Feb
21
can the amount of pain pills i take affect how the anesthetics will work for me during back surgery?
ByQuestion: i am having surgery soon. a spinal fusion starting from the abdomen. however over the months of waiting for surgery to be approved by insurance i have developed a high tolerance for pain meds. will this affect how well the anesthesia will work for me? i am so afraid that if i don’t tell someone about my tolerance level that i will be awake during surgery or something like that and no one will know it.. i am really scared and nervous please help.
2 Comments
February 21st, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Don’t worry – they keep track of your heart rate and respiration so they can give you the proper dose. Good luck with your surgery!
February 21st, 2010 at 10:17 pm
You should tell the anesthesiologist about your tolerance. He/she will make sure you have enough during the surgery. I went through the same thing – I was on Vicodin and Morphine for about a year and a half before my surgery and the anesthesiologist made sure I had enough to get through the surgery and recovery.