Anesthesia

Oil of Sweet Vitriol: Ether and Chloroform

/ Jordyn Redwood / 2 Comments

Today, we’re going historical and looking at the two first common general anesthetics that were used: ether and chloroform.

Ether was discovered in 1275. It was first synthesized by German physician Valerius Cordus in 1540. He named it “oil of sweet vitriol” which likely gives a clue to its odor. Other sources report ether’s odor as pungent, sweet, nauseating and fruity.

The first use of ether as an anesthetic occurred in 1842 by Dr. Crawford Williamson Long who used it to remove tumors from the neck of patient James Venable in Jefferson, Georgia. You may also see references that ether was used at the Ether Dome by William Thomas Green Morton who was a dentist that assisted surgeon John Collins Warren who also used it to remove a neck tumor. Now, it is largely recognized that Long should be credited with its first use.

Ether’s main drawback was its flammability. When the advent of using cauterizing tools came to fruition, you can see how setting fire to one’s patient during surgery would be considered poor form on the part of the doctor.

Chloroform was discovered in 1831 by James Young Simpson, a Scottish gynecologist and obstetrician, and was found efficacious in 1847. Chloroform was used widely until it was determined to be toxic to the kidneys and liver, but I did find a short note that perhaps chloroform was the preferred anesthetic in England. Chloroform is reported to have a “pleasant, non-irritating odor and slightly sweet taste”.

These agents, most likely ether in the US, were in use until the mid 1950’s when the non-flammable anesthetic agent halothane was discovered.

Do you have a historical medical scene using ether or chloroform?

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References:

Frontier Medicine by David Dary

Chloroform

Ether

Halothane

*Originally posted February, 2011.*

Author Question: Scythe Wound to the Chest (2/2)

/ Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

We’re continuing with Sue’s question regarding a scythe injury to the chest to a seventeen-year-old male. You can find Part 1 here.

Sue Asks:

I have a few follow-up questions regarding the surgery. Is it possible for a thoracotomy to be done by two people? The hospital in my story is severely understaffed and only two doctors are available to perform the surgery. There are not enough nurses on staff either, and it’s the middle of the night. Is that feasible or should I tweak the story so more people are available to make sure the teen makes it out alive?

And lastly, what kinds of medications would be pushed through the IV to sedate and/or paralyze him for surgery?

Jordyn Says:

This was a great question to ask my OR expert friend, Kim Zweygardt, who works as a CRNA.

Here are her thoughts.

Most hospital’s policy states that an RN must be in the room for assessments and patient safety. The bare minimum OR staff would be a circulator (RN), scrub tech, anesthesiologist, and surgeon. If you want chaos in your story— take out the scrub tech because the doctor will have to figure out the instruments for himself versus calling out and them being handed to him.

A patient this unstable would be intubated in the ER. Generally they are given a pain medication (Fentanyl), a benzodiazepine (Versed) for the amnesic effect, and the paralyzing agent will vary but Succinylcholine was common in your time frame of 2006.

Once in the OR— they would give him anesthetic gases to keep him down. I don’t see your scenario playing out without a anesthesiologist on hand.

Hope this helps and best of luck with your novel.

The Face Behind the Mask: Part 5/5

/ Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

This is our final post with certified nurse anesthetist Kimberly Zweygardt. It’s been a pleasure to have her blog at Redwood’s Medical Edge. I know I’ve learned several ways to increase the conflict in my OR scenes. What are some ways you’ll add conflict? If you’re just joining us you can find Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV by following the links.

Thank you, Kim, for your fantastic insight into the world of the OR.

Finally, the complication that movie nightmares are made of: recall under anesthesia.

Recall under anesthesia is defined as remembering something while surgically anesthetized. The most common scenario involves the patient receiving muscle relaxants without enough amnesia and/or pain control provided. Some patients recall being in pain but unable to move while others have no pain but can remember things being said during the operation.

How can this happen?

