posted
I had a general anaesthetic for my wisdom teeth. I was apparently "awake" before they let my mother into the room, but I don't remember it at ALL. Which is odd, given my reactions to drugs (I metabolise them very rapidly).
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
I didn't realize that was standard policy. When I had an upper endoscopy recently, my driver was allowed to sit with me in recovery. Nobody even mentioned it. She wasn't even related to me.
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by ClaudiaTherese: "Recovery" from an endoscopy essentially is stepdown, I think.
OK, that makes the difference in lay v. medical usage of "alert" much clearer. I've had endoscopies, and if everything that happens after that is part of the "alert" phase then I doubt Aerin will be aware prior to the stepdown room.
(I'm assuming the difference is between general anesthesia and the happy drugs you get with endoscopies.)
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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With the surgery I had at the end of May, I wasn't alert until I was in step-down. However, it took me a bit of time to come out of it and I know I heard the nurse comment to Nathan that I must be a cheap date.
I also flipped off Nathan somewhere in between the IV sedative they gave me right before the interscalene block and the actual put-you-to-sleep IV. But I don't remember said flip-off because once the anesthesiologist started the first IV, all I remember is him starting to walk to the other side of the bed, and then bam! I was waking up in step-down.
o_O
Mrs. M, I hope you can get the hospital to let you be with your daughter from recovery to step-down. Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Thank you so much for all the prayers and good wishes. I shouldn't have just ranted and then abandoned the post, but it's been a hectic summer.
Good news! I'll just cut and paste from my blog.
quote:I just spoke to the MRA Department at St. Mary's and I feel better. They will allow me to stay with Aerin until they put her under and they will let me into the recovery room the second she shows the slightest sign of waking up. They'll even put the Pedialyte in her own sippy cup. The nurse could not have been more helpful and reassuring. She even gave me her direct number if I have any more questions.
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I'm glad everything turned out all right. I wasn't around when you made the initial post (bad stuff going on in early July) but I just want to say that I ran into a problem with HIPPA when I had my son. They said we couldn't be in the nursery with him if there were other babies in there with him. Well, I think they were full of **** because we had almost gone to another hospital which specifically said we could be with our child at ALL times no matter what. They wanted to keep taking him away from me to go on the warmer. (Something I wasn't happy about, either, to be honest.) When it came time to circumcise him, we absolutely INSISTED On being there with him through the whole thing. They gave us a lot of grief (it was a lousy hospital...definitely going somewhere else next time) and eventually they took the other babies out and put them in the hallway where anyone could see them to protect them from our prying eyes while we were with our son!!!
Privacy is important, but some interpretations of this law go over the top. One of these days it would be nice if we could use some common sense.
P.S. I went under general anesthesia on the 4th of July (part of my lousy beginning of the month) and came out fairly quickly. I was very glad my husband was there when I woke up.
Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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I say yay to Mrs. M that she is able to be with her little one. As I understand it, they are mostly concerned about other patients' privacy. It would seem silly to try to keep a minor child's privacy from her parent as the parent makes all medical decisions for the child, at least I would find that a silly practice.
As for the "aware" business, every surgery I have had I have woken up in recovery completely aware (and usually in pain) of what was going on around me. The last time involved having an impacted wisdom tooth removed. As I have a fear of needles and the sight of my own blood, they had to knock me out. The problem this time is that I woke up in the middle of the procedure and saw the Dr putting a silver instrument into my mouth and felt an inordinate amount of pain. I remember the technician (assistant or whatever you wanna call her) telling me it would be ok (this helped as I had gone to school with her from grammar through high school), then they upped the dose of whatever sedative they had given me and I woke up after the procedure was completed. The nurse woke me and told me some instructions as she was getting ready to take me to what I presume is "step down" recovery where my sister was waiting. She told me that she would repeat it all to my sister as I would not remember anything she had said due to the anesthesia....needless to say I remembered EVERYTHING she had said and was aware of everything going on. I did not fall back asleep, and when she came to change the gauze pad in my mouth I screamed and almost (but not quite) fainted at the sight of all of that blood that had come from my mouth. So you see, it really depends on the patient and the situation as to whether they will be aware or not upon waking. ( of course I also remember the Dr in the recovery room when I had my tonsils taken out telling the nurse that he wanted to keep me overnight instead of as an out patient as he was concerned that my throat might hemorrhage, before being taken to a room where my mom was waiting. The next day a few hours after being sent home, it did in fact do exactly that!)
I am very glad to hear that Mrs. M will be able to be there so that her child will not be as frightened of the goings on around her as I was upon recovery. God bless and I will pray for an easy procedure and recovery for Aerin.
Posts: 325 | Registered: Aug 2002
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