My mother is 71 and an alcoholic. She is fairly weak and eats little. Last week she fell and broke two fingers. Now the doctors say she needs surgery on the fingers and it is scheduled for this Friday. My parents say its a same-day thing and she will be sent home afterward. I am concerned that she is not up for this due to her weakness and it's probably a risky recovery. Her blood is very thin. Also, I believe she will not stop drinking, up until the surgery and during recovery. My experience so far is that the medical community turns a deaf ear to the alcoholic thing and just brushes it aside. Last year she ended up in the ER and I told them up front she is an alcoholic, and she ended up going into withdrawl there, and it was not pleasant. Anybody have any thoughts on the upcoming surgery? I just spoke with her and I know she is hesitant. She is talking about taking off the bandaging, and cancelling the surgery.
They may barely put her out for the surgery - just give her something to make her drowsy, along with a local. It's so much safer than it used to be.
Are the fingers shattered? If not, just tape them to a splint and let them heal, like you do with toes! It's a hard one.
It's much more well known now that many "sweet old ladies" are alcoholics. For your mom to get the best treatment the doctor and the anesthesiologist must know this. Maybe a local anesthetic with a lesser surgery is possible. The main thing is to make sure the medical staff knows what they are dealing with. They may opt for one type of anesthetic over another if they have all the facts.
If anyone is between a rock and a hard place it's you. Do your best to communicate the facts with the medical staff and then give your mom the best support you can. That's about all you can do.
Take care of yourself, too.
Carol
Also, an alcoholic has much different tolerance levels than a nonalcoholic does when it comes to anesthesia. The anesthesiologist must be informed that your mom is an alcoholic.
I am familiar with this. I am an alcoholic, sober 16 years. I have had surgeries while sober and I was told early on to inform the anesthesiologist that I was a recovering alcoholic. The first surgery I ever had after getting sober I woke up in the middle of for several seconds. I remember to this day someone in the surgery saying, "Whoa, she's way too awake." It was after this experience that I was told to inform the anesthesiologist about my alcoholism. We just have higher tolerance levels.
Good luck to your mom :-)