Once more under the knife, my friends... no, really.

[kickaha]

Well, looks like I really am going to have to have the followup slice and dice to get my arm back to something like 'normal'.

I can't throw a ball.

I can't shoot a basketball.

I can't do simple yoga poses.

So, June 22 I go back under. The surgeon I have no problems with - he and I have talked enough that I feel like he has a good handle on what the situation is with the joint, and how best to attack it.

It's the anesthesiologist I have a problem with... or at least anxiety over. My body reacts oddly to anesthesia, and last year my time with him composed of "Here, sign this, this, and this, thanks." There was an emergency in the OR that morning that screwed up everyone's schedules, and I was delayed 5 hours, but *still*.

I never got to tell him that my mother nearly died under normal general anesthesia, or that it took more than twice the normal doses of Valium, nitrous oxide *and* sodium pentathol to knock me out for my wisdom teeth. But that {Novo, Lido, Xylo}-caine class drugs work *WAY* more effectively on me than normal.

So it took nearly a week to get full feeling back in my fingers after the nerve block... and I'm still not convinced it's fully back, a year later. And I'm supposed to have a second round of that. Oy.

Right now I have three different clinics all making sure that my pre-op records show every detail we can find of what I was given, who gave it, the fact that I *WILL NOT* be wheeled into that room without talking with the anesthesiologist at great length, to my satisfaction, etc.

We'll see.

Comments

Dunno if you know this

[flinx.livejournal.com]

but redheads are known to have problems with anaesthesia and painkillers in general. There have been medical studies actually documenting such. Since you've family history, plus your own experience, feel free to tear the anaesthesiologist's head off if he won't pay attention to you, or else insist on getting a new one who WILL listen to you.

I understand very well, as I have the same problems. I came out from my sinus surgery a full 40 minutes early (I'd JUST been put in the Rec Room), and after I had my wisdom teeth cracked, the oxycodone tabs they give me did nothing. My father and I both process average painkillers about 20% faster than listed. Hell, morphine derivatives even.

Good luck.

Re: Dunno if you know this

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the redhead/painkiller thing is a known thing for me... did you know we also scar much more easily? In other words, I should have been out of the Robobrace a full week, and possibly two weeks, ahead of when I was finally released. Things seized solid.

The painkiller issues are odd, in that some, mostly systemic, hardly affect me, and I need two or three times the normal dose, while the localized varieties tend to be really really freaking effective. I suspect they could probably get away with just a nerve block on me, but the gristly sounds would probably make me flinch from time to time, and that'd be bad. Hence, the general.

I wonder how that ties into what I've heard (and experienced): low pain threshold, high pain tolerance. We redheads feel pain more quickly, but can handle a hell of a lot more. Basically we're whiners. :) So... localized pain threshold is lower (more reactive nerves = more sensitive to anesthetic?) while systemic pain tolerance is higher (more ability to plow through or ignore natural endorphins, and by extension artificial painkillers?)

Sooooooo... yeah, I'll start throwing a hissy fit if I'm not relaxed about this before going in.