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Medicines Line answers your questionsMedicines Line answers your questions

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Each day, scores of people ring the pharmacists at Medicines Line to ask questions about their medicines. Here’s Roger’s question.

Question

I’m due to have a hip replacement operation next month. My doctor mentioned that I may need to stop some of my medicines beforehand, but I’m notsure which ones he wants me to stop.I’m taking six medicines for high blood pressure, arthritis and diabetes.

Answer

This is an important question. You need to check back with yoursurgeon at least two weeks before thesurgery to get clearer instructions aboutwhich ones he wants you to continue and which ones he wants you to stop.

The surgeon will probably advise you to continue taking your medicines asnormal, with the possible exception of the medicine for arthritis and the medicine for diabetes. His advice will depend on the medicines you take.

Many commonly used arthritis medicines including meloxicam (eg Mobic),ibuprofen (eg Nurofen) and diclofenac (eg Voltaren) can increase the chances ofexcessive bleeding during surgery, so are usually stopped for a short period.

Some diabetes medicines such as metformin (eg Diabex) may need to be stopped for a couple of days before the surgery due to increased side-effect risks during surgery. However, other diabetes medicines such as insulin should be continued and not stopped.

Be sure to follow any instructions about when to stop your medicines. Stopping them too early could mean that you become unwell or suffer unnecessary pain.Stopping them too late could mean that your surgery has to be postponed or cancelled.

MedicinesTalk is a free quarterly newsletter for consumers written by consumers about using medicines wisely. Subscribe to the hard copy version using our online ordering system, or write to MedicinesTalk, National Prescribing Service Limited, PO Box 1147, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012.

Date published: 2008-11-01 00:00:00

Reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the date of creation. This information is not intended as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified health professional. Health professionals should rely on their own expertise and enquiries when providing medical advice or treatment. Where permitted by law, NPS disclaims all liability (including for negligence) for any loss, damage or injury resulting from reliance on or use of this information. Read our full disclaimer.

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