Why the anaesthetic team needs to know

These medicines can slow the emptying of your stomach. Under general anaesthetic or deep sedation, stomach contents can get into the lungs and cause serious harm. The MHRA has highlighted this possible aspiration risk and the need for clinical assessment.

In someone taking these medicines, the usual fasting period may not settle every question about what is still in the stomach. This does not mean everyone has to stop treatment or have the procedure cancelled. The anaesthetic team needs to know your product, your current symptoms and any other risk factors.

Give the team specific details

Give the active ingredient and brand, the formulation, your dose, the date of your last dose and whether you started or increased treatment recently. Mention nausea, vomiting, feeling unusually full, reflux or other digestive symptoms. Say whether you take the medicine for diabetes and list your other medicines.

Hospital records may not show medicines prescribed privately. Bring the prescription details or a photo of the dispensing label if that helps. Include anything from an online service, even if you think of that supply as separate from your usual care.

Follow the team's plan

Ignore blanket online advice to stop for a set number of days. Guidance has changed over time and differs between hospitals. The team weighs the fasting instructions, the procedure, the anaesthetic technique, your symptoms and the effects of pausing treatment.

If they advise you to pause the medicine, ask how to manage your diabetes and when to restart. After a longer break, your previous dose may no longer be right. The procedure team and your prescriber should agree who is responsible, so you never have to guess when or how to restart.

Emergencies and smaller procedures

In an emergency, tell the treating team as soon as possible. A recent dose is never a reason to delay getting care. Clinicians adapt their approach once they know. The medicine forms one part of their assessment.

Sedation is also used outside major surgery, for some endoscopies and other procedures. Mention your treatment when you book, even for a short appointment. Keep the written instructions and check anything that contradicts them before the day. You need one joined-up plan that deals with aspiration risk and keeps the condition you are treated for under proper control.

After the procedure

Before you go home, check you are eating and drinking well enough for the medicine plan, and find out who will answer questions about restarting. Nausea after a procedure has several possible causes. Do not blame the GLP-1 medicine by default, and never take an extra dose to catch up.

Keep the anaesthetic team's instructions with your prescribing plan. If the two disagree, ask the teams to agree one instruction. Never pick whichever instruction looks easiest.

Sources

Your own medicine leaflet and prescriber come first. A source from another country does not mean the same rule applies in the UK.

  1. MHRA: Potential aspiration risk during anaesthesia or deep sedation gov.uk
  2. MHRA: GLP-1 medicines for weight loss and diabetes gov.uk
  3. NICE: A guide for prescribing medicines to manage overweight and obesity nice.org.uk

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