Wednesday 22 July 2009

Home Sweet Home...

As you can see from the typo in yesterday's post title, I couldn't see straight due to the very effective painkillers I'd been given...

I'd just like to thank everyone for their prayers and best wishes: having a spinal anaesthetic was, quite literally, the answer to my prayers (not all anaesthetists seem too keen on them.)

Spinal anaesthesia feels pretty weird. First of all, I couldn't feel anything from the waist down. I couldn't move anything. I couldn't even feel myself trying to move anything. When I put my hand on my leg, my hand felt warm skin, but there was no leg detecting the hand, so it felt as if I was touching someone else's leg... but my brain did a sort of back-flip, because I knew it was my own leg. I also got a bit of a shock when I saw a leg being moved by a nurse, and then realised that it was my leg.

The major advantage of a spinal anaesthetic is that the immediate post-operative pain is pretty much over by the time you can feel anything at all, and sensation returns very gradually, so medication for pain relief is therefore pretty effective. In my experience, waking up from general anaesthesia has always involved a much more immediate awareness of pain... more often than not, it was the pain which brought me round, and the painkillers have a higher threshold to get over. Patient-controlled analgesia pumps work on much the same sort of principle: little doses of painkiller, administered very frequently, prevent the pain building up, and so less painkiller is needed overall.

I'm now safely back home, having unpacked my bag, cuddled the cat and wolfed down some hot, buttered toast. Normal blogging will resume shortly...

13 comments:

Jane said...

Thanks for the update Mac. Glad you're home and beginning to get back to normal! Deo gratias!

Amanda said...

Great news!

Annie said...

Mmmm, toast..! Take care, try not to overdo it!

Mrs McLean said...

Congratulations on getting through it all. Happy recovery!

Ches said...

That is good news. Wushing you a speedy recovery!

gemoftheocean said...

Hey, NO jello. I don't care WHAT they tell you! ;-D

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you had a good time of it! I remember when I had a spinal for surgery, leaving me wide awake to hear: "Oh no! We've made a mistake!" (in Italian). The other doctor said that I knew Italian, and then they started to whisper. Rest easy, Mac.

Father George bloggingMERCY

Idle Rambler said...

Glad to hear it all went well.

Cathy_of_Alex said...

Prayers here!

Elizabeth said...

No apricot jam on the toast?.
Nice to have you home sound and safe and ready to give your all to blogging.

truthfinder said...

I'm so happy all went well. Is Sylvester grumpy? Sardines could help. :) Rosemary in Missouri

Anonymous said...

Good to hear you're back home :)

Must be a pretty weird experience with your legs.

Dilly said...

Welcome back.

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