Feelings Of Claustrophobia With Spinal Block

[MyHipJourney]

Hi,
I am having a left hip replacement in coming weeks and the plan is to have a Spinal block not an epidural without sedation just wearing headphones and listening to music . My real fear is that when my legs go numb I will have that feeling of claustrophobia and a feeling of being trapped without being able to move. 😱 I do not want a GA as I have never had one before, in fact I have never been in hospital before . How does it feel when your lying there and you can’t feel your legs…should I have light sedation to make me sleepy and less anxious?? It’s very important though that I can at least move my arms!! It’s a real dilemma!!!

I’d have the sedation or a GA. I do get claustrophobic with some medical procedures, so understand your worry

Unless there is a medical reason for not having sedation, then iiwy I’d go for some light sedation, it will help you relax and will help keep your blood pressure and heart rate normal, which will lessen the risks of complications through the surgery.
Hope all goes well for you. 💐

As an anaesthetist, what I often try and negotiate with the customers is - see what it's like once you're numb and in the position the surgeons need you in. If it's too uncomfortable then think about some sedation, but if it's not uncomfortable then music/a book/chat with the anaesthetist is usually all it takes to get through. Quite often people just fall asleep anyway, partly because it's a bit boring and partly because our brains switch off a bit once there's not so much sensory input coming from half the body (or maybe it's just that my chat is particularly dull!).

Contrary to PP, I would not want to have a GA for this procedure unless there was a particular reason to not do a spinal.

Thank you all for your reassuring words!! Will let you know how it goes🙂

Many thanks for your informative reply, much appreciated!!!

Thank you very much much a!!

Much appreciated thank you!!

Actually I found the numbness more challenging after the op (a total knee replacement) as I couldn't move my legs at all for several hours. It was not claustrophobia, more like frustration -- i had a big urge to move my legs but couldn't.
( When it wore off I could move one leg but the operated leg was still stiff and sore. Thr hospital was shit hot with pain relief, though.)

Thank you for your reply and hope you are on the mend!!

I’ve had a spinal with a c section and definitely didn’t feel claustrophobic, but then there was a lot going on. The anaesthetist was having a nice chat with my husband which I focussed on as I was really anxious (previous c section under epidural which is no where near as good as a spinal IME, could feel too much) and then there was a baby to look at and coo over and all of those things. Was able to move my toes very slightly in recovery, amazing stuff.

anyway. I have also had sedation, the sedation during my first c section (I think the anaesthetist wanted to shut me up) was horrible, I kept fighting it, fall asleep, fighting it again, slurring and all sorts. He gave me diamorphine. Do not recommend. However I had sedation today for a colonoscopy (midazolam and fentanyl) and it was lovely. Went a little light headed and a bit slurry / dopey and my memories are a little fuzzy around the edges at points but just felt nicely relaxed and comfortable. I could move my arms and legs but they felt a bit slow and heavy (I had to be moved around on the trolley as it was set up wrong, head at the wrong end!) it was a bit like moving through treacle but I could do it.

I think it depends what you want to do during the surgery. Personally I think I’d be on high alert, listening to what’s going on and feeling a bit freaked out by it all so I’d be inclined to go for the sedation and enjoy a light doze / meditation session. Helps the time go quicker too!

I had a spinal block with my 2nd CS and it was fine. When the numbness reached my chest, I panicked as I thought I wasn't going to be able to breathe, and a bit of sedation was provided via the cannula and I was away with the fairies lol.

The whole experience was much better than an epidural

Good luck, you'll be fine 🙂

spinals (or epidurals) for obstetrics and orthopaedics are very different (because the operations are very different). Ditto for the sedation options in ortho/endoscopy/obs ('sedation' isn't routinely used in obstetrics, but a strong painkiller, which may have sedative side effects, may form part of the management if a block is failing intraoperatively).

Hi OP, I had a fall on the night of Feb 2nd, breaking my right wrist and hip, for which I was given a total hip replacement the following afternoon.

I opted for a spinal block without sedation, same as I had when I had surgery on a broken ankle 17 years ago. I've never had a GA and would always prefer to avoid one if possible. I had planned to listen to music, as I'd done with my ankle surgery, but as it happened, the block reached my arm and hand on my hip side so made it impossible. A theatre nurse offered to help but I decided not to bother, so just lay on my side, relaxed and let the team get on with it.

The block does reach quite high so it does feel like you are breathing quite shallowly. I was given an oxygen mask, which I kept pulling away from my face as I hate anything over my face. Ultimately, your oxygen levels are being monitored anyway (obviously), so you're not going to suffocate, even if it feels like you are.

Being unable to completely move one leg and barely move the other can obviously be a bit unnnerving, so you do have to keep calm, accept it, and just put your trust in the surgical team. I found that my lower half felt - to my left hand when I felt afterwards - like leather covered blancmange. 😅 Very weird.

The block can make your blood pressure drop, which can cause nausea, this happened both times to me. I just told the team and something to stop it was put into my line, which eased it within seconds.

Being sedation free meant of course that I was aware of everything, including the smell of burning flesh as they were drilling down into my thigh bone to put the rod thingy down there, as well as what felt like having a hammer and chisel knocking into my thigh - my whole side was jiggling about 😅.

Having this experience without sedation is not an experience for everyone. Like I said, you do have to keep a calm head, just accept what is happening, and trust the team to get on with it. I think I'm just a control freak who would rather be fully awake during surgery, so long as I don't feel any pain.

At the end of the day, if a patient starts to become distressed, panicky etc. the anaesthesia team will put some sedation into the line anyway to send them off to Happy Land. 🙂 Can't have a patient crying and thrashing about on the operating table!

I'm glad I opted to be sedation free, it was interesting observing (discreetly) all the activity in the recovery area. I had to spend quite a while in there as my blood pressure was still quite low. It tends to be anyway, though.

Anyway, that was my experience. You'll have a chance to speak with the anaesthetist to help make your decision. Best of luck with your surgery, and whichever anaesthesia you opt for. 👍