Has anyone had surgery with dysautonomia- does it make it worse or what was your experience- I need my pacemaker battery changed soon and I am nervous how my body is going to react to everything ie the surgery itself, drugs, recovery etc

I understand your fear of anesthesia and POTS. I have had POTS for 14 years and had surgery for the first time during those years last year (ovary and dermoid cyst removed). I was worried about the anesthesia and asked my POTS specialist if there was any special info to give the docs. Here is what he wrote "There is no protocol for POTS patients and anaesthesia. The anesthetist should know that you are likely to be sensitive to medications such as adrenergic agonists that could increase blood pressure or heart rate and to avoid anesthetics known to activate the sympathetic nervous system such as desflurane. You would probably do better with a general anaethetic than an epidural" He stated epidurals could lower blood pressure too much. Anyway I had a consult with an anesthesiolgist b/f my surgery - never the one who is in the operating room though - and everything went very well. I was okay when I woke up and when I got home. Needless to say I was weak for a while but it wasn't as bad as I thought it might ahve been. I hope this info helps!

I agree with Canada. I had surgery, and did very well after, and it was big surgery. Two knee replacements within 30 days of each other.

I have had seven surgeries or procedures requiring anesthesia (four major surgeries) in the last two years. I did pretty well after all of them. I make sure that the anethesiologist knew about my POTS but I usually explained it as heart arrythmias and blood pressure issues. Once they hear you have the potential for any heart issue they pay closer attention. They made sure I got extra fluids and kept a very close eye on me. My cardiologist also checked up on me in the hospital. My biggest fear was my BP dropping lower than it normally does because of the pain meds but I did fine. Just take your time recovering and speak up if you have any weird feelings or dizziness at all. Believe me, they don't want you to have a problem.....best of luck to you - I'm confident you'll do fine.