Anesthesia Safety

[julieph85]

Hi Everyone, I'm an old member here, but I haven't been on in about 2 years. I've had pots for 6 years. In case your wondering I still have POTS- it has improved somewhat but I still have bad days and I'm still dizzy and short of breath quite frequently. Biggest change for me was cutting out carbohydrates from my diet. Anyway, I have to get a colonoscopy next week because I've had major GI issues since I've had pots and they always thought it was IBS but now there is blood so... not good. I'm not at all afraid of having a colonoscopy but I am terrified of being put under anesthesia because of my POTS. My blood pressure and heart rate is unstable as I'm sure all of your is as well, and I experience a ton of PVC's that make me feel like passing out. I'm just very afraid I'm going to have a heart issue while under- either an arrhythmia because of having pvc's and such, or I'm afraid I'm going to have some sort of vagal episode because I have baroreceptor hypersensitivity especially in my carotids. I had an eval done by anesthesiologists and they said I should be ok but you know how most doctors don't understand POTS and some don't even know what it is. I would LOVE to hear positive experiences from others on here that have had anesthesia while having pots to help me deal with all this worry. I'm a nervous wreck but I have to have it done to find out whats causing the bleeding. THANK You friends!

[JenniferInOhio]

The anesthesia they use for colonoscopies is not as "hard core" as surgery anesthesia. I was worried about it also and expressed those concerns with my gastroenterologist. He said that I would be in a "twilight-like" anesthesia. I think if you have any problems it will be because you did not hydrate yourself after the "emptying" process. Remember to drink plenty of water or an approved electrolyte drink after you go through the cleanse. Also, the gastro might give you an IV bag after your procedure. I have many arrhythmias - pvcs, svt, non-sustained v-tach, and I did just fine. No problems whatsoever. It is a pretty quick procedure so you won't be under too long. Hope this gives you a little reassurance! Good luck!

[Katybug]

Hi julie! Good to hear from you! I have had anesthesia several times since developing POTS and I actually have good experiences with it. Between the IV fluids and the sedation, my nervous system feels better for a few days after the anesthesia and I am less symptomatic. It's almost like it resets my body. I hope it all goes well and they figure out what's going on.

Take care,

Katie

[E Soskis]

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome: anesthetic implications in the obstetric patient:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=
AbstractPlus&list_uids=17179264&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

Anaesthetic management of a parturient with the postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome: a case report:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=
pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16698864&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

Preoperative considerations in a patient with orthostatic intolerance syndrome:
http://journals.lww.com/anesthesiology/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2000&issue=08000&article=00041&type=fulltext

Autonomic dysfunction - anaesthetic management
http://www.anaesthetist.com/anaes/patient/ans.htm

These web sites were in a DINET discussion some time back - you may find them very helpful

"twilight" anesthesia is not as bad as full general anesthesia - the main problem will be the bowel prep and dehydration - you might consider being admitted overnight to start the prep in the hospital while receiving IV fluids so you don't get so dehydrated - also, may have to stay one night after procedure also to receive IV fluids until you can rehydrate on your own.

[jackiemxoxo]

I just had an endoscopy done in January and was terrified of the anethesia. Especially since my neuroendocrinologist told me it could have bad effects. I ended up talking to the anesthesiologist and doing it anyway. He ended up using versid (sp?) and profofol. I told him I am super sensitive to medication so he used minimal doses. It was fine but it took me a good 2 weeks to recover. I hope yours goes well and you find some answers.

[statesof]

Had a colonoscopy as well, the anestesia wasn't bad, I was also really worried about how my body would react to it. I had to wait for the doctor for 45 minutes just laying in the operation room or whatever they call it, and my hr would not go below 110 just laying there I think because of the anxiety. But I just explained to my doctor and the anestesialogist about my POTS so they were pretty aware of watching vitals. Overall though everythign was fine, just groggy for the rest of the day but it wasn't so bad.

[Chaos]

Good to see you back Julie.

I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy last summer. My GI was aware of my health issues and had an anesthesiologist in the room to do the procedure with him. I also requested (and received) a liter of saline before the procedure, above what they usually give. My BP dropped 50 points just between the time they checked it in the waiting area and when they took me back to the procedure room so I was glad to have the anesthesiologist there monitoring things.

All-in-all though, it was not too big of a deal and only took me a few days to recover from it. Much better than when I've had surgery and it took me out for almost a year afterward.