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Surgery with Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction
Hi Dr. Towfigh,
I’m sorry to bother you about this, but I was reading reviews for Cedars Sinai and I came across some that state that some staff at Cedars tells patients that there are no narcotics in their epidurals, but that there actually are, and that the anesthesiologist admitted their were.
Here’s one part of a review I read:
“Birth Plan Violation #1 (Do not offer me drugs) Requested No epidural- was literally convinced into epidural- was told epidural had no narcotics. By Nurse Violet and two other attending nurses, all with a dismissive “oh, no, of course it doesn’t!” No narcotics, ever! (While the MD Anesthesiologist) confirmed the fact that their particular epidural combination HAS and did in fact have a narcotic component which was in fact put into my clients body and was probably what was causing the itching and discomfort- allergic reaction.â€
You can read the rest here if interested:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cedars-sinai-los-angeles-2If you recall, after we cancelled the first operation, you told me not to worry about receiving narcotics during my aftercare because they were going to use an epidural in me. I read about it, and I was okay with the idea because I read they can just use a local anesthetic, maybe like Lidocaine, which I know I tolerate well, and a nerve blocker.
Well, now I’m very afraid that they are going to put narcotics in this epidural. I’m not just concerned about a rash, or itching. From past experience, I cannot handle medications like narcotics, even in minute doses, they are a nightmare for my body and mind. I wonder if they just told you that it will be fine, but it really won’t.
I’m not sure if there’s anything even you can do about this. The review above was written by a birth doula, and she was overruled by the nurses and doctors at Cedars Sinai.
I’m quite worried now. I wish I didn’t have a major drug sensitivity, but I do.
Update: I’m editing this to add that I just read this article and parts of it sound like a good plan for someone like me:
http://uvahealth.com/about/news-room/archives/helping-abdominal-surgery-patients-recover-sooner
I’d rather drink coconut water which is better than any sports drink and works really well for me, also it’s identical to human blood plasma. They used it in WWII when IV solution was in short supply. I realize I’ll be drinking it, not having it injected, of course. My husband was planning on bringing coconut waters to my hospital room anyway. We found that Wholefoods bottled it fresh for me when we were down there before and thought I was having surgery then.
The above article states: ” Opioid pain medications have largely been replaced with non-narcotic medications such as acetaminophen.†I’m all for that. 🙂
Then the article states: “Patients are required to get out of bed and move around. Patients need to be out of bed for six hours on the first day following surgery and eight hours on the second day.”
I am totally fine with having to get up and move around even though I’m already in chronic pain and mostly bedridden, because with my particular illnesses, exercise and eating well helps me feel better, however I may not be able to be out of bed for six to eight hours, but I’m willing to try. I may just have to take more breaks and lie down at times, just like I’ve had to do for the past 14 years. We’re bringing my exercise ball and I can sometimes sit on that for a few hours at a time. It’s the largest ball they make and half deflated, which is why I do so well on it.
Another important key to this protocol is that it allows you to eat sooner, and I need to eat every few hours or I start feeling very sick, plus I have low blood sugar, and I get worse and worse the longer I go without eating, so this seems like a definite benefit for me.
This article is making me feel very optimistic. I do great with natural remedies. I hope I can do this. Please tell me if you think I can. However, Dr. Aliabadi said she thought I should be in the hospital for six days, and one reason I think that would be good for me is because we are coming in from out of town, and so far, all the hotel beds are very high and difficult for me to climb into. The beds at Serenity have memory foam mattresses and those set off my fibro when I try to move on them in any way, so a hospital bed would probably be best for me while I recover.
Also, I was reading that sometimes other types of meds are given during or after surgery, and I cannot handle Neurontin or antidepressants.
And, I was wondering if I’m going to be having general anesthesia now, or if I’m going to be awake with an epidural during surgery.