Thirty years ago we had patients being told their heart wasn’t strong enough for anesthesia. With the advent of Open Heart surgery, anesthesia techniques changed that were safer for the heart, so we now operate on people who are on drugs that mask the normal response to pain. It becomes harder to asses if the patient is truly asleep if the heart rate and blood pressure don’t change related to pain.

And we also have what I call the “drive through” surgery phenomena. Surgery used to mean recovering in the hospital for several days. Now, you are dismissed within hours of the operation. Anesthetics must be shorter acting or patients not as deeply anesthetised during the operation so they will be safe to go home. I believe that is why recall is on the rise.

But we also must account for how we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

I read an interesting study that monitored depth of anesthesia and recall. Volunteers were anesthetized using an EEG to measure depth of anesthesia. They were not having surgery, but when they reached surgical depth of anesthesia, the anesthetist stood up and said, “There’s something wrong! They are blue! There’s something wrong.”

There was nothing at all wrong. They waited a period of time then woke the volunteer up. A small percentage spontaneously remembered that event and their fear. The rest were hypnotized to see if they recalled the event. A percentage became agitated, bringing themselves out of the trance at that point. The rest were able to recall under hypnosis what had been said during their anesthetic. What the study showed was that we are not just a physical body and though our physical body is anesthetised, our spirit may be aware of what is happening much like the near death experiences where the spirit hovers over the body.

I personally know of several incidences where a patient could not recall events in surgery but acted upon something said while they were asleep. Some were positive changes and others were tragic.

The BIS monitor was designed to prevent recall but it isn’t standard of care and only offers that most patients at a certain number are truly “asleep.” Even so, I am careful what is said in the patient’s presence.

But when it comes to fiction, I can think of several scenario’s to rachet up the drama and suspense related to anesthesia. How about you?

***Content originally posted  February 11, 2011.***

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Kimberly Zweygardt is a Christ follower, wife, mother, writer, blogger, dramatist, worship leader, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, a fused glass artist and a taker of naps. Her writings have been featured in Rural Roads Magazine, The Rocking Chair Reader, and Chicken Soup for the Soul Healthy Living Series on Heart Disease. She is the author of Stories From the Well and Ashes to Beauty, The Real Cinderella Story and was featured in Stories of Remarkable Women of Faith. She lives in Northwest Kansas with her husband where their nest is empty but their lives are full. For more information: www.kimzweygardt.com

The Face Behind the Mask: Part 4/5

/ Jordyn Redwood / 1 Comment

We’ve been learning a lot from Kimberly Zweygardt, CRNA. This is the fourth post in a five part series. You can find Part I, Part II, and Part III by following the links. Kim is filling us in on great ways to add conflict to your operating room scenes by covering some complications.

Welcome back, Kim.

Anesthesia is sometimes defined as a controlled emergency. Here are some complications that would create great tension for our characters.

The number one cause of death related to anesthesia is also the most preventable: aspiration pneumonia. When someone eats or drinks 8 hours before surgery then are anesthetized, the vomitting/gag reflex is lost and anything in the stomach flows into the trachea and lungs causing pneumonia. If the patient isn’t NPO 8 hours, surgery may be delayed or canceled. However, if they ate lunch then fell out of a tree, surgery can’t be delayed. Drugs are given while pressure is put on the esophogus and the breathing tube gotten in as quickly as possible to prevent aspiration(called RSI or Rapid Sequence Induction).

During the pre-op interview, we ask about family complications with anesthesia. Two major complications with anesthesia are genetic.

The first is a genetic defiency of an enzyme (psuedocholinesterase) that metabolizes the muscle relaxant, Anectine (also called Succinylcholine or nicknamed “Sux”).  Instead of being metabolized in10 minutes, the drug effect lasts hours with the patient on a ventilator until it wears off(2 hours to 8 hours).  It is not life threatening except for being unable to breathe! In other words, the deficiency is easily diagnosed and the patient (and family) is instructed to avoid the drug. There are other drugs that are longer acting and reversible with medications that can be substituted in the future.

