Pre- Op Tests

I went today for my pre-op testing. All they asked for was 4 tubes of blood. I discussed my worry of general anesthesia, and now they say I may not be put under. They are talking about maybe an epidural with sedation, because of my asthma/ h^bp. GREAT!! Just when I'm getting use to the (general) idea I get thrown another curve. So has anyone had this??????
I just want this OVER WITH like Today------- OCT. 11 is soooo far away!

Geminilady - Yes, others have had epidurals and from what I've read they liked them. While waiting for others to reply, use the search engine at the top and search by keyword "epidural". That will give you some additional posts to read.

I have an epidural with sedation for my tah/bso due to my ashtma. In my case no one even mentioned the idea of the epidual in place of general until I was in pre-op. My gyn had said general would be fine but then the anestheolgist said he perfers to do the epidural with asthma patients, He said the tube they insert could trigger an asthma attack, he could deal with that but said it was better to avoid. My asthma had been undercontrol so well that i didn't want a set back on that front.

A helpful hint that my gp suggested (which was a life saver). My gp suggested bringing my asthma meds with me...said sometimes the nurses get so busy that they forget or are late bringing the meds, he said this way i could stay on schedule. Can you believe my hospital didn't stock two of my meds? if i didn't have them with me i would have has a problem.

If you do have the epidural try to get them to remove it as soon as possible. i found pain pills controlled the pain better. I also had problems going after the cath was removed (doctor said a lot of women have this problem while still on the epidural) it wasn't fun having to have the cath re-inserted a few times.

Good Luck!!!

I've run across many on the boards who have had epidurals with sedation. Everyone that I've encountered has been pleased. Dot's idea of doing a search is a great one.

Hi ladies! I'm going for my tests on Monday plus 1/2 pint of blood that day, and the second 1/2 pint the following Monday. My hospital always does pre-op auto-donation of your own blood so that patients can be assured nothing can go wrong.
I was very surprised at my "small" list of pre-op tests. I expected full bloodwork, an EKG, chest x-ray, etc.

Bloodwork is all they're doing with a fasting glucose the morning of surgery (I'm diabetic). Anyone else out there get a full workup or a short one like mine? I'm just surprised, not worried.

Take care, all of you!!! Chris -- OH I FORGOT: I'm to use a laxative after dinner the night before. Any recommendations? I picked up a box of Women's Correctal. Will this do the trick?
THANKS!! And love to all......