Importance of Communicating Medication Preferences to Doctors and Pharmacists

You should always tell your doctor and pharmacist that you should not be prescribed any meds that are time release. A lot of general doctors do not know this. When I had my ileostomy surgery, they made sure when I was discharged that I knew this. Once I had a sinus infection, and told the doctor to not prescribe anything time release, but after picking up the prescription at the pharmacy, you guessed it, it was time release. He looked like he needed to be retired, and was working at one of those walk-in clinics, and I came to the conclusion that he had been fired from a hospital, and this was the only job he could get. I even break my vitamins in half, hoping it will dissolve faster.

Sorry, you cannot take time-release meds. Why not ask for liquid? Most meds are made in that form for children. Adults can double their dose as needed.

Very smart little wheel... I found out the hard way! You are very correct, most general practitioners "or whatevers" don't think to ask and have no idea. It's been so long for me now, I forget that some folks don't know... Thanks for the reminder!

BEG

Everyone is saying "No time release pill." "Why?" I have been taking time release morphine for almost a year now and they work the best for me. I am also fighting breast cancer - I also take regular morphine and a sleeping pill at night. If I don't take the morphine, I have a lot of problems with my bag. The morphine slows down my bag flow, especially at night. I take a very low dosage of these pills. I actually got off the regular morphine pill and just stayed with the time release at night, which is working great. My doctor has not said anything about the time released pills. Just wondering - butterfly48

Hi butterfly48, we're all different. Time-release meds work for some and not for others. I'm glad they work for you.

My Ostomy Journey: Keyla | Hollister

You need to remember that things are processed differently if you have a colostomy rather than an ileostomy. With no colon (ileostomy), things just pass straight through, but if you still have some colon, the pills can stick around long enough for absorption.

Herculisa,

A correction. Having an ileostomy does NOT necessarily mean that you have no colon. It means that the ileum, the last segment of the small intestine, is externalized via a stoma. Often, a good deal of the colon can be left in for the potential of a future re-connection. Part of the colon might indeed have been removed. In this case, it is a subtotal colectomy. The greater amount of small intestine that remains does enhance your absorptive capabilities that will actually increase over time.

X_

I know exactly what you mean. I had to figure this out on my own, as my doctor didn't give me any info on the matter. ~Jill