Going in for general anaesthetic / surgery

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Derek
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:57 am
Location: Hunter Valley NSW
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Going in for general anaesthetic / surgery

Post by Derek » Sat Oct 17, 2009 4:07 pm

G'day all,
I am having some quite substantial oral surgery mid next week, under general anaesthetic for a couple of hours or so.
I have never been under a proper gaseous G.A since I was a young child, which was before the onset of paruresis which occurred later on in Primary School.
I am nowhere near as anxious or apprehensive about it as I would have been years ago before recovery improvements were made, but am still concerned about the side effects of GA on the urinary system - ie urinary retention etc - which may be exacerbated by the fact that I have been a long term paruretic for the majority of my life.
Just curious if anyone else has had a gaseous GA in recent times, and how it affected them.
I have some bethanechol, but this is for when I get home if it is required.
Did anyone tell the nurses or medical staff about their battles with paruresis?
Once again, any tips would be appreciated.
Derek

JohnW
Site Admin
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:42 pm

Re: Going in for general anaesthetic / surgery

Post by JohnW » Mon Oct 19, 2009 7:27 am

Derek and all,
About six months ago I had an inguinal hernia op using keyhole surgery (a re-do after a double inguinal hernia quite some years ago, before the keyhole techniques). I was to be in hospital only overnight. The surgery was in the morning, and by the evening I still couldn't empty my bladder, even after much trying, standing by my bed with the curtains across, and with the bottle in hand. I am quite sure it was not a paruresis episode, but I understood it as a fairly common occurrence after surgery. (My surgeon a week or so later confirmed that to be the case, especially after hernia ops).
Anyway, the young (?) resident inquired in the evening, and suggested I had a prostate problem. HE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER! I told him I had no such problem (I had justification for saying this), and gave him a lecture on paruresis, even although I was sure this was not a classic paruresis matter this time. He was not particularly interested in my lecture. Anyway, I was catheterized on the spot (on my bed, actually), in front of two young female nurses, and could do nothing but submit (all "for England!"). Anyway, they got 600 mL immediately, and before long (now left to myself), another 300 mL had joined what was in the bag. Later I repeated my paruresis lecture to one of those nurses, who had missed it the first time, and she expressed some appreciation at being educated. (I think she was genuine).
The next morning I asked for the catheter to be removed, and when I took the bottle with me to the toilet (my choice), there was no suggestion of any hesitation, and the bottle was very respectably filled. As I returned to my bed, I waved the bottle to my fellow-patients saying, "This is my ticket home today!"
BTW, years ago when I had that previous surgery, I seem to recall that I experienced no urinary retention soon afterwards, even with my paruresis then being in full swing. Life is full of surprises.

JohnW

Derek
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:57 am
Location: Hunter Valley NSW
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Re: Going in for general anaesthetic / surgery

Post by Derek » Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:25 pm

Thanks for your thoughts John,
Fear of the unknown is often part of paruretic symptoms, which are often exaggerated in our own thought processes.
More concerned about the GA affects than anything else, however as you said they were minimal.
Derek

rossco309
Posts: 88
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:18 pm

Re: Going in for general anaesthetic / surgery

Post by rossco309 » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:15 pm

Hi Derek,

How did you cope with your surgery and gaseous anaesthetic?

Hope it all went well.

Regards, Rossco

Derek
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:57 am
Location: Hunter Valley NSW
Contact:

Re: Going in for general anaesthetic / surgery

Post by Derek » Wed Oct 28, 2009 3:51 pm

G'day Rossco,
The anaesthetic did not cause urinary retention, thank God!
In fact, even after having a bag of IV fluids while under anaesthetic, I did not need to go to the toilet for a while - probably due to dehydration effects of GA.
No problems with urination thereafter.
The more uncomfortable problem was constipation, probably compounded by the fact that I could not eat properly for a few days after oral surgery, plus the antibiotics.
I ended up needing to go on Coloxyl with Senna, which fixed the problem almost immediately, and saw me rushing quickly to the toilet at Charlestown Square after seeing the Specialist again on Monday!
I probably have lost a couple of kilos or so, which wouldn't hurt me anyway, as I am hardly going to fade away to a shadow!
Thanks for your concerns Rossco.

Anthony
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2009 4:00 pm

Re: Going in for general anaesthetic / surgery

Post by Anthony » Wed Oct 28, 2009 4:08 pm

Hi Derek
I know this reply is a little late but recently I had shoulder surgery and was in hospital overnight.
I've had paruresis for probably 30 years but have improved heaps over the last few years attending
one of the Melbourne workshops being the boost to get me going.
The next morning I had quite a bit of trouble urinating and also the second time around was a bit difficult.
I had complete privacy of a private room with my own toilet and didn't feel nervous. I think it was the after effect of the GA.
I havn't posted for ages and just thought to check the site and had to rejoin the new look message board.
I used to be Tony on the old board and I live in North East Victoria.
Hope your all going well.
Cheers
Tony

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