General Anesthesia, what is it like?

[jtgain]

I'm having a minor surgery for sleep apnea next week, and I will be put under general anesthesia. Now, I know that I am blessed compared to any number of people with serious surgeries, but I have never been "put under" before, and am a little scared of the loss of control aspect.

Are the drugs mentally comforting as you are drifting off, or is it a "My God, I'm going under, maybe dying and I CAN'T MOVE!" feeling for some people?

Ten years ago, I had my wisdom teeth taken out and was given an IV drip which they called "twilight sleep". When that stuff hit me, I could have been in heaven. I wanted to bottle it up and take it home.

Is this similar? Many thanks..

[dolphinboy]

It's not a scary or uncomfortable feeling from my experience. You will likely not remember much about it after the fact.

It's not uncommon for patients to get sick to their stomach after they wake up so you might ask for a drug that reduces the chance of that happening.

[eleanorigby]

Not in my experience. To me, it was like a black curtain descending (not in a scary way). I had to count back from 100 and got to about 97 and.... oblivion. No thought, no sensation, no awareness until my anesthesia was reversed after the procedure.

I hope your surgery goes well.

[Aioua]

I've been under once. I don't even remember the countdown. They put the mask on, I guess I felt kinda tired (I really don't remember), close my eyes, and when I open them I'm in recovery. Not at all like sleeping, just empty time.

[Asympotically fat]

It knocks you out so quickly you know nothing about it, it's not like going to sleep where you gradually slip off. One minute the anesthesist is telling you to breath deeply next minute you're slowly coming to on a trolley.

One side effect I did find, is that evening I had very vivd and strange nightmares.

[Khadaji]

One minute you are awake, the next minute you are waking up in recovery. That has been my experience.

[PoorYorick]

What everyone else has said. The only time I've had general anesthesia they gave me a happy pill earlier in the morning, so I wasn't worried about anything by the time they wheeled me into the OR.

[Nightingale]

What everyone here has said pretty much covers it. I've never been under a general myself but I work in the Recovery Room, so I help people wake up from it all the time. You can expect to feel sleepy, forgetful, and disconnected when you first wake up. You probably won't realize that your procedure is over at first. Your throat will be irritated from the endotracheal tube, and you will probably have a nasal cannula or oxygen mask on your face -- do NOT try to pull these off, as a) the oxygen helps you to wake up, and b) your nurses will become annoyed. If you have a history of post op nausea or of motion sickness, be sure to tell your anesthesiologist before you are put to sleep. They can give you medicines before you ever wake up to combat the nausea.

Good luck!

[jtgain]

Thanks everyone:

1. I want this "happy pill"

2. I don't think I will have the endotracheal tube as the method, because it is a sleep apnea surgery with a removal of the tonsils, uvula, part of the soft palette and part of the base of the tongue...

I can't imagine a mask in that situation. Is there IV general anesthesia?

[cher3]

I had a IV as at least part of my last general anesthesia. I can't tell you if they used a mask after that because I "wasn't there." Or possibly they do something that only involves your nose, like oxygen.

[Antinor01]

I had an IV anesthesia when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. I started feeling slightly loopy and the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. All in all, not a bad experience.

[Derleth]

I was last under for wisdom teeth extraction. It was definitely an IV induction: There was no mask involved as far as I knew. I made some small talk with the surgeon and anesthesiologist for a few seconds before I woke up, laughing and puking and acting like a stereotypical "happy drunk", in post-op. Puking blood was never so much fun. From my perspective, there was no time in-between. I was flanked by "weepy", a young female who wouldn't stop crying, and "sleepy", a young male who didn't want to wake up.

"Can you show me the way to go home?
I'm tired and I wanna go to bed!
I had a little drink just an hour ago and it went right to my head."
-- Jaws

[drewbert]

I don't even remember a countdown or a mask. One minute they're wheeling me down towards the O.R., and the next I'm waking up groggy.

[Mosier]

Going under is no problem, but waking up seriously sucks, at least for me the one time I had to go under.

I didn't recognize people I knew. I recognized people I didn't know. I asked the nurse on a date, and told her she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I couldn't think, and was constantly struggling to make sense out of ordinary things I was seeing and feeling.

I actually couldn't connect being thirsty to asking for water. I think I asked someone for "one of those things, like a pencil. A cylinder!" when all I wanted was something to drink. I was so frustrated, struggling against literally every thought my brain produced. It was almost like talking to a sleepwalking person, where they "almost" make sense, except that I was awake and aware of how stupid I sounded.

[Yllaria]

My pre-surgery "happy pill" was gas through a nasal tube for the wisdom teeth and shots for the gall bladder and knee, but other than that, what everyone else said. It felt like time had been spliced. There was no there, there in the middle.

I think all three had the anesthesia in the IV. The knee folks were kind and put the happy shot into the saline IV. The gall bladder folks went for the tukas.

[SenorBeef]

I had surgery when I was 8 or 10 and it was pretty unpleasant but mostly due to surprise - they didn't tell me what would happen. They told me to count down from 10, which I did, and when I got to about 8 my eyes began to close on their own. Surprised, I fought to keep them open but it was as if a hydraulic press were pushing down on my eyelids and I didn't have the strength to fight it. I didn't feel like I was falling asleep but rather that my body was being forcefully closed. I was out in a few seconds.

Had I actually been told that was going to happen, I don't think it'd have been that unpleasant - but it was scary, I thought something had gone wrong.

Waking up I can't remember - I had stitches to the side of and behind my eyes after the surgery so the discomfort of that trumped any other discomfort probably.

[jtgain]

During my wisdom teeth IV sedation I didn't go completely under. My mom said that during her procedure she didn't remember anything.

I remember the whole thing, but I was happier than a mouse at Chucky Cheese. I remember the scalpel cutting my gums and a streamer of blood coming out of my mouth. I was happy at that, as it showed that the dentist was doing his duty. Damn those were good drugs. But they didn't put me under...

[ASAKMOTSD]

I am surprised no one mentioned a "hummmmm" that gets louder as you go under, blocking out all sound. Am I the only one that experiences this?

