general anesthesia vs. spinal?

Hi..I'm new to this site, it's awesome! I have soooo many questions, don't know where to start! I've been diagnosed, last week , with uterine fibroids, "loaded with them" as my Dr. said! I've had very heavy bleeding ,cramps and back pain for a year or two, have been on 4 different birth control pills in the last 6 months, with no change. Having 10-14 day heavy periods really messes up your life, I run a horse boarding stable, lots of heavy work, activity,riding and I always feel dead tired!! So I think I'm ready to do this?! I'm 44, so waiting till menopause seems way to far away.I just hate the idea of general anesthesia, I guess it's a control issue! Has anyone had this done with spinal? I'm looking at a TAH, and hopefully they can do something about my bladder, I have a prolapse of my bladder and rectum(lucky me!!).It sure would be great to spend less time in the bathroom(4 times a night!). Anyway, if anyone has any advice about the anesthesia , I would really appreciate it. Thanks a million!!!

My doctor suggested an epidural and I found it to be a wonderful alternative to a general. Search post op posts for epidural and spinal and you will find a lot of threads; this has come up numerous times. In fact, a sister with the name "horsewoman" had a spinal and highly recommended it as well.

I found the epidural to have far fewer side effects than a general. I don't know what the difference is exactly between an epidural and a spinal (I think it has to do with the location of the insertion of the anesthestic). Anyhow, do some searching and you will find a lot of posts.

I had sedation with the epidural so I do not remember ANYTHING AT ALL after they gave me a shot of something called versed. When I woke up in the recovery room I had to check my abdomen to see if they ended up having to do a TAH instead of a TVH (thank goodness, they did not surprise me).

Best to you.

OH MY GOD! Your whole situation is so much like mine! I have a private stable and have a trainer that works out of it. I do all of the "crap" work. I too have had flooding, back pain, fibroids and the like. I am scheduled for March 1st for a TAH. I have had about 5 surgeries before this so I am not afraid of general anesthesia. I am actually more afraid of a spinal. I had 2 kids without anything because I just don't like the idea of a needle in my spinal area. Call me a wimp! I do know that many actually prefer the spinal because you don't get sick but I have never gotten sick. When are you scheduled?
PS Just a horsey question. Do you use shavings and if so are you having difficulty getting them now?

Hey Hav2Ride,
We're twins!! I'm going March 1 too! I too have fibroids, heavy bleeding (I had to wear Depends to work several days because of the flooding), etc. I've also thought of either a local or general. I think I'll pick the general because the time goes by faster. LOL. I don't think I want to be awake for this one.

Hi hav2ride, that is too funny!!I do everything here, I've got 12 horses, I do stalls, maintain fences, mow, etc. etc....My hubby is a Firefighter and works a second job on his days off, so he is'nt alot of help around here, besides its my passion, not his!! I haven't had a problem getting shavings, I get them by the truckload, loose, they are expensive though. $70.00 for a 6 yard truckload. I'm also worried about finding good help while I'm out of commission, so I haven't set a surgery date yet. I'm thinking of waiting till school is out, then there are a few high school age girls that could do the work for me during the summer. I have 2 boys, 13 and 17, they are not into horses at all, but I'm sure I could get them to help out a little! One of my biggest reasons for having TAH is I don't even feel like riding anymore, I bleed for 10-14 days every month, there is no way I could get on a horse!! I really miss it, used to show Adult amatuer hunters, but not in a few years, starting to feel really out of shape and useless!! I guess it's time to do something drastic! I feel better just yakking here! Thanks

I have had 6 different surgeries, and I prefer a general. I do not want to know what they are doing. I also found out that I could avoid throwing up if I avoid All narcotics before surgery. (anything to relax you) I have tried this the last few times and I have felt great. The dr said the part of the brain that handles narcotics is right next to the part for nausea, and some people have cross over. Anyway, I am trying that this time, but it is hard to go in to the OR wide awake. It may be worth throwing up???
DebK TAH 3/2/01

I've had several surgeries in the past few years and have not had any pre-op medication, though it seemed standard practice in the past. I've gone into the OR totally awake and unsedated and found it to be fine. I've been introduced to everyone there, there's nothing scary going on, and things happen very fast, no wasted time, once you're there. People are friendly and attentive (after all, you ARE the center of attention!) and after an I.V. is put in your hand, the very first thing that happens is you get your anesthetic, whatever that may be. I had a combination of epidural and gas with my hysterectomy because the anesthesiologist was hesitant to give me a spinal or just an epidural because of what I was having done. He said he would need to freeze me so high that I would feel like I couldn't breathe and some people find that scary. He also said I would feel tugging and pulling. I allowed him to have his way. I had no narcotics of any kind, not even in my epidural, had one of the new gasses that leave your body quickly, and experienced absolutely no nausea whatsoever. A very pleasant change from experiences years ago!

This was a real hot issue with me before my hyster. I met personally with an anesthesiologist prior to my surgery and it was "iffy" because of all that was being done. By the time I got into the OR my surgeon made the final decision and it was for a general though I voiced my reservations. There was a debate in the OR about the time constraints imposed by a spinal. I guess I wasn't sedated pre-op either. My surgery wound up taking four hours so the decision for the general was correct. I had only a slight bit of nausea for a very brief time the night immediately following the operation and it was controlled with phenergan. What I remember the most was coming out of the surgery with my mouth so dry I thought I would swallow my tongue.

I've had no problems with generals but there are some who simply can't handle them.

Good luck,

I had a spinal with sedation and would highly recommend it. I slept through the whole thing except I do remember the anesthesiogist asking me once during the surgery how I was doing. I have no memory of anything else. The anesthesiogist asked me before the surgery how "awake" I wanted to be and I told him not at all and I wasn't. I had no nausea, headaches, backaches, or any other problems after the spinal and didn't hit that 3 week wall during recovery that so many sisters who go with a general seem to hit. I can't say enough positive things about it - it was definitely the way to go for me.

Thanks for all the great advice, this site is really wonderful!!