anesthetic test...

[emmmz1980]

Hi im due at the hospital on thursday for an anesthetic in my back test,i dont really know what its for,how long il be there for,tbh wasnt told much about it! was wondering if anybody out there has had this done and what happens...thx.

It's prob just one of the regular pre-op appts they do these days - have you had probs with drug reactions in the past.

They take a history and then sometimes look at your spine to assess how hard it will be to get access for a spinal anesthesia.

Hate to ask but are you quite big? Sometimes they have more trouble if you are to get everywhere numb, so they plan more.

Hey,i thought thats what they would do the test for as i had 3 failed epidurals in last pregnancy!! yes im quite a big gal lol!

Yes, they would have a prod about at your lower back to see what they could feel.

They may also have a look inside your throat to see how easy it would be to give you a GA in an emergency. If there was an emergency and they couldn't get a spinal in in a hurry then they may need to do a GA. However they are just been very cautious and its very unlikely that you'd be in that situation.

Emmmz1980 - I had a very long chat to a sandman about this - apparently they have real problems siting epidurals in larger ladies, not only do they find it hard to reach the epidural space (the needles aren't very long and if you have over an inch of fat they have a problem getting to the actual space without pressing - which can damage the area round the spine and cause a lot of pain afterwards.)

They also have to have extra staff in place to help roll you (it helps get the fentanyl sloshing from side to side so you go numb all over).

I had a spinal with a recent caesarian which was much better than an epidural and these can be better if you are bigger apparently because they have to numb less area. With an epidural you will have no feeling below your boobs.

With a spinal the area from two inches above your navel to your pubic bone but no further. It's interesting to experience an itchy big toe when someone is ferretting around your belly hunting a baby.

Oh and they ask you to go 'aaaahhh' with a big open mouth to establish how big your tonsils are and whether your neck is so fat it'll fold in on itself and make it hard to intubate you.

Tis best not to ask too many questions, I've found

wow learn something new everyday :D very interesting info thx!