Surgery While Pumping

Has anyone had surgery while pumping? Did you have any complications?

I had surgery this March with my pump.

My Endocrinologist had me lower my basals throughout the day to 1.0 (I was from 1.2-1.6 throughout the day). I kept the new basal from before surgery until I was eating and moving around. I was stayed at about a 140 after surgery for a few days. I was ok with that even though its a little higher than I'd like to be... I was on some pretty intense pain meds and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have recognized a low if it happened.

I was adamant about staying on the pump and controlling it myself. They did fingersticks every 4-6 hrs, but I was testing all the time.

I have had four "procedures" that included anesthitics (sp?). Three were very short, so no problems there. I just made sure my readings were a bit higher and no problems at all. I actually had foot surgery and everything went very well. During a very long sedation dental procedure where I was in "twilight" my CGM went off as I dipped to 70. But I had given the dentist a quick reference card on using the pump, so they were able to turn off the alarm, and get me to drink some juice, so all was well.

i have had countless surgeries over the years. All of which i had had D. i just informed the anesthesiologist and i wore the pump through the entire procedure. the doc just tested my BS during the surgury. Before i was on the pump, i just told the anestheiologist beforehand. I cant remember if i took my morning basal injection or not. BUT i have always schedualed my procedures as early in the morning as possible, so that i can eat some (yummy) breakfast.

any questions, please dont hesitate to reach out to me. Daisy Mae

I've had multiple surgeries on the pump. My first one, a spinal fusion that took over 8 hours when I was on a medtronic pump they had me remove it and managed me with injections until i was able to move enough a few days later to put my pump back on, and as soon as I could they begged me to because they couldn't control it anywhere near as well as the pump.

I also had a gastric bypass almost 2 years ago while I was on the omnipod. I wore it on my arm and just set my basal rate to 0 during the surgery since I wasn't going to be able to fix any lows. My surgeon was paranoid leaving it on but the anesthesiologist actually argued with him that it would be better to leave it on so I wouldn't have to strain to put another on after the surgery. There was no issue with it and I ran it at half basal rate after that.

I had an umbilical hernia repaired last year. The anesthesiologist marvelled at it. The surgeon didn't actually seem too put off by it. It may be that they ask my A1C which was ok so I "passed" and didn't raise any alarms. I got back to running about 1/2 week earlier although I waited the full 8 weeks rx'ed to get back to weight lifting and, when I did, lost about 40 lbs off chest presses and it took a while to get back.

BG was lowish the AM of so I turned basal way down and forgot about it and it was 130ish which raised alarm of the admitting nurse about 2 hours before. I also went early. I think that people with diabetes may get preferential time slots or something as my dad (same hospital...) griped that he's always been in the afternoon. One thing I noticed was that while I was pretty hungry afterwards, the food tasted vile, I guess the anesthetic or something?

I have had surgery with my pump several times but the procedures only lasted 1 to 3 hours and I was able to take charge of my BG needs soon after awakening in recovery. But I have also had surgery that lasted 8+ hours and was kept in a induced comma for over 20 hours, I was unable to take responsibility for my BG control for over a week and was on IV insulin,then MDI, and finally back on my pump.

I kept my pump on while having an appendectomy with no problem. You need to check your basal as you will not be doing much activity at first and may not be eating regular food. Be sure to talk to your doctor. Sometimes nurses are uneasy about this gizmo as they may not understand how it works.

i have had many surguries while on the pump. i have simply told the anesthesiologist that i am wearing a pump, and then they test my sugars while i am under, obviously depending on the length of the surgury.if i am in range, the Doc does nothing; if i need some glucose, they put some in the IV, if i am high, they let it be.use you best judgement. there is always the opportunity to detatch for the surgury and correct any highs you may have after with a correction bolus.talk to your endo before the surgury and ask his/her advice. everybody, i guess, is different. but overall, my experiences have been excellent. good luck, be well, Daisy Mae

I have had 1 surgery with my omni pod and pretty much I told them I was leaving it on and I said what my basal rate was. They only fought with me a few times about what it was and my surgery was 2 hours. It all worked.

I also had appendectomy while on a pump. Thank goodness it was in an unobtrusive spot, so they decided they would leave it in and put in aside during the surgery. Anesthesiologist had them check me once or twice during the surgery, and then the nurses checked me a few times after, but I totally resumed checking in between and managing the pump myself.

I had major back surgery a few years ago to fix my scoliosis. I think they took my pump off and put me on one of their own. Then when I got out of surgery I hooked back up to my own and just told them when I needed food throughout the week. It was a six hr. Surgery so it was easier for them to just put me on one of theirs that they knew how to work. :)

I've had 2 surgeries while on the pump and they put me on an insulin drip at the hospital and would switch to glucose water if i was going lower (someone tested my blood sugar every so often)

I had orthoscopic knee surgery last week for a big tear in my miniscus. Discussed what we needed to do with my D with the anesthesiologist- he is the one in charge of the patient while we're "out". The plan was to not eat, and for me to be at least 100 for the surgery. So the day was a big basal test for a surgery at 1:45PM.

The day went smashingly well. I was 95-110 all day. I was hungry, but was on track UNTIL I GOT TO SURGERY. I knew I was a little stressed, but then the surgery time was moved up. I got rushed down the hall to get ready. Then my BS dropped to 58. CRAP!

Since I couldn't eat, 5% dextrose drip was the fix. This made me mad, but after the surgery I was 192. And I knew I could fix it. With my pump still on, I started working on it as-soon-as I was awake.

You need to talk through your plan and comfort level with your anesthesiologist.

Another issue I had post-surgery was with pain killers. Hydrocodone kills pain, but can also cause constipation. After knee surgery, I’ve been taking this. From a rib break from a cycling pile up last year, I had some left over senokot for constipation and started this up. Then, my BS control went really bad!

I was thinking the bad control was from inactivity, or stress, or pain. I’ve done my best to get my body moving again- walking, riding, and other exercise. Doing this has put me ahead of the recovery curve, but my BS still stunk. I stopped taking the strong pain killers, and then a couple day letter I ended taking senokot. The day I quit taking senokot was the day I regained control with my BS.