Guest guest Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 I remember there being a discussion about nitrous oxide for anesthesia and regression in the past--but I didn't pay attention because my son had had it in the past and had not had a problem with it....We're seeing major behavior issues/regression since his scope--and he was given nitrous oxide and I am trying to figure out if there is a connection and where I can find more information. Would love any input. Thanks- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 this is very long and a cross-post, but it should explain everything In chelatingkids2 , Sym Rankin <symc@m...> wrote: > I have been reading a lot of post about anesthesia problems. I am a > nurse anesthetist. Hopefully I can explain a few things to everyone. > > Our children are deficient in B12. When we start the B12 shots, most > of us see great improvement in our children. Do a Google search on > B12 and nitrous oxide. Inhaling nitrous can deplete B12. It seems to > start to cause problems after 30 minutes of exposure and with multiple > exposures. > > Where I practice, this is how we take care of children. Usually for a > pre-op we give them Versad in some grape juice. (Versad is a > valium-type drug that relaxes you and makes you forget.) Then the > children are brought to the operating room and a mask is placed on > their face. High flow of nitrous, O2 and Sevoflourane ( Halothane is > not used anymore) are used to get the child asleep and then an IV is > started. Nitrous is usually given for the whole case. When an adult > is given a general anesthetic, they have an IV. Diprivan( a > pentothal-type drug) is used for induction of anesthesia, and Versad > and a narcotic are usually given. Anesthesia is maintained with either > of the gases Sevoflourane or Suprane. If the case is short we can use > just Diprivan given IV as the anesthetic. There are many ways to do an > anesthetic but this is just the basics. > > My advice if your child has to have an anesthetic is to ask to speak to > the anesthesia personnel before you go to the hospital. Stress to them > that your child has a B12 deficiency and to limit the use of nitrous. > Tell them there are reports of serious regressions after anesthetics. > If they cannot start an IV on your child, they can give nitrous for > just a few minutes and then turn it off, or not use it at all and just > give oxygen with the gas. In my practice I have stopped giving > nitrous to my adults because of the link to nausea. > > About the MTHFR gene...well, we all cannot go out and get genetic > testing, but we can assume we have a defect in folate metabolism. Last > year I started having numbness in my hands and face. The MRI was > negative and no one could tell me what was wrong. From my own research > I thought it was from being exposed to the nitrous for over 20 years. > I found that I got numbness when I would be in a room doing children > all day. Since then I avoid doing children. My doctor also put me on > folic acid for a high homocystine level. I am now also on B12. > Unfortunately mainstream medicine does not link autism and B12. They > still think it is a deficiency of Ritallin or Resperidal. > I hope this helps. > > Sym Rankin > Mom to 5 > > Arch Dis Child 2001;85:510 ( December ) > > Letters to the editor > > Nitrous oxide and vitamin B12 > > EDITOR, > ---------- > > The paper by Kanagasundaram et al1 on the use of nitrous oxide to > alleviate pain and anxiety during painful procedures fails to mention > the effect of this gas on cobalamin metabolism. Nitrous oxide > inactivates cob(I)alamin, the active derivative of vitamin B12 and > essential cofactor for the transfer of the methyl group from > methyltetrahydrofolate to homocysteine to form methionine. For subjects > with good body stores of cobalamin this effect is unimportant, but > no-one using this agent should remain unaware of the potentially > devastating complications in the nervous system of using nitrous oxide > in subjects who are of borderline or deficient vitamin B12 status. > Onset of subacute combined degeneration affecting the brain and spinal > cord is a well documented event when individuals with low body stores > of cobalamin are exposed to nitrous oxide.2 > > There is a long list of situations which put children at special risk > of cobalamin deficiency > ---------- > > for example, diets low in animal products, synthetic feeding of any > description, small bowel malfunction, any prolonged illness with > disturbance of feeding behaviour, especially if combined with increased > metabolic demands > ---------- > > for example, systemic malignancy or chemotherapy. Children with chronic > conditions often need painful procedures, and depleted cobalamin stores > may not be apparent unless measurements of serum B12 are made > routinely. What is more, repeated use of nitrous oxide depletes the > body stores of cobalamin even in well people. > > Given the scale of use which would result from routine use of nitrous > oxide in children undergoing painful procedures, there should be real > concern about the potential for an accident in a child with occult > cobalamin deficiency. The message must be: never forget vitamin B12 > when thinking of using nitrous oxide. > > ISABEL SMITH > Clinical Audit Department, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond > Street, London WC1N 3JH, smithi@g... > > > References > > > > 1. > Kanagasundaram SA, Lane LJ, Cavaletto BP, et al. Efficacy and safety > of nitrous oxide in alleviating pain and anxiety during painful > procedures. Arch Dis Child 2001;84:492-495[Abstract/Free Full Text]. > > 2. > Lee P, I, Piesowicz A, et al. Spastic parapareisis after > anaesthesia. Lancet 1999;353:554[Medline]. > > © 2001 by Archives of Disease in Childhood hth emma > > > > I remember there being a discussion about nitrous oxide for anesthesia > and regression in the past--but I didn't pay attention because my son > had had it in the past and had not had a problem with it....We're > seeing major behavior issues/regression since his scope--and he was > given nitrous oxide and I am trying to figure out if there is a > connection and where I can find more information. Would love any > input. > > Thanks- > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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