Managing your medications

Medications

Getting your medications right before surgery is important for your safety. Always follow the specific written instructions from your surgical or anaesthetic team. These take priority over anything on this website.

Fasting for surgery does not usually mean stopping your regular tablets. Most should still be taken on the morning of surgery with a small sip of water.

Some medicines may need to be stopped before surgery, or need a plan made just for you. Examples include:

• Blood thinners (such as warfarin, rivaroxaban, apixaban, clopidogrel, and aspirin)
• Diabetes medicines, including insulin and newer tablets such as empagliflozin (Jardiance)
• Immune-suppressing and biologic medicines

Your team will tell you exactly what to do and when. Do not stop any medicine unless they have told you to.

Bring all your medicines (and any devices such as a CPAP machine) with you on the day. If you are unsure about any medicine, supplement, or herbal product, ask your pre-assessment clinic, GP, or anaesthetic team.