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.

[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!

[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!!!

[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.

[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.

[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!!!

[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. :-)

[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.

[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*

[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!"

[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.

[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.