Extremely wobbled!

Bechet

Bechet

Joined
Saturday January 28, 2012
Location
Southampton
The phone rang at 08.30 this morning and Mathew told me that due to the arthritis in my hips, I needed a double hip replacement. No, I said - nothing wrong with my hips, my problem is a stenosed spine. Oh yes! he said, you need to see the Consultant who will talk you through the major surgery you need on your spine - fixing the stenosis will destabilise your spine so they will need to put some plates in to hold you together. OK?

NO!!!!

It's a no brainer I have to have the surgery but now it is confirmed I'm having a wobble. No-one has cut me about before and I'm a total wuss and so I feel wobbled. Big time!

Then a mate talked about doing it with a local anaesthetic! No way! I want to be else where while they cut me. Completely out of it. Gone.

Anyway, off to the dentist now - routine check-up. More like it!
 
Blimey Carl - that's a lot to take in and a pretty unprofessional way to make you aware of the knock on effects of fixing your spine.

When is it all likely to happen? Most importantly, have you checked on how long it will affect your shaving for?

Best of luck with the ops.
 
I had a new hip about six years ago... I was very young for it (50) but I'd had trouble since age 16. My first thought was... Why didn't I have this done years ago? Although you have the pain of the operation, you're immediately struck by the total lack of arthritic pain. Overall, a very positive experience and I wouldn't hesitate to have the other one done if I had to.

I had mine done with a local anaesthetic... the only problem was I had to listen to Coldplay for ninety minutes... but you're sitting in bed with tea and biscuits five minutes after the op. I've had worse experiences at the dentist.

Downsides... the first night after the op is a bit long... first time you get on your feet, you think your leg is going to drop off... and the physio makes you sweat.

Good luck with it all... it's a new lease of life.
 
Who is Matthew, your consultant's medical secretary?

I've never heard of a hip replacement done under local anaesthetic before.

Sounds like you need to see your consultant about this.
 
I had carpal tunnel surgery performed on both hands over the last 18 months and that's done under a local, you get no option about it unless you are extremely phobic about surgery etc. The 1st one went fine although in some ways it was the more scary as I didn't know what to expect and the sensations you do get are still the ones of pulling and of the retractors being clamped into the wound but no pain. They did let me take my Ipod in with me so at least I had my own soundtrack and it only took 15-20 minutes. The second one was in some ways a bit more unnerving because I knew what to expect, and this one didn't go quite as well as the 1st, there were a few times I had a sensation of pain about to start, such as you get when the dentist catches a nerve almost. The worst part of both ops , though was the blood pressure cuff used as a tourniquet around my upper arm, that started to get quite painful after the 1st 5 minutes or so.

I point blank would not have any major surgery performed on me under a local if I had the choice, particularly any that involved plates and screws etc.

I think everyone has a wobble of some sort once surgery is confirmed Carl, but when it's a no brainer given the relief the results will give you just have to ride that wobble out. Good luck with the surgery when it happens and I'm sure you will be ok.
 
Some of these comments are not very helpful for someone about to undergo major surgery... especially from people who have not experienced this particular op.
Local anaesthetic... it's a total spinal block and you really won't feel ANYTHING. They will also feed you enough "loopy juice" to suit your requirements... you can even have enough to block out the memory of the Coldplay CD.

I'm sure if you really need the GA, you'll have to speak to your Anaesthetist, but the Local is better for your health
 
Thanks, guys - I'm even more scared now! Btb, some of you seem to have made the same mistake as my sister - except she will not be convinced otherwise now - the hip op (nearly) is for a guy unknown to me. Mathew had his notes mixed - but promised not to amputate the wrong leg, even though I'm not having ......

I had an armful of "loppy juice" when I had the snip, years ago - it is brilliant stuff! I floated home with a rapturous grin on my face, apparently.

What I'm having is a re-bore of a vertebrae and discs so they no longer pinch/trap my spinal chord and other re-jigging of my spine then the whole caboosh bolted together again with bits of plate. Under a local?? Nah! I want a GA, risks and all!
 
Good luck with the op Carl, my friend had the same spinal surgery as you are going to have a few years ago the big plus he told me the pain as gone and that's all he wanted, my Doctor told me almost two years ago that I may have to have a back op after badly prolapsing two discs L3 and L4, my recovery was slow but even though my back will never be the same and I can't do what I once could I've learnt to manage it.
 
Good luck, Carl, and fingers crossed the recuperation will be straightforward.

My advice: Get booked in at the beginning of the working week. Surgical wards are not somewhere I'd want to be over weekends.
 
I would think that if you are having an operation on your spine you wouldn't be able to have a spinal anaesthetic because that is the bit they are working on. Might be worth getting a marker pen and putting some helpful arrows on your back for Matthew. Best of luck.
 
Bugger.

That's some mix up!

If it WAS a hip replacement I would have put you in touch with my old dear. She's has had both hips, both elbows, both shoulders and both knees replaced as well as having both ankles fused. She's 4' 11" and 6 stone nowt in her heavy slippers.

Spine is probably the only bones she's had no work done on.

Good luck, and all that.
 
Good luck Carl; just a suggestion from a non-doctor-but-reasonably-medically-literate-ex-biology-graduate - if you can bear the thought, a local anaesthetic is much easier to recover from and does bring many fewer risks than a general anaesthetic and would therefore be the better option. These days the sort of LA they'd use would be highly effective.
 
chrisbell said:
These days the sort of LA they'd use would be highly effective.
Click to expand...

That's as maybe but I would hear them laughing and talking golf and pass the scalpel and drills whizzing and saws sawing. I do NOT want to be there - not in the same hospital, not in the same town, same country, planet, universe - I want to be elsewhere, sunshine or not, gone, not present.
 
I had disc surgery a number of years ago and for me it was worth while. Fear is understandable but with modern anaesthetics the risks are negligible. Absence of chronic pain is almost a spiritual experience!

Wish you well Carl.
 
Bechet45 said:
chrisbell said:
These days the sort of LA they'd use would be highly effective.
Click to expand...

That's as maybe but I would hear them laughing and talking golf and pass the scalpel and drills whizzing and saws sawing. I do NOT want to be there - not in the same hospital, not in the same town, same country, planet, universe - I want to be elsewhere, sunshine or not, gone, not present.
Click to expand...

I think I've got some of me old 'raving pills' from back in the 80's that will sort that out for ya!

If you do go for the GA, I recommend a Post It note stuck on the old goolies "touch these and you're dead"!

Good luck fella ;)
 
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