Anesthesia advice?

[robertbuckley]

Always take your machine with you if you are undergoing a general, even if it is for same day in and out surgery or for that matter even a colonoscopy. The anesthesiologists love me for having it there and they have it travel on the gurney from the or to recovery in case it is needed. Also, if you are overnighting, the anesthesiologists are a different department from the respiratory folks, who might get around to getting you a machine in your room (if the orders were written) late on the night you are first there, and then the settings are all screwed up. (been there, done that on an er admit without my machine.)

[Asjb]

Always take your machine with you if you are undergoing a general, even if it is for same day in and out surgery or for that matter even a colonoscopy. The anesthesiologists love me for having it there and they have it travel on the gurney from the or to recovery in case it is needed. Also, if you are overnighting, the anesthesiologists are a different department from the respiratory folks, who might get around to getting you a machine in your room (if the orders were written) late on the night you are first there, and then the settings are all screwed up. (been there, done that on an er admit without my machine.)

Oh yes! Couldn't agree more. And just to say to be sure to label all your kit and pieces with your name and mobile number (simply amazing what can go 'astray' in hospitals...). And also to take a long extension electrical lead in case there are no spare sockets immediately beside your bed. And be prepared for some hospitals, some countries, not to be allowed to use your own machine until the resident electrician Elf and Danger person has put their (usually very delayed) stamp of approval on your kit.
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All my opinions are only as an xPAP user trying to help another xPAP user.
No suggestions I may make should be taken as professional advice.
If you have medical concerns please consult a doctor

My current pressures: Auto-ASV. EPAP 10-12. PS 3-10

[49er]

And bring your machine even if you are told you have to use the one provided by the hospital. This is what I was told before my septoplasty last when it turned out they simply discouraged you from doing this but didn't forbid it.

This wasn't an issue because I woke up quickly in recovery and a machine was right there in case I needed it. But because I was taken to the floor late, there was a delay in my getting a machine when I desperately wanted to take a nap but didn't dare, particularly after surgery. And there were other issues.

Anyway, the floor nurses could have cared less if I had had my own machine and if I had had it, things would have been so much easier.

Yes, I tried to complain but didn't get very far. Another post.

[wubisnotanabbreviation]

You might find the following publication interesting - and you can always send a copy to your cardiologist, surgeon and anaesthetist, as a hint...

Practice Guidelines for the Perioperative Management of Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
An Updated Report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Perioperative Management of Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Thanks for the search suggestion. It seems like a very comprehensive document, and I'll pass it along to my surgeon and hopefully anesthesiologist.

But it addresses obstructive apnea, which is not my problem: my airway is generally clear, I just don't initiate breathing sometimes. What seems to happen is that as the sedation takes hold, I stop breathing and then I attempt to become more alert. During attempted cardioversion, my cardiologist said I kept waking up, and she increased the sedation until I was about 50% over the dosage she expected to administer, at which point she decided to call it off. The guidelines do suggest that minimizing or avoiding general anesthesia should be considered, and also say there simply isn't sufficient information from studies to make a clear evaluation of options. So that seems to be consistent with what little I know about my situation.

Thanks again!

[Clay L]

I have had a hip replacement and a knee replacement. In both cases my sleep doctor told me to make sure the surgeon (same surgeon both times) and anesthesiologist both knew I had sleep apnea and used a CPAP machine. They had me take my machine with me to the hospital. In both cases I had a spinal block rather than general anesthesia. They furnished a small container of distilled water for my humidifier.

[wubisnotanabbreviation]

I have had a hip replacement and a knee replacement. In both cases my sleep doctor told me to make sure the surgeon (same surgeon both times) and anesthesiologist both knew I had sleep apnea and used a CPAP machine. They had me take my machine with me to the hospital. In both cases I had a spinal block rather than general anesthesia. They furnished a small container of distilled water for my humidifier.

I'm trying to visualize myself awake while all that is going on - sawing off bone and so on. You must have felt being awake was worth it, if you went back for a second helping. How did you keep yourself occupied? I assume there were some non-sleep inducing drugs involved along with the spinal block?