Bleomycin and anesthetic

[ivannabanana]

Hi Everyone

Hope you are all doing well... My hubby is doing real well and all the doctors are pleased wyth hys progress so far...Ive been coming on the site styll as i lyke to keep up to date wyth everyone, just because my hubby doing well dont mean i dont need you guys, and worry about you all, ... My husband George has to get hys Stents removed on 11 FEB and im a bit worried now as he has had Bleomycin... Im sure i read somewhere that youhave to be careful wyth Anesthetic after being on Bleomycin... Its the same Doctor who put them in that is removing them and he is very good but he put them before George started hys Chemo... If i know what to ask hym i will being do so, but im not right sure what the problem is wyth Anesthetic and Bleomycin and i dont want to appear to be telling thys very experianced Doctor what i thynk he should be doing but at the same point i want to know he is aware of the danger... I need help and any information or advice is greatly appreciated as always...thanks again and Bless, Yvonne

[dadmo]

Just make sure the doctor and anesthetist know that your husband was on Bleomycin. What they will need to do is monitor the oxygen concentration while he is asleep. They should be looking at keeping the concentration below 30%, if they go above that it may cause pulmonary toxicity. You may want to read this and this

[ivannabanana]

Hi everyone

My hubby had hys pre-op today for the removal of hys stents and we mention about hym being on Bleomycin before, he knew how to dea;l wyth it... BUt he couldnt ansa 2 of my Q's and so i turn to my trusty maties on here...Q1 How long does somone that has had Bleomicyn have to be careful wyth the oxygen? i mean is thys for life or months or years?

Q2. We know that he couldnt do deep sea diving but he neva did anyway but i wondered about going on a flight?how would he be?

As usual all info greatly appreciated..

Georges goes for hys 1st follow up ct scan on Friday 2nd feb, so im having quite a tense tyme between that and going in for the op for hys stents.... I sure hope everyone is improving and feeling better.... bless Yvonne

[dadmo]

Yvonne:
I copied this from the tcrc page. I hope it helps.

John S, one of the TC survivors on our email support list, did some research into the bleomycin question. He asked a couple of doctors about problems associated with oxygen exposure. He learned that the more Bleo you receive, the greater the risk of this pulmonary toxicity. Most doctors don't worry too much about this side effect until you're up in the 300-400 units range. His doctor recommended a MedicAlert bracelet for a year or two just in case you're knocked unconscious and they decide to put you on oxygen. However, he said that if it's life-threatening situation, it's best to get the oxygen. Ditto for oxygen masks on an airplane. If they drop down, put them on.

The other question he had concerned scuba diving. After all, you're not breathing concentrated oxygen, just compressed oxygen. He consulted with Daniel A. Nord from the DAN Medical Staff. DAN (Diver's Alert Network) is an organization dedicated to dive safety and medical issues. Daniel wrote back explaining that, "Bleomycin is a cytotoxic drug of particular importance to divers as it causes pulmonary toxicity in generally 4% of patients, usually in the form of pneumonitis/fibrosis. Even in patients with no obvious pulmonary toxicity, the lungs are sensitized to raised levels of inspired oxygen, causing an adult respiratory distress syndrome. In general, anyone who has had bleomycin should not be exposed to partial pressures of oxygen greater than 0.3 ata's, approx. 15 feet salt water on normoxic air. Sorry to have to advise that from a medical perspective, diving is not recommended. If you would like to discuss this in further detail, please feel free to contact this office directly at (919) 684-2948."

We asked Dr Nichols about the issues associated with bleomycin. He told us, "that patients who received bleomycin should always make sure that, now and forever, their doctors and anesthesiologists should be reminded about this before any surgery or sedation. I suspect the risk of O2 toxicity declines over time, but as far as I know this is unknown. I don't think any additional information need be related to medical personnel and always, if oxygen is required in a life threatening emergency (eg heart attack or respiratory arrest etc.) it should be given." We have also asked Dr Lawrence Einhorn at Indiana University about the same thing, and his position is that the a good part of bleomycin toxicity issue is overstated and the negative aura has grown over time without any medical evidence.

So there you have it: Put on the mask, sell your respirator and tanks, and buy a medical alert bracelet or necklace! Or not... Keep your eyes open. I hope to give this issue more space in the near future.

[ivannabanana]

Gosh thankyou so much....I cant thank you enough for all that info...what would i do without you all...i really do appreciate all your help, and so does my hubby, he neva come online he dont know the first thyng about computers or broadband but i tell hym everythyng that goes on in the forum, he really appreciates all your help.....He goes for first follow up scan thys friday so will keepthe forum updated.... Bless you all, Yvonne :-)

[Hopeful]

My husband had bleo toxicity and I saw the results when you are on higher levels of oxygen. It isn't fun and should be avoided at all costs.

I would HIGHLY recommend a Medicalert bracelet. Kevin wore one stating the bleo and also what other meds he was on that were relevant.

Patti