Anesthesia, Resuscitation, and ICU: Q&A

Is it actually okay to have a drink before getting local anesthesia?

Brenda Peterson29 said:Is it okay to have a drink before getting local anesthesia?

Sure thing! Just remember, the more you drink, the less local anesthetic you'll actually need. In fact, if you drink enough, you’re basically drifting toward general anesthesia anyway. I’ve seen plenty of folks roll into ERs after a long night out, needing stitches for all sorts of scrapes and cuts, and they didn't even need numbing agents—they were already plenty "anesthetized" from the booze.

Look, I know this sounds like a joke, but I'm being dead serious when I give you the real answer.
NEVER—and I mean absolutely never—should you be drinking alcohol before any kind of medical procedure. You never know when a minor little tweak might turn into something much bigger, or when the doctor might decide they need to switch from local to general anesthesia.
If you're feeling anxious about it, just be honest with your doctor and ask them to prescribe something to help you relax. It'll make things easier on everyone involved.

Cheers,

urbanscout50 said:Exactly. Alcohol intake is inversely proportional to how much local anesthetic you actually need. The more you drink, the closer you get to general anesthesia. In ER clinics, we've seen plenty of drunks getting wounds stitched up without any numbing at all—local or otherwise. They were already sufficiently sedated.

It’s a lighthearted question, sure, but the answer is dead serious and medically sound.
NEVER. Seriously, never drink alcohol before a medical procedure. You never know when a minor tweak turns into major surgery, or when local numbing just won't cut it and they have to put you under.
If you're freaking out, just ask your doctor for something to calm your nerves. It’s better for everyone involved.

Cheers,

Thanks for the reply. It wasn't a joke to me—I was actually planning on drinking because I was panicking hard before the surgery. I ended up not doing it since I wasn't sure, and I was curious about how alcohol interacts with local anesthesia in general. I did ask about anti-anxiety meds, but they didn't have anything. Thanks again, take care.

Hi everyone... I'm new to this group, so I was hoping if anyone here has dealt with something similar, they might be able to shed some light on things for me. My dad collapsed this past Sunday and lost consciousness completely. We tried everything we could think of to help him, but nothing really worked until the paramedics arrived—thankfully, the ambulance was only about five minutes away. They jumped right into CPR, and thank God, it worked. He was rushed to the hospital, where they stabilized him, put him on a ventilator, and placed him in a medically induced coma. Yesterday, the doctor mentioned they had started tapering off the medication used to maintain the coma, but he still hasn't woken up yet... :S So, I was wondering if anyone has gone through an experience like this? They haven't performed a CT scan of his brain yet because they said it’s still too early in the process. Thanks so much!

When someone’s in the ICU for any reason, my best advice is really just to take it one day at a time and try not to spiral thinking about what life looks like once this phase passes.
Regarding your dad, it’s honestly pretty irresponsible to suggest anything specific or claim to know what's happening on a random internet forum without knowing the actual clinical details. He needs real answers from his doctors, so definitely keep pushing them for clarity.
Basically, if we're talking about a genuine cardiac arrest—and that distinction is huge—resuscitation needs to happen immediately. One thing I didn't see mentioned, which is super important, is whether they've identified why the incident happened in the first place. Every single minute lost makes the prognosis much worse. Also, if he was successfully resuscitated, the big question is how much oxygen deprivation occurred during all that chaos; how long was the brain without oxygen? Some people pull through without any neurological issues at all, while others, unfortunately, deal with varying levels of brain damage due to prolonged hypoxia.
In your situation, from what I can gather, both outcomes are still very much on the table. You won't be able to see signs of potential ischemia on a CT scan right away. If there is ischemia, it usually doesn't show up on a CT until a day or two later when the damaged tissue starts to look different from the healthy parts. Ugh... sorry, I'm rambling and probably just making things more confusing for you.
As far as I can tell, there isn't much more you can do right now other than watching him closely and seeing how things evolve day by day. Please keep us posted if you hear anything else.
Hang in there.

Hey there, Scott Allen10... I just got back from the hospital, and honestly, it’s pretty devastating news. The prognosis isn't looking good at all. It’s one of those heartbreaking situations where, much like when they talk about weaning someone off life support or if a patient doesn't wake up within that critical 72-hour window after being taken out of a medically induced coma, the chances of a full recovery are incredibly slim. From what I can gather, he was without oxygen for about 12 minutes, which is just... well, I don't even know how to process it right now. Everything feels so uncertain.

Quick question for the group.
Is it actually feasible, or are there specific contraindications, to taking Normabel about 8 to 10 hours prior to undergoing epidural anesthesia?

Thanks

northernhound17 said:Thanks, Scott Allen10... I just got back from the hospital and the news isn't great... they're saying the chances of recovery are slim because, much like when you stop meds during a medically induced coma, if the patient doesn't wake up within a 72-hour window, things look pretty bleak. He was without oxygen for about 12 minutes, so now we're just left wondering what happens next... :S

Honestly, all this talk about specific timelines really gets under my skin because life just doesn't work like a clock. Everyone’s situation is so unique, and trying to squeeze medical outcomes into some rigid schedule feels totally wrong. You can talk about probabilities being high or low, sure, but making definitive claims about exact hours is just impossible.

