Apologies for the grainy text - best version I could find

  • rowrowrowyourboat@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    As far as I know, that’s not how epidurals work. Nothing goes to your brain. It just numbs the nerves in your spine and stops the pain signals from reaching your brain.

    • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      What you are describing is how epidurals are supposed to work. If the epidural needle is a mm too deep, you can inject directly into the spinal fluid which does go to the brain and is probably pretty amazing.

    • ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      5 months ago

      They still often (but not always) give you fentanyl or sufentanil. those feel pretty great especially when injected. Like people do crime for those

    • ORbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      5 months ago

      Did you not read the part about a Fent derivative being injected into his spine? It’s kind of the whole point of the follow-up text.

      • StupidBrotherInLaw@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        It’s that a properly administered epidural or spinal anesthesic wouldn’t work that way.

        NERDERY INCOMING

        An epidural injects a numbing agent just outside of the spinal cord. The intent is to numb the nearby nerves as the anesthetic slowly diffuses into their roots and their corresponding section of spinal cord. It should not go into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

        What they’re likely doing is an intrathecal injection for a spinal anesthesic, which does go into the CSF. That intensely numbs a portion of the body and is more common for surgery while conscious. The reason it’s done is it’s very effective while also using extremely small amounts of anesthetic. In other words, you barely feel it locally, much less systemically, because so little is used. That’s the point.

        You might ask how I know all of this. I’ve had three. The account in the original post is full of shit.

    • LillyPip@lemmy.ca
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      5 months ago

      Yeah, for a moment I was thinking ‘I have to ask for this next time’. Like, they killed me last time they sedated me, so I probably have a good excuse.

      But is that really what that would be like?

      Probably not, and I’d just wind up awake for surgery, which is less than ideal.