Birth Control Pills Post Surgery

Message

#1 Post by **tortor** » Fri May 23, 2008 10:51 am

Ladies of ArchWired, I need help!

I was wondering if I will be able to continue taking my birth control pills post-surgery. I will be wired shut for 4-6 weeks.

The pills are very small and I am hoping I will be able to slip them through my teeth, but is that possible while being wired shut? My mom suggested blending the pill up into a drink or something but I'm not sure if thats okay to do and if they will still work if I were to do that.

It took me a year and a half and many brands of birth control to actually find one that works with my body. I would hate to have to stop taking the pill and mess my hormones all up again.

#2 Post by **cmeyer115** » Fri May 23, 2008 11:41 am

Funny I am having the same issue. I just had my surgery and did not get wired shut, but have heavy elastics on with a splint in between upper/lower so opening isn't really possible. The first day my Mom crushed it up but it didn't get smashed enough so I know I didn't get enough. I spotted a little as a result. Today she put it in the magic bullet with some other medicines and I got it down. Just be careful what you add it in, a nasty medicine (like my antibiotic) is even nastier if blended there just becomes more of it! Good luck and I'll let you know if I can get it down another way!

#3 Post by **Arvensis** » Fri May 23, 2008 12:24 pm

Haha I had a post about this too sometime back in December!!!

I wasn't wired shut but I was told here that people had no problem swallowing those tiny pills right after surgery via mouth despite being banded. I was banded but it definitely was NOT going to work as I was completely troubled by the whole "swallowing" thing for the first week. I just couldn't swallow, drink from a cup, etc.

It won't be possible to slip them through your teeth if you are wired shut, I don't think, after hearing some people's stories here about trying to thin food out enough to get past the teeth. You should probably crush the pill (I think my mother did it just using some kitchen utensils but there are mortal and pestal type kitchen appliances. Then she blended them with Mango Nectar juice (totally hides nasty tastes, btw) and in the syringe and into my mouth they went.

Never had any problems with spotting or whatever, and since it was one syringe with pill/juice I knew I was getting the entire dosage pretty much.

#4 Post by **clairet707** » Fri May 23, 2008 12:30 pm

I had a similar problem back in february

I was wired shut but not tightly and skipped 2 days and then managed it on day 3, they are very little tablets so managed to get it between the wires

It depends on how tightly wired shut you will be

What you having done?

#5 Post by **tortor** » Fri May 23, 2008 1:49 pm

clairet707- I will be having both my upper jaw and lower jaw done to correct my underbite.

I know I'll definitley be wired shut, but I hope its not very tightly so I can still manage to get my pill in. For some strange reason my body is very sensitive with my birth control and even if I take it a few hours late or early, I'll start spotting. Therefore I need to make sure if I do have to crush it up, that I get the entire dose.

Arvensis- blending the pill with the mango juice seems like a great idea.

I've done some google research about crushing b.c pills but so far i've gotten mixed results..some say its a bad idea and others think it's okay to do.

Are you given alot of antibiotics following surgery? I know this messes with birth control and i'm worried about that too.

#6 Post by **Arvensis** » Fri May 23, 2008 2:20 pm

tortor wrote:I've done some google research about crushing b.c pills but so far i've gotten mixed results..some say its a bad idea and others think it's okay to do.

Are you given alot of antibiotics following surgery? I know this messes with birth control and i'm worried about that too.

I think crushing depends on what kind of pill you are on. Are you on a single hormone pill or a progressively rising one? Your sensitivity based on a few hours leads me to believe it is a consistent dosage pill, with a low hormone rate. I'd call your OBGYN and see if they have any specifics, but mine was no problem and the amount lost was minimal at best after the syringe/suspension in juice method. FYI, I'm on a constant dosage (same level of hormones for all three weeks) regular Yasmin (as opposed to smaller dosage Yaz) and had no issues with crushing it up.

And as for the antibiotics... believe me when I say this, and I was only upper jaw and sinus surgery... you'll be well and good away from the antibiotics before THAT particular concern will be important

Antibiotics only counter the effectiveness of HBC as a preventative of making babies for a week or so after taking them, not spotting/etc., so you should be fine.

