Gallbladder Surgery Terrified Of General Can They Do An Epidural?

[gordiescotland1]

Hi I had to go hospital on Thursday night in extreme pain between my shoulder blades, good news ECG and heart bloods were normal given an abdominal ultrasound yesterday morning which shows several large gallstones. I have been advised to cut down on fat completely which I am already doing. I was given something pretty strong for the pain and it is helping dihydrocodeine I think it is stronger than cocodamol. Sent home pretty quick. In at 2am home at 9am. Anyway I am being referred to see a consultant with a view to removing the gallbladder spoke to a really nice junior doctor at the hospital who said that surgery is usually done by keyhole and i will be only in for 2 days at the most. Anyway I am absolutely terrified of a general never had one and I am wondering if i can get it done with sedation and freezing the area. My mother had a hysterectomy under spinal and was awake she was too scared to go to sleep and she was fine. I think its a control thing.

[woofgang]

you need to ask the hospital

[EDDIE51]

I am certain it has to be a 'general' , they would have offered you a choice if it was possible.
Do not worry I had one last month, there is absolutely NOTHING to worry about . You will have a cannula in your arm and they will put the anaesthetist in through that. You will know nothing at all about what happened, far easier than being awake and lying there seeing what is going on.
It is just like closing your eyes for a second and then opening them again , but when you open your eyes it will all be over.

[EDDIE51]

'aesthetic' sorry mistyped it.

[bhg481]

I love your typo Eddie - trying to visualise an anaesthetist being put down a canula rather than anaesthetic.
As Eddie says though, you just go to sleep and suddenly someone is asking you a silly question to see when you've woken from the anaesthetic. Nothing at all to worry about.

[MargoTester]

Fear not gordie- I had a hip replacement last year and I was terrified of having general anaesthetic. There was absolutely nothing to worry about, they were very reassuring about it all. Much better to know nothing about it.

[jomifl]

I've had general anaesthesia twice in the last year. In my opinion it is the best option for the patient. You wake up and it is all done.

[marval]

I have had a general anaesthetic quite a few times. It is nothing to be afraid of. If you are that scared, please let them know so they can reassure you.

[ubasses]

I agree with everyone else, had 4 operations, drug goes in the cannula and the next thing you know you are in recovery.
When you go in the anaesthetist will come and discuss everything with you. I was offered the spinal for my last one but declined. The thought of hearing what was going on did not appeal and I was wary of needle going into my spine and going wrong. Other drawback is that your lower half is paralysed for a while after coming round, but after a general only some tiredness for a while.

[Fanriffic]

Getting my gallbladder out was the best thing I ever did after nearly a decade suffering from pain between shoulder blades, acid reflux and heartburn.
Got operation at Glasgow Royal and since then I no longer suffer from my previous problems. I can now eat food I had to avoid in the past.

Nothing to worry about gordiescotland1. Go for it.
Get that general anaesthetic done for your keyhole surgery. It will be administered in your cannula and before you know it you will wake up asking for a cup of tea and a biscuit. Your anaesthetist will put you at ease and answer any questions you may have to help put your mind at rest.
You will look back and wonder why you were worried in the first place.
Go for it and good luck.

[Pete65]

Some very helpful informative responses to the original post.

[jno]

I had sedation recently and though I wasn't out like a light, it was nothing like lying awake all through it. I remember the surgeon asking me to roll over, and some chatting with the anaesthetist, but that's all; it all seemed to be over in five minutes and I felt nothing.

I'm not saying it's suitable for your procedure; but it's not like you have to sit and watch as your leg's sawn off.

I should add that I could have had gas but this wasn't mentioned till I arrived at the hospital; perhaps they just forgot. So I'd do as woofgang says: call the hospital and ask exactly what the options are.

[Greedyfly]

Seven generals in the last few years. Things have improved so much since I was a child and also had a general. It's a simple procedure and is far less stressful in the long run in my opinion.

[DTCwordfan]

four incisions are made, gordie, the biggest one under your ribcage over your diaphragm, where they do the ops through, three incisions are just a stitch and leave no scar, one for the lights and two for pumping your tummy up like a tent.....you don't want to be watching that....the op is only 40 mins and you are normally out the same day, unless you are a late pm one and have some longer recovery time in post op. I was kept in overnight as one of the guys had the gall bladder go bang and they were delayed by 5 hours to clean him up, a risk of peronitis and septacaemia, and then I took an extra thirty minutes to fully surface - the morphine was great!