upcoming surgery

Hi,

Yes, there is. Make sure the knock-out doctor knows about your GBS. Don’t for a minute, think your doctor will do that for you. Have an eye to eye meeting before surgery, which can be as close as 10 minutes prior to it. Surgens have knock-out doctors all the time there, right? All your doc will do is call that office and say I need this person at this time. They will have no clue of your history. My doc said it was mentioned in my case, but the guy sure was surprised to find out from me when I brought him up to speed. Everything was set up as a regular everyday surgery with the most common things done, to changing everything at the last minute, and he did say something to the surgen abouyt not being properly informed. Everything should go without a hitch. It’s more of a saftey precaution in case something does go wrong, that they are aware that any body sign might not be a true story, if I’m not awake to tell them different. I never had a fear of getting GBS again, nor was it ever a concern having surgery.

Hi Laura,

If it helps you feel better, you may want to call your neurologist to get his/her opinion on this. Racer’s exactly right about letting the anesthesiologist know about your GBS, but I always like getting the neurologist’s opinion on everything when my GBS fiance has to be sedated. It gives me peace of mind having his okay.

Shannon

Hi Laura,

Hope everything goes well for you. The body spasms seem to be normal in GBSers, in case you’re wondering.

Love,

Shannon

Hi Laura,

Have you seen a pulmonologist since GBS onset? I think it is important, before any kind of surgery, for a consultation on how much lung capacity you now have and pulmonologist’s opinion as to how your lungs would be affected by general anasthesia.

I agree with you about the forums…they help so much.

Regards,
Marge

Hi Laura: Just to chim in with the others. I had to have my gall bladder out 9 months after GBS. When I told the “knock-out” doctor he took extra precautions, kept me hours longer to make sure I had no reaction and told me it might take me longer to recover. In fact it was a piece of cake-thank God and I had no reactions. It was nerve-wracking though. Good luck, Jeff

You know, I had major abdominal surgery 19 month after my onset of GBS. I never gave it a second thought. My dr’s mom also had GBS so I did trust her.

I did mention it the the anesthesiologist about 10 minutes before surgery.

I was only after surgery on my 6 week check up did she tell me how worried she was.

Now with my sleep apnea, I tell anyone who will listen to me in the hospital about it.

[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkorchid]Hey Laura…[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=#9932cc]I had two biopsies done before my mascectomy in May of 2005. Both biopsies were done in the surgeon’s office by numbing the breast involved.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=#9932cc]The mascectomy was different. I was able to choose my anesthesiologist a week before my mascectomy. I knew who I wanted because he came highly recommended by several people who had used him for surgeries. The key is to ask people you know who have had surgery just who they used as their anesthisiologist & what did they think of him/her. It’s all an interview process. (The same process I used to choose my surgeon for the biopsy & mascectomy. 😉 )[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=#9932cc]My biopsies went well. No residual side affects.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=#9932cc]My mascectomy went well, too, but my GBS residual, good ol’ fatigue, zonked me for a few weeks afterwards.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=#9932cc]Best of luck to you, Laura!!![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=#9932cc][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=#9932cc](Where the h*** is ‘Spell Check’ when we post? I can’t see it. Sorry for misspelled words!)[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

Several people mentioned that the anesthesiologist (sorry for the lame spelling) “took extra precautions” after learning of the patient’s GBS history.

Can anyone tell me specifically what is done differently than for a “normal” patient?

Hi,

More then likely, most of us only got a 10 minute head start to tell the guy, so specific changes might be hard to decern. Mine on a general sence, having heelcord surgery at the time, normal proceedure is to do a local? Numb from the hips down I guess. That’s what the doctor ordered. When informed of my history 10 minutes prior, and the condition I was in at the time, barely walking unassisted, the knock-out guy didn’t want a specific region hit so hard, shutting down nerves in an area that are already shaky, in fear of not getting some to come back. Not really fear, a precaution is more correct. So I was intubated and a general proceedure was preformed. That’s about as close as I can get to what changed.

The only thing I know that was different was that they put me in a hospital room all day instead of letting me go home at noon as they usually do. Jeff

I have to tell you my back surgery did not go well. I had a complete flare up with the anesthesia and did not respond to anti-reversal anesthesia medications for 5 hours. My onset of GBS was in 1995 and I am one of those Chronic relapsing kinda gals. Surgery for me is something to be avoided at all costs. I ended up with partial paralysis and could not get out of bed again for months. I don’t want to be taken as an alarmist but we must have that face to face discussion with the “gas passer” or knock out Doc.
Ladyhawk

I agree with Marge and Shonnon.

It will be definitely prudent to seek the prior opinion of the Doctor who treated you on GBS.

With best luck

Sandeep, it is good to see you posting again.

Ladyhawk, I’m so sorry about your back surgery. How are you now?

I’ve had four different surgeries since GBS onset in December 1998, including surgery on my bowels and bladder in August 1999. I was intubated for several days after the resection. However, every surgery after that has been under an epidural. The last operation, in one of the best hospitals in the city, was to remove a disintegrating rod in my leg; in this case, my pulmonologist and cardiologist would not ok a general anesthetic although the orthopedic surgeons vehemently requested it.

Regards,
Marge

I’m having surgery on my neck. The surgery is suppose to last 8 hrs. I’m just about over my GBS. I have some residual things going on with me. Like my hand shake and my feet feel funny. I walk with two canes but I get around pretty good. I was just wondering if I’m knocked out for 8-hrs what would that do. I already talk to the Dr. about it he said I have a life threaten decease in my neck and he needs to remove it. I’m talking about cancer of course. He’s going to be removing all my lymph nodes. That brings be to my next question. Did anybody out there ever get cancer right after they were coming off GBS or while they had GBS in the full blown state?