Swallowing normal medications post op

I'm only 1 week post op and am having my nexium whole no prob. 2nd day post op nurse told me that I had to take my pain meds by mouth (according to surgeon) so that was it - panadol I broke in half but capsules went down fine. Tablets scare me since 10 years with a band (always getting stuck), but this has been fine!

Good luck

It depends on the size I think.

I was having my oral contraceptive pill days after the op (could have taken it THE DAY of but didn't even think to mention it... totally forgot about it). It's tiny. I was also given a pill a few days post-op for reflux (I didn't have reflux, it was just in case and to protect the staple line)... it was still smaller than a panadol tablet though.

I'm 9 weeks post-op now and can take a full caplet... prior to this I was cutting them in quarters, and then in half.

Some of the meds can be crushed to take them too, if you can't swallow the pills - but you need to check each one, as apparently some aren't suited to crushing.

Everyone's different - I couldn't swallow pills for ages, but that's me, and I had the hiatus hernia repair at the same time, too.

Most prescription meds are available in liquid format, but they are usually more expensive than tabs.

They will monitor you, don't worry about it.

I take blood pressure tablets and anti depressants, and for the first few days out of surgery I had neither. They monitored my blood pressure and I assume they gave me what I needed via the drip. I was able to swallow my tablets two days after, it is just the big tablets that can be an issue, and even then.. a week after surgery I was having to swallow big antibiotics and I was fine.

You are in a hospital though, they monitor everything. I didn't even know that my sugar levels were bad, and they monitored that and gave me insulin when I needed it.

I didn't take mine for a couple of days, doc then gave me the okay to take mine crushed and mixed with a tablespoon of apple sauce (hides the bitter taste). Depends on the type of medication but you may be able to crush and mix with water, juice then drink them or maybe your pills can come in syrup or suspension? Check with your pharmacist, they will let you know if okay to crush or not.

i think some ppl struggle but i was fine and took my night tablet a few hours after my op and havent had any issues at all. At the moment i feel like sometimes all i have in my belly is tablets cos i take so many between vitamins and medical ones!

no i didnt have any problems, but you could break them up if your worried.

shelly

Hi, I was just wondering if people had difficulty swallowing tablets post op. I am on medication morning and night and a bit nervous about being able to swallow my tablets especially the night of the op. I'll ask my surgeon on the day but just wondered if anyone dealt with this issue personally?