Anesthetist appointment tomorrow ? What do i ask

[mummyneedinganswers]

Hi I'm 31 weeks and have an anesthetist appointment tomorrow.

What should I be asking.
Problem is they don't think I can have an epidural as I have scoliosis of spine and also damaged discs in L4-5 and T1-2.
So they don't think nits going to be possible and to be honest I'm petrified of anyone touching my back on a normal day so having an epidural I would be hysterical.

I know I need to ask things like if section necessary will it be under general and ask side effects to me and baby
Recovery
will I be catheterized
How long will I be asleep

Also have wrote down to ask about discovering and pain relief I can have.

My main fear is that they are goingbto try give me an epidural anyway during labour and completely fail and hurt me as all my nerves in spine stick out and there is a very very high possibility that they will hit them.

What else should I ask about ?

Hi - it may be useful to get a plan agreed ( eg I could not have an epidural/spinal for medical reasons and it was written in my notes so if I needed an EMCS the staff knew to do a general - which is what I ended up with). So I asked if my Dh could get skin to skin first and if baby could be put on me when in recovery - they did this and baby had first feed whilst I was not very awake. I asked for staff to take photographs with our camera when time allowed as Dh not allowed in theatre.

For non-section I asked about pain relief ( they wrote me up for a patient controlled one which meant had to have 1:1 cars if had it).

I hope they can reassure you and you are happy with what they suggest.

Make sure you tell them your fears.

Maybe also if you do have a general, how long before you're up and about/able to hold baby etc?

Thank you very much how did u find your section under general rooibos

As I knew it was likely I did not find it traumatic ( after a long labour I was shattered too). Of course I would have preferred to be awake but knew a spinal could cause me real difficulties! I woke in recovery and vaguely remember baby on me. Dh was with me in recovery. Had a morphine patient controlled pump until next morning and the next day ( had a night section) had it removed and catheter removed. Home after 3 days. Not very mobile and needed Dh at hospital first day as I was recovering from anaesthetic and got no care of the baby from hospital staff. As I had my own room staff rarely came near me- a bay would have been better but I had no choice.

Theatre staff were brilliant - the anaesthetist took photos for us!

I have since had a VBAC with no epidural option - this time I am going to ask for an ELCS.

I think it should be straightforward to avoid any sort of spinal anaesthetic if that is what you want - if you have a vaginal delivery you can have opiate analgesia as well as gas and air, possibly aromatherapy if your place offers that sort of thing

If you have to have a Caesarian, you will be asleep 30-60 mins I should think, dependent on how straightforward it is. Takes longer to sew you up than get the baby out, so the baby won't get much effect from the anaesthetic. Baby will be out in 5-10 mins once you're on the table. Plus if it's an emergency section they will have a paediatrician there before baby comes out

You will definitely be catheterised if you have a Caesarian, spinal or general - they need to deflate the bladder otherwise they might cut into it. You will be glad of it afterwards for a day or so!

You should recover well, most people feel a bit woozy for a day or so after a general, but you should be fine as it will be relatively short

Hope that helps a bit x

Remember, they can't give you any medical treatment unless you consent (unless your uncontence, then consent is assumed). So if on the day they offer an epidural, you just say no and tell them to look at your plan. When your in your meeting tomorrow then ask what you need to put in your birth plan to make shore what you need to happen happens. Good luck x

That's so reassuring thank you. Atleast if I can sort things out it will be easier. I will definitely be writing down what I want to happen with baby as soon as she's here.

I'm definitely going to make sure they write everything down x

I just don't want to set myself up to fail.

Might be a bit late for your appointment today but the Obstetric Anaesthetists Association have done a website all about pain relief options, so that might help with some of your questions:

www.labourpains.com/UI/Content/Content.aspx?ID=5

Hello OP! I broke my spine in a few places, and though you would not know now as i am /normal/ i cant have epidural , well i can, but it is higher risk for damage... SO i asked what can i have... and he said i can have remifentanil which is on a pump , fast acting and stays in the system a few mins, it does hit the baby but is metabolised fast.

So you DO have other options other than spinals.

Yes thank you the anesthetist told me about remifentanil and has wrote it in my notes as an option they have said they could try epidural and spinal but would be difficult and risk of damage but have also said that the risk of general anesthetic is high as I have asthma hiatus hernia and a bmi 40 so I now don't know what to do if I need a section x

I feel like all my options are taking away from me the anesthetist seemed very rude and disgusted when I mentioned general anesthetic x