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The operation is on Monday, and I'm being a total wuss about the concept of being awake whilst it's being cut up and a 'saw' cuts through the bones. Surgeon said I could be knocked-out proper, but I got the impression that wasn't his preferred choice.
If I have the "you're awake" option, will I be dosed up so I don't really care what's happening or will I still be liable to freak-out when I smell bits of bone being grinded off?
You’ll not be able to feel a thing, which will be the weirdest thing, they’ll put a cover up and there’s no way you’ll see.
Your arm is so numb that anything you hear or smell, you will assume it’s related to something else. They cauterised my ‘wound’, the only reason I know that is because the surgeon explained that’s what she was doing.
I was all for general anaesthetic, not my first rodeo etc, but this really wasn’t that bad at all.
I had two generals for my wrist surgery. Was never offered a block. It was rivals with power tools. Not sure I would have wanted to watch the plate and screws, but I’d like to have seen the toys. I did get to talk anaesthetics though with someone who knew what my day job involves. Then I fell a asleep.
Hope it goes well.
Thanks, my resident LGI expert 🙂 So is the injection also a bit of a 'drug', like morphine, or will I be fully compos-mentis? That's the bit that worries me.
I'd love to stick some earphones in; just something so I'm not aware of what's happening for an hour or more
Edit: Thanks, TiRed.
You usually will be sedated and you can certainly ask to be sedated.
Fully compus mentis. It’s injecting the drug solely into your nerve so it blocks the signal from below to your brain (hence the armpit entry point). They have music on in the theatre, so it’s not like all you have to hear is the procedure. I was rather focused on the pain from a, separate, frozen shoulder (above the nerve block, sadly!) but you could quite happily hold a conversation with anyone in the room, the docs in my room were having a jolly good matter...
Genuinely, you’ll wonder what you were worried about. When they dropped the curtain, I was surprised by where my arm was on the table, and that it was bent at the elbow, I would have sworn it was straight. Apparently the mind thinks the body is still in the position it was when anaesthetised...
Cool, thanks.
I really wish I'd been able to chat more with surgeon beforehand, as he told me to, but his secretary has been on leave so my answerphone message for a quick natter has gone unnoticed.
Hey ho, best pop some of these; especially as much worse happens to people every day.
Swigging a few malts beforehand would probably be frowned upon?
I did get to talk anaesthetics though with someone who knew what my day job involves
Had a good chat with mine at my last hernia op - he said he'd talk me through all the induction drugs he was giving me so I could feel what each one was like
Nothing, absolutely nothing has stuck in my memory though he promised me afterwards that he'd told me - mighty good shit, that stuff !
but you could quite happily hold a conversation with anyone in the room,
I had an operation on my forehead under local. Eyes covered. Quite a surreal being present but in the dark while they were working. The surgeon and nurse both had the kind of German accent that people use when they are pretending to be mad scientists. Quite difficult to follow conversation when you have the faint sensation of your head being rummaged in (the thing they were doing was tiny - only left a half inch scar - but the numbness made it feel like their movements were huge). Occasionally there would be a pause and I'd realise that the conversation was being directed to me.
"Do you live locally?"
"......."
"Hello - I'm taking to you"
"Pardon?"
"Do you live locally?"
"Err - Yes - it was only a 100 yard walk to get here which is handy I suppose"
"Ahhh - I thought you looked familiar...... I recognise your nose I think"
For Bear - I think if the docs thought you needed a sedative they'd offer it - they'd have a good idea as to whether patients find the experience distressing - but not being able to see to feel whats going on means you're pretty detached from the whole experience.
A good friend of mine insisted (much to the surgeon's discomfort) - on having her hip replacement done without sedation. She just didn't think she should sleep through something that interesting happening to her body.
Had a good chat with mine at my last hernia op – he said he’d talk me through all the induction drugs he was giving me so I could feel what each one was like
At the commencement of of my Hernia op the anaesthetist said "I'm just going to give you a nice gin and tonic"
Swigging a few malts beforehand would probably be frowned upon?
The reason they have all those alcohol gel hand sanitisers dotted around hospitals is the mask the smell of booze on the surgeon's breath.
The reason they have all those alcohol gel hand sanitisers dotted around hospitals is the mask the smell of booze on the surgeon’s breath.
That's the kind of reassurance I was looking for!
I feel like such a dick as my Dad has gone through some fairly traumatic Glaucoma operations recently, fully awake, without the slightest complaint.
But be assured, I'll post any hilarious X-rays or stories of misery for your amusement.
Thanks, all 🙂
Oh I’ve been fully conscious for eye surgery too 😊 I could smell the laser burning my retina.
The arm stuff was a piece of piss...
Collectively this forum is quite a burden on the nhs isn’t it 🙂
Lol
The feeling of your finger being pulled apart (literally, stretched out), the sensation of the saw cutting your bones and the following 'reaming' of the bones to fit the new joint into was all pretty gross.
But: The sedative that they gave me was hilarious. A few seconds after being administered: "Just tell me your name and date of birth"...."Rirrcha.....oooh. That's working"
Everyone, and I'm a bit jaded with my experience of NHS to date, was brilliant. The anaesthetist (Oliver?) and his accomplice were hilarious and put me at ease - and during the surgery even kept popping into make sure I was ok/talk to me.
And according to the surgeon: "It went better than I expected" - and holding up my white floppy arm, the swelling has gone down dramatically and I'm just left with a load of excess flabby flesh which will hopefully go down. Weirdly, I couldn't see any stitches along the scar.
He also made an inferred penis joke about my dressed finger. Top man.
Two weeks, dressing off and we'll see what the outcome is*...thanks for all the advice/piss-taking 🙂
*fingers crossed, etc
Two weeks, dressing off and we’ll see what the outcome is*
If there's a sweepstake I'm going with "There is no finger, its all dressing"
Ha!
I have a back-up career planned.
Just happened across this....
Feeling better?
