Has anyone had RLS while under anesthesia ? I didn't know it would be possible but my Dr told my husband I was probably a secret opioid addict because my legs were twitching a lot during the procedure...... 1. I don't take opioids. Even when I tried them for RLS years ago it didn't really work and make me feel awful.
2. I put RLS on my pre surgery paperwork. I guess I need to educate future surgeons what that means. ??
3. I'm kinda hurt that my Dr went to my husband with an assumption about me instead of talking to me.
4. Who knew leg twitching was an opioid addict thing? I kinda thought it would be opposite since it's freq prescribed for us.... Unless a withdrawal symptom.... ? I dunno. Just another thing to try to keep our docs informed about. Don't want some one else to be accused of being a drug addict when you wake up from surgery.
5. Eye roll.
Written by
SkyCop
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Lack of knowledge (and possibly ethics!) on the part of your doctor.
This certainly can happen: for example sedating anti-nausea drugs used during anaesthesia will trigger an RLS episode. For future reference, ondansetron (Zofran) is regarded as an RLS safe anti-nausea drug.
Few medics know (or care) anything about RLS, its triggers and treatment. I went on a specialist stroke research programme who had no idea that statins trigger RLS in many of us - and they clearly thought that RLS was a very minor thing to complain about
My last surgery for port for Chemo, I was still asleep as they moved me to recovery. But heard the nurses talking about my RL were really acting up, whatever they gave me, was bad for RL's. I will have another surgery in March and will be sure to inform them before hand.
A really effective way to get them to take notice is to tell them that it's life threatening.That when you get severe RlS, you undergo severe suicidal ideation.
My previous GP was too anxious to listen to that sort of talk but my current GP listened up when I explained that this is mentioned in the protocols based on serious research. I said I was pretty upset another doctor had called my pathology ‘non-sinister’ as there is surely nothing more sinister than suicidal ideation from lack of sleep.
hello there! I recently had dental work under sedation by an anaesthetist. 40 mins into the treatment, apparently i raised one leg up in the air and kept it there. The dentist was alarmed but the anaesthetist made a joke about me being a yoga expert… he insisted she pushed my leg down, which she did, but my leg went back up! I then couldn’t keep still and the dentist couldn’t continue. The treatment stopped and i had to go under sedation again at a later date to finish the job and he did it in under 20 minutes to avoid more leg gymnastics!
I also cannot tolerate adrenalin in the local injections. My heart races and i feel dreadful. I have to have a more expensive substitute. One dentist ignored the ‘no adrenalin’ post on my notes and gave it to me, against me saying no. I hyperventilated and had to be put upside down in the chair and blow into a paper bag. She was very scared. I dumped that dentist.
Does anyone else have issues with adrenaline injections?
I had a local anesthetic with adrenaline for an outpatient gym procedure and it was not pleasant. Metallic taste in the mouth, increased heart rate, temporary difficulty talking, dizzy, nausea, weak. Took 36 hours to resolve. Had non-stop, but milder intensity RLS during that time
I had a colonoscopy and the doctor told me he had a difficult time with my RLS. He said I was only the second patient he ever had out of thousands of patients. Also when I had cataract surgery, the surgeon said I tried to get off the table. Luckily, both surgeries were completed without the need to stop.
when i had a colonoscopy my legs were all over the place. don't know what they can do for that. I have had several colonoscopies. It seems when they are over, and i am in recovery i get a bad case of rls. i ask the nurses to let me get up, but they say no because I just had anesthesia. If i can i get my purse and take one of my meds. eventually it helps. Once after a procedure, my rls got so bad when i was in recovery and they wouldn;t let me get up, my blood pressure went up to 240 from all the stress...
Thanks for this warning, it’s really helpful. Like you, I seem to have problems with opioids, and I have been wondering how I’ll deal with an upcoming surgery. I have indeed started to worry that all forms of anaesthesia could be aggravating the RLS and as I’m about to have foot surgery, my feet could be twitching during the surgery! So yes, I’m glad I’ve had a doctor now who’s willing to try opioids so I can see how they affect me, and that’ll help me inform the anaesthetist! Some of us are really sensitive to these types of drugs.
Tell your doctors and anesthesiologists about your RLS and its symptoms and that you need your medicine and ask if there will be any drug interactions from what they will give you. Also talk with the patient representative ahead of time. Tell them not to give you any sedating antihistamines or sedating anti-nausea medications. Instead insist they use Zofran (ondansetron) for anti-nausea. You can download the Medical Alert Card that you can show your doctors, that tells them about the condition and what will happen after surgery and what medicines to avoid at rlshelp.org/ although you will need to join the RLS foundation. An international membership is $40, but they have some good information on it and you get their monthly magazine. However the safe antidepressants listed on medical alert card are not antidepressants: Lamotrigine, Carbamazepine, Oxcarbazepine.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
RLS differential diagnosis
RLS OR NOT?
A lifetime of RLS and a lifetime of shame
Pregnant and suffering RLS
RLS