[Canadjun]

I am surprised no one mentioned a "hummmmm" that gets louder as you go under, blocking out all sound. Am I the only one that experiences this?
That's sort of what happened to me with my surgeries for my decubitus ulcer (see my recent posts for more on that). Long long ago and far away I tried sniffing glue a few times as a teenager. Go under was sort of reminiscent of glue sniffing - ringing/humming, vision fading out from the periphery in, and then I woke up in recovery. A few years ago I had some bladder surgery; that time I had a distinct sensation of warmth in my arm when (I assume) they injected stuff into my IV and then I woke up in recovery, with no recollection of any other symptoms in between.

[Jragon]

That's sort of what happened to me with my surgeries for my decubitus ulcer (see my recent posts for more on that). Long long ago and far away I tried sniffing glue a few times as a teenager. Go under was sort of reminiscent of glue sniffing - ringing/humming, vision fading out from the periphery in, and then I woke up in recovery. A few years ago I had some bladder surgery; that time I had a distinct sensation of warmth in my arm when (I assume) they injected stuff into my IV and then I woke up in recovery, with no recollection of any other symptoms in between.

When I was going under for a gastroenteroduodonectomy (they put in a camera to look around my stomach and throat) the nurse said "there may be a burning sensation" I never really felt it. Unlike others who felt an incredible groggyness when woken up I felt like I normally do when I wake up, a little bit heavy, the onyl difference (other than location) was doctors talkign to other patients, I think I actually (quietly) responded to a question to another patient. In my defense his name sounded a LOT like mine.

Edit, I don't want this to worry you at all OP. But there are a minute handful of people that have a general resistance to anesthesea and may wake up (completely immobile and numb) during it. I've heard accounts ranging from, "I'm too loopy to care" to "freaking horrifying." Like I said I wouldn't worry about it, it's like some of those side effects on medicines where they're like "ih yeah, one of our patients spontaniously combusted once so we figure we;ll put it down as a potential side effect."

[vison]

The only part you need to worry about is if you are prone to barfing.

I barfed after surgery but it didn't matter except for when I had abdominal surgery and that was quite the thrilling experience, both times: holding a pillow to the incision so you didn't rip it open while you puked or coughed.

It didn't happen. Just felt like it might.

[alphaboi867]

Going under is no problem, but waking up seriously sucks, at least for me the one time I had to go under...

The only thing about going under last time I had general anesthesia was feeling like I was sinking into table. I don't remember waking up at all, but apparently I woke up screaming and started scaring the nurses and other patients in recovery.

[whiterabbit]

When I was a kid I didn't barf after surgery, but I do now. Or at least I did ten years ago, at 22, which was the last time I was put under.

That time the nice anesthesiologist showed up while I was waiting to go back and put something in my IV that, a few seconds later when it hit my brain, made the room go sideways. That's all I remember until waking up in recovery, the whole thing being over. And shortly after that, I found out that anesthesia makes adult whiterabbit puke. Ewww. The second drug they gave me for that finally worked.

I don't remember getting the insanely good drugs before my childhood surgeries, even my major back surgery at nine. But I also don't remember being particularly bothered by the process.

[jtgain]

Edit, I don't want this to worry you at all OP. But there are a minute handful of people that have a general resistance to anesthesea and may wake up (completely immobile and numb) during it. I've heard accounts ranging from, "I'm too loopy to care" to "freaking horrifying." Like I said I wouldn't worry about it, it's like some of those side effects on medicines where they're like "ih yeah, one of our patients spontaniously combusted once so we figure we;ll put it down as a potential side effect."


Well, thank you for telling me not to worry, but that was the tertiary worry. The first being death from complications, the second being fear from going under, and the third from waking up because of resistence to the drugs.

I drank like a fish when I was young, and still drink like a thirsty dog. :) I have a large tolerance to most sedatives and these guys need to knock me the fuck out..

Thanks again to all of the posts...

[HMS Irruncible]

I assure you I consumed many years worth of alcohol and other recreational substances and I don't even recall being asked to do the countdown. Suddenly I woke up in recovery and it was all over.

Not sure if this will relax you or frighten you, but my leg muscles were incredibly sore in the days after. Apparently people sometimes clench or struggle as they're coming out, and I was a big clencher and struggler. Again, I don't remember any of this, but I did apologize repeatedly as I am fairly big and strong and afraid that my struggling might have hurt somebody. This is just what I recall being told in recovery, it could as well just be my imagination.

[missbunny]

They had me count backwards from 100 and I was out completely by 96. No sensation of "oh I'm falling asleeeeeeeep" - I was awake and then I was out.

I did get violently ill afterward, in recovery, and vomited hard about every 10 minutes for some number of hours. It was not pleasant.

[Shagnasty]

Other people have basically implied it but there is one huge difference between going to sleep and having general anesthesia. There is almost no sense of time loss. When you go to sleep, you generally know that it took some time to go to sleep, some number of hours have passed while you are asleep, and then it took some time to wake up. That isn't the case with general anesthesia. They knock you out in seconds after some prep work then you wake up seemingly just a few seconds later with the surgery already completed. I have been under a few times and always refused to believe the whole thing was done because it seemed like no time had passed.

[OldGuy]

I've been under three times since last July. I was nervous lying on the operating table the first time, but don't even recall them putting the mask on me. I was already out from the IV drugs. The last time they put me out with gas. I remember little more than asking, is this gas or oxygen and being told it was the anesthesia. No count down just out.

I was worried about this waking up thing during the operation and asked the doctor about it. He said it was very very rare and usually found only in people quite sick.

I had no problems waking up or pain from the anesthesia at all.

Good luck

[MLS]

I've had at least a half dozen general anesthesia experiences. I was never nauseated. What everybody else said about 100, 99, wake up in recovery. The first time, I remember struggling to wake up, wanting to wake up, and finding it difficult to do so. By the most recent time, I can only say that maybe anesthesia and the associated techniques have improved. One second I was awake, next second I was fully awake again and the surgery was over. No grogginess, nothing. Just a period of time that was snipped out.

[MissGypsy]

I’ve been there three times. The first, I was pretty loopy from some sedative beforehand, so I don’t recall much. I woke up thirsty, and they would not give me a Diet Coke, only apple juice, which gave me heartburn.

The second, I had an appendectomy, and I was chatting with the anesthesiologist in the hallway about what combination of drugs he would be using and why was it so damn cold. Then he told me bad jokes as they wheeled me in and knocked me out. Woke up thirsty, and got my Diet Coke. (Never did get the punch line to that last joke.)

