My knee surgery is two weeks from tomorrow, so I had my pre-op appointment this morning. I came home with lots of goodies: anti-bacterial soap, a pair of crutches, a ream of papers. I now have to sign about 75 pages authorizing my death. Or, at the very least, severe pain, infection, permanent tissue damage and deep-vein thrombosis. Personally, I'd vote for death.
I also have to make a decision about whether I want to be awake for the procedure. They can knock me out completely, or not. If I go with option #2, although I'll be heavily sedated, I can watch the entire thing on a TV screen as it happens. And let me tell you, there ain't nothing on TV these days half as good as watching my knee get cut open.
I'm not squeamish, and the sight of blood and guts doesn't bother me. What freaks me out is the idea of being in a "twilight" where I'm half asleep, half awake. What does that feel like? Has anyone experienced this crazy thing before?
6 comments:
I think I had that when I had my wisdom teeth out. Why can't they just put you out altogether, instead of twighlight? Can you opt for that? Is it more expensive? It definitely felt like I was "out" the whole time during the surgery-- one second the dentist was going in, the next second he was done. But I needed the nitrous oxide to calm me down initially.
I would choose to be completely knocked out. No blood for me. HELL NO!
I had orthiscopic knee surgery in twilight once. I don't remember a thing. It was just like I slept though the whole thing, but with no after-effect of anestesia.
They also gave me some numbing shots in my knee, which totally disguised the post-op pain until about 12 hours after I got home. So if you go with that option, watch out for the numbing stuff to wear off.
Good luck!
I happened upon your entry here and can shed some light on how being "awake" for knee surgery goes. I've had knee operations on both knees and an upcoming knee replacement
I prefer the epidural. I recall watching it in the black and white monitor (so the blood isn't red and not all that disturbing at all). I didn't care for general as I was so cold I thought I was dying when I awoke. I found the epidural an interesting experience, felt no pain and it didn't even seem like it was my knee in the monitor. Best of luck to you!
I've never had surgery, so I think I'd go with the "lights out" option. But if you're curious, it should make for good cocktail party conversation in the future.
You know when it's morning and you are by no means awake, but you're vaguely aware that your covers are the perfect temperature, softness, and weight...and that you're more comfortable than you are 99.9% of the time?
That's twilight. I've had it twice -- don't worry about a thing!
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