TAH with epidural only?

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Originally Posted by Shempetta I sure wouldn't want to have been conscious during my hysterectomy. Especially when I found out that the doc told my hubby my uterus was so hard they thought they would have to chisel away at it! Hope this helps: I too was terrified of being put under. I was a basket case for my hysteroscopy/d & c. When I found out I needed the hysterectomy I went ballistic. Then I decided that knowledge is power. I studied the history of anesthesia (very interesting!), how well trained anesthesiologists are, the products that are used to induce and maintain sleep etc. How these docs are equipped to handle just about anything that can happen and have a lot of control over oxygen level, blood pressure etc. I found that mortality from anesthesia is a ridiculous figure--if I remember correctly, it was like almost one in a million. And those figures include the very elderly, heavy smokers etc. Once I learned all this, I went into the OR without any fear whatsoever. Things went great with no after effects (those can be dealt with also). Also surgeons prefer general is used because it relaxes all the muscles in the body, which makes surgery easier. The decision lies with you and your doc but I wanted to let you know my experience and what I did about my fear. Good Luck!

You're very right. Knowledge is power. You provided some interesting information and food for thought. Thank you.

Thank you for the responses everyone. I still need to discuss the issue with my gyn oncologist and see what she has to say.