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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / October 2006ok, somebody please explain this to me
don't get me wrong, i'm delighted, but i'm also quite puzzled. my surgery was wednesday. it was deep. i know there was bone and tendons involved with the adhesions. i know i had a very long acting local anesthetic. it was a painless surgery. my surgeon was meticulously careful about that. what i don't understand is this is sunday, well now, monday morning, and there hasn't been any post-op pain. for two, almost three days, i deliberately skipped my usual pain medication for my spine (and entirely skipped the oxycodone that was prescribed for post-op pain), just to see if i was imagining this. i haven't been imagining it. my spine has been screaming at me for being so unkind, as have my other joints. but i haven't felt anything even remotely like post-op pain since the operation, not once. in fact, i've been using this hand and arm, as if there hadn't been any surgery at all, and with no ill effects. yes, it is still bandaged. though i did redo it, saturday, with less "gauzy generosity" to free up my hand. it looks to be about a 2 inch incision. has this kind of post-op painlessness happened to anybody else? it can't be my messed up neck numbing this, because my shoulder, atop that same forearm where the incision is very near my wrist, is not a happy camper. i sure wish somebody would be so kind as to explain this to me. and wouldn't it be lovely if it were repeatable! and if it were, my surgeon should spread that technique around to his colleagues. or bottle it! or can it! i mean, i must have had close to 16 operations by now and enough stitches (when you also include suturing up boo-boos) to tailor a modest wardrobe. but even my boo-boos, that were sutured, hurt more than this ever did! i'm astonished, delighted, but wondering about why, cuz this is slightly freakish to me. i feel a bit like i should be hearing the theme song from twilight zone.<smile> has anybody ever, in their life, heard of an absolutely painless surgery, post-op? am i a first? in SOMETHING. FINALLY?!LOL just a thought. could my platelet count be so high that it healed up super fast? nah, dumb thought. kate well, I know with my thumb he also put in a nerve block at the site before closing. It made the anesthesia wearing off much easier and didn't wear off entirely for a couple of days - but I was hurting pretty good by this time! Maybe he did a little more than that because he was actually fiddling with the nerve? Or maybe that fiddling made things a bit numb for a while? Ask him when you see him and let us know! Oh, and if you need to get rid of some excess pain meds....... (wink, wink)  SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare well, I know with my thumb he also put in a nerve block at the site before closing. It made the anesthesia wearing off much easier and didn't wear off entirely for a couple of days - but I was hurting pretty good by this time! Maybe he did a little more than that because he was actually fiddling with the nerve? Or maybe that fiddling made things a bit numb for a while? Ask him when you see him and let us know! Oh, and if you need to get rid of some excess pain meds....... (wink, wink) i know he didn't use a nerve block this time, though he did twice before. there's no numbness, like with a nerve block. it just simply doesn't hurt. i can feel my rubbing on top of the ace bandage though. i will ask him. maybe he did do something else that he didn't tell me about. somehow though, i'd think i'd have felt some kind of pain by now. i had a teeny-tiny bit of burning the other day, but even that was hard to notice. and i've been waiting for it to hit. this is the first time i'm happy to say my expectations were not met. ROTFL! you're adorable! with the way my neck, back, shoulder, ankles. knees and hips have been screaming at me (bet they'd have cussed if they could) for not taking them, i took some of my "excess pain meds" tonight.<smile> but i still haven't been able to sleep. now i wish i had some of that long acting local anesthetic leaking through my system again.LOL kate SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare How is the feeling around the wrist area? NUMB,,,, they might of got a nerve in their doings. It could be that other places just have shouted down the wrist area. Harv > don't get me wrong, i'm delighted, but i'm also quite puzzled. my surgery > was wednesday. it was deep. i know there was bone and tendons involved [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > > kate How is the feeling around the wrist area? NUMB,,,, they might of got a nerve in their doings. It could be that other places just have shouted down the wrist area. Harv well the nerve he was concentrating on was not the one that serves the outside (ulnar side) of my wrist. it was the one for the other bone (i went blank) side and middle of the top of my wrist and arm. i can feel me touching the ace bandage over the incision. so, that's not numb. just painfree---bet it wouldn't be if i took a hammer to it, though.LOL y'know harv, i was wondering if maybe everything else was "too loud for me to hear it", as you suggested. but even that would still be a first for me, when it comes to surgical pain. kate > don't get me wrong, i'm delighted, but i'm also quite puzzled. my surgery > was wednesday. it was deep. i know there was bone and tendons involved [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > > kate I am not sure what to think, but I do think that it is great that you do not have pain right now..thank goodness. I am glad to hear you are doing better . Lord knows you have been through a whole lot lately. > don't get me wrong, i'm delighted, but i'm also quite puzzled. my surgery > was wednesday. it was deep. i know there was bone and tendons