Medications to Avoid

Aspirin and Aspirin-Containing Medications
Dr. Bonheur requests that Aspirin and aspirin-related products not be taken for two (2) weeks before surgery because they can increase the tendency for bleeding. Even ‘heart-protective’ or low-dose daily aspirin can have the same effect. At the least, they will increase the amount of bruising you will have. For this reason, it is very important that the contents of any ‘over-the-counter’ medications be checked carefully prior to their use.

Many headache, cold remedies, and sinus medications contain aspirin. The chemical name of aspirin is Acetylsalicylic Acid. Check for it on the label of the medications that you may be taking prior to surgery.

Tylenol May Be Safely Taken For Minor Pain and Headaches

The following is a partial list of some common medications to avoid prior to surgery:

Advil
Aleve
Alka-Seltzer
Anacin
Anaprox
Ansaid
APC
Arthritis Pain Formula
A.S.A. tablets
Ascriptin
Aspergum
Bayer tablets
Bufferin
Butazolidin
Codimal
Coricidin tablets
Darvon
Disalcid capsules
Doan’s pills
Empirin tablets
Enacaprin
Excedrin
Feldene
Fiorinal
Indocin
Meclomen
Midol
Motrin
Naprosyn
Norgesic tablets
Nuprin
Orudis
Pabirin tablets
Pepto-Bismol
Rhinogesic
Sinexin
Synalgos capsules
Talwin
Tolectin
Triaminicin tablets
Trigesic
Vanquish caplets
Viromed
Zorprin tablets

Herbal Medications and Teas

There are a wide variety of herbal medications and drinks (e.g., tea) that are now routinely taken by many patients. Many of these have been shown to affect the ability of blood to clot and have caused intraoperative and postoperative bleeding problems in some patients. It is difficult, if not impossible, to know exactly which ones can cause bleeding or what the interactive effects are when more than one is being taken or ingested on a daily basis. As none of them are absolutely critical for your health, they can be stopped for a short period of time. Dr. Bonheur advises that all herbal medications and regular tea drinking should be stopped two weeks prior to surgery.

The safety, comfort and satisfaction of our patients are Dr. Bonheur’s primary concerns and he takes great strides to ensure that their experiences are positive ones.