The last time, I was having a tubal ligation, and my OB/GYN was patting my arm as I told her, “I’m starting to feel funny… is that because he’s… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz” Woke up thirsty, and got 3 Diet Cokes. (That last surgery, however, I had dreams while I was under, and I can still remember them. For example, I dreamt that my oldest son, 5, was in charge of the babies, and I was horrified. I wonder if it was a different anesthesia or combination of such, but it was a little odd, for me. Could have been that I was 6 weeks post-partum, too.)

Upon waking, each time, I had the feeling of, “Ok, I’m still alive. Now I’m going to sleep this off for an hour or two.” Slightly groggy, drowsy, but quite comfortable.

[TWDuke]

I was put under with gas once to have my wisdom teeth out (and this weird mutant tooth that was growing out of the roof of my mouth, thank you very much). I remember starting to drift off, and all of a sudden the nurse took me into another room. I was very groggy and a little puzzled about why they weren't going ahead with the procedure. When she pulled a bloody wad of cotton out of my mouth, I realized they had.

When I had knee surgery I got an injection. I was strapped to a table just like the one they used for Sean Penn in "Dead Man Walking." I remember an ice cold feeling that seemed to be traveling through my veins. It was creepy but only lasted a few seconds. I was definitely aware that I was going under that time and although I was still groggy when I woke up I think I was knew that I had been operated on.

[chorpler]

Other people have basically implied it but there is one huge difference between going to sleep and having general anesthesia. There is almost no sense of time loss. When you go to sleep, you generally know that it took some time to go to sleep, some number of hours have passed while you are asleep, and then it took some time to wake up. That isn't the case with general anesthesia. They knock you out in seconds after some prep work then you wake up seemingly just a few seconds later with the surgery already completed. I have been under a few times and always refused to believe the whole thing was done because it seemed like no time had passed.

Yeah, usually during sleep you form some memories, at least while you're gradually coming out of sleep and waking up. When you go under general anesthesia and it works like it should (which it almost always does), it's like you've stepped into a time machine and you skip right across from the time before the surgery to the waking up in the recovery room. I was pretty groggy and totally uninhibited after my wisdom teeth surgery--I kept getting up and stumbling around without meaning consciously meaning to. After my appendectomy, I was pretty tired but more or less normal otherwise.

Also, if you're nervous, they'll usually give you a Xanax or some other sedative a bit before the surgery. That usually makes the waiting a lot more tolerable.

[irishgirl]

I've had IV Midazolam for wisdom tooth extraction and that was unpleasant because I still had some memories, I was just distant from them with a weird blank in the middle.

General anaesthetic was nicer, totally clear memory right up until they asked me to start counting. I didn't feel icy cold or buring in my veins, but had a really unpleasant garlicky/oniony taste in my mouth from the Propofol. Woke up groggy but fine, just a bit tired, got 10mls of morphine and went back to sleep for a couple of hours, then read a book until my husband picked me up. I was fine the next day.

Not scary and they talk you through everything as they do it, so there's very little loss of control.

[Dragonblink]

I've been put under three times, for an appendectomy, a knee surgery, and back surgery.

Did you ever get up too fast, or react badly to donating blood, and black out? Your last few thoughts start to get a little hazy and disconnected, and then you wake up and it's later. For my knee surgery, I was looking up at the ceiling of the OR and I noticed that the dots on the ceiling tiles appeared to be moving, and I got as far as thinking "I wonder if that means the drugs --" and then I woke up later. For my back surgery they gave me the meds before wheeling me to the OR. I was looking at the ceiling while they wheeled me, thinking they should make it look nicer for all the patients who get wheeled down the corridor on their backs. I think I remember looking up at the elevator door machinery. Then I was in the recovery room.

One thing I've noticed is that when I woke up I was freezing. After the back surgery they put on this blanket that puffed up with hot air to warm me up -- man I wish I could have one of those at home!

(I'm wondering what surgery I'm gonna end up having next ... I usually say that I'll complete the Old Person Trifecta by getting a hip replacement by the time I'm 35, but actually I'm betting it'll be my wrist ...)

[Little Cloud]

You absolutely will have an endotracheal tube for this procedure because they are working in your throat and a tube is needed to protect your airway from blood and/or irrigation fluids during surgery. However, they won't put the tube in until they have knocked you out with IV anesthesia and they will remove it before you are awake enough to remember it.

It is not unusual for patients to have some old blood in their stomach post-op because it tends to trickle down your throat during surgery. This may cause you to vomit some dark blood if your tummy is sensitive. Don't worry (unless it is a massive amount of bright red blood). This is normal. Also, you may be surprised at the post-op pain. The throat is a sensitive place - make sure you get a prescription for a serious painkiller.

I wish you the best of luck and hope this will fix your sleep apnea. If it does the trick, you should feel a lot better as soon as you heal.

[Staggerlee]

The only time I went under I found myself floating up, up above my body, and saw the legend 'lekatt was right!' written in the dust on top of the light fittings...

[Sublight]

The only part you need to worry about is if you are prone to barfing.

I've been knocked out for surgery four times in my life, and the only time this has happened to me was when I was given gas through a mask rather than whatever comes through the IV.

The last time, when I had my knee worked on, I was given an injection a little before being wheeled down to the OR. This already made me pretty calm and drowsy. As the doctors spoke to me I felt like I'd shown up drunk to an important meeting and had to fake sobriety. As the happy juice started coming down the IV, I began feeling very warm and heavy. I think I asked if it was ok to go to sleep now, and that was it.

Waking up, I just felt sleepy and vaguely uncomfortable (tubes in all five limbs will do that). I was alert enough to understand what my doctor and wife were telling me (although I can't remember if they spoke in Japanese or English), and I was aware that I ought to be in a lot of discomfort, so I should savor as much unconsciousness as I can and go back to sleep.

[Whiteknight]

My experiences have been a bit different than most people here. I've been put under twice, for wisdom teeth and for an appendectomy. Both times it seemed that I was aware that some time had passed, much like when waking in the morning. The only times I've ever felt like time passed in an instant were when I've gotten knocked out, which was a totally different experience from either sleep or general anesthesia.

