Type 1 General anesthetic

[PaulinaB]

Hi all!

I'm supposed to have my cataracts surgery done later this month and the doc suggested doing it under general anaesthetic. I was quite happy to hear this, because I'm sh**ing it at the thought of someone cutting my eye. But as I'm giving it a lot of thought now, I'm not sure how it's going to work with my T1? I'm sure it's going to affect my blood sugar, the questions is how and if they're going to be monitoring it during the surgery. Obviously in case I go too low and go into a seizure or something when someone is cutting my eye, that would may not be such a good thing. I'm less worried about going high, I can always correct it after the op, unless there's any reason while this may be a problem during the surgery?

To be honest I never had a GA so I have no idea what to expect, especially with diabetes. If anyone can shed any light on this, I would be grateful

 

[noblehead]

The operation takes all of 20 mins max, it's painless and you don't feel anything if you have it done with a Local Anaesthetic. If you insist on a General Anaesthetic then they will monitor your bg throughout, so don't worry all will be fine.

 

[PaulinaB]

The operation takes all of 20 mins max, it's painless and you don't feel anything if you have it done with a Local Anaesthetic. If you insist on a General Anaesthetic then they will monitor your bg throughout, so don't worry all will be fine.

The GA was actually my doctor's idea, I don't know why. She said it's going to be fine, since I'm "a young person". Hehe, maybe she just prefers it the patient doesn't do any sudden moves

I'm freaking out a bit, I think simply because it was constantly a distant idea and now it's happening in just over 2 weeks.

 

[Enclave]

General anaesthetic can be quite an ordeal to recover from, my wife has big problems with them and can take 2 to 3 day to recover from the sickness and headache it gives her. (she is not dibetic) but she is the only one that has problems .. Every time In the rest of the ward everyone was fine .. Broken Bones. Not eye ops
Wish you luck with your op .. It will be worth it

 

[Spiker]

I'm having cataract surgery tomorrow. They advised "sedation" which is a halfway house between local and general. They advised (well insisted) on this because they deemed me to be anxious. Maybe true. I also find the intense light painful and you need to remain still during the operation with the intense light active in your eye the whole time. I'm not sure I can do that under local.

I had to get my hospital diabetic clinic to liaise with the cataract team to provide specific surgery protocols for a pump user. (The eye team were not up to speed with pumps yet and wanted to remove it during the surgery.)

 

[robert72]

Hi Paulina

I have had cataract op to both eyes under local anaesthetic (not at the same time of course).

The incision is only about 3mm and I was not aware of it happening. Your eye is defocused so you can't really tell what's going on and as Nigel says, it's all over in a matter of minutes. Less traumatic than going to the dentist I thought.

 

[Spiker]

The cataract surgeon and anaesthetist doing your op will be following a diabetic surgical protocol and monitoring your BG very frequently. If you go high they will administer IV insulin and if you go low they will administer IV glucose. So they will keep you in a safe range.

 

[PaulinaB]

Thanks everyone, this is all much appreciated. I'm not sure why the doc suggested GA, but I'm not against it. Maybe I'll try to go without it for the second eye!

Thanks again, all this has calmed me down a lot

 

[robert72]

I'm having cataract surgery tomorrow. They advised "sedation" which is a halfway house between local and general. They advised (well insisted) on this because they deemed me to be anxious. Maybe true. I also find the intense light painful and you need to remain still during the operation with the intense light active in your eye the whole time. I'm not sure I can do that under local.

I had to get my hospital diabetic clinic to liaise with the cataract team to provide specific protocols for a pump user. They are not up to speed with pumps yet and wanted to remove it during the surgery.

Good luck for tomorrow. Sedation sounds like a better idea than general anaesthetic for this kind of procedure.

 

[PaulinaB]

What's the difference between sedation and GA? You're not "asleep" but you cannot move?

 

[Spiker]

It's basically like taking a massive Valium on top of the local. You are confused and out of it, but conscious.

 

[Robinredbreast]

It's basically like taking a massive Valium on top of the local. You are confused and out of it, but conscious.

Good luck Spiker, hope it all goes well and quickly too Take care

 

[Robinredbreast]

What's the difference between sedation and GA? You're not "asleep" but you cannot move?

