Quote:
Originally Posted by pavulon
The catheter facilitates pain control by infusing local anesthetic onto the nerves that feed your shoulder and arm/hand. The pumps can be disposable or reusable (hospitals or surgery centers may use either or both). They are typically used for 2 or so days then removed. The beauty of them is that you typically go home pain free that day.
Some places only offer a single injection which can't be made to last as long an infusion but are still better than nothing. The trouble with single injections is that when they wear off (usually early AM when the patient is asleep) it seems like throwing a switch to turn on all the pain, all at once. Of course, the pain was slowly happening while the patient was asleep but the train was leaving the station for quite awhile before reaching the waking threshold.
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I did ask for one. Not their style. Now we're talking about Cedars Sinai here.
An aside, the morning check in 6 am was different for me as I've never had major surgery before. After being interviewed for my data (again and again) I was called by a nurse to line up and follow. We 8 or so patients walked down the hallway about 3 miles and then got out little curtained off booths. One by one each was rolled away. Last thing I remembered until I was awake and I was awake like I had never left. Good ol' times chatting with the doc and wife like I'd just come in from a few laps.
W
i i i d e awake. I stayed awake for 40 hours straight until the pain hit like
pavalon said. A few more hours awake with first intravenous dilaudid and a 2nd block. It's been a week today and I haven't taken any pain meds for 2 days. No pain at all.
Rehab will be different, IK.