Chronic Pain & Pain Medication

No, the VSG doesn't have the problems with medication as the RNY and DS do. Although any WLS can result in a limited amount of medication not being absorbed as well if it relies on stomach acid to break down the coating, it is primarily the intestinal bypass portion of the RNY and the DS that causes medication to not be fully absorbed. As with vitamins, it depends a lot on where in the intestine the medication is primarily absorbed.

Lora

God must have given you pain for a reason. Instead of disrupting what he created with pain medications, perhaps you can pray for him to take the pain away.

However, any NSAID (including Motrin) is contraindicated after an RNY, and discouraged after the VSG. Taking narcotics runs the risk of a transfer addiction since how we metabolize medications changes as well.

On brother! I suppose you think children get terrible cancers and die "for a reason." Or that there is a "reason" for women who are raped. That there was a "reason" for the holocaust. This kind of thinking drives me batty and I just want to give voice to others who might think the same way.

Um, maybe you aren't familiar with sarcasm?

Please refer to the OP's other post God's Handiwork -- and then maybe you can eat some crow instead of spewing sanctimony.

Nobody here is a medical expert. This is a question for your surgeon and/or the doctor who manages your pain medications.

You need to have a serious talk with your surgeon AND the doctor who prescribed your meds. With you relying on so much Ibuprofen on a daily basis, you are going to have a problem, especially with RNY. The risk of ulcers in your blind remnant stomach are very real and very serious. Even with VSG, your sleeve will be more prone to ulcers and NSAIDs definitely can cause ulcers.

You need to have a firm plan both for medication changes and for what happens if you don't absorb oral meds as well. That means having a olan for after surgery and a Plan B for after surgery if the meds for Plan A don't work or you cannot tolerate them.

Basically, your pain medication options are going to be Tylenol (which has a max dosage per day because of liver damage), and prescription pain meds (be aware that even some prescription pain meds have Ibuprofen in them so won't be an option long term). For inflammation, steroids will be your only option.

Lora

A patch still contains medication.

Topical NSAIDs (cream or patch) are just as off-limits after surgery as pills are; even though you are not swallowing them, they still contribute to ulcer risk.

I have chronic pain from a hereditary disease; psoriatic arthritis. I have this disease so severely that without my NSAIDs, I cannot walk. Literally. I was wearing a cast for four months before I was finally diagnosed. They actually thought I had torn my Achilles and had recommended surgery, the pain was so severe in my heel! However, with my NSAIDs, I can run and I do so, daily. I ran 17K in one day last year and I am debating doing a half marathon this year. So the NSAIDs are crucial. (I too tried many other medications but these work best for me. As my doctors said, the benefits really do outweigh the risks in my case. Everyone is different.)

I was told that the VSG was the best option for me. Even patches contain NSAIDs; this is something to keep in mind. And I know that recently even with a VSG, NSAIDs are contraindicated.

However, to help me deal with this, I take an acid blocker daily. Post-op, many of us have to take an acid blocker for a little while to protect the lining of our new pouch/stomach. For me, I will continue to take this acid blocker for as long as I have to take my NSAID, which will likely be for life.

This is the way my rheumatologist and my surgeon were able to make sure my new stomach is protected and still let me get the pain medication I need in order to function.

I wish you lots of luck in figuring out what is best for you but it might be that the VSG is the better way to go. Something to consider at least.