nerve block
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i had a nerve block today and now my right arm from just below the shoulder is a paralyzed lump of flesh. It gives a fresh perspective on how warm and heavy a human arm is. this is hour 7, I was told 12-24 hours. i anticipate the return of feeling with mixed emotions, as pain will come with it. but other than that i am told the tendon is re attached and now on to the physical therapy.
they would have given a general anesthesia but dont want tubes down open throats during the pandemic.
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Being intubated is really low risk. All the equipment used is sterilized.
The maximum pain after a procedure is in 8-16 hours afterward. The nerve block gets you over that hump, and you'll need less pain meds going forward.
How did the surgery go? What did the surgeon say? Will you be able to play the violin again?
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@Horace said in nerve block:
surgery went well. i was conscious for it and chatted with the gracious and accommodating anesthesiologist. maybe he would have preferred i'd been asleep. the surgeon noted that the nerves in my hands were extra big.
And what did the monster give you?
Link to video -
i cut it on some broken glass, ILM.
This morning it appears to me that the surgery was not successful. I still cannot so much as twitch my last thumb joint. I believe I should be able to do that even if the tendon is only held on my sutures at this point. The nerve block is off and the rest of the hand is functioning normally. I'll call the doctor this morning when they open.
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i'm going to need another surgery. I don't know what happened. I trust the tendon was attached when she closed me up yesterday but there is no way it is attached now. I have zero ability to so much as twitch the joint. exactly the same situation as pre surgery. I wonder if I'll be able to get a deal on this next surgery?
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@Rainman said in nerve block:
Sorry to hear that, Horace.
Any explanation from the surgeon? Hope it wasn't "never was much good at this surgery stuff."Ha! Right now she needs proof that I really can't move my thumb. I already had a physical therapy appt tomorrow morning so she told me to go to that one and let them verify my claim. Then if they do I will go directly to her office.
The PT will verify presumably by asking me to move the thumb then using their highly trained eyes to detect whether it moves. If it doesn't, they will verify through their training that I cannot move it. And we will move on towards another surgery. I just hope all these sutures getting threaded through a little tendon dont tear it up and weaken it.
My wild guess as to what happened is that I had a muscle spasm last night which tore the repair apart. I wouldn't have felt it of course due to the nerve block. This morning I had a twitching muscle in the inside of my forearm which may be the muscle in question.
