Your Medications and Products to Avoid Before Breast Surgery

Medications

Keep a list of medicines that are in addition to your cancer treatment. For example, if you take medicine for your heart, blood pressure, diabetes, or pain, make a list and show it to your doctor.

Do not take any over the counter or new medications (7-10 days prior to surgery) without checking with the pharmacist or your surgeon, to make sure they will not cause bleeding, problems with your anesthesia or other complications.

Dieting pills (weight loss medication) containing phentermine also need to be stopped prior to general anesthesia since they interfere with the anesthetic drugs and can cause severe instability during surgery.

Vitamins and Other Supplements

Keep a list of all the vitamins and other supplements you take, including the dosage and frequency. This may also include minerals, herbs, and other dietary products for alternative diets.

Herbal remedies (including teas and soft drinks with herbal additives) and vitamin pills especially Vitamin E should be stopped 7-10 days before your surgery. This also includes common herbal “blood thinning” agents such as turmeric and saw palmetto.

It is very important that you tell your doctor or nurse and pharmacist about all of the medications, vitamins, supplements, and alternative diets that you are currently taking. The safety and effectiveness of high doses of vitamins, supplements, and alternative diets are often unknown. Using these might unexpectedly affect your cancer or interfere with your treatment. Until more is known, you should not use high dose vitamins, supplements, or alternative diets without your cancer care team’s advice.

Products to avoid before breast surgery

The following over the counter and prescription medications should also be stopped 7-10 days prior to any surgery, unless directed otherwise by your physician. If the medication was prescribed by a physician, please check with them before stopping. If for some reason you can’t stop taking one of the these medications, contact your surgeon immediately.