[LSLGuy]

I had my first general a couple months ago. I'm in my late 40s.

They started a saline IV in the prep room then wheeled me into the OR. As best I could tell it was pure saline, no pre-relaxer drugs. The anesthesiologist said they were going to start infusing the anaesthetic via the IV, I started to say "I feel a mild buzz" & never got the sentence complete in my head, much less out of my mouth.

An hour later I came to in the recovery room and was alert & aware & talkative from the moment I was awake.

I can't tell you how much twilight there may have been at either end which I just don't recall. From my perception it was like a light switch: instant off, then instant on.

I felt kinda lazy for the rest of the day & slept normally that night.

Modern technology is really amazing.

[Max Torque]

The last general I was under was for my wisdom teeth, when I was 15. I will say up front that my "going under" experience was pretty much exactly like what others here describe: a black curtain, or a near-instant THUD into dreamland. There's no time to panic, and as it starts to set in, it relaxes you to such an extent that I can't imagine feeling any panic.

I should say, however, that I did wake up during the surgery. That was weird. I remember opening my eyes and seeing people in white wearing surgical caps and masks over me. I remember thinking, "Wait, I'm not supposed to be awake," and consciously closing my eyes again. And then I woke up in recovery. There was no panic or pain whatsoever. So, it was strange, but it didn't really bother me.

Also, unlike others here, I didn't have a bad reaction to the stuff. No vomiting at all. My brother, when he had his done, puked his toenails up for two days straight, though, so I suppose you never can tell how it'll affect you.

[Zsofia]

I've been put under with gas and with an IV. It's nothing - I mean, there's not a hole in your memory, you just go from "10... 9...." to "when are you going to start?" I remember being confused because I'd just closed my eyes and the ceiling changed. I felt fine and couldn't understand why they made me lie down all that time, and why on earth they made me leave in a wheelchair... and then my dad had to carry me in from the car.

[Shoeless]

I was put under for a hernia operation a few years ago. They wheeled me in to the OR, had me covered in nice warm blankets, and the anaesthesiologist came over and introduced himself. I didn't have to count backwards, but he did ask me some questions like he was making small talk, and I'm pretty sure I just went out in the middle of a response. The next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. It was like the best nap I'd ever had in my life.

[StGermain]

It was basically like turning off a light, for me. The first surgery, I don't even recall anything after beine wheeled through the pre-surgical prep area. I remember being rolled out of the cube, then I woke up. No nausea, no fear. Just wobbly. And they sort of rushed me out, because it was a same-day surgery center (gallbladder removal) and I was one of the last patients. The second surgery, I remember being moved fromt he gurney to the operating table. I remember thinking how small and bright the operating room was, nothing like on TV. Then I was in recovery. I had to stay in the recovery area for 6 hours, while patients came and went, because the surgeon was afraid I might hemorrage and she wanted me watched closer and longer than usual. I had one shot of pain med in my IV, and before they were going to move me, I was ready for more pain meds. The nurse said I'd get some when I got to my room. When I got there, the floor nurses said the surgeon wouldn't approve anything in my IV, and I had a pill to swallow. Only I'd just had my thyroid removed, it'd been much more involved than they were expecting, and I couldn't swallow a pill to save my life. So I never had any pain meds after the recovery room. But no nausea or confusion (that I remember) from the anesthesia.

StG

[aruvqan]

It is fantastic if you have had a bad, sleepless week full of labwork and stress ...

The only thing I didnt like was being cold as you are only given a sheet while on the gurney for being rolled to pre-op. I HATE being cold!

The nothingness is fascinating. I didnt get any pre op sedation, I dont get nervous. Once was gas induced, 4 times IV induced. Mainly I get a count backwards from 100 and get to 98 :) and then I pop awake coherent and ravenously hungry, and freezing my ass off to the point of the whole electric blanket thing because I am shivering hard enough to pretty much need rails to keep from falling off the bed because I have no coordination and am shaking like you would not believe. That phase seems to last about 15 minutes, then I am fine. Pretty much 45 minutes to an hour and I was pushed out and into the room until the doc came in and cleared me - mrAru always brings me something to eat and drink because I detest apple juice, sprite and fruit cup. I prefer iced tea and chicken nuggets... the time I was in having a tumor removed, the nurse came in to see if I thought i would like to try to eat and drink something I was half way through a 20 piece mcnuggets and a supersized iced tea. Of course I pretty much hadnt eaten for about 3 days [they kept running me through radiology and diagnostics, and everything was pretty much dont eat , do this prep kit, and sit around here until it is too late to actually get something to eat before you hit the nothing by mouth time :mad: damn navy hospitals - hurry up and wait.

Odd thing is I just had a parathyroid out in October, and did the PT sedation for it [the Doc wanted me awake, and the gas passer told horrible jokes, but we had good conversation about other stuff - we were both SF readers and discussed favorite authors and series. ] On that one I believe I had versed IV just before the kickoff because I really dont remember my neck being shot up with the local, just sort of chatting with people, and an occasional tugging feeling makign it through, and an occasional twinge when it was time for more lido to be placed. I got the chills and shakes just about the time the were taking the sterile fields down, and having about 4 warmed blankets piled on me until I got to recovery when I got teh electric blanket. 45 minutes later the surgeon came in and released us. Took about 30 minutes to finish getting signed out, the chair and the car retrieved from parking.

[Shodan]

I was knocked out with IVs. No pain, no panic, no fear. The anesthetist said, "OK, I am going to put you to sleep now", he shot the stuff into the IV line, and I said to myself "Gee, my arm feels cold" and I was in recovery.

Don't worry about it. It is, rather literally, nothing.

