Depression medication after surgery

Mary B.
on 1/27/15 5:22 am - AZ
VSG on 04/23/15

I'm probably going to have surgery in April.  I am taking 4 depression meds (3 capsules and 3 pills) and really need to be on them to function.  I think I can crush the pills and have them with something like apple sauce.  Will I be able to take the capsules after surgery? Two of them are about 3/4 of an inch long. 

Age 63, HW 289, SW 273

Stacy_WLS
on 1/27/15 5:51 am

I'd ask your doctor.  For some of my pills they were able to perscribe the same medication in either a liquid or a dissolvable form.  You will be able to swallow pills shortly after the surgery, but probably not immediately.

VSG: 12/12/13, LBL, small TL, BL/BA: 11/7/14 Twins 12/9/18 HW after Twins 260. 5'10 37 years old - Stacy_WLS (MFP)

Sheilarae
on 1/27/15 5:55 am

You should be able to swallow all of them one at a time of course. I was swallowing pills the first evening. One thing that helps is to make sure the pill is at the back of your tongue, take a sip and tuck your chin toward your chest, you can generally get them down with tiny sips that way.

The reason I decided on the VSG was so it wouldn't mess with the absorption of my happy pill.

Sheilarae  VSG 12/16/14 by Dr T. Kellogg  Mayo Clinic

HW 352, SW 317,  CW 298.5 (1/4/15)

weeziebeth
on 1/27/15 6:49 am

I had no problems with pills from the outset, as long as they were not too large. Check with your surgeon.

    

HW 285 SW 248 CW 218  Surgery date: 12/2/14                 "Life itself is the proper binge." Julia Child      

"Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.''  Winston Churchill

    

    

    

Gwen M.
on 1/27/15 6:55 am
VSG on 03/13/14

I suggest asking your surgeon.  I've never had a problem swallowing pills.  

VSG with Dr. Salameh - 3/13/2014
Diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and started Vyvanse - 7/22/2016
Reconstructive Surgeries with Dr. Michaels - 6/5/2017 (LBL & brachioplasty), 8/14/2017 (UBL & mastopexy), 11/6/2017 (medial leg lift)

Age 42 Height 5'4" HW 319 (1/3/2014) SW 293 (3/13/2014) CW 149 (7/16/2017)
Next Goal 145 - normal BMI | Total Weight Lost 170

TrendWeight | Food Blog (sort of functional) | Journal (down for maintenance)

RizingPheonix
on 1/27/15 8:09 am - Fort Lauderdale, FL
VSG on 12/03/14

I was taking medication for a migraine the third day in the hospital without any issues. That being said however; your medication needs to be cleared by your surgeon because not all medications dissolve and are processed in the body the same way (for example some are broken down immediately in the stomach, or via enzymes from the liver and others are delayed, where the majority of absorption occurs in the intestines) and more importantly, have differing effects on the body (such as increasing/decreasing certain happy hormones in your GI tract where the majority of serentonin is), which can affect your overall physical and mental health. Also, as your body fat deposit changes, there may be a need to adjust dosages. And, as I have personally learned, your hormones will start changing right away, so any medication that deals with your hormones levels needs to be monitored very closely.

Sparklekitty, Science-Loving Derby Hag
on 1/27/15 10:17 am
RNY on 08/05/19

I take several medications for bipolar, and I got them all in after surgery. Several were tiny little pills (Geodon 25mg) and I was fine if I took them one at a time with a tiny sip of water between each. It often took 15 minutes of sip-wait-sip-wait to get everything down, but I managed OK.

If you can't speak to your doctor soon, you can also try asking your pharmacist if things can be crushed, or if the contents of a capsule can be dumped out and stirred into something.

Sparklekitty / Julie / Nerdy Little Secret (#42)
Roller derby - cycling - triathlon
VSG 2013, RNY conversion 2019 due to GERD. Trendweight here!

Most Active
×