Bad Medical Advice

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

4 Responses to “Bad Medical Advice”

  1. Jarred Matthews Says:

    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.

    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]

  2. Marci Carmelita Says:

    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

    _____

    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

  3. Neva Marjory Says:

    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

    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]

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

  4. Traci Mcgee Says:

    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]

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