Yesterday I went to the dentist for a root canal treatment. Although the dentist used a minimal amount of anaesthetics, my ataxia got so much worse afterwards. Normally I have a wobbly gate, but now I couldn’t walk anymore without holding on to things. Does anybody else have the same experience of ataxia getting worse after anaesthetics? Today it’s a bit better again…
sorry, that should be gait…
I’ve had a couple of general anaesthetics for operations and didn’t notice anything untoward afterwards. But, I had a visit to the dentist, which entailed lying flat for about an hour, and obviously something hefty to numb the area, now that did make me ill.
On sitting upright dizziness was horrendous, it took a while before I could get out of the chair because of wobblyness. My husband helped me to the car, and I vomited on the way home😑 Things eventually went back to ‘normal’ but I dread another visit😑xB
Thank you for your answer Beryl_Park. I was only in there for 15 minutes and was fine afterwards. The ataxia symptoms started a few hours later and lasted a day. Luckily I’m back to normal now. (As normal as it gets. LOL)
Sometimes I’ve noticed a ‘delayed reaction’ to stress or overtiredness. Glad to hear it passed. xB
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I had a CT Scan of my neck and brain, it was the worst for me. I became very dizzy and my gait was horrible! It took me the whole day afterwards to recover. My gait was awful, it just made things worse!
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I suspect my problems weren’t helped by lying flat. A few years ago I had to have sessions of radiotherapy, it was very embarrassing being so unstable afterwards. Lying down in bed isn’t as comfy as it used to be. Now, I have a stack of 3 pillows and make a point of trying to stay on my left side. One of my symptoms is BPPV ( a type of vertigo). Sometimes positional manoeuvres are very helpful, the condition is caused by crystals being displaced within the inner ear. The sensation brought on is horrendous, I literally hang onto the duvet till it passes😏xB
Almost anything temporarily makes my ataxia worse. Recently I had a Sprained ankle, then Pneumonia. It takes me longer to recover from anything!! My diagnosis is MSA-C.
Thank you for your reactions! What really did me in was the time I had a fever. Not only was it impossible to walk, but I could not even crawl to the toilet by myself without falling over. I guess our cerebellum is our “weak spot” and very easily affected.
Our Autoimmune systems take a heavy beating that’s for sure.xB
I have had two surgeries and after both I was definitely worse. Dr. Gomez, neurologist, says that is common with cerebellar ataxias. Due to this, I am trying to avoid surgery on a hip labral tear!
Have you tried corticosteroid injections for pain relief?xB
Not yet. Thanks for the reminder of that idea.
Corticosteroids are something to think about twice! They do more harm than good. I would go for the operation and explain your situation and ask for light anaesthesia. With me the effect was only temporary. And for hip operations you could get an epidural!