Re: swallowing pills post-op

[Guest guest]

My surgeon wanted me to use liquids because I was very sore from the

intubation. Matter of fact, after the first day, I think that hurt

more than anything else. (For the first day I was so pumped full of

morphine or demerol that I hadn't a clue what was hurting!)

Cammie

> I am planning on having upper jaw surgery & genio sometime after

the

> summer. I have been reading all of the posts and I noticed that

most

> of you mention that you must take liquid medication or grind up the

> pills until they are powdered. Forgive me in advance for my

> stupidity, but why is it not possible to swallow pills after jaw

> surgery for those that are not wired or tightly banded shut?

>

> I look forward to your replies.

>

> Thanks

>

[Guest guest]

Not too stupid of a question. I just had jaw surgery 2 weeks ago and

I had to grind up my pills for about the first 4 or 5 days because it

simply hurts to try to open your mouth wide enough, and swallowing

does sometimes hurt right after surgery. When I got out of the

hospital they gave me pennicillan for infection and Tylenol 3's for

the pain. the T3's are gross in water, so i would grind them up, put

them in a shot glass, fill it with water and mix it up. take the

shot followed by orange juice as a chaser. worked really well, but i

was very happy when i could open my mouth enough to get a pill

through my teeth lol.

[Guest guest]

Not too stupid of a question. I just had jaw surgery 2 weeks ago and

I had to grind up my pills for about the first 4 or 5 days because it

simply hurts to try to open your mouth wide enough, and swallowing

does sometimes hurt right after surgery. When I got out of the

hospital they gave me pennicillan for infection and Tylenol 3's for

the pain. the T3's are gross in water, so i would grind them up, put

them in a shot glass, fill it with water and mix it up. take the

shot followed by orange juice as a chaser. worked really well to

kill the taste fast, but i was very happy when i could open my mouth

enough to get a pill through my teeth lol.

[Guest guest]

Not too stupid of a question. I just had jaw surgery 2 weeks ago and

I had to grind up my pills for about the first 4 or 5 days because it

simply hurts to try to open your mouth wide enough, and swallowing

does sometimes hurt right after surgery. When I got out of the

hospital they gave me pennicillan for infection and Tylenol 3's for

the pain. the T3's are gross in water, so i would grind them up, put

them in a shot glass, fill it with water and mix it up. take the

shot followed by orange juice as a chaser. worked really well to

kill the taste fast, but i was very happy when i could open my mouth

enough to get a pill through my teeth lol.

[Guest guest]

Not too stupid of a question. I just had jaw surgery 2 weeks ago and

I had to grind up my pills for about the first 4 or 5 days because it

simply hurts to try to open your mouth wide enough, and swallowing

does sometimes hurt right after surgery. When I got out of the

hospital they gave me pennicillan for infection and Tylenol 3's for

the pain. the T3's are gross in water, so i would grind them up, put

them in a shot glass, fill it with water and mix it up. take the

shot followed by orange juice as a chaser. worked really well to

kill the taste fast, but i was very happy when i could open my mouth

enough to get a pill through my teeth lol.

[Guest guest]

I couldn't open very wide (banded at first), and couldn't throw the

pill back far enough to ensure it went down ok. The pills were

teensy, I was also swollen and numb inside, and I was afraid it would

get trapped somewhere in the folds of my mouth. Some of the pills

taste pretty yucky crushed up, but when you take them with bubble gum

children's tylenol, it's not so bad.

[Guest guest]

Hey ,

No question is stupid ... except the unasked ones (heehee, I remember

that saying from grade school).

Anyway, I found that immediately postop, I could not open wide enough

to feel I could get a pill back far enough to get down. My mouth

would become dry and the pills would sort of stick on the front of my

tongue and I immediately feared I wouldn't be able to swallow it.

