“How soon after anesthesia can my sister eat?”
My sister has diabetes. She has to have a D&C, which requires anesthesia. It's so important to keep her blood sugars level: how soon after the anesthesia can she eat?
3 Answers
With a short procedure, she can start with some juice as soon as she feels up to it. If she has no nausea, she can progress to her normal diet quickly. I recommend starting with a small meal, avoiding greasy or spicy foods.
All anesthetic providers and surgeons are aware by time of the procedure what type of Diabetes (Type I or II) and what blood glucose levels the patient typically has. We compensate for no food typically given 8 hours prior to surgery by monitoring the glucose level, and providing sugar and insulin (to reduce sugar) if needed. Since some patients may be unable to eat due to sedation or nausea post surgery, the IV with sugar if needed, and glucose monitoring continues until the patient is able to eat on their own.
The surgeon will probably be giving IV fluids containing glucose to maintain her blood sugar until she is ready to eat. How soon that will be depends on many factors such as what medicine she is on, what kind of anesthesia they use, how long the procedure lasts, etc. so I can't tell you a definitive answer. The physician or nurse can judge this as you go along. Be sure they know so has diabetes & the medicine she is on so the can observe her blood sugar & give proper treatment.
