Fibromyalgia & surgery

Hi there,
I have fibro, rheumatoid arthritis, and lyme disease. When I had my surgery I discussed all of this with the Dr. and Gas man. They used a cervical collar on me after I was under. It really helped to take the pressure off my neck and shoulders.
I have had some bouts of fatigue, but it is slowly getting better. I take a short nap in the afternoon now and I am good to go.
Good luck ladies, It is a small thing, but sometimes the small things are what we need!

Blessings,
Sherri

Hi
Thanks for your wonderful insights and sharing of experiences. I'm writing the info down and am going to share it with my doctor and anesthesiologist.

**HOWEVER, WHEN am I supposed to do this?
I'm not supposed to see my surgeon/gyn until May 7th--only two days before my surgery.ANd I'm not scheduled to see the anesthesiologist until right before I go under at 7:00am May 9th.

Should I call tomorrow (Monday) and ask to see both of them before those dates?

<sigh> I"m feeling a bit panicky about all this.

loving thoughts,
Danielle
the surgery and

As near as I can determine WHEN you get to speak to the anesthesiologist varies from hospital to hospital, or at least from one area to another.

In our area, supposedly, the anesthesiologist will contact you by phone a couple of days before surgery. Some areas, it is not known until the day of surgery which anesthesiologist will attend your surgery. I've seen different protocols of when some of the sisters here actually saw and talked to their anesthesiologist. I've also read that you can request a specific anesthesiologist.

I would think that your/our best bet to talk to the anesthesiologist well before surgery, or at least to learn the protocol used in your area, would be to talk to your surgeon and ask his assistance in the matter.

I'm interested in this one too, as I have fibromyalgia as well as a nasty back problem that I had hoped would be "fixed" by now so I wouldn't have to worry about managing that pain as well, but no luck.

Trish

Thanks everyone. I'm going to send the info to my doctor and see if we can meet with the anesthegiologist.

This info has been very helpful.
Sending good feelings to you all.

Hi,

I called my GYN and got the name of my anesthesiologist.
My surgery is May 9th.

'Left messages for two days with the anesthesiologist's office.

Finally got desparate and angry :burning:
and called another anesthesiologist friend of mine to ask for opinions about fibro, etc and see about changing anesthesiologists.

That office put me on hold.
Ha! and "unbeknownst to me" patched me through to the original one scheduled for my surgery.

She apoligized profusely for not getting back to me sooner.
(I was glad I hadn't blasted anyone yet or said I was thinking about changing Anesthisiologists)

We had a lengthy, pleasant conversation. And set about a plan of action to deal with my fibro and neck and shoulder injuries.

She's dealt with fibro patients and those ultra-sensitive to drugs. She's also worked with folks with neck and shoulder injuries, and is going to make sure I'm propped up properly, supported with pillows and such before going in to surgery...

She'll test my magnisium and potassium before surgery,
and going to use much of the same drug protecol that are on the above list by Dr. Cheeny and Class.

She thanked me for being an informed patient, and was very glad I pushed for good health care.
(I told her about the Hyster Sister website, thanked you folks!)

Thanks so much for all your shares.
They have helped sooooooooooo much.

I'll let you know how this turns out.
I meet with my GYN for my pre-op today.

Loving thoughts,

Congratulations for being your own advocate. You've done yourself a big favor and deserve a big pat on the back.

CONGRATULATIONS, Danielle!

Good going! And sounds like you've found some great doctors to work with! May we all be so lucky!!

Good luck and God bless! We are all rooting for you!

Judy

I have a copy of this in my Drs records should I ever need emergency surgery! I developed FMS/CFS a few months after my Hyst & 2 additional surgeries for complications. My Rheumy believes the trauma of all that bought mine on. Good Luck & pls know my thots will be w/ each of you

Guidance for Fibromyalgia Patients who are having Elective Surgery:

	Quote:
If you are having a major surgical procedure there are some issues that you may wish to discuss with your surgeon and anesthesiologist that could reduce the "fibro-flare" that often occurs after surgery in fibromyalgia patients._ 1. Request that you wear a soft neck collar and minimize neck hyperextension (if an endotracheal tube is anticipated). 2. Request that your arm with the intravenous line be kept near your body, not away from your body or over your head. 3. Request that you be given a pre-operative opioid pain medication – about 90 mins. prior to surgery. Opioids are morphine or morphine related drugs. The rationale for the pre-operative use of opioids is to minimize “central sensitization” - as this inevitably worsens the widespread body pain that you are already experiencing. 4. Ask to have a long-acting local anesthetic infiltrated into your incision - even though you will be asleep during the procedure. The rationale for this is to minimize pain impulses reaching the spinal cord and brain, which in turn drive central sensitization. 5. As a fibromyalgia patient you will need more, and usually longer duration, of post-operative pain medication. In most cases opioids should be regularly administered or self administered with a PCA pump (patient controlled analgesia). 6. Most fibromyalgia patients require a longer duration of post-operative convalescence, including physical therapy in many cases._ http://www.myalgia.com/surgery%20guidance.htm

The Scientific Basis for Understanding:

Robert Bennett MD, FRCP

	Quote:
Fibromyalgia is a clinical construct that has been developed, for the most part, by rheumatologists. It is a direct descendent of "fibrositis", a common misnomer (1) that was first coined in 1904 (2)There are always problems inherent in defining a disorder in purely descriptive terms. Nevertheless the publication of the American College of Rheumatology's 1990 Classification Criteria for fibromyalgia (3) has been coincident with an impressive resurgence of research in this area. This article attempts to synthesize contemporary research findings._ http://www.myalgia.com/Scientific%20basis.htm

http://home.rica.net/lkbowman/pain.html
http://home.rica.net/lkbowman/fibro1.html
Questions You Should Ask About Pain & Pain Treatment:
http://www.ortho-mcneil.com/painb/index.html

Relationship of Hysterectomy to Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Syndromes http://www.wdxcyber.com/npain07.htm

BTW~Pls feel free to contact me anytime..I have had this very painful syndrome for 3 yrs now & have done extensive research on it. Most in hopes of helping others in understanding this syndrome & ways they can help themselves...
(((hugs)))

Sheri
You really have done your homework. Thanks for all the info. I' ve copied it to take to my dr. Unfortunately I don't see her until two days before the surgery and am worried it will not be enough time to make proper arrangements. I have mailed her some of this info, but she is on leave for some surgery she had to have and won't be back until the week before the surgery.

I will try to find out who the anestheologist is and pass this info on.

Wishing you well.
Melanie