The other complication is also genetic but is life threatening. Certain anesthetic agents trigger a hypermetabolic state called malignant hyperthermia (MH). Though called hyperthermia, the increased body temperature is a late symptom. If the patient’s temp is rising before you diagnose it, it is too late.

The first alert is when the muscle relaxant causes the jaw muscles to tighten instead of relax. At that point, I am on hyper alert, looking for other symptoms such as increased heart rate (also a sign of an anxious patient or a light anesthetic), arrhythmia’s (premature heart beats called PVC’s) and a rising CO2 (carbon dioxide) level despite adequate ventilation. The urine becomes dark brown as the body breaks down muscles and calcium and potassium are released into the blood stream. This is every anesthesia provider’s nightmare.

Every OR has a poster describing MH treatment and the phone number to MHAUS, an organization dedicated to education and treatment of MH. If MH is suspected, someone calls the hotline to get an expert on the phone. With proper treatment, mortality ranges from 5% in some literature to 20% in other. At one time, MH was 95% fatal. The key is early recognition and treatment. Delaying treatment while trying to figure out if it is MH or not accounts for higher mortality.

Treatment involves turning off all anesthetic agents and ventilating the patient with 100% O2. Surgery is stopped and the surgeon “closes” or sutures the incision shut. All new hoses and the CO2 absorber is changed on the anesthesia machine. Dantrolene, a powdered drug to reverse MH, is mixed with 60 cc of sterile water and given. Dantrolene is difficult to mix and a dose is up to 36 vials so one of the first things done after diagnosis is to get plenty of help to do nothing but mix drug.

All the treatment is too extensive to go into here, but if interested, check out www.MHAUS.org.

***Content originally posted February 4, 2011.***

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Kimberly Zweygardt is a Christ follower, wife, mother, writer, blogger, dramatist, worship leader, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, a fused glass artist and a taker of naps. Her writings have been featured in Rural Roads Magazine, The Rocking Chair Reader, and Chicken Soup for the Soul Healthy Living Series on Heart Disease. She is the author of Stories From the Well and Ashes to Beauty, The Real Cinderella Story and was featured in Stories of Remarkable Women of Faith. She lives in Northwest Kansas with her husband where their nest is empty but their lives are full. For more information: www.kimzweygardt.com

The Face Behind the Mask: Part 3/5

/ Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

We’re continuing our five part series with certified nurse anesthetist Kimberly Zweygardt.

Welcome back, Kim.

So far, we’ve met the characters in the OR and discussed the setting. Today, let’s talk about things that could go wrong including anesthesia complications.

We’ve all read about wrong patient or wrong operation or surgeons operating on the opposite leg, hip, etc. Safegaurds, like the time out, are designed to prevent this, but what if it increases plot tension?

Also, the OR is its own little world—only staff and patients allowed, but there was a case where someone impersonated a doctor. What did the nurse say when she found out he wasn’t a real surgeon? “I couldn’t tell. He was wearing a mask!” In a large teaching hospital there are students of all types and the OR gets much more crowded. It would be possible for someone to sneak in with mayhem on their mind, although safegaurds like doors to the dressing rooms with keypad entries have become common.

The OR is a very busy place and patient care comes first. As the case ends and the patient wakes up, there is lots of hub bub.My concern is if my patient is pain free and breathing before taking them to the PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit), not about the drugs which locked up unless being used. While I’m gone, the room is “turned over” (cleaned and readied for the next case). Nurses, scrub technicians and housekeeping are in and out. In some OR’s an anesthesia tech cleans and restocks the anesthesia supplies, changing the mask and breathing circuit on the anesthesia machine so that when I return, all I have to do is draw up drugs for the next patient.

Due to the nature of the OR, the anesthesia cart is unlocked so that the tech can restock drugs and supplies. What would happen if someone had murder on their mind?