Regards,
Shodan

[norinew]

In the past 20 years, I've had general anesthesia more than a dozen times. Here's how my experiences have been, and what I've learned:
1. I've had gas-induced (they put the mask over your mouth, tell you to count backwards from ten, I never make it past 7) and IV induced; the meds they put in the IV burn, if it's in a small vein. I could feel it moving up my vein, as if someone had lit a match, blown it out, and was running the still-burning-hot match head up my arm; but it doesn't burn for long, because then I'm out. Whichever type they use (and more recently, it's all been IV), they put an oxygen mask over my mouth and nose for a few minutes prior to knocking me out, to "oxygenize" me.
2. Relaxing drugs. Some anesthesiologists seem to give this as a matter of course. With others, if you want something, ask. If you do want something (Versed is the most common, though it does nothing for me, many, many people like it a lot), and the anesthesiologist doesn't mention it, just inquire.
3. Passage of time doesn't seem to exist for me when I'm under. It's like someone found my "off switch".
4. Waking up in the recovery room, the nurse always asks if I'm in pain, and if I'm nauseated. I usually am in pain, so that's a no-brainer. But even if I'm not nauseated, I tell her I am. I've thrown up from general anesthesia before, it's nasty, and I'd rather head it off at the pass. I generally request Zofran, as the other frequently used anti-nausea, Phenergan, is a narcotic antagonist, and means the nice shot of morphine she just gave me won't work as well.
5. I'm always cold when I wake up too. I've found it best to be very direct. Instead of just saying "I'm cold" I'll say "Could I have a couple of blankets, please? I'd prefer the heated kind if you've got them", and instead of saying "My throat's awfully dry", I'll say "Would you check and see when I can have some ice chips?" (though they usually won't give you ice chips until your nausea is under control).
6. As for your alcohol consumption, the anesthesiologist will ask you about this before sedating you. Be honest with him (or her; most are men, but I've had a few women, too). Be honest about the idea that you might be more resistant to anesthesia because you drink pretty frequently. I have one friend, a tiny thing, who's always afraid they're not going to give her enough anesthetic, and when they ask her weight her default response is "300 pounds"! ;)
Be aware and reassured that the anesthesiologist and doctors have lots of sophisticated equipment designed to tell them if you're under deeply enough for them to proceed.

Best of luck!

[fiddlesticks]

Last time I had it, I remember feeling very relaxed and heavy and cold as I went out (the coldness might have just been a cool operating room). I got a shot to get me going on the way to sleepytown, and then the real stuff in the operating room. When I woke up, I was back in my hospital room and I felt completely awake and talked very excitedly to my parents who had arrived from out of town at the hospital while I was in surgery. But after a few short minutes I felt exhausted and fell back asleep for some time. I puked once after my first post surgery meal. I also had a inhaler treatment as my asthma was bothering me. But after the one puke and my lungs cleared up, I felt as normal as I could be, given my abdominal surgery.

[Lightnin']

I was put under for my wisdom teeth extraction a few years back. I remember them putting the mask on me, and they told me to count backwards from 100. I got to about 97 and giggled, for some reason, and then got to 96...

And then they were asking me if I could stand up and walk out to the recovery room. The time spent during the surgery is just gone- it's actually kind of creepy if you think about it.

[norinew]

it's actually kind of creepy if you think about it.
I agree, so I try not to think about it! :p

Seriously, it is kind of creepy; I told my husband once, "they call it 'putting you to sleep', but it's not like sleep. It's more like being temporarily dead". But I try not to think about it because when I need surgical procedures, I need surgical procedures.

I did used to worry about that whole "conscious during anesthesia" thing. But I voiced my concern to my urologist, who pointed out that, by that time, I'd been "under" probably a half-dozen times, and if that was going to happen, it would have already happened. That relaxed me about that. Plus, they really do have more sophisticated monitoring equipment now that's supposed to be able to tell them when you're really 'under' and when you're just paralyzed!

[teela brown]

I see some folks remarking how freezing it is in surgery. That was the case for me - it felt like you could chill beer in there. I asked the nurse how she could stand working in such cold, and she said I was just feeling it more because I was sick (I was having an inflamed gall bladder out). Then she got a blanket out of a heating closet and put it over me. I guess the fact that I was lying there virtually naked might have had something to do with feeling freezing, too.

[Mijin]

I was under for 6 1/2 hours. :cool:

I remember very little of falling asleep, and like with others here, after the operation I didn't feel as though the op had taken any time at all.

It wasn't pleasant after that though. It felt quite literally like someone had been stamping on my head. And I was so disoriented that apparently I kept trying to pull my IV cables out, and they eventually put a cast around them to prevent me doing that.

The op had been in the afternoon, and I think I flipped throughout the evening between half hours of vivid dreaming and half hours of being awake. The following morning I thought several days had passed, and my mother had to inform me that it was just the next day.

---------------------------

As part of the operation, they had to stop my heart briefly. I don't recall any NDE.

[Angel of the Lord]

I was put out when I had my wisdom teeth out. Getting put under was fine. It was like. . .I was sitting there, they put the IV in (my very first IV), and I remember thinking, "hey, this doesn't really hurt so b--"

Nothing. I came out slowly, though. I don't think they were done when I started coming too, but I was numbed and still really out of it, so that didn't bother me. I was, however, INCREDIBLY disoriented and groggy for a while, which upset me to bawling tears (I have a thing about control, and I couldn't express what I was thinking. THAT scared me). But, other than that. . .it really wasn't a big deal.

[pasunejen]

I'm with the "10, 9, where the hell am I?" crowd.

I do have one question though: For those of you who went under for surgery that didn't require transportation by gurney, did you lose anytime beyond that actually spent in surgery? When I had my wisdom teeth out, I went from the countdown to sitting up in a different chair, way down the hall by the office's back door, with no memory of walking/being walked from one place to the other, or of being left there, or any parting instructions the doctor or nurse might have given me. Has anyone else's black-out period included time during which he or she was actually (albeit barely) up and about?

[Voyager]

I've been out twice, once when half my thyroid was removed and once, recently, when they tried to reboot my heart. The second time used an IV. I was out like a light. No barfing problems, but you are supposed to fast after midnight. The first time they used far more anesthesia than the second. I woke in the hospital bed, and was out of it for a few hours, drifting in and out of sleep. The second time I was an outpatient, the anesthesia was light, and I was ready to go minutes after I woke up.

My wife has been know to fight it and for saying nasty things to the doctors as she goes under, but I'm much more polite.

And Staggerlee - :D

[LurkMeister]

I had surgery to correct a deviated septum a few years ago. Originally I was told that it would be done as out-patient surgery with just a local anesthetic, but after I got to the hospital it was decided to use a general and keep me overnight because of my sleep apnea (which was how it was discovered that I needed the surgery. One minute I was in the prep room with a needle in my arm and the next thing I knew I was in a hospital room with my nose packed with gauze and my throat and mouth as dry as the Sahara. I have no recollection of having been told to count, or even that they were about to put me under.

