[Mexican in NZ]

Hi there!!
Here i am again, just wanting to let you all know things that probably you all will want to know before you or someone you know has surgery...
There are 3 herbal supplements you should avoid for at least 2 weeks before surgery and those are:

St. John's Wort
Ginko Biloba
Garlic Pills

Those 3 my anesthetist told me are very bad when u r put in anesthesy, as your blood pressure goes like a roller coaster up and down severely and also because the anesthetic takes way too long to pass the effects for a 3 hour one it takes minimum 12 hrs!
Is not safe to take them so please if u know someone that will have surgery you should let them know...I was taking one of them and they sent me back home for 2 weeks so the body will eliminate the properties. One thinks is safe to take herbal pills but please always let ur doctor know and tell them to check because not even my specialist knew about the effects it was just till the day of the surgery the anesthetist told me about it!
Love you all hope this has been helpful to at least one of you!
God Bless,
Adriana

[SarahEDH]

hi Adriana -- thank you for posting this -- it does help to bring people's attention to it. These herbs were listed on the "do not take" list when I had surgery in late '05 and I was glad to know about it. Receiving anesthesia is worrisome enough, without wondering about the interaction of herbal products.

cheers,
Sarah

El Dorado Hills, California

[jodieinchch]

I'll remember these if surgery ever becomes part of my life. Thanks for the advice. x

[pieeater]

Thanks for that,really good advice.

[Moorf]

Wow - I had 2 operations in UK in the 2 yrs before we came here and not once did anyone ask if I had taken those things... and I was taking St John's Wort :confused: and I eat enough garlic weekly to kill a flock of vampires...

[Richnat]

BTW, this is also a subtle heads-up for skeptics who poo-poo all that herbal 'nonsense'. It must be doing something if even medical staff are noticing their effects!

Another one to check on perhaps is Arnica (a homeopathic - not herbal - remedy for swelling and pain etc.). A friend of ours reported that her surgery was delayed 24 hours because she had taken arnica to get a head start on any soreness from her expected op. The surgeon explained that it aggravated intraoperative bleeding. Post-op arnica was highly recommended though!

"Bah humbug. This hedge-witch quackery is a load of old cobblers aint it."

;)

[GeordieLass]

Hold up there a minute Richnat there's a world of difference between herbal and homeopathic "remedies".

Tablets like St John's Wort contain naturally occuring compounds which have been studied, tested and proven to have measurable effects. Homeopathic remedies, on the other hand, have consistently failed to show that they have any more effect than a placebo when their effect are studied under proper double blind conditions.

Furthermore when you take homeopathic treatments they are so diluted that you are unlikely to even have one molecule of the substance you are supposed to be taking! It's the biggest con of age.

[Richnat]

Hi Geordie-Lass!

Yep there sure is a difference between "herbal" and "homeopathic" - I did say that Arnica was homeopathic but upon rereading it looked like I was bundling the two things together. I apologise and have edited my original post :)

As for homeopathy not working, hmmm...we use homeopathy at home anyway for minor things like headache, tetchiness or minor aches and pains. Why? Well, in our experience it does work for that kind of stuff, but you still have to be sensible. Sure, the effect is probably placebo (and we would be the last to dispute that) but if a condition improves, does it matter if the change is from a placebo or not? Main thing is that you feel better and the globuli here are a hell of a lot cheaper than an aspirin and they have no side effects :) Nat even had a dose of very painful tennis elbow cleared up with a homeopathic injection into the joint by an orthopaedic specialist (he recommended giving it a try since Nat was pregnant at the time and the standard stuff was contraindicated). This is all anecdotal heresay of course so it doesn't count for squat :D

As for our friend's Arnica story, well that was just a case of an alternative treatment that caused problems with someones surgery as was the topic of the thread.

Sorry for the hijack, Mexican_in_NZ :)

Cheers,

Rich and Nat

[GeordieLass]

Sorry, I did kind of go off on one there didn't I! It's one of my red flags!

It is a problem that a lot of people think that it's ok to take herbals because they're natural when in fact they are often the same compounds that are mimicked in conventional drugs and so you have to be just as careful with them as you would be with any other drug.

Homeopathy just gets me riled because I think people who are suffering are being conned and that they might be ruling out proven treatments in the process. Bottom line, always make sure your doctor knows exactly what you're taking, whatever it is.

[Richnat]

Sorry, I did kind of go off on one there didn't I!
ehehe no worries GeordieLass. No offence taken and besides, you're absolutely right. There's a heck of a lot of dangerous quackery out there.

Bottom line, always make sure your doctor knows exactly what you're taking, whatever it is
100% agree. Funnily enough though, it was our kids' doctor who started us off on it. Camomilla for fevers and tetchiness etc. They even now use homeopathy as a very effective (according to them) firstline treatment for middle ear infections. That was a real shock for us and if it hadn't come from the normally conservative senior partner in whom we have great trust, we would have refused and gone elsewhere. Interestingly the treatment worked as promised.

However, none of that affects the validity of what you said. These treatments should always be taken under the supervision/advice of a doctor especially for anything more serious than a scraped knee or a snotty nose.

Man, there's that thread hijack again. Sorry everyone. I shall now lock up my soapbox! :o

Cheers

Rich and Nat

[Mexican in NZ]

:p at least you and george are putting something here that will help other people to understand the importance of always telling your doctor what you use even if it is an over the counter thing, or the so call natural remedies.
Wish you guys and me had help other people that did not know this and to really make sure to spread the word ;) !
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Moorf!!!! hahaha u really made me laugh! enough garlic to keep the vampires off u! hahaha
Well, the good thing is that you did not have any complications :nice1 !
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Hope you all are ok, have a good one and God Bless,
Adriana
xoxoxo