Anyone ever heard of post-op hot flashes?

Nrdsb4
Sat, 03 Dec 2011 23:53:40 +0000

nysmile,

I started having the hot flashes on day one post op. I had not been taking any medication prior to the surgery (other than a low dose blood pressure med), so I don’t think any kind of withdrawal was a factor. I will say that perhaps the meds (general anesthesia, low dose vicodin and a muscle relaxer) affected my hormonal balance. Also, perhaps during my surgery steroids were injected either into the surgical space or in my IV and combined with all factors to cause this problem. Your husband’s experience makes me wonder if it is something related to general anesthesia. I’ve had other surgeries without this problem, but I was younger and any number of other factors were different this time.

It’s just kind of weird. I do think my age (just turned 50) perhaps put me on a sort of hormonal precipice, so some factor or factors just pushed me over the edge. I guess I was just caught off guard since I have never encountered this in my nursing career. But I have always worked in acute care, so I wouldn’t have been in the know about any post op problems after that short period of hospitalization.