Most medicines are managed by continuing the ones your team wants you to keep, and adjusting the ones that affect surgery risk. For GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Trulicity, Rybelsus, and similar medicines, most patients can keep taking them as usual before surgery. These drugs can slow stomach emptying, so your team may use extra steps to lower the risk of food coming back up or going into the lungs. Those steps can include no solid food for 24 hours before surgery, clear liquids for most of that time, and stopping clear liquids 2 hours before surgery. If the stomach is not empty on ultrasound, surgery may be done with full-stomach precautions or postponed.

Other medicines may be handled differently. Steroid medicines, such as prednisone, are typically continued during and after surgery, and extra doses may be given at the start of the procedure. Some oral diabetes medicines may interact with anesthesia medicines, and blood sugar control is important for healing and infection risk.

For bariatric surgery, the anesthesia team also plans around the higher risk of reflux, aspiration, and breathing problems. They may use special airway steps, careful monitoring, and medicines chosen for your body size and other health issues. Verify the exact plan with your surgical or anesthesia team in case they want something different for you.