Drug companies sometimes use the same labels for different drugs. For example, Drug A is in a 2cc vial and slows down the heart. The label is maroon and the vial has a maroon cap. It is clearly labeled as Drug A. Drug B also is a 2 cc vial with a maroon label and has a maroon cap but Drug B increases the blood pressure. What happens if the pharmacist sends the wrong drug because he recognized the colored label and grabbed it? Or if both drugs are in the anesthesia cart, but one vial gets put in the wrong drawer along with vials that look identical? Or the patients blood pressure is dangerously low and in my hurry, I grab the wrong drug and slow down the heart causing the blood pressure to plummet even lower? What if it wasn’t an accident?

For your comfort, practitioners are know about “look alike” drug vials and take special precautions to prevent errors. Don’t be afraid if having surgery, but what fun would that be for our characters? Remember this blog post is about getting the medical details right, not making our characters happy!

***Content originally posted January 28, 2011.***

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Kimberly Zweygardt is a Christ follower, wife, mother, writer, blogger, dramatist, worship leader, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, a fused glass artist and a taker of naps. Her writings have been featured in Rural Roads Magazine, The Rocking Chair Reader, and Chicken Soup for the Soul Healthy Living Series on Heart Disease. She is the author of Stories From the Well and Ashes to Beauty, The Real Cinderella Story and was featured in Stories of Remarkable Women of Faith. She lives in Northwest Kansas with her husband where their nest is empty but their lives are full. For more information: www.kimzweygardt.com

The Face Behind the Mask: Part 2/5

/ Jordyn Redwood / 2 Comments

We’re continuing our five part series with certified nurse anesthetist Kimberly Zweygardt.

Welcome back, Kim.

Last post we discussed who is in the OR. Today let’s talk about the OR setting then discuss the anesthetic.

The OR is a cold, sterile, hard surface, brightly lit environment that is all about the task instead of comfort. Cabinets hold supplies, the operating room bed is called a table, Mayo stands hold instruments for immediate use during the operation and stainless steel wheeled tables hold extra instruments and supplies. IV poles,  wheeled chairs/stools and the anesthesia machine and anesthesia cart complete the setting.

When a patient comes in, the staff does a “time out.” The circulating nurse, the surgeon and anesthetist all say aloud that it is the correct patient and procedure. It sounds like this, “This is Mrs. Harriet Smith and she’s having cataract surgery on her left eye.”  Once done, the staff swings into action, the circulator “prepping” the surgical site (washing it off with a solution to kill the germs) while the scrub nurse prepares the instruments after “gowning and gloving” (putting on sterile gown and gloves). Meanwhile, the surgeon “scrubs” meaning washing his hands at the sink outside the room. When he is done, he’ll enter the room to get gowned and gloved. Before all this is happens, I’ve started my care of the patient.

I meet the patient before this to fill out a health history specific to anesthesia. Are they NPO (Have they had anything to eat or drink after midnight)? Do they have allergies? Have they ever had an anesthetic and if so, any complications? Has anyone in their family ever had complications with anesthesia? Then I ask about medications and other health problems  so I can choose the best anesthetic. But an even bigger job is reassuring them that I am there to take care of them.

When they come to the OR, I attach monitors—EKG heart monitor, blood pressure cuff, and pulse oximetry (a small monitor that fits on the finger to measure the oxygen levels in the blood). Once the monitors are on, I give medicines for the  “induction” of anesthesia. As the patient goes to sleep, they are breathing oxygen through a face mask. Drugs include the induction agent (most likely Propofol), narcotics (Fentanyl most common), an amnestic (Versed which provides amnesia), plus a muscle relaxant (Anectine)that paralyzes the muscles.  When asleep, the breathing tube is placed using a laryngoscope that allows me to visualize the vocal chords. Then the anesthetic gas is turned on.

