anesthesia questions

[rosemary johnson]

Hi Lea,
It seems some hospitals and some surgeons do grafts under local as a matter of course, and some don't like that and hardly ever let their patients have them under other than general.
Unfortunately, I got one of the latter - cleraly more interested in his embroidery exhibition than his patient's overall welfare! - as it turned into a disaster.
Most people, it works fine either way, I hasten to add!
If a local - hte hospital I went to, they told me the local anaesthetic they use is the same as my dentist used, but without the adrenaline added to dental jab capsules. I don't know the relative quantities (would the eye op take twice as much, three times as much, half as much....) as te dentist, but I'd guess the wearing off time to be similar (far longer than the dentist thinks, for me).
The anaesthetist said, if I felt it starting to wear off, say so and he could top it up a bit any time.
HOw long a gA lasts - takes to waer off - will depend on the type. SOme are quicker than others.
If you are in for "day case surgery" and they use something called "TIVA" then you are supposed to wake up about 12-15 minutes after they stopp infusing the anaesthetic drugs into you (some people wake up sooner, before they've been moved out of the theatre!), and can go home the same day, though they tell you to have someone witho you and not drive.
Other, older types of anaesthetics can take longer and you feel groggy for longer.
TIVA is all intravenous, and use two agents - something called propofol which Michael Jckson fans have heard of, to send you to sleep, and an opioid painkiller with it so the surgery can't be felt even while you're asleep and wake you up again. Typically, remifentanil or another of the fentanyl family. FOr humans. On horses, they use the same system with ketamine, or so I'm told.
They will probably inject or infuse various other drugs along with those - other painkillers like paracetomal or related NSAIDS, and also some anti-emetics (to stop you throwing up), including probably a hefty doe of intravenous steroids, which it seems was what has left my health still ruined.
How long you go on feeling groggy afterwards varies from person to erson - can vary from a few hours to a few days.... and I'm still not well again but that's another story.
Don't expect to sleep well that niight ig they do send you home.
GOod luck which ever way you go - personally, I wanted the local ..... at least now I know for definite never ever to have a GA for anything ever again!
ALl best wishes for 11th.
Rosemary

[rosemary johnson]

FOrgot to say...
I was told pre-op that it would be about two hours for the op.
From the charts in my notes, it looks like shorter than that - maybe 1 hour 30 or 1 hour 40 minutes.
I then didn't wake up for 45 minutes, and then woke up with a start fromt he distress signals from the damaged bits when they started to wheel me around. And by the time they stopped, was so awfully seasick I was throwing up all over the ward, despite the anti-sickness drugs!
Most peopel would have woken up after about 15.
Rosemary