involved [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > > kate thank you, rhonda. that's kind of you. kate I am not sure what to think, but I do think that it is great that you do not have pain right now..thank goodness. I am glad to hear you are doing better . Lord knows you have been through a whole lot lately. > don't get me wrong, i'm delighted, but i'm also quite puzzled. my surgery > was wednesday. it was deep. i know there was bone and tendons involved [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > > kate > has this kind of post-op painlessness happened to anybody else? Hi Kate, Yes, I had that experience once, when I had my ankle replaced in 2001. I was astounded. Sure, the doc injected my leg with a nerve block after the surgical anesthesia dissipated, and sure they gave me a dose of morphine to get me over the first night with a few days doses of mild pain killer to take home. And yes, I took them, but more because I was supposed to rather than because I NEEDED them. After all that was done, though, and when I was allowed to start weight-bearing, both occasions usually fraught with intense pain... nothing. The man essentially cut off my foot and then repaired it and I had not a lick of pain at any point. I've had several orthopedic surgeries in previous years and they were always agonizing afterwards. Not this one. I'm not sure what the difference is. Some docs seem to be either miracle workers or they have a secret new technique! - Sharon "Gravity... is a harsh mistress!" In article <Y7WdnfUg077Q2a7YnZ2dnUVZ_o6dnZ2d@comcast.com>, "d'huit" <threecedars1@comcast2.net> writes: > has this kind of post-op painlessness happened to anybody else? Hi Kate, Yes, I had that experience once, when I had my ankle replaced in 2001. I was astounded. Sure, the doc injected my leg with a nerve block after the surgical anesthesia dissipated, and sure they gave me a dose of morphine to get me over the first night with a few days doses of mild pain killer to take home. And yes, I took them, but more because I was supposed to rather than because I NEEDED them. After all that was done, though, and when I was allowed to start weight-bearing, both occasions usually fraught with intense pain... nothing. The man essentially cut off my foot and then repaired it and I had not a lick of pain at any point. I've had several orthopedic surgeries in previous years and they were always agonizing afterwards. Not this one. I'm not sure what the difference is. Some docs seem to be either miracle workers or they have a secret new technique! - Sharon "Gravity... is a harsh mistress!" w0w! what a story! no pain even during rehab is wonderfully amazing! thank you for sharing this, sharon. it's nice knowing i haven't been the only one to experience this phenomenon (for want of a better word). did you tell your surgeon about this and what did he say about it? now that i know i'm not the only one who has experienced this, i'm getting really curious, about how this happens. i wonder if there's been a study done about this and what has been learned about it. my mom always seemed to go through surgeries painlessly. but i always thought it was because she had an incredible pain tolerance/threshold or that she was incredibly stoic. obviously, i am neither stoic nor have i better than average pain tolerance. kate (i like your sig file. it's very applicable to this gladys goodfairy, who seems to take flight while leaving my wings somewhere else.<smile>) > w0w! what a story! no pain even during rehab is wonderfully amazing! > thank you for sharing this, sharon. it's nice knowing i haven't been the > only one to experience this phenomenon (for want of a better word). did you > tell your surgeon about this and what did he say about it? Yeah, but I think my surgeon was stoic. His answer was kind of a shrug, as if to say "what did you expect?" He's one of *those* kinds of doctors, though: superlative technical skills, the kind of guy you WANT cutting into you, but not so great at people skills. > now that i know i'm not the only one who has experienced this, i'm getting > really curious, about how this happens. i wonder if there's been a study > done about this and what has been learned about it. Yeah, that would be fascinating. All of my previous surgeries had me waking up from anesthesia wanting to scream from the pain. It as very odd and glorious to have none that time. I remember when he told me I could start weight-bearing and his instructions were "as much as you want or feel like". And I was like a cartoon character, squinting my eyes shut to prepare for the pain... tiny bit of weight, no pain... open one eye, add more weight, no pain... open the other, go full weight, no pain. Pinching to make sure I wasn't dreaming! > kate > (i like your sig file. it's very applicable to this gladys goodfairy, who > seems to take flight while leaving my wings somewhere else.<smile>) Ha! It's actually a quote from The Tick (who was "nigh invincible") after falling from the sky one time and crashing to the ground. Very funny, but also very applicable to anyone with joint disease. We all know how harsh Gravity is, right? ;-) - Sharon "Gravity... is a harsh mistress!" In article <bJOdncyM6eZza67YnZ2dnUVZ_oqdnZ2d@comcast.com>, "d'huit" <threecedars1@comcast2.net> writes: > w0w! what a story! no pain even during rehab is wonderfully amazing! > thank you for sharing this, sharon. it's nice knowing i haven't been the > only one to experience this phenomenon (for want of a better word). did > you > tell your surgeon about this and what did he say about it? Yeah, but I think my surgeon was stoic. His answer was kind of a shrug, as if to say "what did you expect?" He's one of *those* kinds of doctors, though: superlative technical skills, the kind of guy you WANT cutting into you, but not so great at people skills. ***LOL! a non-answer. the old "answer