How about low blood pressure?

I have ages before my pre op appointment. I take a Beta blocker for a "ditzy" heart. (arrhythmia) It also lowers blood pressure....but mine is usually low anyway.
My reason for worry was the last time I had surgery ( before the beta blocker) when I came around parts of me went blue! I couldn't feel my legs or feet and my hands were blue too.I was really light headed and dizzy. My bed was tilted and that helped a lot.
Thing is I was in a busy ward and was seen to go blue but this time I'm in my own room.So do they moniter frequently?

Mine was low for me, 89/60. They did the surgery and checked on me about every 2 hours. Will you have someone with you during your stay? You might want to let the staff know before surgery to keep a closer eye on you. Was the blue coloring from lack of circulation?

I was in a private room as well. And yes, I was checked frequently. However, I had a family member with me 24/7 and I highly recommend it. Lots of little things can go awry and it's nice to have somebody there so you don't have to keep an eye on anything.

My last major surgery I had very low BP of 78/52. Needless to say the Dr was none too happy and I had to wear that BP cuff on a monitor, checking me every 5 min for 3 days of the 4 that I was in the hospital. They really watched me closely.

For my upcoming surgery, I reminded the doc of that problem and he told me to be sure to tell the nurse the morning of the surgery, and especially to tell the anethesiologist that my BP dropped so low the last time. He said the nurse would note it on my chart and I would be watched closely for any problems.

Just let them know and they will take care of the rest. I had a private room, but was on a monitor which the nurses could access the info from their station. It even had alarms if the BP went too low. They were also in there bugging me every few minutes at first, until I stabilized.

That should make a big difference in how the anesthesia is delivered. A good friend of mine had knee surgery last year--the doc as planning on using general anes. but once the A man saw how low her blood pressure was, he said there was no way she could have it...

They opted instead for a local anesthesia plus something called "twilight" sleep (where you're asleep but not out completely).

Good luck!

Hi Neecy,

I suffer from low blood pressure and had the same concerns. When I went in for my pre-op appt. I made sure it was noted in my chart about the blood pressure, dizziness,numb feeling and blueness in hands and legs and fainting.

After being admitted to the castle I mentioned the low blood pressure again to the nurses that would be taking care of me after my surgery.

The help light was connected to the bed for emergencies and the staff kept smelling salt on hand. BTW, I did faint when the nurses got me up to walk but the smelling salt worked immediately.

Not sure this info. will be much help but good luck with your surgery.