Severe Anxiety After Anesthesia For Knee Replacement - Help!
I AM DESPERATE FOR HELP FOR POST OPERATIVE MENTAL CHANGES
Art or anyone else that can help. I desperately need help. When I was going to have my knee replaced, I told them I do not do well with medication. Came out of surgery nauseous but after I got home, I started with horrible anxiety. The anxiety pain was far worse than the knee. I started working with a homeopathic lady and we tried multiple remedies, but nothing even touched it. When she couldn't find anything that worked, she scolded me and pretty much just gave up on me. She said that If I take the drugs, I will just be on them for life and need more and more (scold me and scare me, just what I needed) My Dr wanted to put me on anti-depressants and I said I didn't want to do that, so she gave me a week's worth of Xanax, which I also didn't want to take. I tried the herbs that usually work for me, ashwagandha, Lobelia, Rhodiola, etc. I barely make it through the day. Every morning, I wake up hot, sweaty and shakey. Yesterday was so bad, that I woke up at 5 o'clock and worked for six hours without sitting down once. I finally told my dear husband, who is worried about me, that I couldn't take it anymore and I succumbed to taking a Xanax. My worry is, I did a small amount of research and found that there are about 10% of people who have a problem with anesthesia and get all kinds of cognitive changes. I'm afraid I could be one of the 10% and don't know what to do. Everything bothers me. I can't watch t.v., I can't just sit and relax. I can't sit down and eat dinner with my husband because I can't sit still. I'm really scared. This anxiety is just awful, and I hope it hasn't affected my brain for good. Does anyone know anything that might be helpful. The Xanax did settle me down for the day. Any help would be so greatly appreciated.
America
08/10/2024
Sounds like a detox is in order. Earth clinic has some information on detox baths. Your system needs lots of water to flush out the medications you were on, such as the anesthesia. Look up detox methods. Activated charcoal, diatomaceous earth. Even drinking distilled water could help. I wish you good health and peace of mind.
Chicago
08/10/2024
Start tapping daily. It works. I do daily tapping with Brad, but you can find many other teachers.
Anxiety About Your Health - Tapping with Brad Yates
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItIOfxoO3dI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtkGr6LrpxQ
Chicago
08/10/2024
Did you try homeopathy? Several people I recall have already given you detailed responses. Homeopathy works.
You should have taken Aconite at the first episode of anxiety and continued in accordance with your response. There're many other homeopathic remedies.
It is appears that you have chosen the allopathic medicine way.
VA
08/10/2024
I would take activated charcoal twice daily for a few days and avoid skin care products, as some ingredients can affect brain chemistry. Hope you feel better very soon.
Hi JR.
You have gotten some very good suggestions already and I would give serious consideration to them.
Anesthesia as well as the surgery itself can cause elevated oxidative stress levels which can be damaging to multiple areas of the body. The following link discusses this elevated oxidative stress :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8643269/
Here is a relevant quote from the link :
' A basal concentration of ROS is essential for the manifestation of cellular functions, whereas disproportionate levels of ROS cause damage to cellular macromolecules such as DNA, lipids, and proteins, eventually leading to necrosis and apoptosis. Increased ROS has been linked with numerous illnesses, such as cardiovascular, immune system, liver, and kidney, and has been shown to promote cancer and accelerate aging. Knowledge of the various pharmacologic agents that increase or reduce oxidative stress may promote a safer way of inducing anesthesia. Furthermore, surgery itself leads to increased ROS production and ischemia/reperfusion injury. Indeed, increased perioperative oxidative stress has been correlated with increased postoperative complications and prolonged recovery. '
These elevated oxidative stress levels can manifest in many ways and delirium, anxiety, depression and brain fog would be four common examples. Using potent antioxidants such as NAC, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Astaxanthin or Melatonin, to name a few popular ones, can help to counter the elevated oxidative stress and lower increased inflammatory levels. You could select based on your previous experiences with various antioxidants that you have tolerated well. Of the four that I mentioned, Astaxanthin is the one I would consider to have the least chance for side effects, but if you tolerate the other three they are very potent antioxidants worthy of consideration also. Start with one at moderate dosing as per label instructions and add another antioxidant if you feel more is warranted. If you tolerate melatonin, melatonin lotion (ML) may be more useful than oral melatonin and apply it sparingly to your abdomen at bedtime as this will disperse into your blood overnight. ML may also be useful for pain in the knee area, but do not apply to an open wound or incision if present.
Working against the oxidative stress utilizing potent antioxidants should be very useful. You should also give consideration to the previous replies you got as they are good and may have synergy together, which would be important in your case because of how seriously this is affecting you!
The adaptogens that you mentioned are also good.
Art
Michigan
08/13/2024
Thank you, Art, for all the information. I started on NAC a couple of days ago. I started slow with one a day. Today I increased it to two a day. I'll hold it there for a few days and then maybe increase to three a day. I also tried rubbing the melatonin lotion on my abdomen before bed. It seemed to help me relax and sleep a little bit b..better. I'm trying to hang in there. I really appreciate this site and all of the helpful people who contribute. God Bless all of you.
Hi JR,
Thank you for the initial feedback using NAC along with melatonin lotion (ML). If you tolerate the ML well and it doesn't cause daytime drowsiness, you might also consider it during the day, to see if it helps with the severe anxiety.
Please keep us updated on how you do with your current regimen.
Art