#7 Post by **cmeyer115** » Fri May 23, 2008 3:26 pm

I will have to agree with Arvenis! As for me my husband is in Iraq, but will be coming home in the end of July. I stopped taking my BCP while he was gone and then started back up so would have 2 months worth in my system. I will tell you though the antibiotic I am on is HORRIBLE

I need a chaser each one I take. I will try the mango juice for my BCP so its smaller to make sure I get it all, but does anyone have any advice for the antibiotic. I have 4 doses a day! Thanks

#8 Post by **Luella** » Fri May 23, 2008 3:32 pm

Could you switch to the birth control patch or use it in addition to crushing the pills for a month just to be on the safe side? I was on the patch for a while, and it worked well- it was comfortable and easy to deal with!

#9 Post by **Arvensis** » Fri May 23, 2008 5:45 pm

You shouldn't use both HBC and patches at the same time. TOO much hormone.

cmeyer, try mango nectar, it's thicker than juice so hides the taste better. I used it with a bunch of things besides HBC. My antibiotic was liquid bubble pink for the first few weeks, so by the time I was on higher antibiotic I was able to swallow, but I had some muscle relaxant that had to be crushed and was nasty nasty nasty before I discovered the mango nectar.

#10 Post by **dubnobass** » Fri May 23, 2008 11:37 pm

You probably know already, but no hormonal birth control will be effective while you are taking antibiotics - you should use a barrier method too as an extra precaution.

And to echo what other have said - do not crush your birth-control pills (or any pills!) unless the product information specifically tells you it's OK to do that. Many pills are specially formulated or coated with a protective film so they only release their active substance at specific parts of the gastrointestinal tract. If you crush them, they'll just get nuked in your stomach acid. This doesn't matter for some drugs but will render others totally useless. Always read the label..

#11 Post by **tortor** » Sat May 24, 2008 6:44 am

I've considered switching to the patch, but i've heard way too many scary things about it, like it causing blood clots and whatnot. I'm sure that's only if you've used it for a while, but who knows, i'm paranoid lol.

This just really sucks because it has taken me so long to find a pill that has worked for me. I've been through many different brands that have made me ultra depressed, haven't helped with my period, gave me many nasty infections, acne, and the process of starting and stopping new pills has caused excess hair growth (is this TMI? lol)...

Needless to say, I dont want to go through any of that again!! Finally Yaz has balanced everything out. I think i need to schedule an appointment with my OB/GYN to figure out what I should do. In the meantime, I'll do a little researching to see if Yaz can be crushed.

Thanks for all of your replies!

#12 Post by **Arvensis** » Sat May 24, 2008 9:22 am

Yaz is even dosage like Yasmin for all three weeks. I crushed Yasmin; my OBGYN didn't think there would be any problems with crushing it. So Yay hopefully they'll give you the same answer!!:)

#13 Post by **jmrut22** » Sat May 24, 2008 3:23 pm

I'm not sure I would crush it. Call your OB/ GYN and see what they say. The antibiotic (whichever one you will be on) It might mess with it anyway.

I was wired shut and there was no way I could have gotten anything that small in- that was just me though. I tried to swallow an allergy pill and slip it behind my back teeth but I was so swollen I couldnt get back there. Your throat will probably be swollen a little as well- Be careful if you decide to try to swallow it as you might choke.

Maybe you could go without them until you are unwired- I know its a hassle but I bet you wont be thinking too much about the BCP.

#14 Post by **ohmyjaw** » Sat May 24, 2008 3:32 pm

I agree - I was wired shut, and there was no way to get a pill through. I was told it was okay to crush them, which I did, but I'm not sure it worked because my period started. So something was definitely awry...

#15 Post by **nullalux** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:52 am

Same problem here! I take four other pills daily as well as my contraceptive, and my surgeon just told me to ask my pharmacist about crushing them. She said I may be able to swallow them if I'm not wired shut, but I'm not counting on it.

If it ends up that I can crush them, I'll definitely try the mango nectar/syringe procedure.