Worried about no GA

Hi Jane in answer to your question I was told the same as you, and I was a bit worried too, last week I had my 1st hip replacement and I had a spinal block also sedation, I didn't hear a thing i must have been out of it for the entire time it took to do this, if your worried about this speak to your anesthetist and tell him how you feel he will assure you as mine did. Hope all goes well for you.

Hi Jane

I had my right hip done last year under spinal and sedation and I can categorically state that you will NOT hear or feel anything.  I was asked if I wanted light sedation and I said no - don't want to be aware of anything - so I wasn't until I came round in the recovery room.

There are numerous positives about having a spinal block - your recovery time is extremely quick, with no feelings of nausea and it leaves your system extremely quickly being just a few.  In fact as soon as I came round I felt great, with none of the side effects you would normally associate with being knocked out.

I'm not saying that there aren't any downsides because there are - the main one being that it can (note the can - not will) cause low blood pressure and indeed it did for me.  The solution is greater hydration, which just means that you get hooked up to a drip for a while.

The other one is that you can't feel your bladder for quite a few hours after the op, so you don't know if you need to pee or not.  Again this happened to me and the solution was the use of a catheter (by a nurse) to drain my bladder.  The catheter wasn't left in.  Not exactly a procedure that I would recommend - well, not so much the actual procedure but it did leave me a bit sore for a day or so.

I'm having my other hip done next month and I'm more than happy to have a spinal block and sedation again.

I won't say don't worry, because you will any way but I hope this post goes some way to reassure you.

Dear Jane

Hi, I'm 4 months post op following a right THR which I had done under a spinal. Like you I was unsure about this but I explained to the anaesthetist that I did not want to hear anything during surgery,in particular any drills!  He advised that the sedation I would have should mean I would not hear or see anything but he would be right along side me during the operation if I needed anything.  I am pleased to tell you that the surgery was a success, I did not hear anything, it was just like being asleep. Also the spinal helps with pain management.

Good luck with your surgery I'm sure you'll be fine.

Joanne xxx 

Hi Jane, I too , went to joint school and came away from there in quite a shocked state! About 20 of us sat there being told what would be going to happen, how it would happen and how we would cope.

i went to my GP and then made a further appointment with consultation who was a very arrogant man. 

I was told that was what he did and everyone else managed!

i found another surgeon and he too preferred spinal blocks, but I told him there was no way I could have that!

i got the general anesaethic and felt fine after. No nausea, no pain in throat. Was eating and drinking very shortly afterwards.

tell them that you want and need a GA and I'm sure they'll help you.

be firm and stick to your guns! X

Hi Jane, I had a spinal, absolutely fine. Told the surgeon that I didn't want to hear or feel anything, (he said 'I don't blame you!' so I had sedation. Went through a canula in my hand. I was completely asleep, next thing I knew was the surgeon telling me that it had all gone really well.

I had a cup of tea within 10 minutes, and was enjoying lunch an hour later. I didn't need a drip or a catheter. Went to the bathroom independently using a walker, later in the afternoon.

I think surgeons usually prefer a spinal if it's a straight forward op, because recovery is much quicker.

I wish you all the best, Judith

Spinal stops the pain, the sedation stops you from knowing what went on.  

You won't remember a thing.

I covered this in my website in the 'Anaesthetics' page, the website address is in my personal info here ...

   https://patient.info/forums/profiles/rocketman-sg6uk-907025

and at the bottom of the moderator's "useful resources" page at

   https://patient.info/forums/discuss/thr-useful-resources-487147

Best wishes

Graham - 🚀💃 🤸         ¯\_(?)_/¯

I think we can all relate to that and the responses you will get are our personal experiences, of course -

When I was told that I would get the spinal I freaked out -  I had not found this forum yet and am not sure if anybody could have convinced me to go for it ---

So I did not ... talked to the anesthesiologist and agreed that I would get GA ...

this decision made me much calmer - I got GA with both THR surgeries and was fine - no nausea, sore throat, no pain, had feelings in my legs, no catheter - 

the way I understand it is that pain medication is applied inside the wound before closing (not sure if I got this right) - 

I was wheeled in to the OR, took a deep breath, opened  my eyes and was done ...

Tough decision, I know - I did not even want to  think about any chances to feel, hear, or smell anything -

and I am not squeamish either except when it pertains to me 

please let us know how you are getting on - coming here and sharing your concerns is so great and such a relief ...

big warm hug

renee

Hi Jane i had epidural and sedated.  I was worry  i did want GA . I did not feel anything. If you are wory  speak to your anesthetist. Good luck

Hug Madla💗

Hi Jane

Are you in UK? I was told about the benefits of the spinal but also wanted to be fully asleep. I asked for both spibal and GA and they said yes. If they had said no I think I would have chosen spinal and sedative. I don't think they gave me much GA as I came round very quickly and didn't feel at all groggy.

Good luck with your op.

Jane

Yes I have had a procedure with a spinal plus sedation and it is OK. You sleep right through the op so in that sense it is no different to a general, but your recovery is quicker. The spinal takes 24 hours or so to wear off so you should have very little pain when you wake up.

I also had my recent hip replacement done with an epidural. I think that is OK too. Like the spinal they give you enough anaesthetic so you sleep through the procedure but the epidural is left in place so gives you pain relief until they remove it. And you have a boost button for additional pain relief. The downside of the epidural is that you can't get out of bed until it has worn off (in case you fall over through not feeling your legs) and they check by squirting a very cold spray at your leg to test for sensation.

Although modern GA is much improved compared to 40 years ago it still takes a while for the body to recover and they generally like to get patients out of bed as soon as possible.

Hope your op goes well

Mike