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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to not have my operation if they dont allow dh into anaesthetic room?

62 replies

mosschops30 · 14/10/2010 14:21

Am having mirena and hysteroscopy next week (private).
Have been seeing consultsnt for almost a year, he knows my history and the rough time I had with ds2 and my PTSD etc. He said there would be no problem with dh coming into the anaesthetic room with me until I go off to sleep.

The assessment nurse just rang about my MRSA screen, and I mentioned it to her (glad I did now) because she said 'ooh we dont normally allow that sort of thing' Hmm

She is going to discuss with the anaesthetist and theatre team and get back to me.

I dont think I'll be able to go through with it if dh wasnt with me, hes very calming Smile. I will be stressed x 100 without him Sad

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 14/10/2010 22:18

You could get some happy drug in your canula, too.

I have hypertension and that whole fast thing means I can take my meds, so my bp is usually ratcheted up by the time I get to theatre, but the happy drug in the canula gets it down every time.

I've even had epidurals fail to lower it and needed some other stuff.

Melika, mosschops has some serious problems with PTSD. It's not your average 'Oh, just let him drop you off, you'll be fine' scenario.

lucky1979 · 14/10/2010 22:26

expat - I would have thought it more likely that they are trying to avoid anything like flashbacks or panic attacks emerging in the theatre mid-procedure. While she wouldn't be able necessarily to actually get off the table with a spinal she would be able to cause an awful lot of disruption and it would be very unpleasant to have, for example, a panic attack midway through. Obviously I don't know the specific situation though and what might be a trigger for it though.

If you can't deal with anything medical I would have thought it is for the best that you aren't aware of what they're doing while they're doing it.

Whatever happens I hope it goes well for you!

expatinscotland · 14/10/2010 23:51

lucky, plenty of drugs available to make that very unlikely without having to GA a person.

i'm from a country that doesn't perform any procedure under GA unless absolutely necessary - including things like prostatectomy - and have had regional block with IV sedation for surgeries lasting 2-3 hours.

was doped to the eyeballs, though, and fell asleep through a lot of it. also don't remember much, again, plenty of drugs for that, too.

my father had a prostatectomy under regional block and apparently snored his way through the op.

melikalikimaka · 15/10/2010 00:48

I'm not saying it lightly, but at the time, my MIL was dying with cancer, and I thought, you know, some things are bigger than what I'm going through. Believe me, I hate GA with a vengance.

TechnoKitten · 15/10/2010 02:15

For the OP - I would certainly allow your husband into the anaesthetic room, although as we don't use them at all here (in public or private) he would have to gown up and come into theatre to be with you while you were going off to sleep. Suspect you're in a part of the UK where the anaesthetic room is still used.

However all anaesthetists are different and some are less happy than others to have family in with them. Personally I think if your DH is going to keep you calm I would rather have him there than either you on the ceiling with anxiety or you doped up to the eyeballs on pre-op sedative. I have often suggested to extremely anxious patients (not knowing your history I don't know if this level of anxiety is normal for you) that they bring a relative or friend with them at least to the ante-room.

For the procedure you've mentioned I wouldn't intubate unless you were significantly overweight or had very bad gastric acid/reflux problems - an LMA would be fine (or even a facemask, depends on how fast the surgeon is). You can still get a sore throat with an LMA though, but it should ease after a drink.

To be considering cancelling surgery without your husband present is not a normal level of anxiety which suggests there is a whole backstory here of which I am obviously unaware (and don't really need to know). Just the fact that you are considering it means (imho) there is justification in allowing your request.

Regarding the regional vs general debate raised above - unless you have a (very rare and inherited) severe reaction to general anaesthetics, I would say a GA is safer. The risks are minimal if you are generally healthy, the anaesthetic lasts as long as surgery does (5mins before to 5mins after) and you are awake, able to eat/drink/go home much sooner. With a spinal you are likely to be immobile for at least 2h (if not longer) waiting for the block to wear off again (bearing in mind the procedure lasts 15mins), there may be problems passing urine in the first hour or 2 post op relating to either the drugs in the spinal fluid or the lack of sensation which will delay your discharge - and more to the point, you'll be awake all the way through the procedure. Which I suspect is not what you would want or need. There are also other risks involved with a spinal which, although rare, should be considered (headache, nerve injury and failure being the big 3).

