Recent General Anesthesia – a good experience

[Guest guest]

Dear ers,

On June 12 I had surgery to repar a rotator cuff tear. This was done

on an outpatient basis, however it did require general anesthesia.

The day before surgery, the anestheologist phoned me to chat about

the procedure, what he would do, give me, etc. He mentioned he

would give me a `nerve block' that would help keep the pain at bay

for the first 12 hours at home. I told him I have CMT and we

discussed the Nitrious Oxide issue. I said I have a `medications

alert list' and he said " bring it with you " .

The day of surgery arrived. I had 'the list' with me, but I met with

a * different * anestheologist! Now this guy and I had a very long

pre-op chat. He said he had spent many hours the evening before

researching CMT and Anesthesia, citing many journal articles. He also

explained everything he would give me, but he said " I won't be giving

you a nerve block because I don't want to make your CMT neuropathy

worse " . I was very impressed and had complete confidence in this man.

Surgery was quick and went well, I woke up fast, and stayed awake for

the rest of the day. On the way home I was so hungry, I ate 6 fig

newtons, lol

I've been in PT for 3 weeks and it's brutal, but quickly returning to

normal range of motion that I had before surgery. In between PT and

all, I'm catching up on my reading list, pouring water over wilted

flowers and trying not to breathe smoky air from the fire.

Gretchen