anaesthetic for carpal tunnel operation

[Essexlil]

Hi, my daughter in law has Hashimotos following the birth of her first child 10 years ago. It wasn’t diagnosed until after the birth of her second child 5 years ago, when she was swollen and had gained a lot of weight and her hair was falling out. She’s now lost the weight and is reasonably well, although recently she’s said her hair is coming out again and she’s very tired.

She takes T4 and separate T3 which has made her a lot better but because of not being treated for so many years she has carpal tunnel in both hands which hasn’t responded to splinting or steroid injections. She’s having the first hand operated on next Tuesday and has chosen general anaesthetic . The NHS first said they wouldn’t do this operation until her thyroid was better controlled so she went to see the Consultant who prescribes her T3 and he’s said it can go ahead. The nurse doing her pre operative tests has told her she’s not happy about this, but it’s going ahead.

I’m really worried about the possible effects of general anaesthetic and the nurses comments. I don’t want to interfere too much at this late stage as she really needs her hands put right, but can anyone whose had this operation with Hashimotos please put my mind at rest - as usual, any help is much appreciated.

[GlowCoach Administrator]

Is it possible you could get copies of her blood results? Very difficult for people to comment without them.

She should also get key vitamin levels checked - ferritin, folate, B12 and D3. Hypo people dont absorb vitamins well due to low stomach acid and this affects her thyroid hormone working.

Low ferritin is often responsible for hair falling out and is very common if you're hypo.

As far as the operation goes, I'm guessing if she is taking T3 that her TSH might be suppressed which some medics find a bit scary. It's really nothing to be concerned about so long as FT4 & FT3 are within normal range. I'm not aware that being treated for hypothyroisidm is a contraindication for having any operation.

[Essexlil in reply to GlowCoach]

thank you Jaydee for your reassurance about the operation. I’ll ask her if she has her blood test results. I’ve told her about all of the vitamins as I went on Dr Isabella Wentz link from Thyroid UK, but she says it’s too late as operation only days away.

[humanbean]

Make sure your daughter takes plenty of vitamin B12 between now and her anaesthetic :

b12-vitamin.com/anesthesia/

pubs.asahq.org/anesthesiolo...

For many of us the best B12 supplement is methylcobalamin.

For the body to make use of B12 it needs adequate levels of folate. If folate is required it should be started a few days after the B12.

This may all be totally irrelevant if nitrous oxide isn't going to be used in her anaesthetic. But why take the risk? B12 is harmless even when taken at high levels. Folate should be in the upper half of the range.

stichtingb12tekort.nl/engli...

[Essexlil in reply to humanbean]

thank you I’ll tell her about B12

[Marz]

I have read that LOW B12 is linked to CTS. B12 helps to maintain the Myelin sheath that protects all nerves in the body. Think of the plastic coating that protects electrical wiring. When the myelin sheath is compromised, nerves can be exposed and be the cause of pain.

My wrists are sometimes painful when my weekly B12 jab is due....

The op' can be successful - my Hypo friend was fine.

[Essexlil in reply to Marz]

thank you for your help it’s reassuring your hypo friend was fine and it was a sucess!

[Marz in reply to Essexlil]

She does inject B12 as well so .....

[Essexlil in reply to Marz]

hi, no I don’t think she takes B12 either

[Marz in reply to Essexlil]

Test B12 before supplementing otherwise results will be skewed...

[Essexlil in reply to Marz]

hi I’ve asked her about B12 and she said it made her feel unwell last time she took it.

[Marz in reply to Essexlil]

Has she ever tested her B12 ? Sorry if I missed s result ....

[bantam12]

Why has she chosen to have a GA ? It’s such a simple quick op and much less hassle done with a local anaesthetic, plus I could go home straight after.

When I had mine done it was over before I even realised and it was quite an enjoyable experience as we were all chatting and very relaxed.

[Essexlil in reply to bantam12]

hi, she said she’s scared and wants to be out of it, but I’m going to try to talk her into local anaesthetic - I can tell her what you’ve said - thankyou

[Hylda2 in reply to Essexlil]

I had local too. No problem

[Essexlil in reply to Hylda2]

thanks Hilda think she’ll be better if I can talk her into it!

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Carpal tunnel is extremely common hypothyroid symptom ..suggests her thyroid levels aren’t finely tuned if this hasn’t resolved

Hair loss is frequently low iron/ferritin

ESSENTIAL To test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least annually

What vitamin supplements does she currently take

As she has Hashimoto’s is she on strictly gluten free diet and/or dairy free diet

[Essexlil]

hi SlowDragon - she was undiagnosed for about 5 years and it started during that time. It’s apparently quite bad and specialist says it’ll get worse as steroid injections not helping. I don’t think her thyroids properly controlled as symptoms are creeping back but she seems to think she’ll have T3 reduced if they increase T4 and she says it’s T3 made her much better. I’ll ask her about the vitamin side but from your information regarding my Hashimotos in the past and reading Dr Isabella Wentz I’ve told her all about the low vitamin side but she seems to have given up and just wants this operation.

she’s not on a gluten free diet but her obsession with her weight even before Hashimotos had made her food intake pretty poor in general. I also think she may be over exercising - bounce classes 3 times a week plus walking, working and looking after a family.

Thank you for your help

[Marz in reply to Essexlil]

The younger generation are more keen for a quick fix I find - not all of course ! As a Grumpy Grandma I prefer the slower route - which often gets me there in the end - well nearly !

[Essexlil in reply to Marz]

yes, me too - loads of research and advice fromThyroid UK before I’m convinced about anything!

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Essexlil]

steroids will suppress TSH too

[Essexlil in reply to SlowDragon]

oh I didn’t realise this - thank you

[Marz]

Not sure if you are aware of Related Posts. 10 more posts similar to yours either on the right of this page or lower down !

[Essexlil in reply to Marz]

I suddenly realised hadn’t looked at past posts whe some appeared on the right hand side

[Marz in reply to Essexlil]

Related Posts (10) appear with every post and often prove useful ... 🌻