Hose up the nose part 2...

[Eva]

Friday is the big day. I will get anesthetic and will sleep for a while. I don't know how you call it in English if you get a needle in your hand and they drip the stuff in. Not a big thing but I am still a bit nervous. The last time I hade been anesthesised was when I was 5 or something. It was gas then and they did it to take my tonsils out. I can't remember what it felt like anymore afterwards. We'll see.

They'll measure the loudness of my snoring. I should bring them earplugs. Poor people... And they'll take a look on the inside. I have to ask what it is they are going to do exactly. The hose up the nose thing is certain. Oh well, my doctor seems to get a kick out of that. I like her, so let her. I'll write afterwards what they did while I was sleeping..

Eva

[Oak Kitten]

It's called an intravenous drip, Eva. Good luck with your procedure on Friday.

Oak

[Roady]

Not enough info to go on to know exactly what you're having for anesthesia but for short-term diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical procedures they often use "IV conscious sedation." It produces pain relief, sedation and amnesia. You can respond to stimuli and breathe on your own. But when it's all over, "you usually can't remember a thing." Used frequently for tooth extractions, endoscopic procedures like a colonoscopy, and surgical procedures such as cataracts and lumpectomies. Deeper levels of anesthesia usually require you to be intubated (a tube down your throat, either thru your mouth or nose) to maintain adequate ventaliation because you can't breathe adequately on your own.

They use great drugs like fentanyl, versed, and demerol. And like Oak said you'll have an IV and probably a thing on your finger to monitor your oxygen levels in your blood. (a pulse oximeter)

Let us know how the "tube down the nose # 2" goes.

[DaveM]

Sounds much like the sort of anesthesia given for having wisdom teeth removed. I believe the usual is sodium pentothal (which may have another name in Europe)--it is short-acting and as Roady noted, insures that you won't remember a thing (if you do, holler for more!). I do hope all goes well. I don't think there is anything to worry about, but I know how dumb comments like that sound at times like this.

Make sure to let us know how it went just as soon as you can, all right? We want all the gory details, you know.

[ponytail]

Good luck, Eva. I hate anesthesia. I'm convinced all my doctors have photos of me unconscious and drooling and dressed in strange outfits. They get together and pore over the photo albums and laugh. Not that I'm paranoid or anything....

[david uk]

Eva I had a minor operation last year and had a general anaesthetic (the word you were looking for is "injection") one minute I was chatting to the anaesthetist, next thing I knew I was in another room with different people, the operation over and done.

It was completely problem free and very quick :)

relax :) :)

[Eva]

'Intravenous drip'. Yes, that sounds like what the anesthesyst described. That's not the same as the word 'injection', is it? I mean, that's what is also called a 'shot', right? Oh dear, oh dear... Sometimes it's hard enough to explain it in my own language. Especially if I myself don't have all the information. Let alone in a different language. But you seem to understand what I am trying to say. Together we'll get there :)

Roady, like I said, the last time I got anesthetic was when I was a child. Also twice for my wisdomteeth but that was more sedation against pain. I knew exactly what was happening, only I didn't feel a thing. The fear for the dentist stayed though. What a nightmare that was... Even though the second time the dentist really tried to make me feel less scared.

Of the time when they took my tonsils out in the hospital I don't know all that much anymore. Indeed one minute I was counting back from hundred under a cap and the next minute I was in a hospitalbed. My parents not there and the nurse bringing me really bad tasting lemonade. I was so angry! I was screaming at the nurse that I wanted my parents, untill I was spitting blood. I guess my Pirate Queen temper already showed then... :o I got to eat as much icecream as I wanted that week.

David, I think it will go as you say, yes. I am not scared now. More curious...
What I dread most is that ugly paper thing I am going to be wearing. It's too weird to me that it's closed on the front and open on the backside. My behind will be cold and for what? That's not the place where they'll stick in tubes, I hope! They only need my face to 'work' on. Maybe they'll allow me to wear some nice shoes in a complementing colour. I won't look so silly then. I'll ask...

Ponytail, I am not afraid they will do all those things with me when I am sleeping. You know, like dancing a samba around my bed while they are all wearing neongreen wigs and having margarita's. And if they do then I want to see the movie afterwards too and join in when the next patient comes.
Dave, I promise I will tell you all about the snot, spit, flesh, blood, guts, brains, etc flying around in the operationroom. Mine, theirs...