Spinal anaesthetic is perfect for the older gentleman undergoing urological surgery for a variety of different reasons which aren't relevant here. It's also perfect for elective caesarean sections as it doesn't affect the baby and the mother gets to be awake during the birth.

Long answer cut short - I don't think you're being unreasonable at all, I hope your anaesthetist agrees!

expatinscotland · 15/10/2010 09:15

Melika, the OP is a nurse herself who has serious issues with PTSD and with a CS incision that basically came apart, leaving her organs exposed and necessitating further, emergency surgery.

It's not your standard, 'Oh, I hate GA, too, you'll be fine,' case and her request is far from unreasonable.

As it is a private surgery, here's hoping you can speak to the consultant personally, mossy.

:)

mosschops30 · 15/10/2010 12:19

yes i think techno and lucky, he doesnt want a situation in theatre with me having flashbacks or a panic attack. Plus I imagine it would be quite unnerving for a consultant to have a patient who is screaming at the top of the table continually asking whats going on.
I have every faith in this consultant, he has always been brutally honest with me, stuck his neck out when no-one else dared with regards to what happened to me previously, and I trust his judgement, I wouldnt let anyone else touch me with a barge pole Wink

thanks expat for your posts and for your insight on what happened to me. melika sadly I am not able to just let dh drop me off and pick me up, and I certainly wouldnt be reassured by an anaesthetist chuckling at me. Its taken 8 months of nagging from my consultant and a lot of therapy for PTSD to get me to this point, months ago I couldnt have even considered ir

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 15/10/2010 12:21

moss, i really hope you get to speak to the anaesthetist and sort this out, or your consultant does, especially, knowing your history.

lucky1979 · 16/10/2010 10:16

expat - I had a complex total hip replacement with a spinal block and sedation 5 weeks ago, so I do know the procedures :) I was told that the sedation they were going to use was basically a very light GA, had the spinal block, then an injectin was promptly knocked out and woke up in recovery.

If you're going to have that level of sedation (and I would have thought it necessary in the OPs case), I would have thought it was as easy to have a GA for a short procedure and not caused by the consultant not wanting to be bothered by an awake patient. For him it makes no difference either way, as OP can (quite reasonably) not countenance being awake throughout, either way he is going to be presented with an already totally sedated and immobile patient, I think he's just thinking of the OPs comfort.

TechnoKitten · 16/10/2010 10:23

Mosschops, is it worth asking to talk with your anaesthetist on the phone before you are due to go in? Or talking to your GP about getting some beta-blockers or temazepam to take night before/morning of surgery? (you'd have to clear temazepam with the anaesthetist first hence phone call - they may need you unsedated to sign a consent form). Just wondering if that would help you through it.

expatinscotland · 16/10/2010 22:25

Some pre-op Fentanyl in the canula always worked for me! :o

Again, the consultant could be totally fine with your spouse being in the room. You just need the chance to speak to him/her.

I know anaesthetists when I worked at a large county hospital used to say that often patients awoke in the same state in which they were put under, and so they'd rather someone was put to sleep in a calmer state of mind if possible.

I know when I had to have exploratory and reparative abdominal surgery after a car accident, the last thing I remembered were the moments before I knew the car was going to strike mine, as I also suffered a skull fracture at the time most likely from my head striking the side window, a very scary moment in which I screamed and screamed.

When I was awakened, I distinctly remembered not having any idea where I was and thrashing around and having to be sedated again.

If this is a way to keep you from being upset, moss, I don't see where there'd be an unreasonable problem.

mosschops30 · 19/10/2010 16:37

good news

Smile thanks to everyone who posted

OP posts:
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