I am with the patient through the whole operation, watching monitors, giving medications and making adjustments.  At the end, I reverse the muscle relaxants, turn off the anesthetic gas, and begin the “emergence” process waking the patient up.

Now, that’s the norm but we’re writers where normal is boring! Next post I’ll let you in on all the things that can go wrong!

***Content originally posted January 21, 2011.***

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Kimberly Zweygardt is a Christ follower, wife, mother, writer, blogger, dramatist, worship leader, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, a fused glass artist and a taker of naps. Her writings have been featured in Rural Roads Magazine, The Rocking Chair Reader, and Chicken Soup for the Soul Healthy Living Series on Heart Disease. She is the author of Stories From the Well and Ashes to Beauty, The Real Cinderella Story and was featured in Stories of Remarkable Women of Faith. She lives in Northwest Kansas with her husband where their nest is empty but their lives are full. For more information: www.kimzweygardt.com

The Face Behind the Mask: Part 1/5

/ Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

I’m happy to host my good friend, author, and dramatist Kimberly Zweygardt over the next five posts and she shares about being a CRNA— Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. You can find out more about Kim by visiting her website here.

Welcome, Kim!

If you have a profession besides writing, doesn’t it bug you when someone doesn’t get it right? It may be something small, but you wonder, “Why didn’t they do some research?”  With the Internet, it is easier than ever to find information, but if it is a hidden profession like my own, there might not be much info for you to glean. Today I want to share with you, The Face Behind the Mask or The Life and Times of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). The operating room is my world, so let’s begin there.

A CRNA is an advanced practice nurse that specializes in anesthesia. CRNA’s were the first anesthesia specialists beginning in the late 1800’s. Anesthesiologists are MDs that specialize in anesthesia (it became a medical specialty after WWII), unless of course you are in great Britain where everyone is an Anaesthetist (Ah-neest’-the-tist’). Confusing, yes? Just remember, the work is the same, but the title is different. For some reason, the term  Anesthesiologist is more widely known (because it is easier to pronounce?), but since CRNAs give over 60% of the anesthesia in the US, if you write a surgery scene, you might want to consider using a CRNA as the caregiver, especially if it is a rural setting. Over 90% of the anesthesia in rural America is provided by a CRNA.

The OR is its own world. Someone has to do the operation, so there are general surgeons, trauma surgeons, orthopedic surgeons (bone), neurosurgeons (brain and nerves), cardiovascular surgeons (heart and major vessels), as well as OB/Gyn (women’s health), ENT (ear, nose and throat) and ophthalmologists (eye surgeon). If it is a large teaching hospital, there might be a medical student or surgery resident assisting the surgeon.

A scrub nurse or surgical technician is there who hands the instruments to the doctor as well as a circulating nurse—a RN who records what happens during the operation as well as obtains any supplies needed in the room. For example, if the doctor needs more suture, the circulating nurse would open it so it remains sterile and hand it to the scrub nurse who is also sterile.

Two of man’s greatest fears are being out of control and the fear of the unknown. The OR setting speaks to both. What great plot scenarios and drama we can create by going through the double doors that lead to surgery!  Next time we’ll talk about interesting scenarios and complications concerning surgery and anesthesia. Happy plotting!

***Content originally posted January 14, 2011.***

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Kimberly Zweygardt is a Christ follower, wife, mother, writer, blogger, dramatist, worship leader, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, a fused glass artist and a taker of naps. Her writings have been featured in Rural Roads Magazine, The Rocking Chair Reader, and Chicken Soup for the Soul Healthy Living Series on Heart Disease. She is the author of Stories From the Well and Ashes to Beauty, The Real Cinderella Story and was featured in Stories of Remarkable Women of Faith. She lives in Northwest Kansas with her husband where their nest is empty but their lives are full. For more information: www.kimzweygardt.com

What REALLY Happens While I’m Under Anesthesia: 3/3

/ Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

Today concludes a three-part series by guest blogger and CRNA Kim Zweygardt about what really happens in the OR. Kim took on several FB questions regarding anesthesia and the OR that I thought would be great info for writers.