I had my first eye operation a year ago ( Detached Retina) and I was feeling the same as you. I asked for GA because of the eye area and I'm a bit of a wuss in that area. Woke up fine,( didn't even need any painkillers) but blood sugars were all over the place, very high for over a week.
Good luck and I'm sure you will be fine, take care

 

[PaulinaB]

Thanks everyone!

Good luck @Spiker, let us know how you get on!

 

[CarbsRok]

Hi all!

I'm supposed to have my cataracts surgery done later this month and the doc suggested doing it under general anaesthetic. I was quite happy to hear this, because I'm sh**ing it at the thought of someone cutting my eye. But as I'm giving it a lot of thought now, I'm not sure how it's going to work with my T1? I'm sure it's going to affect my blood sugar, the questions is how and if they're going to be monitoring it during the surgery. Obviously in case I go too low and go into a seizure or something when someone is cutting my eye, that would may not be such a good thing. I'm less worried about going high, I can always correct it after the op, unless there's any reason while this may be a problem during the surgery?

To be honest I never had a GA so I have no idea what to expect, especially with diabetes. If anyone can shed any light on this, I would be grateful

Hi Paulina,
if it helps I have had both cataracts done this year. Very much a chicken so chose to have a sedative. This worked very well as not really aware of what's going on. but main advantage was I was on my way home within an hour. GA means you will have to stay at least 5 hours in recovery. You obviously have to have the drops in first which takes about an hour then a cannula is popped into your vein and you not of for 15 - 20 mins. If you have a sedative or a GA though you do have to follow the nil by mouth rule. Blood sugars were fine afterwards as well. Hope all goes well for you.

PS, the anaesthetist thought my pump was fab as he hadn't seen one before was asked lots of questions about it plus the sensor, he even took out his smart phone to photograph it then text the lot to his mate who had been type one for 27 years. I wasn't asked to take my pump off for the 2nd op. 1st one I was as told it was protocol! So I just said no op then as wasn't going to go DKA after being pumped full off steroids and no insulin to help out. There was no argument I kept my pump on. Two different anaesthetist two different surgeons and everything went very well.

 

[Daibell]

Hi and don't worry. I recently had a 1.5 hour op under GA and the insulin was no problem. I was advised to take normal amounts to keep the blood sugar in a good range and they tested me quite frequently and just before the op and after; they also checked my HBa1C to confirm that I had good overall control. I did ease off the inulin a little bit so that I was a bit high rather than too low

 

[PaulinaB]

Thanks everyone!

Only one issue I can think off... does the "fasting before op" rule means that I CAN have juice if I go low before the op?

 

[Spiker]

The fasting is because they want your BG stable during the op. So if you have to correct a low beforehand, do it as mildly as possible.
The other standard reason for fasting is they don't want anything interfering with what the anaesthetist gives you and they don't want you throwing up while you are out.

 

[noblehead]

The GA was actually my doctor's idea, I don't know why. She said it's going to be fine, since I'm "a young person". Hehe, maybe she just prefers it the patient doesn't do any sudden moves

I'm freaking out a bit, I think simply because it was constantly a distant idea and now it's happening in just over 2 weeks.

Well go with what your Dr says Paulina.

The procedure is pretty straight forward and it's like shelling peas to the Ophthalmology team as they do countless procedures like this every year, as Robert72 says your not aware of them doing it under a LA but are aware of people around you, it's like you've only just laid down and the procedure is finished, I think mine took 10 mins (just one eye).

Spiker, hope all goes well tomorrow.

 

[Heathenlass]

I'm having cataract surgery tomorrow. They advised "sedation" which is a halfway house between local and general. They advised (well insisted) on this because they deemed me to be anxious. Maybe true. I also find the intense light painful and you need to remain still during the operation with the intense light active in your eye the whole time. I'm not sure I can do that under local.

I had to get my hospital diabetic clinic to liaise with the cataract team to provide specific surgery protocols for a pump user. (The eye team were not up to speed with pumps yet and wanted to remove it during the surgery.)

Good luck, Spiker ! I challenge them to find anyone who wouldn't be anxious , actually ! I do hope it goes well and you are home before you know it ( quite possible after a sedative )

@PaulinaB , do take spare diabetes kit with you, especially your meter. Though there will be a BG meter around, it can sometimes be a while before staff can get to you if you are feeling "off " and ask for one . Actually that advice is for everyone undergoing any procedure

Signy