No Date: Question on medication

I am taking aleve and percocet for pain. Am I going to have to stop taking these prior to surgery?

You need to check with your doctor. I was given a list of medications to stop two weeks before surgery. Aleve was on that list. Better to check than to put yourself at risk during surgery.

You need to tell your doctor about these meds for at least two reasons.

1) Aleve (naproxen) is an NSAID. You'll probably be told to stop taking it a week before surgery, as NSAIDS have a blood thinning effect and may cause too much bleeding during surgery.

2) Quite often women are given Percocet (a mixture of oxycodone and acetaminophen) for pain *after* surgery. I'd suggest talking with your doctor beforehand about post-surgery pain management. Yours may be affected by the fact that you've already built up a certain tolerance for Percocet.

Also, your anesthesiologist should be told (in person, to make sure s/he knows) when you meet him/her shortly before surgery. Oxycodone is an opioid and will interact with some of the other drugs commonly used in anesthesia.

I was told that the morning of surgery I could take Zantac and Hydrocodone but no Aleve/Naproxen.