Expert: JM Starkman, MD - 6/5/2009

Question
Dr Starkman,
Three weeks ago I underwent a laporoscopic appendectomy under general anesthetic. As a keen runner I was keen to get back to training as soon as possible and felt able to start with slow jogging about 10 days after the operation. The wounds and site have healed well and I've slowly built my runs up on a daily basis (in terms of distance and speed) but have found that my heart rate has remained artificially elevated in comparison to my pre-op heart rate at all levels of effort (i.e. from slow jogging up to speed work on the track). Equally concerningly, my legs appear to be completely empty of glycogen stores - every run feels like I'm recovering from having run a marathon the previous day! Is this a side effect of general anesthetic or a symptom of something else? I'd be grateful for any advice. In the meantime I've taken the reluctant step of ceasing training.
Many thanks,
Marc

Answer
My guess--and it is a guess, as there is no accepted and/or recognized complication from general anesthesia as you describe--is that something else is going on.  

Duke University in the US has published some provocative data about the long term irreversible effects on the central nervous system after General anesthesia, but I've not heard these types of long terms side effects applied to muscle physiology.

Antibiotics can cause some pretty peculiar side effects....are you still on any?