cold medication after surgery

[KimA-GA 540]

I just read on another forum about how someone had a very strong reaction to cold medication post op. was a brand she used before and it had a very different effect.

Anyone else have this experience?

[liveaboard15 1,293]

nope. Have taken Nyquil several times since surgery. No issues with me.

[Sleeve_Me_Alone 656]

Some cold meds have NSAIDs in them, so that should be cautioned (I think most are Tylenol, but some aren't so just be careful). That being said, I have taken NyQuil liquid and it did upset my stomach a bit, but I think that was just from all the sugar on an empty stomach. I did just fine with the capsules.

[SpartanMaker 769]

11 minutes ago, KimA-GA said:

I just read on another forum about how someone had a very strong reaction to cold medication post op. was a brand she used before and it had a very different effect.

Anyone else have this experience?

Not saying this was the case here because of course I have no way to know, but I think it's human nature to "blame" things like this on WLS even though it would be impossible to prove.

We as humans don't like it when we don't understand something. That makes us look for reasons, even if they're not completely rational. Seeing nothing else, it's easy to convince ourselves that "it must be due to "xyz", with xyz being weight loss surgery.

Now to be clear, I do think there's an outside chance of some possible correlation. Changes in the gut microbiota have been known to be correlated with development of a new allergy or insensitivity. The point is that while unlikely, I suppose this is possible:

WLS > Dietary Change > Change to Gut Microbiome > Development of an Insensitivity to an Ingredient in that Specific Medicine

Reading back through this, I feel like i'm trying to rationalize a very tenuous link, but weirder things have happened. I'm trying to keep an open mind here, but even if this were related, I can't imagine it would be at all common.

[KimA-GA 540]

thanks everyone the person claimed she was tripping out on cold meds and wasn’t prepared for it lol

[SpartanMaker 769]

11 minutes ago, KimA-GA said:

thanks everyone the person claimed she was tripping out on cold meds and wasn’t prepared for it lol

Ah, maybe that was related to the alcohol content? Alcohol seems to affect people differently post WLS and maybe she wasn't ready for it?

[KimA-GA 540]

11 minutes ago, SpartanMaker said:

Ah, maybe that was related to the alcohol content? Alcohol seems to affect people differently post WLS and maybe she wasn't ready for it?

entirely possible!!!!!!

[SpartanMaker 769]

Apparently dextromethorphan, a common ingredient in OTC cold medicines can also cause hallucinations in high enough doses. Enough so that it's even a commonly abused medicine?

The more you know...

If this was the cause, I have to think the poster took more than the recommended dose?

It's also possible that this was an "extended release" medication and I think we've all been cautioned not to use those post WLS due to the fact that we can have issues either absorbing too little or too much of these meds.

Edited October 31, 2022 by SpartanMaker

[ShoppGirl 4,798]

Idk but i want to continue following this because I don’t want to trip out on cold meds either. Lol

[SpartanMaker 769]

2 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Idk but i want to continue following this because I don’t want to trip out on cold meds either. Lol

There doesn't seem to be a lot of studies regarding this, but I found one that claimed the pharmacodynamics of dextromethorphan in bypass patients was not really any different from the general population.

I think the moral of the story is don't take too much and don't take an ER version and you're probably fine.

[ShoppGirl 4,798]

7 minutes ago, SpartanMaker said:

There doesn't seem to be a lot of studies regarding this, but I found one that claimed the pharmacodynamics of dextromethorphan in bypass patients was not really any different from the general population.

I think the moral of the story is don't take too much and don't take an ER version and you're probably fine.

I’m glad this came up cause I don’t think I would have thought of OTC medicine as being extended release or not. I don’t know that I would have thought to check. I usually do check with the pharmacy to make certain no interactions with my other meds and I do follow the directions on OTC meds so mayme I would’ve realized if it was one a day but who knows. Luckily I haven’t been sick yet post WLS so who knows.

[MissMerryberry 43]

I wonder what that person took that she reacted to? I have to agree with SpartanMaker that its related to an ingredient in the medicine, it may be the dextromethorphan, but it could also be that the medicine has alcohol. The problem with NSAIDS/Advil type medicines, is not that you'd react wierdly, its that NSAIDs are a lot of work for your liver to break down and since you're tummy is already stressed and small, the liver takes on MORE of the breakdown work. So taking Advil/NSAIDs after weight loss surgery is very damaging to your liver.

Smaller tummy = much lower tolerance and slower breakdown - so yup, you can get drunk really fast and stay that way for longer, you could have an adverse reaction to things with sugar (even lactose in dairy products), that you never had before, etc.

I found this article which was kinda helpful:

Cold and Flu Season after Weight Loss Surgery (utahbariatrics.com)