Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 8/12/2008

Question
  I had my gallbladder removed 8-09-08 under general anesthia (do not know type). I was discharged 3 hrs after sx. I hardlly slept the first night after sx and felt very hot and very agitated,I noticed a red rash all over and was having difficulty breathing from right lung. I went to E.R. and he said I was having an allergic reaction to anesthia (24 hrs post sx). My B.P was 218/108 and pulse rate was very high. They gave me solumedrol and benedral. The did a chest CT to check for PE, it was negative so they let me go home. It really scared me. I am know almost 36 hrs post op and my pupils are still very dilated. I stopped all medications after that E.R. visit. I woke up after a 4 hr sleep tonight to find my legs were numb and started cramping and they still feel weak. I also am having problems sleeping. I am not tired and that suprises me. I am wondering should my pupils be dilated and should I be worried about anesthia in the future. I am 43 year ols female who is healthy except elevated BP sometimes. No other medical problems I had a hysterectomy at 35 and got nauseous and vomitted but NOTHING like these strang e problems. This incident did scare me. Please help with some information on what happened.

Answer
I really hate people who say you had an allergic reaction to anesthesia when they don't know what they're talking about. There is no  such thing. You can have an allergic reaction to a specific medicine but not to anesthesia in general. Even if you did have an allergic reaction to one of the anesthetic meds, it would have occured much sooner. Allergic reactions happen at the time of administration, not 3 hours later. More likely you had an allergic reaction to a medicine you took post-op. It could be a pain pill or an antibiotic (or something completely unrealted to medicine such as a food item). The rash suggests an allergic raction but the difficulty breathing from one lung and the high blood pressure (usually it is low pressure) don't go along with that. Neither does the dilated pupils. I would certainly find out what meds you got during surgery, what you took post-op and what else you might have come in contact with during those first few hours and have this investigated. You are not allergic to anesthesia and should have no problem with future anesthetics, but obviously something didn't agree with you, and this needs to be investigated.

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston