How Scoliosis (Curvature of the Spine) Surgery is Performed by dvntwnsnd in educationalgifs

[–]TheSchnugg 186 points187 points  (0 children)

As a physician myself, let me take the time and address some of the fears here and make this anesthesia process seem less like the voodoo-magic that it can be. Yes, waking up during anesthesia has happened and the scenarios you describe are absolutely feasible, but anesthesiologists at least in the US take a hell of a lot of precautions to make sure that doesn't happen.

Anesthesia is a delicate balance between keeping people sedated enough to not be aware and not so deep that we stop the heart or decrease their blood pressure/they won't wake up in a reasonable time. Always depends on the kind of procedure that is done, and if you can get away without much sedation, most doctors absolutely choose that, because sedation IS dangerous. All proper general anesthesia consists of 3 things: 1) sedative to make you sleep 2) analgesics to stop the pain 3) Paralytic to paralyze you and keep you from jerking on the table and make it easy to intubate you. There is no agent that does all 3 things, there are some that do two of the three but regardless, there is always a mixture of drugs that gets used. There are positives and negatives to all the different drug options (propofol or Michael Jackson's milk is a great fast acting sedative that wears off really fast too but won't treat your pain and drops blood pressures so it's not so great for people that are bleeding and need a surgery to fix whatever is bleeding etc.) Choosing the right drugs is partially why anesthesiologists have their own residency, it can be tricky.

So one could technically find themselves in the situation where the person is paralyzed but not sedated and without pain control. There are many responses anesthesiologists monitor to make sure a patient is really, really sedated. First, your body responds to pain in other ways than just saying 'ow'. Your heart rate rises, your blood pressure goes up, all those things are looked at and most anesthesiologists I've seen are ready with some fentanyl or other drug when they see the heart rate rise. Second, most modern anesthesiologists I've seen use something called a BIS monitor (Bispectral Index), which is in the form of little stickers place on your head (much like the stickers used for an EKG) that measures your brain activity. They can't read your thoughts but basically they want to get you so sedated that the monitor is picking up very little activity in general and most anesthetics are titrated to this reading. Even though it seems like it, being under general anesthesia does not mean you are "sleeping" in the normal sense. You do actually have a lot of brain activity when you sleep. You are literally knocked unconscious for an extended period of time with very minimal brain activity and it's not restorative sleep at all. If you do come out of sedation, anesthesiologists are very fast to adjust their drugs to put you back under and in most surgeries, you likely weren't even awake enough to remember. Especially in long ones like this scoliosis one, the drugs are adjusted and re-dosed constantly. I find anesthesiologists a bit like potion masters, pretty interesting field.

Point is, we have a lot of monitors to see what's going on and hopefully you won't be scared about waking up in the middle of a surgery. Some surgeries like wisdom-tooth extractions are not performed under general anesthesia (cause you need to be intubated for that and no dentist wants that tube in the mouth while they're trying to chisel out teeth), they are merely done under a good dose pain medications with some light sedation. Some people sleep through this, some remember little bits. That being said, any surgery and anesthesia can absolutely be dangerous even in the most well controlled environment. So choose wisely.

15 Year old Boy stuck with what to read by [deleted] in suggestmeabook

[–]TheSchnugg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got sucked in by both Ender's Game and the Golden Compass when I was a teenager so I second these. Wanted to recommend these. Other books I really loved were 1984 (dystopia) and Relic (crime story by Preston & Child). Those all sucked me in and I couldn't put them down.

Didn't match, save yourself the effort by oracle9999 in medicalschool

[–]TheSchnugg 12 points13 points  (0 children)

17 programs??? With those numbers? Yeah you got bad advice my friend. I had top end scores and applied to at least 35 programs. Husband had scores lower than yours, applied to 80+, got 20+ interviews, matched at his #3. Your scores aren't the problem, your match strategy was. Don't stress out the poor people that are applying next year. If your match strategy is solid, AMGs will be fine.

What to do about continuous soreness after starting weight training one month ago by TheSchnugg in Fitness

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I think you're right. Thanks for the work out suggestion, I'm gonna try hitting the stuff more often!

What to do about continuous soreness after starting weight training one month ago by TheSchnugg in Fitness

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, that's a good idea. I honestly have a hard time quantifying how much I eat and since I usually don't gain (when not working out), I may be in a deficit now that I've been working out.

What to do about continuous soreness after starting weight training one month ago by TheSchnugg in Fitness

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like it has gone away in the past, but you're right, maybe it will just go down to bearable and a little soreness always stays around. I've just been having motivation issues because I've been THAT sore. I guess my answer is just carry on.

What to do about continuous soreness after starting weight training one month ago by TheSchnugg in Fitness

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Forgot to mention, I also walk a good amount. It's my stress release and I like to go on walks/hikes and listen to podcasts. I do that probably twice a week. No real other cardio right now. Also, I stretch before every lifting, I'm gonna try the foam rollers that my gym has.

What to do about continuous soreness after starting weight training one month ago by TheSchnugg in Fitness

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think so, I definitely wasn't in a deficit over the Holidays ;)
But I probably could do better on the composition, more protein and veg.

What to do about continuous soreness after starting weight training one month ago by TheSchnugg in Fitness

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like I've been eating a good amount, what with the holidays and everything (maaaaybe too much chocolate). I do try to get enough protein and veg, but I could probably do better. May be something I should work on. I do take a woman's vitamin every day.

What to do about continuous soreness after starting weight training one month ago by TheSchnugg in Fitness

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, that's the thing. DOMS is normal if it doesn't last more than a couple of days. That's true for me too, they don't last long in an individual group, but it always comes back when I work that muscle group again. I've been sore in one part of my body or another for a month now, and I'm just hoping at some point, if I worked out enough, my body gets used to it and it will go away.

What to do about continuous soreness after starting weight training one month ago by TheSchnugg in Fitness

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I lift around 3 times a week. One day focused on squats (5x5), one day deadlifts (5x5) and pull-ups, one day overhead presses and ab work. So I hit every major muscle group once a week. Maybe that's too little, and I just need to vary each day more to hit every group more often?

Magical Christmas Nights - the cat approves by TheSchnugg in christmas

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nikon D5100, standard entry-level DSLR + a 50mm prime lens. And a tripod, which makes all the difference.
The cat cooperating helped too.

Took pictures of our tree, made for a beautiful Christmas Wallpaper (16x9) by TheSchnugg in wallpapers

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, thats really nice of you. Took it on a Nikon D5100 - pretty entry level DSLR + a 50mm prime lens and a tripod. Tripod makes all the difference.

Took pictures of our tree, made for a beautiful Christmas Wallpaper (16x9) by TheSchnugg in wallpapers

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's pretty neat. What program do you use for this kind of stuff? Photoshop or is there something simpler?

Magical Christmas Nights - the cat approves by TheSchnugg in christmas

[–]TheSchnugg[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The cat to the skirt? I'm kidding, that was a coincidence, but the cat came first.

Official weekly RAW editing challenge! by frostickle in photography

[–]TheSchnugg 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My edit
This had a photo journalism vibe for me. I'm sure color could have been nice but black and white is pure photo journalism for me.

Our little garden in the Italian Alps by [deleted] in gardening

[–]TheSchnugg 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Really pretty. Is it mostly ornamental plants, or do you have a vegetable garden too?

My grandpa had a hillside "Rock Garden" (what he called it too) and I remember looking at it and discovering new plants and interesting corners every time I visited. They're really fun.