medication question

Hi- I have a question...for those of you who take daily medications...do we pack them and take them with us to the hospital to take the evening and morning after our surgery or does the hospital provide our normal daily medications? Thanks for your help!

My doctor told me what to take and what not to take 10 days prior to surgery,however if it something for blood pressure or thyroid etc...I would take it along, I had TAH Nov 10th, 2008. # 28 staples and went home the following morning with a pain ball...I do not like hospitals so I was a stubborn patient lol! I hope all goes well for you and remember you have a whole network of ladies going through the same thing as you. God be with you!!! Hugs

Oki pack them and take them with you. The hospital is more than capable of supplying them but better you have them and take them at the right times instead of possibly having to wait for them. Good luck on your surgery!

Hi Oki,
Every hospital is different. I brought my meds with me, but they ended up locking them away and providing their own ones. Before the surgery, a nurse went over all of my medications so they would have the evening ones ready for me. It was pretty seamless.

I did bring chapstick, which was really useful, because they have to get "orders" for it otherwise, which can take a long time. (I also brought my own abdominal binder and my favorite slippers, which I used right after I got to the room.) After surgery my mouth was SO dry, I thought I was going to turn into dust!

Good luck with your surgery. Less than a week to go, and you'll be on the road to recovery! Big hugs!

I take mine with me, only because I need to take my Synthroid at a certain time and without food (I have no thyroid so the timing is very important). I don't trust the hospital to bring me it when I normally take it. I would call your hospital to see what their procedures are. They may not want you to bring your own meds so they can monitor what goes in your body in the even of an emergency.

I went over my meds with them and took theirs. Since I was on IV pain meds maybe it was good they managed them. However I told them to let me see them in the wrappers first to be sure I got the right meds. It all worked out. Do take a list of all your meds, if you take theirs, to be sure you get the right ones. And double check the name of each med you get before you take it, as a general rule.

The only meds I was allowed to bring to the hospital were my asthma inhalers. They specifically told me to bring those with me. Do check with your doctor specifically about any meds you are currently taking.

Not medication- but I agree on the chapstick- I opted out on the chapstick- thinking they would probably charge $5 for it! I would take a robe. When I went for my first walk, I had to have 2 hospital gowns, one on the normal way and one on to hide by behind!

Yep, definitely check with your doctor and hospital. For my hysterectomy, I wasn't allowed to bring one pill into the building. For my last lap, I was to bring everything--including vitamins--and they took them from me and brought them back to me at the appropriate times.

It is very critical that no one take any meds with them and then take them without everyone--doctor and nurses--knowing as they could mix with something given during surgery or in your IV following surgery.

My Dr. took me off all meds while I was in the hospital. I take Synthroid, but it's a small dose & missing a couple isn't a big deal. I took Gas-X & Colace with me, but didn't need them. If you have something on a strict schedule, talk to your Dr about taking them. Make sure they have a list of everything you take, including multivitamins. They seem harmless, & most of the time they are. The last thing you need is a drug interaction, which is common with OTC stuff & vitamins.

Not taking home meds at the hospital was to my advantage. At the time, I was on blood pressure meds, & after surgery, the Dr took me off, as tolerated. The second night there, my pressure dropped, almost dropping me to the floor because my system dumped all the IV fluids, making me dehydrated. If I had been on my BP meds, there's no telling what would have happened.