About a year after that I had a colonoscopy and they decided to put me under for that too. As far as I can remember, I was just given a shot which put me to sleep, and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room.

[norinew]

I do have one question though: For those of you who went under for surgery that didn't require transportation by gurney, did you lose anytime beyond that actually spent in surgery? When I had my wisdom teeth out, I went from the countdown to sitting up in a different chair, way down the hall by the office's back door, with no memory of walking/being walked from one place to the other, or of being left there, or any parting instructions the doctor or nurse might have given me. Has anyone else's black-out period included time during which he or she was actually (albeit barely) up and about?
This may have something to do with the relaxation meds that a lot of anesthesiologists use. Versed (which as I've mentioned has no effect on me) is sometimes called an "amnesia" drugs. This is one of the reasons it's used. It tends to produce "black outs" in the time between when it is given and sometime after coming back to consciousness.

I've heard many, many stories of people who remember nothing in between the time they were given their "happy juice" and the time they woke up in their hospital room.

[jayjay]

The only time I went under I found myself floating up, up above my body, and saw the legend 'lekatt was right!' written in the dust on top of the light fittings...

*snerk*

The last time I was put out was for tooth extractions. When I came out of it I was weepy as hell. I just could NOT stop crying, and I rarely cry normally! That lasted for a good 15 minutes...I felt like a fool.

[Pedro]

Sorry to be the party pooper but since you asked I had a very bad experience under general anesthesia. I was conscious, paralyzed, in heavy pain, suffocating and panicking. To add insult to injury everybody talked down to me about the experience as if I had dreamed the whole thing when I was at my most vulnerable suffering from post-op complications from a relatively simple surgery.

I also found out how doctors can be more concerned with covering each others ass than patient care. All in all, a very traumatic experience. Thankfully I'm in the minority.

[jtgain]

Sorry to be the party pooper but since you asked I had a very bad experience under general anesthesia. I was conscious, paralyzed, in heavy pain, suffocating and panicking. To add insult to injury everybody talked down to me about the experience as if I had dreamed the whole thing when I was at my most vulnerable suffering from post-op complications from a relatively simple surgery.

I also found out how doctors can be more concerned with covering each others ass than patient care. All in all, a very traumatic experience. Thankfully I'm in the minority.


So, it seems from this thread that the heavy majority had no ill-experience, almost a jump in time, while others had some complications all the way down to your hellish experience.

I guess it is just a combination of all of the factors including the type of drug, body chemistry, the doctor, etc.

But Pedro, couldn't they test whether or not it was a dream? If you were awake the whole time, couldn't you describe things that you couldn't possibly have known or dreamt about? A particular statement the surgeon made?

Thanks again, everyone..

[PastAllReason]

My only experience with general anesthesia was when I broke my arm when I was eleven. I recall having both arms extended, one broken, the other for anesthesia. I recall being asked to count backward from 100. I recall a microsecond where I was confused and thought my other arm was broken. I believe I got to 96 in my counting. The next thing I remember was being in recovery. As some have mentioned, I did not have a sense of time passing, no dreaming, no awareness or consciousness.

[Pedro]

But Pedro, couldn't they test whether or not it was a dream? If you were awake the whole time, couldn't you describe things that you couldn't possibly have known or dreamt about? A particular statement the surgeon made?

I did exactly that. I had even started to doubt myself until I recalled particular statements I could not have overheard otherwise. Both the surgeon and the anesthesiologist denied my recollections but I saw a crossed look between them and a "deer caught in the headlights" reaction that sealed it for me. I had also been told it was impossible until I learned of similar experiences on the net.

I was only conscious for a brief period during the procedure. I'm pretty sure that either through incompetence or body chemistry a component of the anesthesia wore off quicker than the surgical team anticipated.

[SpoilerVirgin]

I remember having small talk with the anesthesiologist, and then nothing until I heard the following dialogue:

"That's like the pot calling the kettle black."
"You know, I've never really understood that expression."
Me:"Well, you see old-fashioned cast iron pots and kettles were both black, so it was pretty hypocritical for one to criticize the other for being black."
Dr. in Recovery Room (the one who didn't understand the expression): "Wasn't she in La-La land a minute ago?"

One more thing that no one has mentioned -- general anesthesia can also sometimes cause constipation. No one told me beforehand, and since I'm someone who never really gets constipated, it was extremely disturbing until I spoke with my doctor who explained that it was a common side effect of anesthesia and prescribed me a laxative. Not a big deal, just wanted you to be aware of it in case it happens to you.

[Obsidian]

I have been under for oral surgery and for ankle surgery. I am an anesthesia champ.

When I was 19 I had my wisdom teeth out. I counted backwards, got to 97, and opened my eyes to the dentist leaning over me. They brought me to a room to lie down in. I was wide awake and felt fine, so after a few mintues of boredom I went in search of my mom. The nurse herded me back, though I was walking fine. I waited another five minutes, opened the door and called out that I was really bored, would they please bring me a magazine. They brought it and told me to lie down. When they came back to check on me, they found me sitting up and reading-- again they told me to lie down. Around then my mom returned from the pharmacy getting my pain pills. Two people "helped" me to her car. At home I walked up 2 flights of stairs unaided, had some ice cream, and took my pain pill.

The ankle surgery was much the same. I woke up like a light switch going on- wide awake. A nurse came and asked me about pain. I said I felt fine but was starving (going on like 15 hours without food by that point). All I got was water. I had a jovial conversation with my surgeon who showed me camera pics from inside my ankle. I requested pain meds, drifted in space for a while once I got them, and was discharged with instructions to try some broth and jello in a few hours and progress up to solid foods, as tolerated, in 24 hours.

I explained my last experience with anesthesia (and my hunger) to the friend that drove me. We hit the Burger King drive through on the way home and I ate a whopper, fries, and a hershey's sunday pie before we reached the house. However, not much short of salmonela (which I've had) makes me puke. I would not recommend fast food 2 hours after surgery to others.

(Both my Mom and sister react to being under the same way-- waking up un-groggy and thinking FEED ME. My Dad got violently ill the one time he was under.)

