# I'm having a long surgery. Questions about anesthesia. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 6, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565 "2018-10-06T15:42:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/21 "2018-10-07T20:02:30Z")
I had gallstone and gall bladder removal surgery (= cholecystectomy) last week. 🆒 I should explain that my last operation was over 40 years ago and that time the anesthesiologist gave me some gas and I had to count backwards from 10 before I passed out. I think I reached -12… :eek: Still all went well. This time the nurse checked first I was the exact patient that needed that surgery, then I changed into a gown and lay on a trolley to be wheeled into the room outside the operating theatre. Next the anesthesiologist introduced himself. He said he would put me under. I was expecting a short delay (or similar.) Instead, it felt like **one heartbeat later** that I woke up in a hospital bed in a new room with another nurse who said “Glee, your operation is over and you are in the recovery room. How do you feel?” (Just like ivylass posted.) Well I felt fine (just tired) and everything has gone well since. I don’t know how long my operation took, but I know there were some complications and it took several hours. (This also meant I needed to stay in hospital for 4 days whilst they checked I was recovering well enough to go home.) They used keyhole surgery, so I just have 3 small wounds that are healing steadily. I’m on mild painkillers (paracetamol 6 tablets a day) and they work perfectly. Now I can eat all the cheesecake I want!!! I live in the UK, so our wonderful NHS is all prepaid for by our taxes. The entire operation above, plus the 4 day hospital stay was completely covered. Good luck to you. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/22 "2018-10-07T20:20:42Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > It’s still same-day surgery because insurance won’t cover a hospital stay. :eek: :eek: :eek: Thank goodness we have the NHS over here. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/23 "2018-10-07T20:52:02Z")
This has all been so helpful, and I’ve had some chuckles over the post-op comments, and the blow job one still has me chuckling. I should clarify, I’ve had quite a few surgeries, though most of them were for eye surgeries that required I be awake but sedated. None of them required being under even 2 hours, so 3 hours seemed long to me. Now I’m wondering what secrets I may have spilled! During eye surgeries, the OR talk was pretty dull. One surgeon told the OR staff how often he skipped classes as an undergrad. I could only hope he had perfect attendance in med school. As for meds, good points. The surgeon gave me an Rx for oxycodone, 42 5mg. tabs. Am I the only person who hates oxy and vicodin? They make me nauseous and itchy, but that must not be uncommon because he also wrote one for ondansetron for nausea and hydroxyzine HCL for itching, two of the side effects I hate. I also get nightmares. Addicts must not mind any of that stuff, or maybe they don’t get the side effects??? Anyway, thanks so much for the stories, which are providing a much-appreciated sense of camaraderie and some wonderful distraction! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/24 "2018-10-07T21:29:14Z")
I’ve gotten pain pills after, but after my surgery the most I’ve felt is discomfort, probably because the surgery is less invasive. For my hysterectomy I had three tiny incisions on my stomach. So I took them for a few days just to help me sleep and that was it. The funny thing was after my hysterectomy I had no appetite for a couple of days. Zero. The doctor called to see how I was doing and said that was normal. As my Army medic daughter explained it, my body had been used to maintaining a uterus and now that it was gone it had to readjust. The human body is indeed an amazing piece of machinery. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/25 "2018-10-07T22:37:03Z")
Re: Opioids, I’ve had doctors tell me they’re all the same, but they are very clearly not. Codeine makes me throw up, Vicodin now seems to do very little except keep me awake, Percocet makes me incredibly high, and Tramadol is very effective at controlling pain (when necessary, I don’t take it all the time). I had a lot of fentanyl for my colonoscopy but it still hurt (I wasn’t fully out). Maybe ask your doctor about Tramadol or Percocet. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/26 "2018-10-08T01:51:27Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I have woken up fine, I have woken up crying, and I have woken up trying to punch someone. It’s a little disorienting when you wake up because it wasn’t a true sleep. No dreams, just limbo, then you’re up again and stuff’s been done to you. > > It always amazes me how fast it works. Even Ivylad, who is on some heavy duty pain meds and sometimes doesn’t sleep for a couple of days, was surprised at how fast he went under for his colonoscopy. One second he’s telling the doc he doesn’t think the anesthesia is working, the next he’s in the recovery room trying to fart for the nurse. This, it works fast and I’ve woken up fine or I’ve woken up in tears, literally inconsolable. The crazy thing is though, last time I had surgery, I told the anesthesiologist I wasn’t crazy about one of the residents before I went under. I liked all my docs other residents. Anyway, the resident I didn’t like was there when I woke up. Crazy, I know, but I woke up and cried a lot. Another time, I was happy as a clam. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/27 "2018-10-08T04:44:27Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I wouldn’t recommend driving (in fact I suspect you won’t be released unless the hospital/clinic verifies that you have someone to get you home), but I have walked home or taken public transit by myself shortly after surgery. I suspect most hospitals won’t even _admit_ you unless they verify that you have someone to get you home. _(see: lawyers; liability; buckets of money)_. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/28 "2018-10-08T05:38:39Z")