Thank you, Kim for sharing your expertise with us.

Follow the links for Part I and Part II.

7. How aware are you under anesthesia? And I’ve heard sometimes people wake up during surgery but you give a medicine so they don’t remember. Is that true?

Let me answer the second part first. As I mentioned earlier, we give a combination of medicines in anesthesia and some drugs have an amnestic effect. So yes, there are drugs that we give you that provide amnesia so you don’t remember what happened. They can be given as part of a general anesthetic or as a sedative. But there are times someone says they “woke up during surgery” when they were sedated not anesthetized.” So what constitutes being asleep for surgery? For us, being asleep is a general anesthetic where you are so deeply unconscious that we are assisting your breathing. But, sometimes the actual anesthetic is a spinal, another nerve block or a local anesthetic. Because most people don’t want to know what is going on, we will give you sedation and you take a nap during the surgery. From our perspective, you are not “asleep,” you are napping, but from your perspective, you went into surgery and “went to sleep!” That causes confusion. I have patients tell me they woke up during their surgery. When we give you medicines to nap, you may wake up and be aware of what is going on. I tell patients that the difference is if I want to talk to you, I can call your name and ask you how you’re doing. You’ll wake up and talk to me and then when I leave you alone, you’ll drift back into your nap. But if you have a general anesthetic, I can talk to you all day and you won’t answer because you are totally unconscious.  As far as awareness, it depends on whether you are sedated (you may remember some things) or have a general anesthetic (you should not be aware during the operation). We’ve all heard the horror stories about people being awake during an operation. It does happen but is very, very rare.

8. How do you let the doctor know you are awake during the anesthetic?

As I said, true awareness is very rare. When it happens (or when they make awful movies about it) it makes the headlines but don’t forget that hundreds of thousands of anesthetics are done every day without awareness. I mentioned before that the amount of anesthetic you need is based on how much surgical stimulation there is (fancy way of saying how much it hurts). Even when you are anesthetized, your body still responds to pain if the anesthesia isn’t enough. The heart rate goes up. The blood pressure goes up. You will even have tears when it hurts. That is one of the reasons we are watching you every moment. If we see those changes, we can give you more medicines so that your body doesn’t have that stress response. The patient “tells” us the anesthetic needs to be deepened by all those changes in vital signs.

9) What do people say while they are asleep?

When I became a CRNA, we used Sodium Pentothal which was famous in movies as “truth serum.” It was a common question then about what they might say during an anesthetic. For “truth serum” very small sedative doses were given so the person was groggy. The thought was they were too drowsy to lie! But for anesthesia, a large dose is given so the patient is asleep in minutes with no time for conversation! I once interviewed a man who questioned me extensively seeking assurance he wasn’t going to say anything because of “that truth serum!” He even sent his wife out of the room while he questioned me further! I always wondered what he wanted to hide! Now we use a drug called Propofol. It works even quicker than Pentothal so rest assured, if you are going to sleep (general anesthetic), you’re not giving away any secrets!

10. What is the strangest thing you’ve heard someone say under anesthesia?

I once put a known psychic to sleep. The case was added on to the end of a long surgery day because the patient had forgotten to come for surgery the day before. (Which I found funny since she was a physic. Those of you who know me personally, get my sense of humor!)  She was a very pleasant woman and when questioned didn’t mention anything about having problems with anesthesia in the past. She was completely anesthetized when the surgeon stuck his head in the door to ask, “Did she tell you she has a history of recall during anesthesia?” Well, no, she hadn’t mentioned that small detail to me! I immediately turned up the anesthetic gas and gave some other medicines and but as I did, in a spooky séance’ type voice said, “If you can hear me, let me know!” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, her pulse went up significantly and I am sure she was doing exactly that although I never had the heart to ask after I woke her up! Years later I read a fascinating article about the subconscious mind and anesthesia awareness that made me think of her but that is another post!