[TheLoadedDog]

The first time I went under, I enjoyed the few seconds of whacked out bliss where I was still cnscious. The second time, I can remember fighting against it (I don't know why). Next thing, conscious, I was waiting to hear them say, "give him some more. It's not working" (this happens to me all the time with dentists' local anaesthetics), but then they wheeled me out of the theatre. It was all over. The lack of sensation of time elapsed is weird. Nothing like sleep.

[jayjay]

The first time I went under, I enjoyed the few seconds of whacked out bliss where I was still cnscious.

Oh, yeah...that second or two before you actually black out where everything slooooowsssss dooowwwwnnn and you feel like your head just got stuffed with marshmallows...

[whiterabbit]

That second or two sounds a lot like what happened when they gave me the Excellent Drugs before taking me back. Man, trust me, you want those drugs. I'm going to ask for them should I have surgery again, which is entirely possible at some point. I do wish I'd thought (later) to ask exactly what they gave me, but I suspect Versed due to the total lack of memory.

Watching them cart my mom off to knee surgery about twenty seconds after giving her either the same thing or something very similar last year was hilarious. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy!

I'm glad I've had the lack of sense of time thing, because when you're nervous about something that's going to happen, and one second you're nervous and seemingly the next it's over and everything's fine is an awesome feeling.

[PastAllReason]

The lack of sensation of time elapsed is weird. Nothing like sleep.
I haven't thought about it in a long time now before reading this thread, but yeah, it is more just being switched "off".

[Acsenray]

I had the apnoea surgery a couple of years ago. They asked me to start counting backwards from 100 and my next conscious memory was waking up. I didn't remember falling asleep, losing consciousness, anything. I don't remember getting any further than 99 or 98.

[Canadjun]

I see some folks remarking how freezing it is in surgery. That was the case for me - it felt like you could chill beer in there. I asked the nurse how she could stand working in such cold, and she said I was just feeling it more because I was sick (I was having an inflamed gall bladder out). Then she got a blanket out of a heating closet and put it over me. I guess the fact that I was lying there virtually naked might have had something to do with feeling freezing, too.
I don't believe it only relates to being sick. If the sensation of the OR being cold related to illness then the hospital room, corridors, etc. should also seem cold and they don't normally seem that way when I'm going for surgery (I've had quite a few operations in my time). I've had to ask for a blanket too if they're taking a while to get ready.

[jtgain]

I had the apnoea surgery a couple of years ago. They asked me to start counting backwards from 100 and my next conscious memory was waking up. I didn't remember falling asleep, losing consciousness, anything. I don't remember getting any further than 99 or 98.

Did your throat hurt afterwards?

[Eliahna]

It's been more than ten years and I don't really recall the going to sleep part, but I do remember waking up. I was in the recovery room and the nurse must have come over to check on me. I reached out for her hand, and she just stood there holding my hand for what seemed like several minutes until I dozed off again. I don't know why I did that, but it was incredibly comforting.

[Hello Newman]

I had bypass surgery almost 11 years ago. They wheeled me up to the OR, and the anesthesiologist was sitting at a little table outside the room. He put some stuff into my IV, and they started wheeling me in. I remember as far as seeing the lights, and that was it until I came out of it.

My daughter had general last year for a diagnostic procedure. It was much worse watching her go under, even though there were no problems. (She got the gas.) I guess it's just hard watching your own kid being anesthetized.

[Fiveroptic]

I generally request Zofran, as the other frequently used anti-nausea, Phenergan, is a narcotic antagonist, and means the nice shot of morphine she just gave me won't work as well.


You're very mistaken about this, and in fact Phenergan is often used in conjunction with opiates because of its ability to potentiate the opiate effect. Phenergan (promethezine) is NOT an opiate. It's an antihistimine in the phenothiazine class which has sedative and antiemetic effects. You might be confused because Phenergan is a competitive H1 receptor antagonist, which has nothing to do with opiate receptors at all but sounds an awful lot like "partial mu antagonist," which does.

Please don't be afraid to use Phenergan for nausea. It will absolutely not reduce the potency of an opiate analgesic.

[norinew]

Phenergan (promethezine) is NOT an opiate. It's an antihistimine in the phenothiazine class which has sedative and antiemetic effects.
If I am, indeed, wrong about this (and I may well be), I'll defend myself by saying I was going on something told to me on these boards by one of the medical pros here. I want to say it was picunurse, but I'm not certain that it was her. It could have been a different nurse, or irishgirl. I'm pretty sure it wasn't QtM.

I would definitely be interested in having the question settled once and for all, though, as I generally used to prefer Phenergan (and actually I knew it was an antihistamine), because it would cause me to doze off. Sleeping is a wonderful way to pass the time when you're in the hospital.

[Beware of Doug]

Been out cold 3 times, heavy sedation twice.

Highly forgettable.

Og forbid anyone ever have that waking paralysis thing happening, though. Any anesthesiologist who lets that happen deserves to have his license pulled and bamboo sticks shoved under his fingernails.

[Clothahump]

The last time I had GA was when my gall bladder was removed. I remember they placed my IV and then the anesthesiologist said, "We're starting the drip now." About 5 seconds later, I turned off like a light. When I came to in the recovery room, I was a bit spacey for a while, but that wore off after about 15 minutes.

[Acsenray]

Did your throat hurt afterwards?

Not when I woke up. As the drugs wore off that night it started hurting and it hurt for the next week or two. It took me a few weeks to relearn how to swallow properly.

[MadPansy64]

IV style for my wisdom teeth -- the needle was inserted, I thought "SHIT! That." click. Woke up, tried to finish saying "hurts", woke up again stoned out of my gourd. I wondered what the beeping was, discovered that holding my breath (to better hear the beeping?) upset the nurses, and then we went to the pharmacy and . . . "THERE ARE HORSIES IN THE PARKING LOT!!one!!. Yeah, totally shitfaced. Mom says I had a conversation with a cop in the parking lot about "Nope. Mommy told me not to touch the door no matter what. No, go away." before she came back to explain why a stoned teenager had bloody drool dripping down her face.

Mask style (every time): Counted backwards to 98. Woke up, and promptly barfed on the poor recovery room nurse-type person. Went back to sleep, woke up, swallowed a pill, woke up, eventually go home.