Isn’t propofol wonderful stuff? When the anesthesiologists came by both times (one was a middle-aged black man, the other a young white woman, so I did know they weren’t the same person), I asked if they had people freak out when they found out they were getting propofol (thank you, Michael Jackson :dubious: ) and fentanyl, and they said they sometimes did. It’s ultra-short acting; it puts someone right under, just for a few minutes, and if an infusion is stopped, that person will wake right up if they aren’t on any other agents. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/29 "2018-10-08T06:15:22Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Re: Opioids, I’ve had doctors tell me they’re all the same, but they are very clearly not. Codeine makes me throw up, Vicodin now seems to do very little except keep me awake, Percocet makes me incredibly high, and Tramadol is very effective at controlling pain (when necessary, I don’t take it all the time). I had a lot of fentanyl for my colonoscopy but it still hurt (I wasn’t fully out). > > Maybe ask your doctor about Tramadol or Percocet. I was on Percocet after the breast cancer surgery, but this doc doesn’t prescribe it because it already has acetaminophen in it. He said when people find one Percocet isn’t quite enough, they tend to add Tylenol, which is a bad idea. He said it’s actually better to take one more oxy. I asked the pharmacist when I got the oxy RX filled how much Tylenol I could take with the oxy. He said a max of two tabs three times a day for a few days would be OK. Oy. I wish someone would invent a highly effective painkiller that doesn’t make you high or damage your innards. I thought they had when I got ibuprofen injected into my IV. Maybe a patch would do, I thought. But apparently ibuprofen delivered via IV or injection isn’t good, either. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/30 "2018-10-08T07:03:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I had an operation once. And a few days later I complained about how the doctor still hadn’t send me the results that were supposed to have come from the operation. > > My family members looked at me in confusion. The doctor had apparently given me the results on the day of the operation. I was apparently fully lucid and discussed the results with the doctor. So everyone assumed I was aware of the results. But I had completely blanked out the conversation and didn’t even remember it had occurred. This. Same thing happened to me after a knee surgery. I discussed the post-op instructions quite lucidly with the doc, and then slept a little while. When I woke up I’d completely forgotten about the discussion. And couldn’t remember any of it. Why do docs have that discussion when they should know it’s likely the patient won’t recall it? > [@TSBG](#): > > They’ll probably want to know that you can pee and fart before you get sent home (for real)–to be sure there are no problems with excretion. _ **THIS** _. Oh, so very much _ **THIS!** _ I didn’t do this and when I got discharged the next day (not for knee surgery, but for brain), later that night I had the most painful, excruciating constepation ever in my life! It was awful. Make sure you can #2 before they discharge you. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/31 "2018-10-08T17:34:03Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > This. Same thing happened to me after a knee surgery. I discussed the post-op instructions quite lucidly with the doc, and then slept a little while. When I woke up I’d completely forgotten about the discussion. And couldn’t remember any of it. > > Why do docs have that discussion when they should know it’s likely the patient won’t recall it? > > _ **THIS** _. Oh, so very much _ **THIS!** _ I didn’t do this and when I got discharged the next day (not for knee surgery, but for brain), later that night I had the most painful, excruciating constepation ever in my life! It was awful. Make sure you can #2 before they discharge you. What happens if you can’t just then? Do they really refuse to discharge you? I’m thinking in some cases, it could take a day or two. Sorry you went through something so miserable. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/32 "2018-10-08T18:14:42Z")
I’ve had 2 surgeries that required GA, shoulder repair and knee replacement. Both times I woke up quickly - happy, alert, chatty and pain free (nerve blocks are a wonderful thing while they last!). In fact, the first thing I heard after my shoulder surgery was the recovery room nurse saying “Whoa, there big fella, you’re not supposed to be getting up yet!”. I said “It’s OK, I’ve been getting out of bed when I wake up most of my life”! The only side effect I had was a very dry mouth and throat for the first few hours. As for ice cream - absolutely! You tell them hospital folks that some guy on the internet with “Doctor” in his screen name said that copious amounts of ice cream (patient’s choice!) are most certainly indicated after any surgery. In fact, the latest studies show that sprinkles increase the therapeutic affect dramatically… ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/33 "2018-10-08T18:53:50Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > I’ve had 2 surgeries that required GA, shoulder repair and knee replacement. Both times I woke up quickly - happy, alert, chatty and pain free (nerve blocks are a wonderful thing while they last!). In fact, the first thing I heard after my shoulder surgery was the recovery room nurse saying “Whoa, there big fella, you’re not supposed to be getting up yet!”