General anaesthetic or spinal with sedation.

[1ELISEA]

given the option of a general anaesthetic

OK, GA is waaaaay under represented here and there are a lot of us. Must be everyone is out walking the malls shopping and getting ready for Christmas.

GA the only way to go. I was up and walking as soon as I was back to my room. My OS will only do GA as he wants you up and walking and out of the hospital asap. Loved it!

 

[Butterfly]

I had spinal with sedation for both hips. OS said it was much better because of fewer side effects, patient wakes up clear headed, no nausea, no tube down the throat, etc. The anesthesiologist said the same thing and said he felt it was safer. Anyway I had no trouble at all and would not hesitate to use it again.

 

[Jozilla]

My hospital preferred spinal on all joint replacements. I was scared and Should never have wasted my energy worrying about this. It was the best thing ever. It is wonderful to just wake up and not be in any pain. I could wiggle my toes and was really shocked at how great the spinal was. It is the only way to go if you have the choice. While I was in recovery only for a very short time a woman next to me had a general and they were having a very difficult time waking her. I was thankful for my anesthesiologist.

 

[Tykey]

I hate the thought of them shoving that big tube down your throat with a GA, I found it very uncomfortable afterwards.

 

[irene S]

Thank you for your replys. I know there are pros and cons to both, now need to decide....

 

[jeano]

will point out here that although I wasnt walking IMMEDIATELY after getting out of recovery and to my room the day of surgery (with spinal) I WAS walking that day and went HOME that day. Perhaps I couldve done the same with GA but I kinda doubt it. As always, YMMV.

 

[1ELISEA]

LOL, my OS and anesthesiologist uses only GA and considers spinal to be the old way to do the surgery. Less risk of infection, up and walking as soon as to room, etc. etc. See, all depends upon whom you choose.

Here are the previous discussions on the subject, thought it might help!
This one
and This one

Take care and looking forward to hearing about your experience!

 

[Tykey]

Of course an opinion on which is better is only valid when we've had both procedures to compare.

 

[jeano]

True, that. From their perspective, the OS and anesthesiologist who have a preference (and I'm sure most do) will have based that on how well their patients do, and presumably have done various operations with both methods and HAVE therefore based their preference on that comparison. At least one would hope so. I wasnt offered the option of a general and it would never have occurred to me for ask for it, based on how well my husband did with his spinal--we did have to struggle with him to get him awake and to the john to pee after his hernia repair so he could go home, but that was due to them having to slug him with extra sedation during the op, nothing to do with the spinal end of things. Personally, I would never want to be intubated if it could be avoided.

A zillion years ago when I was in nursing school the big drawback to spinals, if I recall correctly, was patients having to lay flat for a very long time to prevent the dreaded "spinal headache." Or perhaps that was just for aspiration of spinal fluid, I dunno. At any rate, when I woke up post op I was semi sitting and my punkin' head felt just fine. Drowsy but certainly not hurting.

 

[glazed151]

I was fully expecting to request GA because I was unaware a spinal may be a better choice...I am meeting with the nurses & anesthesiologist the day after tomorrow. My surgery is next Tues. My biggest concern is making sure that I am not awake for the surgery. I know I will have a nerve block because my Dr discussed that with me.
How much pain does getting a spinal cause?

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[1ELISEA]

Well, for those of us that had a GA, the GA is the better choice; just depends upon how many want to post at the time this thread pops up every so often. Might want to leave it up to your surgeon; they usually have their preferences and as they are doing the surgery............

 

[Campervan]

Mine was epidural with sedation. Then femoral nerve block for 48 hours post op. I had very very little pain but I did have light headedness and threw up big time on the evening of the surgery. When I got out of bed the next morning I went giddy and nauseous. So nauseousness can happen even without a GA.

Anaesthetist asked me how much I wanted to remember and I told him nothing. Last thing I remember is being wheeled into the lift to go to theatre. Next thing I'm in the recovery room, dozed off again and then remember being back in my room with my lovely nurse Diane.

On the plus side I was clearing emails through my phone by 3pm on the afternoon of surgery. And they were work emails so my colleague emailed me and in capital letters just said "STOP WORKING"

 

[ksmarvin]

I wonder if they will give you and spinal and light sedation if you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. When I had surgery for carpal tunnel, they said I needed GA because of being on a CPAP machine.

 

[Jozilla]

I guess it must be the anesthesiologists preference. I use a Cpap machine due to sleep apnea. I had a spinal with happy juice which for this surgery they preferred using. I did have to bring my Cpap machine to the hospital and my settings had to be checked. Also my first night I had to recover in critical care unit. I was nervous that they wouldn't have the same expertise as the joint replacement unit and might hurt me. They were wonderful and I received exceptional care in a nice private room. Early the next morning I was moved to the joint replacement floor just in time to start PT. The most important thing is that they are aware of your sleep apnea.

 

[jeano]

I was fully expecting to request GA because I was unaware a spinal may be a better choice...I am meeting with the nurses & anesthesiologist the day after tomorrow. My surgery is next Tues. My biggest concern is making sure that I am not awake for the surgery. I know I will have a nerve block because my Dr discussed that with me.
How much pain does getting a spinal cause?

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I have no memory of having the spinal done. The happy juice is excellent stuff. I think the anesethesiologists are pretty good at managing sedation and preventing pain via the nerve block and IV drugs.Quite literally the most annoying pain I had in the first two days postop was where they gave me an antibiotic shot. The actual spinal site had a bandaid on it that itched a little until I took it off a couple of days later.

I doubt that its all black or all white i.e. some folks will have GA and rave about it, others will find it the Worst Experience Ever, some will similarly have a spinal and think its the greatest thing since sliced bread, while others will wake up during the op, have a botched nerve block, and a ferocious spinal headache afterwards. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

My husband DID wake up during a hernia operation and carry on a conversation with his surgeon. Nothing hurt though. Its unusual that he remembered doing this. My OS told me some folks are very entertaining and tell jokes all the way through the op but are NOT in pain and dont remember what they've done afterwards.

 

[kneeper]

If you're lucky like I was, the anesthesiologist will present pros and cons to you. I had the spinal but he said, they always have the GA as an option if there is some issue with the spinal. depending on your individual medical history one or the other may make more sense.

 

[dtmbf]

I'm having GA - I absolutely do not want to hear ANYTHING during surgery. My mother just had a knee replaced & said she could hear them banging away. I had GA for my hips & did just fine - they did give me Zofran (anti-nausea) during the case so the issue of nausea was not an issue. Plus, my OS prefers to do the knees under GA - he's concerned about the level of seadation needed to make sure I am not at all aware of anything! Call me a wimp, but I also don't want someone sticking a needel in my spine.