Anesthesia is the easy part.

[Race Bannon]

I've been out twice - once for elbow surgery, another time for septoplasty. I had my wisdom teeth out under a local - sounds like that's unusual for this group.

Both times I was out were similar. IV in the arm, wheel me into the operating room, they start prepping. No countdown (that I remember). I do remember my face feeling numb and heavy, and being unable to move my face. I said something about how I was feeling, and they told me that was the drugs - I thought "how rude, why don't you tell me you're about to do that.."

Then I was waking up. For a second, I thought, just let me sleep a little more, then I remembered what had happened, and tried to do whatever they told me. No nausea for me.

[Ring]

Be forewarned, this is a gruesome thread about being awake, conscious, and in terrible pain during an operation under general anesthesia. If you're nervous at all do not read it. On the other hand it might prompt you to ask some very probing questions before being put under.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=434109&highlight=Anesthesia

[norinew]

For a second, I thought, just let me sleep a little more
Heh. I usually think that when they're trying to wake me up! Once I'm conscious, I realize why it's so important that they wake me up, but when it first starts happening, my only thought is "Go away! I'm sleeping!" Kinda like when one of my kids wakes me at 2AM! ;)

[Scubaqueen]

i’ve had three hand surgeries, a necrotic cyst removed from my left upper arm, a shattered right big toe rebuilt – and more dental work than i’m comfortable recalling actually…

the first real operation i had was in the mid sixties. that came with the gas mask and i remember that the stuff smelled like shoe polish. i was also asked to count backward from 100. i don’t remember whether i did or not. the operation went fine but after i was sent to recovery was when we first learned how badly i would react to g.a. whatever they used, i was told that i woke up screaming – and swinging. the next time i came to, i was tied down to the gurney! i was about nine years old at the time.

fast forward about 14 years and i had to have 3 impacted and infected wisdom teeth removed. fortunately for all involved, anesthesia had evolved quite bit from the dark ages of the swingin’ sixties and they used iv sodium pentathol. based on my previous behavior, i told them to tie down my arms and legs after i was out. just in case. all went well, however and i had no weird reactions. since then i’ve had the knockout juice by iv and also the twilight drugs like versed for all of my various surgeries. all have worked well and there are no crazed-patient after-effects, for which i’m most grateful. :p the preheated blankies are a gift from god and most appreciated, given how frickin’ cold they keep the operating theaters these days.

i also experience the time machine effect and the burning sensation as the drug travels the vein. with one of the hand surgeries, i remember looking up and behind me at the anesthesiologist who was looking back at me upside down (to my perspective, anyway :D ) and asking, “is it supposed to burn like this?”

he said, “uh huh,” and that was all i had to contribute to the conversation. in the next ‘second,’ i was waking up in the op room with a heavily bandaged hand while they were all busy tidying up the post op stuff.

no nausea problems ever with any of the various kinds of knockout, but i highly recommend you follow the pre-op instructions to the letter about food. and by all that's holy, don't do what i did after a surgery: go out and eat a big breakfast immediately after. i have NO idea what the hell i was thinking at the time other than i was hungry, i guess. you'd think a grown adult and a surgery veteran would put two and two together and realize that a post-op breakfast of sausage, bacon, pancakes, coffee, milk and orange juice, was probably NOT A GOOD IDEA! i paid dearly for such foolishness later on.

elsewhere i’ve contributed to a doper thread about root canals from hell, but the iv sedation always works just fine. finding a good iv sedation oral surgeon in these here parts of central indiana is becoming a bitch and a half, however.

best of luck. you'll be fine.

[jtgain]

More on my wisdom teeth "twilight sleep" sedation:

They put the nitrous oxide gas over my face and they started to talk; asked about my family, etc. Once the question went to how my sister was doing, I burst out laughing and apologized but said I was stoned. That's what they were looking for.

Then I felt the IV drugs hit. It was heaven. I could have died then and there and would not have cared. I was fully awake and conscious, but didn't give two shits. They put the rubber block in my mouth and began cutting. At some point, the surgeon said "He's still awake! Give him some more."

I'm thinking that's fine with me and I felt the second dose hit. Now, I was far less aware. I remember sights and sounds, but not much clarity Then I was coming to, and I was surprised that it was over. Already?

The nurse said that I took a hell of a dose of IV meds that she had seen some people take more, but it was still an amazing amount since I wasn't unconcious. In comparison, my mom took the first dose and doesn't remember arriving at the dentist's office that morning.

So, I have a tolerance, and I don't want some pussy little dose of drugs that will make me wake up before it is over.

Basically, I don't want to sound like a drug addict asking for the max doses, but I want to be under. No memories and no pain. Let the drugs flow..

Thanks again, Dopers..

[lizardling]

They knocked me out for my wisdom teeth surgery as a teenager. They were doing all four teeth, and I demanded (and got) general anesthesia for that.

So they strapped me into the mask, put in the IV, and told me that I'd be going byebye real soon. As best as I can recall, I just sank back into the chair and went out like a light. Sort of like falling asleep so fast that I didn't have time to really assess the experience.

Weird thing was waking up -- I woke up absolutely bawling, and bawled all the way home, and kept on crying until I fell asleep despite being a hard-bitten chica of nearly-eighteen who never cried. Literally couldn't stop bawling like a two year old. :eek: I was so stoned that the logic of not being able to watch the dentist and assistants do their thing never really tripped for me.

No nausea for me, just complete loopiness.

[norinew]

Basically, I don't want to sound like a drug addict asking for the max doses, but I want to be under. No memories and no pain. Let the drugs flow..
This will be covered in your advance conversation with your anesthesiologist, when he/she asks if you've had general anesthesia in the past, and if you have any history of trouble with anesthesia. When they ask you this, just honestly tell them you have a history of being very resistant to anesthesia drugs, and often need large doses of them. Voice your concerns about not being "under" enough. Your anesthesiologist can then monitor that for you.

[jtgain]

OP back with his story about general anesthesia:

Sedative before hand. Mask over the face, and asked to picture myself in Hawaii on vacation. I thought to myself: "I never go to Hawaii, on vacation so let's pick another place..."

That was it. The next second I was in the recovery room. The pain after that was the bad part.

Thanks again to all replies!