. I said “It’s OK, I’ve been getting out of bed when I wake up most of my life”! The only side effect I had was a very dry mouth and throat for the first few hours. > > As for ice cream - absolutely! You tell them hospital folks that some guy on the internet with “Doctor” in his screen name said that copious amounts of ice cream (patient’s choice!) are most certainly indicated after any surgery. In fact, the latest studies show that sprinkles increase the therapeutic affect dramatically… So you’re more like a Doctor Dre kind of doctor? **nelliebly** , I just realized that the opioid in Percocet is actually oxycodone, just like in Oxycontin, but Oxy has no added Tylenol. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/34 "2018-10-08T19:34:35Z")
There was a pretty long thread from a few years back about a guy who was extremely apprehensive about his pending surgery and the impact of general anesthesia. He believed that during unconsciousness from anesthesia that he would actually die and that if he awoke, it would be a completely different iteration of himself. IIRC, he survived the surgery, but we were never really sure what iteration of himself was posting here after his surgery. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/35 "2018-10-08T19:38:44Z")
Here’s the thread: [I've suddenly become mortally petrified of undergoing general anaesthetic (personal identity Q) - In My Humble Opinion (IMHO) - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=715059) ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/36 "2018-10-08T19:46:53Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > . . . I wish someone would invent a highly effective painkiller that doesn’t make you high or damage your innards. . . . I said almost this same thing to my doctor a couple of years ago. I can’t take ibuprofen or Aleve because they eat a hole in my stomach lining. He said there is an NSAID that is a lot easier on the stomach - Meloxicam. He gave me a prescription for it and I use it when I have body aches from overwork or injury, and it’s quite effective. But it’s not opioid-effective for more intense pain. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/37 "2018-10-08T20:17:56Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > This. Same thing happened to me after a knee surgery. I discussed the post-op instructions quite lucidly with the doc, and then slept a little while. When I woke up I’d completely forgotten about the discussion. And couldn’t remember any of it. > > Why do docs have that discussion when they should know it’s likely the patient won’t recall it? The one time I had surgery they did memory and lucidity checks for the rest of the evening, and I didn’t see the doc until after I’d passed a few. I did point out it was a little evil having ‘what month is it?’ as a lucidity check question when it was 11 pm on leap day. The funniest was a nurse who came to do one while I was reading Harry Potter: ‘Do you know where you are? _glance at book_ Please don’t answer Hogwarts, I have to do so much paperwork when people do that.’ 😃 Even though I didn’t have any issues they wouldn’t let me go until the following day, plus I had to get a friend to come pick me up, I wasn’t allowed to go on public transport or call a taxi. That’s the NHS again, they’re really not keen on booting you out asap.The no-taxi rule did catch me by surprise though. I had some vague sensation of something having happened when I came round, like being woken from a dream I couldn’t remember, other than that it was like off switch/on switch. Then I threw up. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/38 "2018-10-08T21:26:26Z")
Let me turn briefly to pain-killers. When I had gallstone pain (because I was naughty and ate cheesecake :o), Paracetamol alone wasn’t strong enough. So the doctor gave me Paracetamol interspersed with Codeine, which did the job. (As Codeine is addictive, he didn’t want me to take it too often.) Until the surgery, I stayed on those two. Now one side effect of Codeine is constipation. So after the surgery, I came off Codeine and took a laxative they doctor gave me. I won’t go into detail, but my next toilet visit was memorable… ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/39 "2018-10-09T01:23:39Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I wish someone would invent a highly effective painkiller that doesn’t make you high or damage your innards. I thought they had when I got ibuprofen injected into my IV. Maybe a patch would do, I thought. But apparently ibuprofen delivered via IV or injection isn’t good, either. Injectable NSAIDS are only meant to be used short-term. Believe me, those evil pharmaceutical companies have been working on this for as long as they’ve existed. Voltaren (diclofenac) is available as a patch, but that’s more for long-term therapy. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565/40 "2018-10-09T01:51:48Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > As for ice cream - absolutely! You tell them hospital folks that some guy on the internet with “Doctor” in his screen name said that copious amounts of ice cream (patient’s choice!) are most certainly indicated after any surgery. In fact, the latest studies show that sprinkles increase the therapeutic affect dramatically… Will do. I’m sure they’ll hop right to it! Is it OK if I tell them you got your MD from Universitá di Gelato? That’d REALLY impress them! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-having-a-long-surgery-questions-about-anesthesia/822565.md?page=3)