Hello,
I have been fighting with my surgeon
for the past 6 months on my disc fusion
that I was originally supposed to have in
May of this year. They have moved my
surgery date 4 times now because of issues
that they say the surgeon was having with
his family and a couple of other excuses.
I finally called the patient affairs
department and filed a complaint and was
scheduled for surgery on 9-14-07. I went
for pre op this past Thursday and got a
phone call from the surgeon's assistant
telling me that the surgery was now on
hold because my blood clot numbers were
outside the range of what the surgeon
accepts and that I have to now see my
primary care physician to get clearance
for surgery. They gave my some numbers for
a PT/PTT count in my blood and told me
they were higher than normal and asked me
if I was taking Coumadin or some big word
like that . I am now worried
that my surgery will be postponed again
because of this. I have had several people
tell me that the Acetometophin in my pain
medication can cause abnormal readings. I
have been on my pain medication for over 2
1/2 years and have been taking a total of
4000mg total per day of Acetometophin. Has
anyone had any issues like this before? Is
this something that is going to require a
bunch of testing? What are the chances of
my surgery being cancelled again? Is the
surgeon just covering his butt? Please,
any suggestions or input would be very
appreciated.
|
yogahoneybunny
Supporter
Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 888 Location: Strumica, Macedonia
Thanks: 5
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Posted: 09-13-07 06:38am
Why do you insist on having this surgery
so much? Wouldn't 4 cancellations make
you pause and wonder why? What are some
of the misgivings that the doctor has
voiced? I have the feeling that there's a
story beneath the story ...
I did find some info on medicines to avoid
from the Spine Institute of NY ... They
list the following MEDICATIONS TO
DISCONTINUE BEFORE SURGERY:
Please do not take any of the following
medications for at least seven (7) days
prior to surgery.
If you have spinal fusion surgery, you
will NOT be able to take NSAIDS or
medications containing aspirin for about 3
months (until your doctor tells you that
your fusion appears solid).
* Estrogen Products:
All oral contraceptives, hormone
replacement therapy
* Anticoagulants and Antithrombotics
Aggrenox, Coumadin, Ecotrin,
Fragmin, Halfprin, Heparin, Lovenox,
Orgaran, Persantine, Plavix, Ticlid. You
will need to consult your physician
regarding plans for stopping these
medications.
* MAO Inhibitors
Nardil (Phenelzine) Parnate
(Tranylcypromine)
* Herbal Medications and Supplements:
- Echinacea
- Feverfew
- Garlic
- Ginkgo Biloba
- Ginseng
- Siberian Ginseng
- Kava
- Ma Huang
- Saw Pilmetto
- Valerian
- St. John’s Wort
- (14 days before) Vitamin E
- Multivitamins (containing Vit.E)
* The following medications MAY be
taken prior to surgery:
- Acetaminophen
- Darvocet
- Darvon
- Dilaudid
- Duragesic
- Fioricet
- Lorcet
- Lortab
- MS Contin
- MSIR
- Oxycontin
- Percocet
- Roxanol
- Tylenol + Codeine
- Tylenol
- Vicodin (Hydrocodone)
. I am now worried
that my surgery will be postponed again
because of this. I have had several people
tell me that the Acetometophin in my pain
medication can cause abnormal readings. I
have been on my pain medication for over 2
1/2 years and have been taking a total of
4000mg total per day of Acetometophin. Has
anyone had any issues like this before? Is
this something that is going to require a
bunch of testing? What are the chances of
my surgery being cancelled again? Is the
surgeon just covering his butt? Please,
any suggestions or input would be very
appreciated.