Thank you everyone for your good wishes ;)

Eva

[hoops]

i remember the first time i was "put under" i don;t know why but they used gas... i was having something removed from my esophogus (food actually, that no longer goes down on it's own) as i was recovering the orderlies came to wheel me into my room and said "she's almost alert" to which i smartly replied "the world needs more lerts"
peace
hoops

[SongDragon]

Yeah, an IV (intravenous) drip. Sounds like what they did to me to take my tonsils out (wow, that really was only two years ago). They stick a needle in you and let it sit there attatched to some fluid.

Good luck!

I was surprised, it didn't hurt at all. In fact I felt great... That kind of groggy Sunday-morning half wakefulness. I waved happily to all the people in the room (who were not all so happy) and so they then moved me to my own room.

You'd better come tell us what it's like and everything they did! We're always curious and need all the details! Besides, often when someones on anethesia is when you can coax them into saying the funniest things...

~Song

[GodSistah]

I was so angry! I was screaming at the nurse that I wanted my parents, untill I was spitting blood. I guess my Pirate Queen temper already showed then... :o I got to eat as much icecream as I wanted that week.

tsk, tsk, tsk...that's what comes from encouraging bad behaviour when you were just a little pirate queen! All the ice cream you could eat....must be nice! :p

I will be sending you good thoughts, Rudie vibes and yea, I'll be praying for you! Good luck, sis! ;)

:)

~Andrea~

[david uk]

Maybe they'll allow me to wear some nice shoes in a complementing colour. I won't look so silly then. I'll ask...



LOL Eva, it's good to see you've got your priorities right :p

[Dee]

Wishing you all the success in the world for tomorrow, Eva.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k267/deemark/Emoticons/redrose.gif

[marjan]

Good luck Eva, will think about you tomorrow. Hope they'll find a solution when you finished the programme you're going thrue

[david uk]

I'm sure you'll do great Eva :) :) :)

[dragonlady]

Good luck Eva...just think, you don't have anything they haven't seen before and if you do, you'll be famous!!! :D

I've had so many operations I've started a large collection of socks/stockings that are rubberized on the bottome so you don't fall down walking in the hospital without shoes...thrilling huh?

-di

[Margay]

Poor Eva...
I hope you won't have any trouble from the anaesthetics and will be snore-free soon!

Margay

[aabram]

Sorry I missed this, Eva. Hope all goes well, and come back soon :)

Annabel

[Eva]

Everything went well. It was not painfull or anything. Just very strange because I had never gone through this before. Which I am very happy about, by the way.

Anyway, yesterdayevening I wasn't allowed to eat anything after midnight. And after 6 am I was not allowed to drink any water anymore either. I could take my neccesary medication but only with a little water. I had to be there at 9.30 in the morning and then I sat there for two hours. Just waiting... The nurse measured my bloodpressure and that was about it. Luckily my mom was with me. She insisted on coming with me. That was so sweet of her. Although she was more nervous than me. After two hours of waiting I could undress and lay in a bed. The shirt wasn't as hiddious as I had thought so I could take my shoes off ;) I had a very comfortable place there, I think.

After half an hour two nurses brought me (with the bed) to the operatingroom. I had to wait in a little room next to the operatingroom too for about fifteen minutes and then a nurse came who put a needle in my hand. The needle was taken out but the little tube stayed. He connected it with some salty-sugary water against dehydration. Then he wheeled me into the operatingroom where I chatted with OR personel. One had just stopped smoking and had a hard time with it. We talked about that and other things. Everybody was really nice to me and I wasn't scared. The worst part (needle in my hand) was behind me and that had only lasted a second. The nurse had by then connected me to a hartmonitor and a bloodpressuremonitor. It was a bit Borg (resistance is futile) but I figured they heard that joke all the time...

Then they couldn't find the doctor who was supposed to do the examination. They went looking for her and that took some time too. Finally they found her. She came running in. The anesthesystdoctor (or what do you call these people) took my hand. He had quite cold hands. The nurse had shown me what the stuff was they would dripp into me and I asked the doctor what it was so I could tell you. Of course I forgot. Something like propo...something... It's white and looks like milk. He started injecting it in the 'drippingmachine' connected to my hand and an assistent put an oxigencap on my mouth and nose. The room started spinning and I thought that was a pretty cool effect and I wasn't naucious. I also said that, I believe.

Next thing I know I was in another room, back in my bed. The machines were disconnected and ten minutes later I got wheeled back by the two nurses to the room where my mother was waiting. They asked me how I was and I said that I feel very good. That it's better than marihuana (I had a great sleep!) and that I want to marry an anesthesyserdoctor. When I returned to the room, I slept some more before the doctor came to tell me what she had found. And I also got some bread with cheese and with jam.

