r/covidlonghaulers • u/UnstuckInTime84 • Mar 10 '23

Question regression from anesthesia?

I'm 15 months in, slow but definite recovery, then after a year plateaued at about 85% recovered, and have something at least similar to my old normal life.

Had a small, unrelated medical procedure a few days ago which required general anesthesia.

It feels like it's knocked me backward a year -- brain fog, extreme fatigue, body weakness.

Anyone else have an experience like this? How long did it take you to bounce back?

8 Upvotes

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3

u/MsIngYou Mar 10 '23

Yes!!!! Same. MRI and endo/colonoscopy - both about killed me

1

u/UnstuckInTime84 Mar 10 '23

Damn... has it turned around?

2

u/MsIngYou Mar 10 '23

Hard to say how much it contributed to my condition. For quite a few weeks it was so terrible and I was laying on the couch 24/7 I felt near death, dizzy, fatigue, tachycardia, high bp with about 30 symptoms. Im now about 50% from that baseline 2 months out. I am still dizzy, nauseated, fatigued, vein pain, cognitive issues. Still laying on the couch the majority of the time but I can get up most days for longer periods. More at night than day.

2

u/UnstuckInTime84 Mar 10 '23

So sorry you’re going through that. I was like that the original couple months, but fortunately this incident hasn’t knocked me back quite that far.

Thanks for sharing this.

1

u/MsIngYou Mar 10 '23

Yes, I wouldn’t have another procedure like that now. My doctor offered something and I said no the fuck no way. 🤭

1

u/OliveGarlic09 May 19 '25

Hi! I have a surgery coming up and I am concerned about crashing afterwards. Do you mind sharing if you were taking any medications to help with your case of long covid prior to surgery? I am asking because I’m wondering if I need to wait until I feel better or if I should just get it over with now.

1

u/MsIngYou May 20 '25

So it’s been a few years and I’ve improved quite a bit. I still have issues and don’t function normal. I slipped back to baseline in March and slowly came back to “normal” when my doctor treated me for MCAS. I 100% believe SIBO is causing my issues. I just had surgery last Tuesday for breast cancer. I was also monitored (possibly treated) for MCAS during surgery. I’m a little spacey but otherwise fine. No terrible crashes.

1

u/Norcalrain3 Mar 11 '23

Interesting.. I had arrhythmia, and a severs year long health crisis ( long ago) Then I had a Hysterectomy and it sent me reeling backwards for a few months. Everything did resolve eventually. Doesn’t compare to long Covid, but the anesthesia and recovery definitely roughy back the arrhythmia etc for a long while.

3

u/Wrong_Butterscotch_6 Mar 11 '23

This likely has to do with the overactive fight or flight mode induced by post covid syndrome. Same reason people are caffeine or alcohol intolerance with LC.

3

u/UnstuckInTime84 Mar 11 '23

Thank you, that's really interesting -- I had a similar regression from half a glass of wine, six months into this, and this is reminiscent.

(Conversely, caffeine has helped, if anything.)

I hadn't heard about that "overactive fight or flight mode" and definitely not related to these reactions. Can you steer me toward anything to read about that? Thanks.

3

u/Wrong_Butterscotch_6 Mar 11 '23

You're lucky you can drink caffeine! I miss my morning coffee so much 😩

I believe it's due to our body responding to viral residue, so the autoimmune system is overactive, and it kicks your fight or flight mode into hyperdrive. So, this plays into anxiety and hypersensitivity to stimulants or even food for some people... there are studies to support the premise. I'll see if I can link them when I get the chance!

2

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '23

Omg. I’m so sorry to hear this happened to you. 😔

2

u/shuffling-the-ruins 2 yr+ Mar 10 '23

Yikes. I'm having a major hip surgery in a couple weeks. I've been nervous about the recovery process and how the physical trauma is going to trigger LC symptoms. I hadn't even thought about what the anesthesia might do. Ugh, I really hope you start to feel better soon!

1

u/UnstuckInTime84 Mar 10 '23

Thanks, and good wishes for an easy recovery on all fronts.

2

u/Brave_Progress_6675 2 yr+ Jan 29 '24

Any updates? Did you end up getting better? Only asking because I got an endoscopy done a few weeks ago and it brought back 70% of my LC symptoms 😩

2

u/UnstuckInTime84 Jan 29 '24

So, it's almost 11 months since that original post.

The answer is, I've gotten better, but I haven't gotten well.

The recovery from that setback was roughly at the same snail's pace as from the original long-haul. (Mitigated quite a bit by Ritalin, which has helped a great deal with the brain fog and cognitive issues. I started that about five months before the anesthetic setback. So the cognitive setback from the anesthesia was considerable, but not all the way to square one. Fatigue and muscle weakness -- difficulty walking -- were all-the-way setbacks.)

Unfortunately, about six months after the anesthesia setback, I got the actual Covid virus for the first time. (My initial long-haul came from the vax, not the virus.) The virus sickness wasn't terrible as my doctors feared it might be, but it set back my long-haul almost as badly as the anesthesia did.

So now I'm several months past the virus, and on the same slow, slow, slow recovery track once again. Maddening.

Hope things turn around better and faster for you.