JOAN’S BLOG – MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2008 – PART II of Anesthesia and AD - ANESTHESIA AND ME – COGNITIVE CONFUSION

It was the night after Thanksgiving of 2000, that I was carted away in an ambulance, and  underwent very serious, complex (as my surgeon was fond of reminding me) emergency surgery. Previous to this experience, when I had elective surgery, I always warned the anesthesiologist during the pre-op interview not to give me anesthesia based on my weight (which is a teensy bit [maybe more than a teensy bit] more than it should be for my height), or I’d be unconscious for a week . In this emergency situation, there was no time to talk to anyone. I will never know if the cause of my later problems were due to too much anesthesia, but I always thought they were.

For the next 2 ½ months of attempted recovery, a surgical infection, and twice daily visiting nurses, I was unable to engage in my most treasured activity – reading. For the first time in my life, I could not stay focused on a page long enough to read it. I could not concentrate. My time was spent challenging my cognitive abilities to make decisions as to which soup I would eat or which decorating program I would watch on TV.

Finally, at the end of those 2 ½ months, I graduated from the visiting nurses, and it was time for us to travel to Florida for our Time Share week. It took some begging and pleading with my doctor, and promises on my part not to swim in the ocean or pool, but he agreed to let me make the trip.

Then came the packing. And the panic. I am, by nature, very organized, and packing for a trip releases all of my organizational abilities – I choose outfits based upon color, and what is needed for day and night activities. In this case, I took out the summer clothes, put them on the couch, and had no idea what to do with them. I became totally confused. I could not figure out how to choose the clothes I needed or how to organize them. I became extremely agitated and frightened. What was happening to me? Why couldn’t I pack a simple suitcase? I sat down and cried. Eventually, I did pack, but when we arrived in Florida, believe me, I had too much of what I didn’t need, and not enough of what I did need. I knew nothing of Alzheimer’s Disease at that time. But I look back on that experience now, and fully understand the fear Sid must suffer when he feels some of his abilities slipping away to AD.  

Almost 4 months after the surgery, I returned to my very demanding speech therapy job that required superior organizational skills, memory, and multi-tasking . Thankfully, by that time, I was back to normal and able to perform my duties as always. Unfortunately, our spouses will not know that normalcy again.

I will never forget the fear I felt from the temporary cognitive confusion , and I will always attribute it to the anesthesia. For that reason, I will be very cautious about allowing Sid to undergo any procedure that requires general anesthesia. I would prefer to err on the side of caution and believe the studies (see Blog below) that say there is a risk of anesthesia advancing the progression of AD.

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