liquid potassium and another B/P that is smaller. I don't have any problems with my meds. I didn't have to take the pain med that was ordered, which was liquid Loritab.

As already stated, please be careful about breaking/crushing or opening any pills without consulting your pharmacy. They will know best and easier to reach than your doctor.

Good luck in your future.

Has anyone had experience with Cymbalta? It's a capsule and my surgeon said just to open it and mix it with something (although now I'm just "shooting" it straight with water).

Does the lack of coating impact the time release? Would a pharmacist know best?

Hmm, not to contradict your surgeon, but the hospital nurse told me that I should NOT take apart the Cymbalta capsules; I take 60 mg (a big capsule) so they wrote out an RX for 2 (smaller) capsules @ 30 mg. But, I think it would be a great idea for you to speak w/a pharm. -- they are almost always on top of things like this (esp. since Cymbalta is a relatively "new" SSRI & many drs. know little about it.