I got to see some nifty medical electronics over the weekend. I had knee reconstruction surgery on Saturday and am currently convalescing with the help of my amazing wife and some pretty wild stuff called oxycodone. Oxycodone helped me appreciate the blinking lights of the aforementioned electronics. Narcotics have never been my thing so I'm a bit off-kilter for now.

Three firsts for me: first surgery, first general anaesthetic, and first narcotics trip. I'll be posting more again when I sober up.


Cheers all!

Torben

 

Hope you're doing well. Broke my arm when I was six at the elbow; had the same three firsts. The doctors were worried about a blood clot so I was life-flighted. I can say the helicopter ride was fun; the six week temporary pins I had were not. I can brag and say they pulled the pins out without anesthetic and a pair of hardware store pliers. At a hospital.

Still have them around here somewhere...

Get well soon!

__________________
-Ian

 

My friend was talking about that at our drinking party least night. He had some surgery and he said he could see how easy it is to get addicted to morphine.

Nurse: How are you doing? Are you in pain.

Him: "Oh, God yes."

Nurse: <Gives him a shot of morphine and leaves>

<A little while later>

Nurse: DO you still hurt?

Him: Uh huh.

<Gives him another shot of morphine and leaves.>

NOw he's feeling great like he's walking on clouds.

<NUrse comes back a bit later>

Nurse: Do you still hurt?

Him: OOhhhhhhh, yeahh.

<Gives him a third shot of morphine >

Him: OoOoOOOooo YeeEEeEAaAhhhhh. That's the stuff.

 

Canada must have some old fashioned hospitals. Here in the UK morphine is delivered in a controlled way using an electronically controlled drip.

I know this, as just over a week ago I had a triple bypass. I am more amazed that after such major surgery You can be up and walking properly and home within a week.

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I can't remember exactly what they were, but the painkillers they gave me for after I had my wisdom teeth pulled a few years back were great. The (one week) prescription ran out just in time. I was getting to the point that I was unhealthily looking forward to pill-taking time. But they did make you feel warm and fuzzy all over.

I've never been too keen on experimenting with altered states of consciousness, at least not drug-induced experiments. Which makes them all the more interesting with they're inevitable. Lying on the gurney during the observation period after the (general anaesthetic) teeth removal, I swear I saw the clock ticking backwards, and I remember acting all goofy with the nurse, because I figured it was probably a pretty boring job for her most of the time.

 

How did you hurt your knee?

I take it you can't walk at the moment, is your wife running around after you doing everything for you?

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I dunno about dknguyen's friend but I had only one needle the whole time, and that was the IV for the anaesthetic and post-op antibiotic/morphine/electrolyte cocktail. And they pulled the morphine as soon as I regained consciousness. The worst part was that I couldn't reach the wall plug for the IV controller so I couldn't take my walker for a cruise without a nurse.

Congratulations on the successful bypass! Were they able to do you orthoscopically? It is pretty astounding what they can do with a couple of tiny 1cm incisions. I do have one 8-10cm cut where they harvested my patellar tendon but this was nowhere near as bad as my father's knee surgery back in the '80's, and that was just fixing a cartilage tear--I had the full meal deal.


Torben

 

Pick-up footie. I love playing almost any sport, and we had a good crew we used to play with in Vancouver, including one German fellow ("dammit this isn't hockey!"). I blew my knee out, and was bright enough to think I could walk it off and insist that I could get back in the game. Two plays later ka-blam.

I can't walk, but I can get around on crutches OK. I can bear weight on it as long as I have the splint on. But yeah, now my wife has two babies to care for: one 11 months old and the other 34 years.


Torben

 

We guys seem to go first in the knees, then in the hips, if we don't get 'attacked' by our heart first.

Be very careful with those opiates, as they can cause extreme constipation!

 

Well, I've never really shied away from psychoactives but I have never even been interested in trying the narcotics, barbiturates, or anything cocaine-related. The stuff they have me on is really quite nice but does make concentration tough. I'm glad the prescription is only for a week and a half.
I'm allowed up to 8 per day but I'm trying to keep it down with the aid of Tylenol.

Apparently I was quite the goofball in the recovery room while the big drugs were wearing off. I didn't get any hallucinations.

Oddly, the only times I have ever hallucinated have been due to extreme overtiredness, not drug intake. And back in my younger days I did try a couple of times. Oh well. Not my trip I guess. Staying up for three days is cheaper anyway.


Torben

 

Mmmm, so I'm finding. Damn good thing I love Raisin Bran.


Torben

 

When I was recovering from the last hernia op, I swallowed too many painkillers, then, was horrified after, discovering that the Exlax I bought, for the first time, ever, needed almost 24 hours to begin working. :-0

KEEP EATING THE RAISIN BRAN!!

 

Raisin bran is the only edible cereal. THat and shreddies. THe generic raisin bran was way better than the brand name stuff and cost less. Then the store figured it out and jacked the price past the brand name stuff.

 

I'd add Cheerios to that list. I'm addicted to Cheerios. But yeah, most cereals are just weird.

A few years ago I tried a "meal replacement" cereal called Vector. Now that stuff was odd.


Torben

 

hi Torben,
I hope you heal quickly.

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