Posted by yznhymer on August 21, 2008, at 20:24:21
In reply to Re: EMSAM and Surgery and now what?, posted by Merge on August 21, 2008, at 20:15:36
> I just wanted to address the emergency thing...
>
> I had been taking Parnate for several years when I needed to have emergency surgery (I went to the ER with pain and had my gall bladder removed that day). Obviously I didn't have the opportunity to go off the Parnate - and I came through the surgery just fine. I'm really not sure what extra precautions they take - I do remember that the anesthesiologist spent quite a bit of time with me - but surgery when taking an MAOI can certainly be done.
>
> I'm no longer taking an MAOI but I wore a medical alert bracelet for 4 years - it was engraved with "this person takes an MAOI" on the back, as I also had concerns about being in an accident and not being able to tell anyone that I was on Parnate.
>
> I don't really have any advice about whether or not to stay on EMSAM - unfortunately it seems like with any antidepressant that provides relief, there is going to be some sort of trade off, some sort of side effects. But, I hope you can at least worry a bit less about the emergency/surgery thing.
The anesthesiologist told me they do have drugs to use that do not interact with EMSAM. In fact, he used those with me even though I stopped taking EMSAM about 8 weeks previously, for extra safety. The bracelet is a good idea - I will look into it since that scenario is a little worrisome. Maybe a tattoo?
poster:yznhymer
thread:847444
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080814/msgs/847614.html