awake during procedure

I had the spinal for my myomectomy for the same reason as you - nausea and dizziness after my C-section. That was the worst dizziness episode ever!! The room was literally spinning like slot machines! Anyway, everyone is right, they give you pain meds in the spinal that last 24 hours or more, they give you drugs to relax and more pain drugs right after. But I would definitely ask for the patch in advance. Our hospital was out and the anesthesiologist had to call it in to a nearby pharmacy as I was about ready to be rolled down the hall. My DH had to run and pick it up and get it back to me quick!

They still gave me anti-nausea meds afterwards. I was awake during the whole thing and still remember most of it. My Doc showed me the fibroid - it was gross!!

Although I ended up having general, I had planned to have an epidural because I wanted to be awake. My doctor told me that they usually give you something where they can call your name and you hear them, but most of the time you drift off to sleep and then don't remember any of it because of the Versed.

Thanks Jensuejohn! thats encouraging news for me I will be asking for that "six pack" b4 they give that epidural !! Sounds like that calms the nerves a little...which I know I will need !

lol. I like the way u put that ( slot machines ) just a long as I dont get sick to my stomach !! When shld I ask for that patch??? May I pls ask what does DH stand for? I have seen it in many threads, is it for ur hubby?
thanks so much !

Honestly, I don't know what the D stands for in DH. I know the H is for hubby and as I am military, in my mind I always say Dependent for D (LOL) because the military refers to all family members as Dependent Child, Dependent Spouse, etc. Hee Hee, I don't think my State Trooper husband would like to be called Dependent anything!!

The patch can be put on any time the morning of the surgery. I would ask for a consult with the anaesthesiologist during your pre-op appt and make sure the hospital has the patch on hand.

Good luck.

Hi,

I just had my surgery 3 weeks ago. I had a spinal, epidural combo. I was given versed <sp? At some point I was also given morphine. I was told about the morphine, I was awake when they gave me the versed <sp?

I remember some things about my surgery, however, days later.... ??? For example, I know when the surgery was over as I was being talked to by nurses in the recovery room. Then I was given lots of anti nasuea while there and drifted in and out of sleep.

I had a few reasons that general was a no for me. One of which was I had a cold right before surgery. The other was, I had a general for a D & C a few years ago. Just not a good match for me... I'll leave it at that since you are about to have surgery.

My opinion on the spinal epidural is positive. I wasn't all fogged out. I am able to remember some stuff, I noticed the A dr. really pays attention to how awake you really are.
The medicine they give you is controlled, they seem to know when to knock you out more.... I am not sure how long my surgery was... I remember when they were about to start and when I was in recovery.

My 2nd day at the hospital I had a room mate, she also had the spinal epidural combo. We chatted about how we were feeling. She told me she was glad she had it instead of general also.

I liked the fact I wasn't all foggy after surgery. I had the needle out of my back early AM the next day. I didn't notice it bothering me at all overnight.

I hope this helps you feel better about the epidural.

ALL THE BEST!!!

HUGS GALORE!

You shouldn't feel the epidural at all, either going in or coming out. I opted for it because I couldn't handle the thought of having a breathing tube during surgery - and it was wonderful for self-administering pain meds post-op.
When you go in for your final pre-op appointment before your date of surgery, they should be asking you at that time to sign your consent form. If there's anything that you're not comfortable with, refuse to sign it until you can get the answers you need from the people you need them from. Originally I was supposed to just have my uterus removed, but due to cancer being found after my D&C, my surgeon changed the procedure on the consent form to a TAH/BSO and I wanted to discuss the necessity of having my ovaries taken too. We couldn't connect before the morning of my surgery so I didn't sign the consent until after he had come and talked to me in pre-op.

Good luck and speedy recovery.

Also - if they're available at your hospital, ask for the ON Q pain pump. It's a tiny "soaker hose" that is inserted in the incision during surgery - you won't feel it. For the next several days, it drips local anesthetic like lidocaine or marcaine onto the incision itself. It really helped me be more comfortable getting up and about. Mine was removed when I was discharged from the hospital.

You don't have to push buttons or anything - it's automatically controlled by a tiny pump which for me was in a tiny shoulder bag kind of thing.