Wussy needs advice please.
Grab your coffee folks, I'm afraid this is going to be rather a long and rambling kerfuffle. Next week, I have to return to the slammer to have an internal carotid aneurysm clipped. At my pre admission appointment (five people and six hours total), I was told that an arterial line would be put into my wrist to monitor, beat by beat, my blood pressure and pulse. Apparently vitally important that the blood pressure be well controlled. I would also have a femoral line put in in case of big vessel needed to administer blood in case of haemhorrage or any other drama which needs more than just a standard IV line.
Fair enough, but here's the twist. They can't or won't do this after putting me under. I have to have these put in in the anaesthetic bay, under locals, before being taken in to the theatre. Uh ooohhhh...nah... not happening. I explained to the anaesthetist and to the neuro surgical doctors that I had become extremely needle phobic over this wonderful "journey" (fuck that), that I've been on over the past two years. The lovely biopsies from breast and nodes, the soon after portacath inserted under local, I might add, No twilight sleep there...and furthermore, this was done by someone learning how to do that shit, so I had to listen to all the "right now make that incision larger, now stick your finger in and force a tunnel between the two incisions. Right now be careful you don't perforate the vessel "etc. Very traumatising listening to that and feeling all the pulling and tugging.I then had the charming dye into nipple before the Great Tit Lop Off...nice... Then the highlight of my wonderful trip down Cancer Boulevard...the Big Chop. Because of a pre existing medical condition, antiphospholipid antigen syndrome, I chuck blood clots at the drop of a hat. Been on warfarin for over twenty years.
Before starting chemo, I came off the warfarin and went onto clexane..two jabs twice a day and that went on for eithteen months so about 1080 jabs there too all told. Anyhooo, the night after the bilateral, some individual decided that I must have my clexane. Great...started a massive haemhorrage. Rushed to ICU and a stampede of medicos arrived and surrounded my bed. One headed for my right wrist for an arterial line and one for my right groin for a femoral line. (Sound familiar)? They were both faffing about drawing up local, but the surgeon was yelling that there was no time.."Just get those lines in... go go go..." So no locals here, and fuck that "Just a sharp scratch and a bit of pressure here" ..it was horrendously painful. I was freaking out, thinking I was dying and the whole thing still leaves me with the shakes just thinking about it.
I explained all this to these clowns, who seemed to think I was being a bit over the top. "Really, it's very straightforward and we will give you locals". Yeah right, and they don't hurt either, do they? Especially as I have severe neuropathy in my hands and feet, which gives mixed feelings of skin numbness, but increased sensation of pain with pressure, such as blood pressure being taken...feels like my hand is swelling and will burst.I have to go in the day before this Frankenstein head chop to have my warfarin rapid reversed. This will require a drip.
After being told that they couldn't put these lines in on the day of surgery after being sedated, as they had to have the arterial line in to monitor my B.P. before going under, so a catch 22), I asked if I couldn't be sedated the day before, when I have the warfarin reversal done, and then have those two lines put in when I'm in La La Land. Then the following day, I would arrive at the theatre with warfarin reversed, IV line in, arterial line in, femoral line in, ready to rock and roll, and me not having been turned into a sobbing mess. I was told that that was unnecessary, and that they would proceed as explained.
My question (finally) is this. Do I stick to my guns the day before, and demand they put in the lines under sedation, or wait till I'm in the anaethetic bay on the day of surgery, and then just flat out refuse to have them under local. If needs be, say I'm going to withdraw consent for the surgery and they can all bugger off and go home. That should put their feet to the fire. I'm not usually so passive aggressive, but I am not going to let them do this to me while I'm awake. After they knock me out they can poke and stab me wherever they want, but not while I'm awake. What to do...???
Fair enough, but here's the twist. They can't or won't do this after putting me under. I have to have these put in in the anaesthetic bay, under locals, before being taken in to the theatre. Uh ooohhhh...nah... not happening. I explained to the anaesthetist and to the neuro surgical doctors that I had become extremely needle phobic over this wonderful "journey" (fuck that), that I've been on over the past two years. The lovely biopsies from breast and nodes, the soon after portacath inserted under local, I might add, No twilight sleep there...and furthermore, this was done by someone learning how to do that shit, so I had to listen to all the "right now make that incision larger, now stick your finger in and force a tunnel between the two incisions. Right now be careful you don't perforate the vessel "etc. Very traumatising listening to that and feeling all the pulling and tugging.I then had the charming dye into nipple before the Great Tit Lop Off...nice... Then the highlight of my wonderful trip down Cancer Boulevard...the Big Chop. Because of a pre existing medical condition, antiphospholipid antigen syndrome, I chuck blood clots at the drop of a hat. Been on warfarin for over twenty years.
Before starting chemo, I came off the warfarin and went onto clexane..two jabs twice a day and that went on for eithteen months so about 1080 jabs there too all told. Anyhooo, the night after the bilateral, some individual decided that I must have my clexane. Great...started a massive haemhorrage. Rushed to ICU and a stampede of medicos arrived and surrounded my bed. One headed for my right wrist for an arterial line and one for my right groin for a femoral line. (Sound familiar)? They were both faffing about drawing up local, but the surgeon was yelling that there was no time.."Just get those lines in... go go go..." So no locals here, and fuck that "Just a sharp scratch and a bit of pressure here" ..it was horrendously painful. I was freaking out, thinking I was dying and the whole thing still leaves me with the shakes just thinking about it.
I explained all this to these clowns, who seemed to think I was being a bit over the top. "Really, it's very straightforward and we will give you locals". Yeah right, and they don't hurt either, do they? Especially as I have severe neuropathy in my hands and feet, which gives mixed feelings of skin numbness, but increased sensation of pain with pressure, such as blood pressure being taken...feels like my hand is swelling and will burst.I have to go in the day before this Frankenstein head chop to have my warfarin rapid reversed. This will require a drip.
After being told that they couldn't put these lines in on the day of surgery after being sedated, as they had to have the arterial line in to monitor my B.P. before going under, so a catch 22), I asked if I couldn't be sedated the day before, when I have the warfarin reversal done, and then have those two lines put in when I'm in La La Land. Then the following day, I would arrive at the theatre with warfarin reversed, IV line in, arterial line in, femoral line in, ready to rock and roll, and me not having been turned into a sobbing mess. I was told that that was unnecessary, and that they would proceed as explained.
My question (finally) is this. Do I stick to my guns the day before, and demand they put in the lines under sedation, or wait till I'm in the anaethetic bay on the day of surgery, and then just flat out refuse to have them under local. If needs be, say I'm going to withdraw consent for the surgery and they can all bugger off and go home. That should put their feet to the fire. I'm not usually so passive aggressive, but I am not going to let them do this to me while I'm awake. After they knock me out they can poke and stab me wherever they want, but not while I'm awake. What to do...???
