Post anesthesia cognitive issues...

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CodeBlu

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Hello GasPassers 🙂

I had a pretty gnarly accident about a month ago... I had a major orthopedic reconstruction on one of my lower limbs.

My anesthesiologist was amazing. Really nice guy. Put me at ease. But it's clearly worse when you're on the other side of it.

For a couple weeks I felt foggy after the anesthetic. Not really a problem. It resolved. Although, I have some minor memory problems when I study now. I never had a problem before. I just find myself re-reading stuff more than I used to.

One of my classmates also recently injured himself. Same anesthesiologist. Same set of drugs as far as we know. He has been having lingering cognitive deficits. I'm not just talking some residual fogginess... but I mean straight up problems with learning. Can't retain anything. No periods of desat or apnea on the chart.

What gives? Any thoughts? Seen this before? Will it resolve?

I feel bad cuz we essentially had the same procedure almost and the same anesthesia and I seem to be doing a lot better. Any input would be much appreciated.
 
Hello GasPassers 🙂

I had a pretty gnarly accident about a month ago... I had a major orthopedic reconstruction on one of my lower limbs.

My anesthesiologist was amazing. Really nice guy. Put me at ease. But it's clearly worse when you're on the other side of it.

For a couple weeks I felt foggy after the anesthetic. Not really a problem. It resolved. Although, I have some minor memory problems when I study now. I never had a problem before. I just find myself re-reading stuff more than I used to.

One of my classmates also recently injured himself. Same anesthesiologist. Same set of drugs as far as we know. He has been having lingering cognitive deficits. I'm not just talking some residual fogginess... but I mean straight up problems with learning. Can't retain anything. No periods of desat or apnea on the chart.

What gives? Any thoughts? Seen this before? Will it resolve?

I feel bad cuz we essentially had the same procedure almost and the same anesthesia and I seem to be doing a lot better. Any input would be much appreciated.

Nothing the anesthesiologist gave you would linger for a few weeks, even larger than normal doses of versed. Maybe you are stressed out from the exams, surgery, time changes..etc and worrying about the fact that something may have happened which is inhibiting your learning. Just try and forget about it and do your best with studying, it will eventually pass..
 
There are terms of service that prohibit seeking medical advice in the forum, which this thread seems to be doing, so one of the more senior mods will likely shut it down. It's not hard, though, to google perioperative cognitive dysfunction and find lots of interesting data, both in the developing brain, but also in elderly patients. Good luck.
 
The only data that I'm aware of is on the elderly and the developing brains of children.
It's a topic of great research. Have a look. In fact I think it was the cover story of anesthesiology last month.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll be fine and it's not likely related to the anesthetic.
PS Is it an electronic anesthesia record or hand written? Sometimes hand written records contain a lot of "data smoothing" aka fiction. Too lazy to give some pressors or put in a second IV? just document 10% higher SBP. Sadly serious, I've seen it too many times giving breaks or taking over cases. I'm happy to have an electronic record keeping people honest.
 
The ACCIDENT and SURGERY (or surgeries) alone can be reason enough for cognitive dysfunction secondary to pain, depression, anxiety, and possible PTSD. If those are issues, counseling and medication may help.

Talk to an expert. This board is not the place to address your problem. It is too important.
 
Are you by any chance taking opiates after your "major reconstructive surgery" ?
Could the pain medications be responsible for your symptoms combined with the surgical stress and the pain?
 
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