Taking medication

Okay I feel like too many doctors and gastric bypass recipients do not know about this so please spread this to others that have had the surgery that may not know this.

I was taking anti depressants after my surgery and was on a very high dose of effexor which is VERY hard to come off of. Because the medication is so expensive my insurance decided to deny it after me being on it for quite some time, well because you cannot come off of it cold turkey I had some bad withdrawals.. I learned not long after that I only had to take such high of a dose because it was the extended release tablets. After you have gastric bypass your body will not get the full effect of medication if it is the extended release. Because food etc is passed through your pouch so quickly the medication is before you can get its full effect. If you are on any medications, especially anti-depressants and having to take a higher dose this is probably why. I have since switched to quick release on my medications and take 1 3x a day of each and it makes a huge difference, I am on a much lower dose and feel sooooo much better than before. It is up to us to keep the medicine in our systems now, well to help our body do it. Most doctors do not think about this when prescribing medication, which is sad because many people have had this surgery. I think doctors need to have a neon sticker that says gastric bypass like they do for alergies etc.

I hope this helps another person to be able to lower their medication and actually get the effects from it that they are supposed to get. Also don't forget to take your vitamins!