Medications and Birth Control

[texasteacher1970 0]

I am preparing for Lap Band toward the end of January. I have met with my primary care doctor to inform her of the procedure and to discuss my meds. My doctor was so excited for me and proud of the decision I was making.

We talked about medication options. I am taking 1000mg. of metformin twice daily, norvasc 10 mg. for blood pressure, and a huge prenatal Vitamin (can't remember it's name right now). My doctor told me to talk to the pharmacist about options and have them call and request the change. The pharmacist suggests Riomet, a liquid form of metformin, and a chewable prenatal vitamin. She thought my norvasc was small enough to swallow as is.

Does anyone use Riomet? How does it compare to Metformin? Was it easier/harder to take? Was it as effective/less effective?

Also, I have a doctors visit with my ob/gyn mid month to have my annual exam. I need to discuss birth control options with her. I haven't been on birth control pills since I was 25 and am now 39. As my husband and I always wanted kids, we never used any birth control. PCOS and my weight has always stood in the way. It seems really strange to be discussing BC now. It seems counter productive. However, I know I need to take this year to get myself healthy by loosing weight before we try to move on. The surgeon said at the seminar that they like for you to focus on weight lose for the first year and to be on some type of birth control. At 39 can I even take the pill? For some reason I though they didn't like to use oral contraceptives after 35.

[jenni h 0]

I was taking metformin for PCOS, during preop liquid diet, I had to stop because I was dropping my blood sugar. I had also started taking birth control about 3 months prior to surgery and the surgeon told me to stop because of an increased risk of blood clots after surgery. He said that I could restart in a couple of months. I was difficult for me to start the birth control with the side effects, then just to stop them. What I would suggest is "safe sex" until after surgery, then start the birth control.