Posted by sb417 on July 31, 2004, at 23:30:36
In reply to Anesthesia induced depressive episode...how avoid?, posted by sooshi on July 29, 2004, at 9:35:53
Hi Sooshi. I haven't read this entire thread yet, so forgive me if I'm repeating something that's already been mentioned. Do you know whether you were given any anti-emetics (anti-nausea drugs) with your anesthesia cocktail? General anesthesia can cause nausea; therefore, anesthesiologists often mix anti-nausea drugs with the anesthesia. There are several different types of anti-nausea drugs, including the ones that are routinely given to cancer chemotherapy patients. Some of the anti-emetics block the vomiting center in the brain, some antagonize or block serotonin 5HT-3 receptors in the gut, and then there are newer ones that I'm not familiar with. I know that those that block serotonin 5HT-3 receptors can cause depression, often quite severe. This happened to me, and my depression did not lift for six weeks despite taking many antidepressant measures (medications plus exercise, etc). If you get a copy of your operative report, you might be able to find out exactly what drugs were given to you by the anesthesiologist. Then, the next time you have surgery, you can discuss this with the next anesthesiologist so that you can try to avoid going through another anesthesia-induced depression. Also, remember that the body responds to the enormous stress of surgery as it does to other major injuries, and you need to slow down and let your body recouperate whether you are depressed or not.
poster:sb417
thread:371976
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040730/msgs/372781.html