But man, looking at the situation, it's clearly heavy. Just my two cents—try to take it one day at a time... don't let go of hope, but you've also gotta keep your feet on the ground as much as you possibly can.
Good luck.

Brenda Stewart59 said:Quick question.
Is it actually okay—or are there any downsides—to take Normabel about 8 to 10 hours before getting an epidural?

Thanks!

Usually, yeah... just make sure you clear it with your anesthesiologist or whatever doctor is handling your case first... definitely don't go rogue on this one.

Scott Allen10 said:Generally speaking, yes... but please, coordinate this with your anesthesiologist or the attending physician. Don't just go rogue on them.

I actually already checked with my doctor and got 😁
Thanks for the advice regardless 🙂

What kind of anesthesia is typically used for a frenulotomy?
I’m assuming they inject it directly into the penis? Is it actually painful?

I've got an issue with my frenulum, but I'm avoiding circumcision because my pain tolerance is basically non-existent—plus, I really managed to screw this one up myself. -.-

I’m heading in for a procedure where I’ll—hopefully 🙂—be under local anesthesia. Is it alright if I take some ibuprofen a few hours beforehand? 😳

I have a feeling my nails are going to be completely destroyed this September🙂🙂(thanks to nasty psoriasis), and I’m hoping they’ll use general anesthesia. Am I thinking about this correctly? Will the procedure happen at the dermatology department in St. Louis where I'm being admitted, or will it be handled by surgery over at the Mayo Clinic?🤷

Thanks in advance for any insight!

And honestly, I’d just ask my doctors directly, but they’re all out on vacation right now...

I hope I’ve landed in the right corner of this forum. A family member underwent valve replacement surgery about ten days ago. Upon waking from anesthesia, he fell into a state of psychosis and has been unable to move his right arm; he only experiences brief moments of lucidity. Could someone help me understand what might be happening here? Is it possible he suffered a stroke during the procedure? I am turning to this community because he lives abroad, which makes direct communication with his surgeons quite difficult. For context, he is 59 years old and an active athlete

Kimberly Watson said:I'm heading in for a procedure soon—fingers crossed everything goes smoothly! 🙂I was actually just thinking about this because I had to get some work done at the Mayo Clinic last month, and honestly, it’s always a bit of a toss-up when you're trying to manage pain levels before a procedure. If you're planning on taking some ibuprofen a few hours ahead of getting your local anesthetic, you might want to double-check with your doctor first, just to be safe, since everyone reacts to things differently. 😳

Look, just a heads-up from someone who's been there—please don't go popping any pills or starting anything new without checking in with your doctor first, because honestly, you really don't want to mess around with that kind of stuff.

Susan Ruiz76 said:I'm honestly terrified that by September my fingernails are going to be totally shot🙂🙂(thanks to this nasty psoriasis), so I'm really hoping they'll just put me under with general anesthesia. Am I thinking about this right? Like, will this happen over at the dermatology clinic in St. Louis where I'm staying, or am I looking at a surgical procedure over at the Mayo Clinic?🤷

Thanks so much for any help!

And yeah, I’d ask my own doctors if they weren't all out on vacation right now...

Actually, you might be mistaken there....🙂....it's way more likely they'll just go with some kind of peripheral block....but honestly, it really just comes down to what the anesthesiologist thinks is best and what you end up wanting. I'm not 100% sure on the exact location, but I doubt they're doing it at the St. Louis clinic.

Rachel Ross66 said:I think I might be in the right spot here, but a family member had valve replacement surgery about ten days ago. Ever since they woke up from anesthesia, they've been dealing with some psychosis and can't move their right arm, though they have a few moments where they seem totally clear-headed. Does anyone know what might be going on? Could they have had a stroke during the procedure? We're asking here because they live overseas, so we can't just check in with the doctors directly. They're 59 and a pretty active athlete

Honestly, if there's still no movement after ten days, it's pretty likely that happened. It’s not unheard of, and things like this just happen sometimes. Since the right side is paralyzed, it points toward something happening in the left hemisphere of the brain. The outlook really depends on where exactly the damage is and how big it is, so there's still a chance everything turns out fine. One tricky part is balancing the anticoagulant meds needed for the new valve against the recovery from the stroke, but you really just have to put your trust in the medical team looking after them.
Good luck

Anesthesia effects lasting several hours longer than expected

How should one approach spinal surgery when dealing with this specific issue? Does anyone here have any firsthand experience with this?

Taylor Mendoza10 said:THE EFFECTS OF ANESTHESIA WEARING OFF AFTER JUST A FEW HOURS

What’s the move if you’ve got spinal surgery lined up but this issue pops up? Has anyone actually dealt with this before?

mmm....it's probably just me since I just woke up and everything feels a bit sluggish... but I'm not totally following what you mean here....what kind of problem? what kind of anesthesia? give me a little more to work with so I can help out...