Before you come into the hospital you might need to stop or start taking some medicines in preparation for your surgery, for example, blood-thinning medicines.

You will have been given instructions at your pre-operative appointment of any medicines which you should stop before your admission and at what point you should stop them.

Please remember to bring all your medicines into the hospital with you, including any medicines that you have been asked to stop before your surgery. This also includes any herbal remedies or alternative medicines that you are taking. Any medicine that you stop before surgery will be reviewed by the prescriber before you are sent home and re-started after your treatment if it is still required and safe to do so.

If you have been advised that you should take your regular medicines on the morning of your surgery, plan to do so with the smallest sip of water possible. Do not take your medicines if you have been advised not to.

If you take insulin or other medicine for diabetes, you may have to stop or reduce these medicines before your surgery as you will have been advised to avoid eating and drinking.  Please make sure that you have discussed what to do with these medicines with the healthcare team before your surgery.

Please make sure that you know exactly which medicines you should be taking before you leave the hospital. We will give you a list of the medicines you should be taking at home in a discharge letter and send a copy to your GP. Any medicines which you are still required to take will be returned to you on discharge along with a supply of any new medicines. Please do not take any other medicines while in hospital without first consulting a member of the nursing or pharmacy staff.

If you are not on any regular pain relief medicine you could have a supply at home of non-prescription medicines such are paracetamol and ibuprofen if these are medicines which you know you can safely take if you need to on discharge.  If you are unsure on this please ask staff what is safe to take before you go home.