Comments on: Bad Medical Advice

By: Traci Mcgee

Traci Mcgee — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 05:26:01 +0000

I’m having knee surgery tomorrow and met with the orthopaedic
surgeon yesterday afternoon to go over all of the pre-op paperwork
and testing. He asked about my medical conditions and what
medications I’m on and told me that I can’t eat or drink anything
after 6pm tonight.

When undergoing other procedures, they usually schedule me early
because of my diabetes so that I don’t have to fast for too long
and have always told me to go ahead and take my metformin and
glyburide with just a sip of water when I wake up.

This guy must not have know much about diabetes meds as he said to
not take any pills but to go ahead and do my morning Byetta
injection. Hello, but Byetta requires that you eat something
within an hour of injection in order for it to work properly! I

mentioned this to a friend who’s also diabetic and he said I
should just take my diabetic meds when I wake up as I’ve always
done in the past but if they discover I’ve got any food in my
system, the nurse said they’ll cancel the surgery.

Since they told me to avoid taking my pills, I guess I’ll have to
eat dinner early tonight and just take everything then and hope
that my BG stays balanced until I’m able to eat again on Saturday.
They’ll be doing general anesthesia and said I probably won’t be
able to eat after I come home tomorrow night.

–Michael

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

By: Neva Marjory

Neva Marjory — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:08:24 +0000

michael, do not eat or drink or take any pills before general surgery. it can
interfere with the anesthesia and cause problems. make sure they understand you
are diabetic and they can monitor your blood sugar while you are asleep and then
can give you your medication when you are awake. skip the byetta for the day. i
don’t think a lot of drs. other than endos know that much about it. when i went
to the er and was admitted i asked the resident if he knew about byetta. he
said, oh, yes. then on my discharge instructions he wrote byetta twice a day by
mouth. so i don’t think he knew too much……….lol……….baz

This guy must not have know much about diabetes meds as he said to

not take any pills but to go ahead and do my morning Byetta
injection. Hello, but Byetta requires that you eat something
within an hour of injection in order for it to work properly! I
mentioned this to a friend who’s also diabetic and he said I
should just take my diabetic meds when I wake up as I’ve always
done in the past but if they discover I’ve got any food in my
system, the nurse said they’ll cancel the surgery.

–Michael

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

By: Marci Carmelita

Marci Carmelita — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 04:03:23 +0000

HOLD THE PHONE!!!!! Anytime I have had surgery in the past, they have had
me stop taking my Metformin for a couple of days before the surgery. This
is what HealthSquare website says.I checked several others and they
agree.."You should not take Glucophage for 2 days before and after having an
X-ray procedure (such as an angiogram) that uses an injectable dye. Also, if
you are going to have surgery, except minor surgery, you should stop taking
Glucophage. Once you have resumed normal food and fluid intake, your doctor
will tell you when you can start drug therapy again."

CALL YOUR DR. and tell him about this. It sounds like he is not very well
informed about diabetes and the meds associated with it.

Demetria-Beth

_____

This guy must not have know much about diabetes meds as he said to
not take any pills but to go ahead and do my morning Byetta
injection. Hello, but Byetta requires that you eat something
within an hour of injection in order for it to work properly! I
mentioned this to a friend who’s also diabetic and he said I
should just take my diabetic meds when I wake up as I’ve always
done in the past but if they discover I’ve got any food in my
system, the nurse said they’ll cancel the surgery.

–Michael

By: Jarred Matthews

Jarred Matthews — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 01:03:39 +0000

I have also had three leg surgeries and my diabetic husband has had several
surgeries. If the doctor tells you not to take the oral meds, don’t! The meds
can interfer with anesthesia, make you sick, etc. My internist explained to me
that they would control the blood sugars with insulin during and after surgery
until I could eat and take the meds again. I wouldn’t even take the Byetta,
because sugars can go low without food and if you eat the surgery will be
cancelled. That is a real bummer! If you have someone there after surgery,
have them attend to your BG readings and needs to keep sugars balanced. Often
standard orders are written pre and post op and they don’t meet your individual
needs. When my husband, who is on a pump, was in the hospital recently, they
let him check BG and tell them the readings for the chart.

This guy must not have know much about diabetes meds as he said to
not take any pills but to go ahead and do my morning Byetta
injection. Hello, but Byetta requires that you eat something
within an hour of injection in order for it to work properly! I
mentioned this to a friend who’s also diabetic and he said I
should just take my diabetic meds when I wake up as I’ve always
done in the past but if they discover I’ve got any food in my
system, the nurse said they’ll cancel the surgery.

–Michael

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]