Tidbits

[cjsmith]

indyansel, I don't believe this! They're awesome! They arrived in styrofoam with an ice pack. And you knew I liked dark! How'd you know/remember that??

apparentparadox, that pillow thing is a GODSEND. I used it all day yesterday and I'm using it now.

The long-acting local is definitely all gone now. It's interesting learning how to get around without letting either forefoot touch ANYTHING. I am realizing how much easier things would be with one good leg, particularly in the bathroom. But I'm still glad I don't have to go through surgery twice!

I suspect, as ouchy as this is, that I have it easy in the post-surgical pain department. After all, at the bottom of the incision just coincidentally happens to be a spot where I don't have a nerve any more.

Since the local's worn off I can feel my toes... most of them. On each foot there is a spot I will never feel again, and let me just say right now that is the weirdest sensation I have experienced in thirty-seven years on this earth. It's not half so freaky when I know it's an anaesthetic. This is ME; this is how my body is, forever. A local is also, somehow, not quite as complete a loss of sensation. I touch these toes with my fingers and it's like they're not there at all. Someone substituted plastic toes. Except that the other side of each toe is there. At that point my brain segfaults. It simply cannot make sense of the input it is getting.

For some reason I am still thinking of all this as a grand adventure.

Comments

[melanie.livejournal.com]

"It's not half so freaky when I know it's an anaesthetic. This is ME; this is how my body is, forever. A local is also, somehow, not quite as complete a loss of sensation. I touch these toes with my fingers and it's like they're not there at all. Someone substituted plastic toes. Except that the other side of each toe is there. At that point my brain segfaults. It simply cannot make sense of the input it is getting."

wow, my brain is churning just trying to imagine that.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my brain's not doing so well with it either. (wry grin) Fortunately it doesn't seem to feel weird just to have my feet surrounded by the cloth booties. There's no sense that part of the bootie is in some other dimension and not really there. Hopefully that will remain true with socks and shoes, so I won't be rebooting my brain all over the place when I start walking again.

[platypus]

I'd like to know what IV sedation is like -- I'm strongly considering it for my wisdom tooth extraction, and I'll certainly have it if I ever get Essure. Are you totally zonked out or do you remember anything about it? What's the recovery like?

I'm glad things seem to be going well for you so far!

[firecat]

I had IV sedation via the drug Versed for some wisdom tooth surgery. I remember a few bits of it, but the whole procedure seemed to take about 5 minutes. (It actually took 45 minutes.) It wore off to "just sleepy" in a short time.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

My numerous experiences with IV sedation agree with firecat's. It makes you really loopy as you're waking up, but the sensation is that no time has passed.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I don't remember a bit of it. This frustrates me because I suspect I was at least partially conscious! But the drug also has amnesiac properties, and I'm bummed to find out that those properties work fine on me.

First I got an IV installed. That caused a stronger pinch than the usual needle because they put the... shunt? whatever... in THROUGH the needle and then withdrew the needle, meaning that the needle had to be bigger than usual. But it really wasn't bad in terms of pain. Just a pinch. My squeamishness about needles was the thing that bugged me.

Then I was hooked up to some saline. Shortly afterward the anaesthesiologist said "You're going to start to feel relaxed." I don't know whether she was giving me the beginnings of the sedation or a separate drug. I allowed as how I was pretty nervous and relaxed sounded very good to me. I had a few more conversational exchanges with the doctor and the nurse, and I have a very vague memory of my surgeon coming in, and that is IT until I was pridefully fighting to be awake in the recovery area.

I had general for my wisdom teeth, and since I've always bounced back well from that, I have no regrets on that score. I had very very very mild queasiness after IV sedation, possibly attributable to being overhungry. A few pretzel rods cured it, anyway.

Good luck with the wisdom tooth!

[rampling.livejournal.com]

The "grand adventure" mindset is what got me through most of my stuff. Even when stuff sucked, I looked at is a tour of stuff I don't usually get to see. Tricky to keep that mindset all of the time, of course, but the more you can manage, the better. Happy adventuring!!!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh yay, I'm not the only one! I'm glad it worked so well for you. It's tricky to keep in mind when there's pain, of course. That's what makes me want to say "adventure be damned, send me back to a life without it". I bet those were the times when you least loved your adventure as well, no? Bleagh! But cool medical stuff? gelatinous blobby pictures? weird sensations to get used to? new terms to study? Bring it on! :-)

[jtidwell.livejournal.com]

The numb-toes feeling is one I get frequently, since I managed to frostbite three toes on my right foot. Not badly, but enough to deaden them whenever they get the least bit cold or under pressure. At least I know the sensation will come back eventually, but it is weird to know that that's how it's always gonna be.

I bet your brain will adapt to it, to a certain degree.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't know frostbite could have lingering effects without killing the area entirely. I guess it's worse than permanent phantom pain or something like that. Is the numbness of three toes enough to affect your balance?

Yes, other people who've had this surgery say I'll adapt. Sure is weird until then!

[firecat]

The side of my right foot was numb for several weeks because of a nerve injury. At first it was freaky but what was freakier was that I got used to it.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, people who've had nerve excision surgeries say they adapt, too. That's gotta be strange. I guess I'll find out. Yours sounds like it wasn't permanent, though. That's interesting! I tend to think that nerve injuries are forever or just a minute or two (eg foot "going to sleep"). Glad it all came back!