with a question if you don't know the answer".LOL i got lucky with this hand surgeon. he, too, is technically excellent, but also warm, in a grandfatherly way. one of his smiles feels like a hug. > now that i know i'm not the only one who has experienced this, i'm getting > really curious, about how this happens. i wonder if there's been a study > done about this and what has been learned about it. Yeah, that would be fascinating. All of my previous surgeries had me waking up from anesthesia wanting to scream from the pain. It as very odd and glorious to have none that time. I remember when he told me I could start weight-bearing and his instructions were "as much as you want or feel like". And I was like a cartoon character, squinting my eyes shut to prepare for the pain... tiny bit of weight, no pain... open one eye, add more weight, no pain... open the other, go full weight, no pain. Pinching to make sure I wasn't dreaming! > kate > (i like your sig file. it's very applicable to this gladys goodfairy, who > seems to take flight while leaving my wings somewhere else.<smile>) Ha! It's actually a quote from The Tick (who was "nigh invincible") after falling from the sky one time and crashing to the ground. Very funny, but also very applicable to anyone with joint disease. We all know how harsh Gravity is, right? ;-) ***LOL! absolutely! kate - Sharon "Gravity... is a harsh mistress!" For two of my hand surgeries, even when in the hospital, I refused medication until bedtime and that to just be sure I fell asleep and stayed that way. Even with all that bone cutting and replacement, things felt so much better that I just didn't hurt. lol Well good for you. Now go take something for the rest of your joints. Duckie > don't get me wrong, i'm delighted, but i'm also quite puzzled. my surgery > was wednesday. it was deep. i know there was bone and tendons involved [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > > kate For two of my hand surgeries, even when in the hospital, I refused medication until bedtime and that to just be sure I fell asleep and stayed that way. Even with all that bone cutting and replacement, things felt so much better that I just didn't hurt. lol Well good for you. Now go take something for the rest of your joints. Duckie YAAAY! i'm glad painfree post-op happened to you, too, duckie. i am liking this, hearing about other painfree surgeries and post-ops! maybe and hopefully, surgeons have been learning from all the past painful surgeries and post-ops and are doing things differently. one can hope. sometimes, i swear you can see through your monitor, duckie! a bit of the witchie-po thing, there?LOL ok, i will. kate d'huit wrote: > don't get me wrong, i'm delighted, but i'm also quite puzzled. my surgery > was wednesday. it was deep. i know there was bone and tendons involved [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > > kate rofl let's call it esp or psychic -- witches are those ladies that I met in Salem MA who knew I was psychic and looked right through my soul. Made me all cold inside. Creepy. lol Duckie > "Duckie" ... Now go take something for the rest of your joints. > Duckie [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > kate rofl let's call it esp or psychic -- witches are those ladies that I met in Salem MA who knew I was psychic and looked right through my soul. Made me all cold inside. Creepy. lol Duckie eeeek! no. no! i wasn't calling you a witch. butch used to say i was doing my "witchie-poo thing" whenever my intuitions turned out to be spot on. (witchie-poo was actually a character on the children's show "huffinpuff".) so, "witchie-poo thing" became synonymous with accurate insights around here. funny how different families develop their own language forms, huh. when i had that car wreck in 1971 and spent all that time in the hospital, i actually had a nurse who claimed to be a witch (i don't think kaiser knew that). she used to come into my room with her crystal ball and stuff. she was a good nurse, though a very strange person. but not quite as strange as the guy who walked into my private room, dressed like a good humor salesman (all in white, including hat that looked like a good humor hat), and wore all kinds of metal warrior-type stuff on top of his clothing, like a samarai sword, medieval gauntlets and stuff. he made a lot of metal noises when he moved and made me wonder where he left his marbles and if he'd hurry up to find them soon. now he was waaaay CREEPY! and very scary. i often wondered if that particular kaiser hospital had a psych ward, because it sometimes felt to me like they needed one desparately. kate d'huit wrote: > "Duckie" ... Now go take something for the rest of your joints. > Duckie [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > kate Kate wrote: > has this kind of post-op painlessness happened to anybody else? > > has anybody ever, in their life, heard of an absolutely painless surgery, > post-op? am i a first? in SOMETHING. FINALLY?!LOL Kate, I had zero pain from my THR 6 years ago. I was up that evening, walking the halls with PT/OP the next day, and moved to rehab on the 4th day. They couldn't keep me in my bed/room - said I was supposed to be out only when PT/OT was escorting me. That would have been a max of 30 minutes a day -- if the bastards ever showed up. I would have gone nuts in that room if I had to remain in it 23 hours a day. <g> I'm not a TV viewer (did watch 2 shows in 12 days) and the paper's crossword puzzle takes only half an hour or so to complete. So I used a walker and walked the halls 8, 10, 12 hours a day. Heard a lot of screaming and crying from other rooms. The only explanation I could imagine for my lack of pain is the excellence of the surgeon. I was extremely pleased with the results. ... (A)bort (R)etry (S)acrifice to random data Goddess?
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