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Kim Zweygardt always knew she wanted to be someone special.  Her heart’s desire when she was 7 was to be a famous ballerina but when she read their toes bled from dancing on them, it became a less desirable career choice. Then Kim decided to be a famous lawyer solving mysteries and capturing the bad guys just like Perry Mason, but as she got older she discovered sometimes it was hard to tell just who the bad guys were.

Instead Kim chose a career in medicine practicing the art and science of anesthesia as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist in rural Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.

Kim is married to Kary, the man of her dreams, who has done a fabulous job of making all her dreams come true. They have three children but an empty nest and enjoy conversation with friends over good coffee and great food. They enjoy travel, the arts and taking a nap.
Member American Christian Fiction Writers, International Speakers Network, www.bookaspeaker.net, www.womenspeakers.net

What REALLY Happens While I’m Under Anesthesia: 2/3

/ Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment
I’m continuing with a three part series written by guest blogger Kim Zweygardt on what really happens while you’re under anesthesia. Great information for authors. 
You can find Part I here.
Welcome back, Kim!

4. Why is my throat so sore after anesthesia? (The actual question involved us ripping your throat out under anesthesia but I niced it up!)

With almost all surgeries, you are breathing extra oxygen that isn’t normally humidified and can really dry your throat out and cause it to be sore. Sorry about that! With bigger surgeries, we insert devices to maintain your airway. Anesthetics depress your breathing and these devices allow us to breathe for you to make sure your body gets all the oxygen that it needs. They are made of soft plastic, but they can irritate and cause a sore throat after surgery. And some people have anatomy that makes the insertion more difficult and that can also cause a sore throat. As a general rule, the sore throat is gone in about 24 hours. Treat it like a normal sore throat–pain meds and warm fluids help lots.

5. I love going to la-la land, but why is it so hard to wake up? (I’ve also heard this–“I just wanted to sleep and the nurses kept making me wake up in the recovery room! How come?”)

I could give you lots of technical mumbo jumbo about how drugs are metabolized but I think the more important thing to remember is this: We give you medicines based on your weight and that health history we took but also based on what type of surgery you are having and how uncomfortable that surgery is! It’s not the same amount of pain to have eye surgery or your gall bladder out. We give you these drugs so you will be comfortable and/or asleep, depending on what the surgeon is doing–that even varies at different times during the surgery because some parts of the operation may be more pain producing than others. A few minutes later, the surgery is over and what was the perfect amount of anesthesia now has you really sleepy because that stimulation is gone. We can reverse some of the medications but we also let your body gradually metabolize them so you are groggy and comfortable after surgery. And just like when you are fast asleep at home and someone wants to bug you? You’d rather be left alone!

6. I was told to think of something pleasant as I went to sleep and I woke up great! The doctor said how you go to sleep is how you wake up. Is that true?

There is a lot of truth to this. When you are anxious you release all kinds of stress hormones into your bloodstream and that can translate into a very rocky anesthetic including wake up. Thinking of something pleasant causes you to release endorphins which is like the body’s own morphine. That sense of wellbeing carries over as well not to mention the power of positive thinking! One technique I use with teenagers who tend to wake up wild is to explain to them pre-op how it will feel waking up and what I want them to do. Because they have had a chance to think about it ahead of time, when I tell them surgery is over and they should lie still, they do it because even through the “waking up fog” their subconscious remembers my words. Anything we can do pre-op to allay anxiety makes for a smoother waking up.

Tune in next post for Part III. 

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Kim Zweygardt always knew she wanted to be someone special.  Her heart’s desire when she was 7 was to be a famous ballerina but when she read their toes bled from dancing on them, it became a less desirable career choice. Then Kim decided to be a famous lawyer solving mysteries and capturing the bad guys just like Perry Mason, but as she got older she discovered sometimes it was hard to tell just who the bad guys were.

