post surgery complications acdf c6/c7
 

I had a successful acdf c6/c7 Jan 30, but appear to have had a bad reaction to either the anethesia and/or the scopolamine patch. I ended up in the ER Monday night (week ago) from passing out, dehydration (although i had been hydrating faithfullly), severe headache and tachycardia. Fluids eased the headache, but the low pressure and tachycardia have remained. These problems seemed to worsen after i removed the scop patch which i accidently left on 1 extra day as i forgot i had it.

surgeon is baffled and wants to send me to cardiologist; pcp thinks likely reaction to scop patch and/or too much anethesia..... just hoping someone could chime in if have any similar experience. btw, we've ruled out csf leak ...
many thanks in advance.

[Well i looked up overdose symptoms from the scop patch
The signs and symptoms of anticholinergic toxicity include: lethargy, somnolence, coma, confusion, agitation, hallucinations, convulsion, visual disturbance, dry flushed skin, dry mouth, decreased bowel sounds, urinary retention, tachycardia, hypertension, and supraventricular arrhythmias.

I do think your best choice is to see a cardiologist as soon as possible. They will get you a monitor that you can wear at home. Its your best option to record the arrhythmia that way u can get a accurate diagnosis. This way you will know for sure-- if its possible from the patch--- or maybe reaction to pain meds some people are more sensative with there heart on pain meds --or it may be a heart problem and u caught it early which is great news. Anytime i have surgery they have a extremly hard time bringing down my blood pressure. I had a abonormal ekg -- during my pre-op testing before my acdf surgery --i had to have a heart test done-- just to make it thru surgery. Right after surgery i was in the recovery room 8 hrs-- they wouldnt put me in room until my blood pressure would go down . So I can relate to your fears--honestly u need to get to the bottom of it to rule out worse case scenario. Please let me know --always wishing you the best!!.

thanks you for looking it up! i went to my internist to get his opinion and he detected that i was skipping heartbeats; that was a new one on me; he felt that 2 weeks out, it wasn't related to meds; my gut says differently; regardless i wore the heart monitor for 24 hours and am scheduled to see the cardiologist; i do seem to get a tiny bit better each day, which to me, leans towards meds (and i took practically nothing after the surgery since i'm so sensitive - basically just tylenol); i'll pop back on once i get some news; best :)

Try not to take tylenol ---my g.p said only take in case of fever tylenol is is like aresinic to the liver.

dear friend

might i ask who ruled out
CSF LEAK

were you poked with a
needle at the sight of surgery

someone that cares

your paying attention to your body
and reaction excellent job

someone who cares

regarding csf leak
 

i spoke to the PA who was in on the surgery and he 'assured' me there was no way i had a CSF leak; my symptoms seem to have cleared; my gut still says bad reaction to drugs, either too much, or anticholergenic toxicity or the scop patch .... i still have to see a cardiologist, but heart rate has come down to normal (don't know if i'm skipping beats though as i can't tell that)
do you think any reason to inquire further on CSF leak?

I dont think so from things i read in the past you know pretty quicky because the pain is so bad ,I heard few people say they had fluid dripping thru sinus,and fluid is so bad you see softball size swelling actually thru or on the skin . They all had to be admitted to hospital and were in the icu saying pain was so severe. Not a dr-- but doesnt appear your symptoms are that severe.

Hi
 

It sounds to me as this is not only a spinal/mechanical issue you have. It sounds autoimmune/inflammatory in nature. Do you know that damaged nerves in one small area can signal healthy nerves and cause inflammation and the inflammation can spread? It sounds as if your problem did stem from your back surgery originally and indeed has evolved into a chronic pain disorder similar to central pain syndrome. You still need an MRI as you still may have discal instability in your lumbar.

I find that I communicate easier,quicker and more streamlined with my doctors when I type out all symptoms I am experiencing since last visit. I describe what I feel, how long, and what I have tried. I keep a copy and I make them out a copy in my file. We then use the letter I drafted as a discussion point, and it maximizes the 15 minutes that I get during an appointment.

Aussie