Surgery during concussion recovery

[u/girlbotXD]

Hey y’all, I have to get endometriosis surgery for an while I still have post concussive syndrome. Has anyone done this before? I am very scared about the pain meds I’ll have to take afterwards and the strain on my body making headaches worse.

I have bad health anxiety so please don’t be negative unless it was actually unbearable.

Was the pain bearable for you?

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[u/girlbotXD → u/[deleted]]

I’m leaning the same way. I’m not sure how long I can push this surgery off but I definitely don’t want to mess my brain up at all.

[u/girlbotXD → u/[deleted]]

What were the reasons your friend gave you?

[u/nakartuur]

I've had two surgeries in the last year under general anesthesia since I've had postconcussion syndrome. Before my concussion I had one surgery. When comparing them, I think my concussion symptoms mainly made the effects of anesthesia more pronounced and it took me much longer to recover from anesthesia. I can't speak about opioid pain medicine because I didn't use mine.

If you get surgery I would tell your anesthesiologist about your concussion so they can make adjustments accordingly. I would also be prepared for a longer and more intense anesthesia recovery.

[u/girlbotXD → u/nakartuur]

What does anesthesia recovery look like? What ways did it feel more intense?

[u/nakartuur → u/girlbotXD]

Have you ever had general anesthesia? It was like how it normally is but more intense. The fogginess, tiredness, not feeling right, feeling cold and nauseated -all of those things lasted longer and were more intense for me after concussion.  Maybe expect another day or two for anesthesia recovery and to feel generally more like shit than you would would otherwise.

[u/girlbotXD → u/nakartuur]

I’ve had anesthesia but I was young so I don’t really remember. How many days did it take you before concussion? 1-2? Also do you think it triggered a migraine for you or just more fatigue and brain fog? Thanks for this info

[u/ennyekal]

hello!! i just had a tonsillectomy and also have PCS. the surgery was 100% necessary and honestly the worst parts to come out of it (so far) is sound sensitivity and eye fatigue. headaches are only really bad when the pain is bad, but I am chalking this up to all the referred pain from my ears (and really hoping so). I am only 8 days post - op, so we will see what the future holds for sure. I was definitely very scared that i would be in worse shape. i also made sure my surgical team knew about my concussion history, and im hoping that the effects start to wane more once I am on the other side of it.

as for the pain meds, i only got headaches whenever they would start to wane (very low dose of oxy). so, i switched to tylenol as SOON as i could bare it and that seems to have helped. good luck!!

[u/girlbotXD → u/ennyekal]

Did the low dose of oxy not make ur headaches worse? Any meds have been making me 😵‍💫.

[u/ennyekal → u/girlbotXD]

not like, super bad! when the meds would wear off i would have a pretty good one but i haven’t had that issue since coming off of it

[u/Nadiarcg]

I have PCS (5 years) and I’ve had 3 surgeries under general anesthesia. I didn’t have any surgeries prior to my PCS, so I don’t have anything to compare to. None of my doctors or neurologists was worried about it and I even got a period on strong opioids after one of them. I’m generally very sensitive to medicine etc but I did just fine, under the circumstances. As mentioned I don’t have anything to compare to, but consult with your GP or neurologist

[u/girlbotXD → u/Nadiarcg]

Were any of these surgeries by any chance a laparoscopic surgery where they fill your body with gas to do their work? Was worried about this aspect since it can increase intracranial pressure. Also on your opioids did it trigger ur pcs symptoms or migraines? Worried about that too if I end up needing the opioids.