epidural vs. general

Hi,

I am scheduled for TAH on July 9 th. My problem is I can't decide on the anesthesia. I had general for sinus surgery over 25 years ago and was given Compazine for the nausea. I was severely allergic to it and went into anaphalactic shock. I almost didn't make it out of the hospital. Then when I had my last child 22 years ago, I had a spinal and they paralyzed the bottom part of my lungs so I felt like I couldn't breath. I got scared and moved when I shouldn't have (spinal had not worn off) and got horrible headaches after. I also have Gastric Reflux and I think they will have to put a tube down my throat for that if I go with the general. I am scared to death of the general, afraid that I will be given Compazine by mistake, but I am also afraid of the headaches. Does anyone remember how long you are unable to move after having the epidural? Do you always get nauseas after the general? I am so confused, any help would be greatly appreciated.

I had the epidural and it war off while I was in the recovery room. So that was about a hour after my surgery. Good luck in your discussion hope that this helped. Peggy

I had an epidural with light general and woke up in no pain, not sick, and became aware of my surroundings pretty quickly. It is not the same as a spinal where you can't sit up or move around. In fact they encourage you to move your legs some so not to get blood clots in your legs. I had my second child with an epidural and love it. You are not aware of the operation at all because of the light general that they give. I did not want to be awake for sure. I had my surgery at 7:30a.m. and the epidural was taken out the next morning and then I was put on pain pills. Once the catheter is out you will be up and moving around.

Good luck to you. It is great once it is all over with.

s

You can request something for the nausea before hand, and some people don't always have nausea after surgery.

I had a bad experience with general in 1976. I didnt wake up for 10 hours. My doctor and the A-man assured me that things were much safer and better than they used to be so I had general for my TVH. I had 2 failed epis in the past and wasnt willing to take that risk again.

My general was a breeze. I went to sleep so quickly that I dont remember closing my eyes and I woke up what seemed like a few minutes later.. but in fact was 2.5 hours later.. right when I was supposed to. I wasnt sick and I was fairly clear-headed. I could respond and talk.. making perfect sense. Actually the first thing out of my mouth was "Do I have a catheter?" LOL! ( I couldnt feel it so I asked- No I didnt have one )

I had no nausea from my general. I had meds before and during surgery to prevent it. I had no post anesth. headache and I am a migraine sufferer for over 20 yrs, so that was a nice surprise!

As far as allergies.. I can understand your feeling. I am allergic to many many narcotics. All of the normal ones including anything with codeine and also percoset (hydrocodone & oxycodone family).. I am allergic to and I go into anaphylactic shock if I take them. I was very nervous about that, considering I was having major surgery and needed to be able to have something for pain. I was banded with a big bright red band that had my allergies on it and it was also posted on my chart and above my bed. Things went just fine.. as you can see. Im still alive . I did make sure to inform the A-man of my allergies (actually he asked me and we discussed it in depth) and you should too. Tell everyone that will listen, and also ask about every med the nurses are about to give you. My most used phrase in the castle was "What is that?"

I had Zofran for nausea.. which is a very good anti-nausea med used alot for chemotherapy patients. I believe its quite common now to use Zofran instead of the compazine and phenergan that used to be common years ago.

As far as epidurals.. I cant offer much advise. I had 2, both failed. Many ladies do have them sucessfully and love it.