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

Dan is good at remembering things like that. And it's his favorite kind, too. Have you tried the ones with the added pepper?

Oh, that sounds like a weird feeling!

brain segfaults

Geek!!!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

When I wrote this post I hadn't tried either of 'em. I em now ENRAPTURED by the plain dark. That is soooooooooo good. The one with added pepper is... intriguing, I like it, but it probably won't ever be my main staple. Oh, that dark, though. Wow.

Why yes, I'm a geek. :-) Thank you!

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall you preferring dark chocolate. It seems to be the more common preference among my friends. And I like to remember those kinds of little details for just such situations. And, hey, you have a bonus ice pack. ;-)

I'm glad you like them. I thought you might be interested in trying the ones with ancho and chipotle chili powder - after my first try, I wish that was a more common find. I can't get Moonstruck locally here - closest is in Champaign, IL, oddly enough.

It definitely sounds like a non-feeling spot would be weird.

And it is a grand adventure - you're journeying into the unknown. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

The bonus ice pack is handy! I can't have too many ice packs right now.

I.LOVE.THAT.DARK.CHOCOLATE. I hadn't tried it when I wrote the post. I now have a new favorite dark chocolate vendor. MMMMMMMMMMMM. The chili pepper one is intriguing and enjoyable, but that plain dark, WOW.

[kimatha.livejournal.com]

It IS a grand adventure!

I've got a numb spot on my lower lip after my surgery last year. A little bit of the sensation came back, but I'm sure the one spot is going to stay numb forever now. It is weird, but you do get used to it.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

That's strange! I'm glad you got used to it. I have a spot on my hand (a lye burn scar) that was numb for a bit over a decade, and now has pretty close to normal sensation in it. So *maybe* your lip will one day begin to come back.

The human body is fascinating in its complexity and capabilities. I think I like it because it's beyond my ken.

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

i know what you mean about the numb toes. i have a section of belly that's numb from surgery nearly four years ago. used to make my brain go kersplody, but now it's just another oddity.

glad you're doing so well. i can't believe the ickyness they pulled outta your feet! no wonder you were in pain! keep on healing! no misbehavin' while i'm gone, you hear! *stern look*

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow! Several people have mentioned that they have numb spots. I never realized how many ways it could happen. I'm glad you got used to it!

OK, I'm behaving, I promise. *innocent look* (Actually, I really am doing very well at obeying doctors' orders -- unlike my usual impatient self!)

[hnybny.livejournal.com]

I have a numb area in a very weird spot. It's in my lower left bikini area near the pubic bone. I had inguinal surgery in 2000 and when it healed the nerves reconnected in an odd fashion. Bits of the area feel like it's asleep and others completely numb. There is even a spot or two that is super sensitive. Weiiiiiiiiird.

So far it sounds like no feeling is better than pain do "Go Numbness!"

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow, several people have numb things! I never realized that it could occur in such a variety of ways. Super sensitive spots too, huh? As long as it's not "super painful" when your skin gets pulled wrong or something!

And yeah, Go Numbness. Even if most of my foot pain turns out to have been from the damage to ligaments and tendons, instead of these nerve problems we just addressed surgically, the surgery will STILL have some positive effect 'cause there are areas I can't feel. Heh heh heh. :-)

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

I still, after eight years, haven't quite gotten over the oddness of having partially numb kneecaps.

But then, I still haven't quite gotten used to having boobs either. Maybe I'm just weird that way.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I don't think I'll ever get used to having boobs. Maybe I would if they'd just stay one size goshdarnit!

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess I'll add my numbness story too, especially since it has a happy ending.

It's somewhat similar to what happened to hnybny. When I had my hysterectomy, a minor nerve was cut and part of my left thigh was numb. It did feel extremely bizarre, especially when I touched that area. I could feel in my hand that I was touching something, and see with my eyes that I was touching my thigh, but I had no sensation of being touched. It was disturbing at first, but I eventually got used to it. In fact, after awhile it was kind of fun to play with -- I would touch it with a soft fingertip, a sharp fingernail, press gently, press hard, etc. It was really interesting when I started being able to feel a poke with something sharp at the edge!

Over time the size of the area got smaller and smaller, and within a year or two it had gone away completely. Even though it had been an interesting curiosity, it was a relief to have normal feeling back. That won't happen in your case, since eliminating feeling from that area was the whole point. But I know how weird it feels to you.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow - maybe other nerves took over the job? I have no idea how this all works!

Your description of the numb area is exactly what I'm going through. My fingertips feel that I'm touching something, and I can see that my fintertips are touching my toes, but unless I push hard enough to move the toes (and thus trigger surgical-incision-pain) my foot has NO sensation that it is being touched in that spot.

I wouldn't be surprised if my numb area gets a bit smaller over time, too. I've already had it happen (though it took well over a decade) in one damaged spot on my hand. Current medical thinking seems to be that peripheral nerves can indeed regenerate to some extent. Obviously I won't regenerate a full third interdigital nerve bundle, but I might get a few new tendrils over the course of the rest of my life. Who knows? :-)