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Sedation
- by Tx58
- 2018-09-06 13:01:13
- Surgery & Recovery
- 1062 views
- 4 comments
I have a CRT-D and will need a new device in the near future. I had a bad experience with counsious sedation and wonder if I can request general sedation so I sleep through the surgery. I woke up numerous times previously and felt tugging as they put the device in. All of the sedation that’s needed made me sick after the surgery. I had it put in under muscle so it would not show so it took awhile to get put in. Has anyone had general sedation rather than counsious sedation?
4 Comments
Sedation levels
by Going Forward - 2018-09-06 20:54:15
I recently had conscious sedation for an under the muscle implant and I was glad to be awake as my EP could communicate with me, let me know what she was doing and keep enquiring what I was feeling. At one point she asked that I be given a little more fentanyl when she was opening the muscle.
She talked to me before the procedure about the level of sedation I wanted and said she would prefer it if I were awake enough to communicate with her. I didn't have any pain but did feel a bit of tugging. I asked for no ephinephrine in the lidocaine as I react badly to it. That might be something to discuss as some people do react to ephinephrine. No epinephrine meant a bit more bruising but nothing major.
Good luck!
talk to the anesthesiologist
by Tracey_E - 2018-09-07 09:05:20
They don't like to do general anesthesia because it requires a breathing tube and takes a lot longer to wake up. It's overkill for this.
Talk to them, there are different levels of sedation. I was nervous the first time I had conscious sedation, said I don't want to remember anything. And I don't! I was chatting with them, next thing I knew it was done and they were rolling me out. I don't remember anything between.
Replacements are a lot easier because they use the same pocket, none of the tugging they had to do the first time to make the pocket.
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A properly implanted and adjusted pacemaker will not even be noticeable after you get over the surgery.
Sedation
by AgentX86 - 2018-09-06 14:03:23
If you "woke up several times" they were using a lot of "conscious" sedation. You felt "tugging" because that's what they were doing. The sedation is only meant to make the procedure painless and to settle you down so they can work.
I didn't have anything other than a local, though mine isn't under the muscle. I felt pain when they made the pocket and a lot of tugging when they were suturing it in place but it was otherwise quite uneventful, other than a little light humor.
If the conscious sedation made you feel I'll, a general will likely be worse. They use conscious sedation because it's safer than a general. You can certainly ask your EP but it's not in your interest.