The mystery of patients doing very well right after surgery

[ezer]

Lernica,
I agree but in this case it seems to be invariably a low pain window for 18-24 hours then it is terrible. A placebo is more gradual and can last up to 6 months.

[nyt]

I do not believe there is any placebo effect after surgery and that the reduced pain level for the first 24-48 hours is due to anesthesia gradually leaving our systems. One of the goals of anesthesia is to stop the transmission or interrupt the pain signal. For example, when you have dental work done and the dentist gives you some Novocaine before they do a filling, the Novocaine stops the transmission of the nerve impulse so you don't feel pain by blocking the sodium channels in nerve cells. With time as the Novacaine wears off you feel pain in the tooth. This is the same with general anesthesia that is given during pudendal surgery. The variety of drugs that are used help not only stop the transmission of nerve impulses to the brain but also cause amnesia. All drugs have a 1/2 life, that is the time it takes for the serum (concentration in the blood) to be 1/2 the amount that was given. All drugs have different 1/2 lifes. For example, Versed is a very common drug given during procedures/surgeries and it's 1/2 life is a few hours but Ketamine the 1/2 life is 36 hours. Don't forget, it is not uncommon to have nausea after anesthesia but the nausea slowly subsides over 12-18 hours, sometimes with help of anti-nausea medication . There is no placebo effect, this is all about pharmacology and physiology that occurrs as the anesthesia decreases in our blood and tissues over the first 24-48 hours.

[Celeste]

There is no placebo effect, this is all about pharmacology and physiology that occurrs as the anesthesia decreases in our blood and tissues over the first 24-48 hours.

I agree with this. I had a lot of numb tissue in the area of the PN in the first 2 days. It was very weird to wipe after using the bathroom but not be able to feel it. I was also kind of easily tired, too. You can wake up from those medications, but they DO take time to clear out of your system.