Parkinson and surgery.

[Kwinholt]

Hi there my friends. I unfortunately have a 3rd degree complete tear in my upper hamstring and I am looking at a reattachment surgery. Since my diagnosis 6 years ago I have not had any surgery’s. Prior to PD , yes I’ve had 5. With Parkinson’s is surgery different , is the recovery time more, do we have to stop some of our meds prior 😳, that one scares me. ? I would appreciate any experiences . I see the ortho surgeon on the 21st and once I have a definite, I will talk to my PD dr but thought I would ask the people who deal with it. ❤️ Karen

[Juliegrace]

I believe there are some anesthetics which can cause problems for PWP. I recommend doing some research so that you have the knowledge and can then check if the anesthesiologist is up to speed.

[Kwinholt in reply to Juliegrace]

Thank you , yes I will do some investigating ❤️ Karen

[Hidden in reply to Juliegrace]

Ask about propofol. I have been told by a gastroenterologist that all of her Parkinson’s patients reported that the disease symptoms were substantially reduced after the colonoscopy procedure for several days and she attributes that to the anesthesia.

[GymBag]

I have had 4 surgeries , 2 when a bacteria tried to eat my leg and 2 prostrate. Each time it was the same problem but I had been warned and it worked out fine. The problem is medication. They want you to take medication supplied by them and they want you to take it at their medication delivery times.

Neither works. They probably do not keep your PD meds in stock in their pharmacy and the times of day they deliver meds is unacceptable.

So you need to take some of those pill dispenser containers that contain 4 or 5 doses making one days medication complete with meds . Then you need to take a list of your daily meds with times and dose strength.

Do not show the pill boxes yet. You will probably meet the meds nurses but they just follow orders and there are too many of them to explain to them . Tell them, that you have PD and ask them to have the guy in charge of the pharmacy come and talk to you.

Tell him you have PD, show him the meds list with times . Explain that you have to have meds on time (he probably knows this) now show him your meds and suggest that you keep them and call a nurse every time before you take them so she can record it .

Explain that if you dont get meds on time it will be difficult for them to prep you and use catscans etc .

They also have their meds for before and after surgery that you wil need to take.

Be pleasant , good luck

PS The PD society in G.B. and Canada have a web site "get it on time" related to medication and hospitals and some cards with information that you can give the Hospital.

parkinsons.org.uk/informati...

[Kwinholt in reply to GymBag]

Thank you, ❤️ Karen

[Sara1580 in reply to Kwinholt]

Hi there, I recently had a kidney stone removed and the anaesthetist recommended a spinal block rather than a general anaesthetic after I told her I have PD. The recovery time was quicker too. It might be worth asking.

[NRyan in reply to Sara1580]

Yes, this is such a great recommendation!

[Hidden in reply to GymBag]

Thanks, Gymbag. Excellent advice!

Invaluable for all of us. Please pin this to your profile. I was hospitalized in August at Stanford hospital and they were as clueless as they could be. Probably #1 hospital in the world! The steps I had to follow were exactly the same as you have described. In my case, it was a pharmacy gal! LOL.

Only extra I would add is that you should take the original medication bottle from your pharmacist with you. They don’t usually like unnamed pills. It also makes their job easier if the bottle is the sealed one from the pharmacist.

[GymBag in reply to Hidden]

Your added tips regarding the sealed bottles are correct . I forgot to mention that part. Thank you

Stanford ? never heard of them

[Hidden in reply to GymBag]

Stanford hospital in Palo Alto, California. #12 in rank in the USA. See link below:

health.usnews.com/best-hosp...

[Xenos]

Hi Karen,

I had reattachment surgery (seven anchors) in my right shoulder two years ago. It was performed under general anesthesia (propofol). Not the slightest problem. Physiotherapy was less efficient because of PD, but now it works like a charm.

I also had knee replacement surgery 5 month ago, and - the other knee - 3 weeks ago. I had a spinal block and was awake during the whole procedure. No problem at all, and even physiotherapy seems to be more efficient this time.

The problem was with pain management, but it was taken care of.

May the Force be with you

[Kwinholt in reply to Xenos]

Xenos, Thank you for telling me your experience . It helped take away some of my worry. Karen

[reedboat2]

Karen - so sorry you are going through that. For me the hardest thing would be the disruption of my exercise regimen for a sustained period of time. I know you are a runner and are used to training hard. I hope that you find a method of working out and developing your body in a different way while recovering from your injury. Keep the faith - JG

[Kwinholt in reply to reedboat2]

reedboat2, Thank you so much for your kind words. It has been extremely difficult to come to terms with . In December , I am supposed to be running my 20th consecutive California International Marathon, and it’s not looking good for that one. I haven’t ran for two months. I’ve had friends( that don’t get it) say that’s not the end of the world. Well no it’s not , but it is very important to me so I am devastated . I told all the dr so far that I am walking and still lifting wrights bc with PD if you don’t move you won’t move. I can defer that race for next year but that’s not the same. I was able to do a spartan in June with my son and I ran the SF marathon in July (with the torn muscle , that’s what sent it over the edge) to raise money for PD. Out of my over 20 years of ultra running I have never had injuries like I’ve had since diagnosed with PD. Hmm. 🤔. Take care. Karen

[reedboat2]

I understand, leaving running, even for a while, is very tough on you. Hopefully in time you'll be back at it again. I've had my share of sports injuries. At one time I had a rotator cuff that lasted 11 months. I was a competitive kayaker at the time so that set me back. But I get that the stakes are higher with PD as our entire sense of well-being can be at risk.

At risk of being tiresome I'll just put in a quick plug for my favorite exercise these days which is Tai Chi. You have to find the right instructor. There are a lot of teachers out there coming from a meditation background, which is ok, but I recommend someone with more of a Martial Arts background. There are students in my class who are recovering from auto accidents and all kinds of serious stuff. Anyhow be well and keep the faith. You will get better - JG

[Kwinholt in reply to reedboat2]

JG, I will keep the Tai Chi in mind. I try to do bike classes too but sometimes the seats hit my torn muscle and doesn’t feel to good . I appreciate your supportive words , more then you could know. I do see the ortho surgeon on the 21st , I will find out what’s next. I will think positive . ❤️ Karen

[Sandmanliz]

I am a cRNA and gave Anesthesia for over 30 years. Regional anesthesia people always feel better but you may be face down for a lot of the surgery where you Will want to be asleep . The drugs that make you fall asleep are not dopamine sensitive. Getting up and moving is always important to everyone . As far as worrying about keeping your meds, if you have your meds have proper labels on them you can put them in a bag and have them preapproved by the pharmacy. But personally I would just keep them in my purse and take them on my own because the nurses are just overworked and I promise your surgeon knows nothing about Parkinson’s drugs. . If you take a lot of herbal supplements you want to quit them before surgery as many of them. Prolong your bleeding time.

[Kwinholt in reply to Sandmanliz]

Thank you for the info. Kare

[kaypeeoh]

PRP is platelet-rich Plasma. For tendon damage PRP often heals with just one treatment. I had torn Achilles. The left was fixed with one treatment. The right took 4 treatments before I was able to run again. Blood is drawn and platelets collected. Then the platelets are injected into and around the injured tendon and muscle. Does not require anesthesia.

[Kwinholt in reply to kaypeeoh]

I will look into that . Thank you so much. Karen