MS and Surgery

Just a quick question…I’ve been a very health person until my dx 3 years ago, have never taken meds of any kind, no hospital stays…NOTHING! Boy did I start health problems with a BANG with my dx of MS!! I was just diagnosed yesterday with gallstones and going to have to have surgery. Not only am I a scaredy cat of surgery in general are there any increased risks of surgery/anaesthesia when you have MS? I am currently on a clinical trial and am taking Copaxone…have been on it for almost a year…just wondered if I should be concerned for a more eventful surgery experience having MS than the regular person that doesn’t have this lovely disease…:frowning:

Don’t Panic!

But seriously, I was on Copaxone when I had a hernia op by “keyhole” surgery. That included a general anesthetic.
OK, it was done privately, and I was checked over quite well beforehand, and I was only in overnight (and I was 73 at the time).
The biggest problem was being told not to drive for a week to make sure that all the effects of the anesthetic had worn off. So I did what I was told (but reckoned 4 days would have been enough).

Geoff

Hi

I recently had an operation under general anaesthetic. It was also the first ever operation I had, so I had no idea what to expect. I thought I’d be back at work in a couple of days, but it turned out I wasn’t back at work for a couple of weeks - it knocked me out loads! I slept a lot more, and was generally weaker for a while, though I did eventually get back up to normal strength.

I’m on Tysabri plus a whole load of other pills, but there was only one of them where they only said not to take any on the day because it can affect blood pressure. However, you should get an appointment for a pre-op assessment. At that, they’ll check all your vitals, go through your medications, and also do a few tests like blood tests & an ECG. After that they’ll say if there’s anything specific you should or shouldn’t do. Don’t worry about the surgery - if they put you on GA, just enjoy the deep sleep, blissfully unaware of whatever the surgeon is doing : )

Dan

Hi there, I had an emergency op for a ruptured appendix a few years back. As I recall, it was important to tell them what medication I was on, but otherwise MS didn’t seem to play a roll at all.

Pleased to say, it all went well and I made a surprisingly quick recovery.

You know you could always have a chat with your MS nurse if anything is bothering you.

Good luck!

Ben

Thank you for the comments…this is the first time I have “reached out” to anyone else with MS…I’m a nurse (we make terrible patients) and work two jobs and am also a single mom so I am trying to cope with MS by “keeping on keeping on”…not a good coping mechanism I’m sure but in the professional world you feel like you have to hide it so much of the time of work much harder to prove you can…anyway, thank you for the input…it helps…I have an apt with the surgeon Tuesday…we will see how it goes! Thanks again!