Post by insominac on Sept 19, 2014 11:25:40 GMT -5
that sounds horrible! I experimented with rollerblading when I moved back to LA. We would take doggy insom to the Venice boardwalk and he'd run while we skated.
I was paranoid about breaking something so I was decked out in jeans, long sleeved shirt, wrist guards, knee pads, and elbow pads. I was quite different from the other folks on the boardwalk who rollerblade in their bikinis. Lol I only went a few times though because I never truly learned to stop without bracing myself against a light post or trash can. Never use people. They hate that.
I'll see if Mr. Insom has any tips when he comes home from putting metal in people.
If possible, ask the anesthesiologist if a local nerve block plus sedation is possible rather than general.
I've had general anesthesia and local plus sedation and MUCH prefer the local plus sedation (even though I do not get nauseous from general and come out of it well). With a nerve block + sedation, you are still out of it and do not hear (the anesthesiologist can titrate things so you can be aware, but I always preferred not to be), see or know anything - just like anesthesia. The main difference is that you have MUCH better pain relief when you are in recovery, coming out from the drugs. You are also much more cognizant and aware and less drowsy.
With the nerve block, it means that you are behind the pain curve from the beginning so once they start your drugs up in recovery, you really do not get behind the dreaded pain curve (at least IME).
And as others have said, after you are released take your pain meds on schedule at least for the first few days. Don't try to tough it out because if you wait too long to take them, you will hurt more and it will take more drugs and time to get things under control again. I always used the ability to sleep past my night time dose of meds as an indicator to start titrating myself off of them and it's worked like a jewel for the last 6 orthopedic surgeries I've had.
I went under general anethesia once for surgery. It was so weird just to go to sleep and wake up not knowing what was going on in a different spot. I was sooo tired that day. But overall it wasn't a terrible experience.
I don't usually post here but I saw this on the app and wanted to come back when I was at my computer.
I broke my dominent hand last fall and had to get surgery with pins, not plates. It sucked but not as badly as I thought it would. I also had an allergic reaction to the surgical cleanser used on my skin (hives underneath my splint) so I totally feel your pain. y4m, if you're in the DC area (am I remembering that right?), I loved my ortho and p/t in NOVA - they were both hand specialists - so PM me if you wanted additional names. I did NOT have general anesthesia for my surgery. Like a pp mentioned, I had a local anesthestic (described to be as an epidural for my arm) and then some pretty strong twilight drugs. I actually did wake in the surgery because I'm pretty sensitive to anesthesia but wasn't in any pain and very very quickly went back to "sleep". The allergic reaction to chloroprep (the surgical scrub that they leave on your skin to help kill bacteria and prevent infection) appeared a couple days after the surgery and THANK GOD before my cast was put on. They had to remove my soft splint and clean off all the remaining scrub with alcohol, the hives went away quickly after that. If you fear that you may have that allergy too, you can request a different prep method (one that doesn't stay on your skin) or perhaps get a sample in advance to test it out.
It's been about a year since my break and that hand is still sensitive. Mobility returned but I am clearly aging as I can't "bounce back" from these things like I used to. I definitely feel aches when the weather is turning and my knuckles will look weird forever (they're a bit sunken).
At least this happened while you were rollerblading and that makes for a good story! I literally tripped over my own two feet on a DC sidewalk and in front of a co-worker. Humiliating.
thanks all. just back from the ortho who gave me a new kind of dressing, and who was basically like "oh. jeez. thats not good" i really appreciate all the support. ill get through this and be bionic after!