Instead Kim chose a career in medicine practicing the art and science of anesthesia as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist in rural Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.

Kim is married to Kary, the man of her dreams, who has done a fabulous job of making all her dreams come true. They have three children but an empty nest and enjoy conversation with friends over good coffee and great food. They enjoy travel, the arts and taking a nap.
Member American Christian Fiction Writers, International Speakers Network, www.bookaspeaker.net, www.womenspeakers.net


What REALLY Happens While I’m Under Anesthesia: 1/3

/ Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

A fellow writer and good friend of mine is a CRNA– certified registered nurse anesthetist. That means she was first an RN and then specialized in anesthesia. Kim works in a rural setting delivering primary anesthesia care covering thousands of patients. If it weren’t for CRNA’s like Kim, people living in rural communities would likely have to travel hours (or be transferred by EMS services very expensively) for even minor procedures.

Kim put out a call on her FB page for questions about anesthesia that I thought would be good info for Redwood’s readers.

Welcome back, Kim!

Let’s start with the boring stuff:

1. Why do I have to answer so many questions before surgery?

One common misconception about anesthesia is that we just give you some magic drug that makes you sleep for as long as surgery takes. It actually is a lot of different drugs that work in different ways and that your body metabolizes in different ways. Some drugs last different amounts of time. Some drugs depress the heart or aren’t good for people with lung problems. We ask all those questions so that we can give you the best anesthetic for you! And that’s another thing–we don’t really care or judge you about things you do or don’t do. We just want to take the best care of you so don’t lie to your CRNA! If you have had something to eat or drink, taken a medication, or if you drink, smoke or use drugs, tell us! It could be life or death!
2. I thought only doctors gave anesthetics. What is the difference between a CRNA and an anesthesiologist?
Nurses were the first anesthesia providers and have been safely providing anesthesia since the late 1800’s. We were the first Advanced Practice Nurses and have the most autonomy of any nursing specialty.  CRNAs provide anesthesia in all 50 states and our military men and women are cared for by CRNAs around the world. Over 60% of all anesthetics are given by CRNAs. The main difference is where our training begins. A CRNA goes to nursing school, works as an RN in Critical Care and then completes both clinical and didactic training in anesthesia to become a CRNA after passing boards. An anesthesiologist goes to medical school and then completes a residency with clinical training in anesthesia. Often the cases and textbooks used are the same and many large teaching hospitals train both CRNAs and their doctor counterparts side by side. Over and over studies have shown no difference in safety and outcomes between CRNAs and MDs, so no, you don’t have to be a doctor to do anesthesia.

Now for the more interesting stuff!

3. Where do you go while I’m asleep?

Nowhere! We monitor you heart beat by heart beat and breath by breath to make sure you are getting exactly the amount of anesthesia that you need. Our only job is to take care of you during surgery! We don’t leave you from the time you come into surgery until we take you to recovery. And, we don’t leave you in the good hands of the recovery nurse unless you are stable. We are your advocate, asleep or awake!

We’ll continue with Part II next post. 

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Kim Zweygardt always knew she wanted to be someone special.  Her heart’s desire when she was 7 was to be a famous ballerina but when she read their toes bled from dancing on them, it became a less desirable career choice. Then Kim decided to be a famous lawyer solving mysteries and capturing the bad guys just like Perry Mason, but as she got older she discovered sometimes it was hard to tell just who the bad guys were.

Instead Kim chose a career in medicine practicing the art and science of anesthesia as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist in rural Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.

Kim is married to Kary, the man of her dreams, who has done a fabulous job of making all her dreams come true. They have three children but an empty nest and enjoy conversation with friends over good coffee and great food. They enjoy travel, the arts and taking a nap.
Member American Christian Fiction Writers, International Speakers Network, www.bookaspeaker.net, www.womenspeakers.net