Also, you will be surprised how little control you have of using your

tongue to encourage getting pills down. I think it's because of the

initial swelling and numbness (my tongue wasn't numb, but my palate

was, which made the whole inside of my mouth feel foreign). I think

after a few weeks I was able to get a small Motrin down, then I

started getting used to it. But those first weeks postop, you'll

probably need pain meds, antibiotics and sudafed and it's easier with

liquids.

Irish!

> I am planning on having upper jaw surgery & genio sometime after

the

> summer. I have been reading all of the posts and I noticed that

most

> of you mention that you must take liquid medication or grind up the

> pills until they are powdered. Forgive me in advance for my

> stupidity, but why is it not possible to swallow pills after jaw

> surgery for those that are not wired or tightly banded shut?

>

> I look forward to your replies.

>

> Thanks

>

[Guest guest]

Yikes. I saw my surgeon yesterday for impressions/photos/Q & A and the

nurse said that the surgeon prefers to just have patients take pills

(antibiotics, pain relief, vitamins, et cetera). She acted like

taking pills while banded would be no big deal.

I specifically asked about liquid vitamins and she said that the

doctor felt that they would be too difficult to take because

patients usually just dribble them all over themselves... Oh great.

Rhonda (upper, lower, genio, & bone graft 5/27)

> Not too stupid of a question. I just had jaw surgery 2 weeks ago

and

> I had to grind up my pills for about the first 4 or 5 days because

it

> simply hurts to try to open your mouth wide enough, and swallowing

> does sometimes hurt right after surgery. When I got out of the

> hospital they gave me pennicillan for infection and Tylenol 3's

for

> the pain. the T3's are gross in water, so i would grind them up,

put

> them in a shot glass, fill it with water and mix it up. take the

> shot followed by orange juice as a chaser. worked really well to

> kill the taste fast, but i was very happy when i could open my

mouth

> enough to get a pill through my teeth lol.

[Guest guest]

Yikes. I saw my surgeon yesterday for impressions/photos/Q & A and the

nurse said that the surgeon prefers to just have patients take pills

(antibiotics, pain relief, vitamins, et cetera). She acted like

taking pills while banded would be no big deal.

I specifically asked about liquid vitamins and she said that the

doctor felt that they would be too difficult to take because

patients usually just dribble them all over themselves... Oh great.

Rhonda (upper, lower, genio, & bone graft 5/27)

> Not too stupid of a question. I just had jaw surgery 2 weeks ago

and

> I had to grind up my pills for about the first 4 or 5 days because

it

> simply hurts to try to open your mouth wide enough, and swallowing

> does sometimes hurt right after surgery. When I got out of the

> hospital they gave me pennicillan for infection and Tylenol 3's

for

> the pain. the T3's are gross in water, so i would grind them up,

put

> them in a shot glass, fill it with water and mix it up. take the

> shot followed by orange juice as a chaser. worked really well to

> kill the taste fast, but i was very happy when i could open my

mouth

> enough to get a pill through my teeth lol.

[Guest guest]

Yikes. I saw my surgeon yesterday for impressions/photos/Q & A and the

nurse said that the surgeon prefers to just have patients take pills

(antibiotics, pain relief, vitamins, et cetera). She acted like

taking pills while banded would be no big deal.

I specifically asked about liquid vitamins and she said that the

doctor felt that they would be too difficult to take because

patients usually just dribble them all over themselves... Oh great.

Rhonda (upper, lower, genio, & bone graft 5/27)

> Not too stupid of a question. I just had jaw surgery 2 weeks ago

and

> I had to grind up my pills for about the first 4 or 5 days because

it

> simply hurts to try to open your mouth wide enough, and swallowing

> does sometimes hurt right after surgery. When I got out of the

> hospital they gave me pennicillan for infection and Tylenol 3's

for

> the pain. the T3's are gross in water, so i would grind them up,

put

> them in a shot glass, fill it with water and mix it up. take the

> shot followed by orange juice as a chaser. worked really well to

> kill the taste fast, but i was very happy when i could open my

mouth

> enough to get a pill through my teeth lol.