Really, I got first class treatment I think. And everyone was being so nice. And nothing hurt. And last but not least, I had a wonderful sleep. Now I have a little headache and I feel a bit tired. For the rest I am fine. My parents were more stressed out than me. Poor people. I told my mom that I'll move over in the bed so she could sleep a bit too but she didn't want to.

Eva

[Dee]

Wow that was quick, Eva. Glad it went okay.

[Roady]

Glad everything went great Eva! :) You got most of the name Eva. It's propofol, brand name Diprivan. It's being used instead of Pentothal by a lot of anesthesiologists these days.

[Eva]

It wasn't a big deal. It was just an examination. I can feel that the hose has been up my nose but I don't remember a thing. Pitty that I don't remember my sleep. I have a slight hang-over now. That's how it feels. But for the rest it is fine. All in all it took about 7 hours. Most of it was waiting. My poor mother was exhausted. I have slept about a third of that time.

Thank you Roady. Propofol, yes. Do you know what it does exactly? I mean, I noticed what it does :D (knocks you out) But I don't exactly know what it does with the body. Anyway... I asked the doctor later wether I had snored. I mean, suppose I hadn't??? :eek: That would be very screwed up, right? She said I snored very loudly. And when I fell asleep in the first room I woke up with people giggling and saying to eachother: "Well, we know what she is here for..." *sigh* I am SO glad the doctors are taking care of this...

Maybe it's a silly thing to say but I had a good time today. I mean, there was nothing seriously wrong with me. And I was very happy they finally got to take a look at this snoringproblem. The examination didn't hurt, everybody was very nice, I got sandwiches afterwards and all the tea I wanted. and I got a lot of attention. As I already said to Marg: it beats a day at the office... Although I wouldn't want to do this every day... :o

Eva

[Darlene]

Eva I am really glad you made through the procedure. Actually it sounds as if you had a good time.:rolleyes:
Hope you are up around soon.

Peace, darlene

[Eva]

Oh yes, I went home within two hours. My parents insisted in bringing me home by car. Even though I live within a ten minute walk of the hospital. They are very sweet. I felt like I had a light hangover tonight. Nothing more than that. I think tomorrow there will be no trace left that this ever happened. Besides the fact that I now looooove propo... what was that name again...?

Eva

[hoops]

sounds good eva, i'm glad you were comfortable and i'm glad it;s over for you
peace
Noel

[Mimi]

Eva, I'm very glad all went well for you!

Mimi

[aabram]

Oh yes, I went home within two hours. My parents insisted in bringing me home by car. Even though I live within a ten minute walk of the hospital. They are very sweet. I felt like I had a light hangover tonight. Nothing more than that. I think tomorrow there will be no trace left that this ever happened. Besides the fact that I now looooove propo... what was that name again...?

Eva

Oh EVA!!!! Eva, Eva, Eva!!!!! :eek:

Glad you're OK though. Propofol, and PLEEEEASE don't ..... :eek:

Annabel

[DaveM]

Eva--you may find that with a bit of time, you'll have some weird "memories" or dream fragments from being under the anesthetic. I once had some similar stuff and two weeks after the fact was in a distant city when I "remembered" being at a really cool shop which I wanted to show my friend. The "memory" was so clear that I could remember the streets, directions, everything....except that at some point I realized that no shop such as I "remembered" existed at that location--never had anywhere else, either, so far as I know.

I believe that was some sort of chemically-induced "memory"--or just my curdling brain skipping a gear tooth.

Either that or it was one of those magical shops one reads about, which disappear as soon as you leave them and can never be found again....

[Eva]

Interesting, Dave... I will watch out for shops that pop out of nowhere. If it happens I hope it will be a shoeshop :D

One of the OR assistents told me that propothingy gives nice and realistic dreams sometimes. I have horrible nightmares from my Efexor (medication against depression) on a regular base. So I hope the Efexor doesn't influence the propostuff dreams :eek:

I did experience a kind of jetlag yesterday. One day after the anesthetics. I think I was only under for 5 or 10 minutes but my entire system feels a bit shaken up. I feel good. And wasn't naucious, dizzy or anything right afterwards. Nothing worse than a mild hangover. But the next day I had no idea if I was sleepy or not. Deadtired, sleepy but fully awake. I guess those four cups of coffee didn't help either. I usually don't drink coffee :o

Eva

[Bat]

Wow, Dave! Harry Potter lives?

[DaveM]

I think so, Bat....it was a pretty cool store, too. I wish it had existed. The weird thing is that I can still remember it in every detail, down to the color of the flooring and the two steps down from the entrance. Would love to know what corner of the brain all that was dredged up from.