preoperative cardiac arrhythmia

[zigzag70]

Can being bulimic effect common surgeries?

[littlegreenman1]

Secrets are nothing to be kept from your Doctor... I would say expecially your cardiologist. If you have a problem w/ bulemia, alcohol, drugs, not sleeping, voilence against you... whatever... tell your doc.

You don't want to throw any curveballs. You want your doc coming out of surgery high fiving the staff - saying, "Man!! I'm good. Totally knocked it out of the park! Easy like Sunday mornin."

[yarrow]

Bulimia does change your electrolytes, especially sodium and potassium, in a way that can screw up your heart (google the singer Karen Carpenter).  If the doctor ordered bloodwork, it would show how your blood was ON THE DAY it was drawn.  If you vomited or purged after that, your blood would change very swiftly, and you could enter surgery in a dangerous condition.

A tonsillectomy is usually considered minor surgery, but I have seen it unexpectedly go very, very bloody, which is stressful to the heart.

This is serious enough that if you do not want to take a chance on waking up dead, the only thing to do is tell your doctor and your anesthesiologist about your bulimia.  They will then be able to head off problems before they occur.  

[tom_h]

It's unclear to me if you're presently experiencing arrhythmia.  In the "olden days", pre-admission testing would include an EKG, and blood work.  I don't know what they're doing now.  My last surgery was 10 years ago for a hernia when I just hopped up on the table, and I was out.  There wasn't any kind of PAT involved.  If you're experiencing abnormal heart rhythm, it would be a good idea to talk with your physician first.

[zigzag70]

Is that something they would check for before putting me under anesthesia or do they usually not do that? I have been bulimic for 8 yrs and need a tonsillectomy, i had my wisdom teeth removed w/o a problem. If there were a problem wouldn't they be able to tell before the surgery w/o the knowledge of my bulimia?

[tom_h]

Our electrolyte system is very sensitive. Even a slightest drop in in the level level of vital minerals can lead to an electrolyte imbalance.  If this happens, a person can suffer from irregular heartbeats.