BW I'm sorry you're facing having a procedure which you find so anxiety-provoking. You absolutely should tell your dr about the level of anxiety you are experiencing, as it is a legitimate reason for the procedure to be done under sedation if that is what is necessary. FWIW I've had a bone marrow biopsy which is routinely performed at some treatment centres under only a local, but at my hospital a sedation is considered the minimum standard of care. So it could be that the liver biopsies are routinely available under sedation somewhere near you, and if it's not you should be able to request it any way. No doctor wants their patients to be distressed.
DP has had a liver biopsy. He had local anaesthetic. The did an ultrasound and he felt a bit of pushing and pressure but no actual pain. He was ok to walk afterwards and they just got him to hang around for a bit to make sure he was ok. I'm pretty sure it hurt a bit afterwards but he had aggressive lymphoma all through his system and it particularly liked his liver so he was already in pain from that - it was the size of a football and was hurting every time he coughed or moved in particular ways so that doesn't really apply to you.
Sorry. That's probably not helpful for you. I do agree with MD and others, if you are feeling that anxious about it, I would definitely be demanding full sedation. DP didn't have that option because his breathing was so compromised they weren't willing to take that risk so it was either local or go under a full general. I know your situations are really different but I'd be happy to ask him anything you particularly wanted to know about the procedure. I don't think it took very long - maybe 20 minutes? It's the waiting beforehand that was worse.
I hope you can come up with a plan you feel somewhat comfortable with.
I've assisted with lots BW but never had one. Lots of Sydney specialists will only do it with light sedation, so I totally agree with the others about telling him and requesting it. If you can't talk about it with him, maybe print out what you have typed and let him read it?
I have no advice huni but I do know what its like with a lot of health problems. iv got a stent in my kidney and iv got to go back in to have more surgery to try and remove my kidney stones, he said this might not solve or be causing the problem with my kidneys. iv got a few other things but iv learnt to expect the unexpected with everything. (my surgeon said they went in and were unprepared for how complicated it was. (story of my life!!) lol.
huni we are all here for you huni and if you want to talk you know im here.
huge hugs xox
The panic is currently retreating to just being over the biopsy rather than over everything because of the biopsy.
I remember the first time I had a GA - I was scared out of my brain so I avoided thinking about it. I had a friend in the hospital with me when the anaesthetist came so I appeared calm. When they took me to surgery I hyperventilated really badly. I basically paralysed myself I couldn't feel my arms and legs and couldn't move them. I'd gone as stiff as a board. Someone asked me to relax my hand so they could get the drip in - I had to tell them I couldn't feel my hand!
The next time I had a GA (same anaesthetist) I asked for some pre-op sedatives because of my last experience. I remember them asking which knee they were operating on and me suddenly wondering if I'd told them the right knee because I felt so out of it - and then I woke up after the operation. It was much calmer - and meant that the next four times I went under a GA I was completely fine about it - no sedatives needed!
When I think about it - it's probably not going to be terribly different to an ultrasound guided egg retrieval... I've done three of them, but thinking about it in those terms doesn't help because I woke up in horrific pain from each of them and had OHSS every single time, so that just doesn't help!
The locum just said a local anaesthetic. I'm certainly going to make my specialist (when I meet him!) aware of the anxiety issues I have surrounding the biopsy. His rooms are in the Castle Hill day hospital and I'm assuming the biopsy would be done there as well, so I know they have the facilities to do it under sedation (three egg collections under GA in the same hospital!). I'm not even sure I need to be out completely - just that they need to give me something to stop the outright panic I'm feeling!
I guess that for now it's just a case of hoping and praying that they take me seriously about the anxiety - otherwise I don't think I could even turn up to have it done!
Kaz - my liver is a little inflamed but not massively so. I generally only get pain if I eat the wrong foods now but with my last course of antibiotics it was hurting all the time by the end of it... I'm told that it's rare to have pain afterwards - but I've been than unlucky minority just too many times to believe for sure that I won't be in pain!
I think the hardest thing about this is the switch from the locum to the real specialist I haven't met yet - I've got no idea what he's like or anything! Kim, I know it's a long shot, but did you ever work with Dr Don?
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I hope you can come up with a plan you feel somewhat comfortable with.
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