Terrified of general anesthesia

[Anonymous]

Waking up during the operation is one of the rarest risks of anesthesia. There are plenty of other things you should be more worried about, like intubation damaging your throat or dying from the anesthesia. A recent large study found that complications from general anesthesia kill about 1 in 3,000 people. Recent data I have seen says that only around 1 in 20,000 people experience conscious awareness during surgery.

For what it's worth, I underwent general anesthesia twice in a period of two weeks and had absolutely no side effects. It's like being dead, or before you were born. It's not like sleeping where you have dreams and perceive the passage of time. You just don't exist during general anesthesia

[Anonymous]

Talk to the anesthesiologist. I expressed my concerns and she very calmly and reassuringly talked me through everything. It went fine.

They've done it thousands of times, but any decent doctor has also heard the concerns many, many times and knows how to address them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Waking up during the operation is one of the rarest risks of anesthesia. There are plenty of other things you should be more worried about, like intubation damaging your throat or dying from the anesthesia. A recent large study found that complications from general anesthesia kill about 1 in 3,000 people. Recent data I have seen says that only around 1 in 20,000 people experience conscious awareness during surgery.

For what it's worth, I underwent general anesthesia twice in a period of two weeks and had absolutely no side effects. It's like being dead, or before you were born. It's not like sleeping where you have dreams and perceive the passage of time. You just don't exist during general anesthesia

You need to cite this study - this information is wrong and alarmist.

[Anonymous]

There are different types- general anesthesia where you have a breathing tube, or light sedation where you are unconscious but it’s not as deep. I had the IV sedation recently and you really just don’t notice any time passing from going to sleep to waking up in the recovery room. The main problem that I had was being really sleepy for the whole rest of the day and still fatigued the next day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anesthesia is very, very safe and it is extremely rare to wake during anesthesia and be paralyzed. Like super-rare. If you are very nervous, ask to speak to your anesthesiologist beforehand & talk it through.

Please read up on it and educate yourself:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/anesthesia/about/pac-20384568

and here:

https://www.americanboardcosmeticsurgery.org/what-is-it-really-like-to-undergo-general-anesthesia#:~:text=Overall%2C%20general%20anesthesia%20is%20very,a%20fatal%20complication%20from%20anesthesia%20.

"Overall, general anesthesia is very safe, and most patients undergo anesthesia with no serious issues. Here are a few things to keep in mind: Even including patients who had emergency surgeries, poor health, or were older, there is a very small chance—just 0.01 – 0.016%—of a fatal complication from anesthesia."

+1. OP, another way of thinking about it is that you don't have another option, unfortunately. All you can do is make sure that you chose a great surgeon (with a competent anesthesiologist) and follow their instructions. Nothing else is under your control, so why worry about it? Most likely, everything will be completely fine.

I was terrified of this, too. Everything was fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Waking up during the operation is one of the rarest risks of anesthesia. There are plenty of other things you should be more worried about, like intubation damaging your throat or dying from the anesthesia. A recent large study found that complications from general anesthesia kill about 1 in 3,000 people. Recent data I have seen says that only around 1 in 20,000 people experience conscious awareness during surgery.

For what it's worth, I underwent general anesthesia twice in a period of two weeks and had absolutely no side effects. It's like being dead, or before you were born. It's not like sleeping where you have dreams and perceive the passage of time. You just don't exist during general anesthesia

NP. Your description freaks me out, I must admit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Waking up during the operation is one of the rarest risks of anesthesia. There are plenty of other things you should be more worried about, like intubation damaging your throat or dying from the anesthesia. A recent large study found that complications from general anesthesia kill about 1 in 3,000 people. Recent data I have seen says that only around 1 in 20,000 people experience conscious awareness during surgery.

For what it's worth, I underwent general anesthesia twice in a period of two weeks and had absolutely no side effects. It's like being dead, or before you were born. It's not like sleeping where you have dreams and perceive the passage of time. You just don't exist during general anesthesia

You need to cite this study - this information is wrong and alarmist.

And not at all helpful to OP. Geez

[Anonymous]

I remember absolutely nothing from the times I’ve had general anesthesia. One time I had twilight sedation and repeatedly became more aware during a cardiac procedure because making my heart race was part of the procedure, but even then, I did not feel any pain. I could hear people’s voices and movement and could tell the lights were on, but that was it. With general anesthesia, you’re unaware of everything around you, feel nothing, and remember nothing. You will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Op - what type of surgery? You'll get better BTDT advice .


Fwiw, I had a spinal surgery years ago and "woke up". It wasn't a big deal. Everything was numb. I heard voices. Monitors beeping . Fell back to "sleep".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op - what type of surgery? You'll get better BTDT advice .


Fwiw, I had a spinal surgery years ago and "woke up". It wasn't a big deal. Everything was numb. I heard voices. Monitors beeping . Fell back to "sleep".

It’s just a gallbladder removal. So I know it’s so totally mundane.

[Anonymous]

This is my only phobia. There is no amount of informational talk from an anesthesiologist that could allay the anxiety because it doesn't come from a rational place.

That said I have had it a couple of times (after asking repeatedly if I could forgo the anesthesia), they inject me and well, what's done is done.

I have been able to talk my way into no anesthesia twice. Once was for aspiration of a cyst, which went very well and I felt terrific afterwards. The second time, I began shivering from the cold in the OR and the doctors were annoyed by my movement.

[Anonymous]

OP, I "woke up" during an emergency surgery. I remember hearing beeping sounds and distant talking. I remember hearing the doctors talk when they realized I was starting to wake up. There was no pain. I was cold. And I was asleep again within a few seconds. I think most cases of waking during surgery are probably like mine. I wasn't really "awake". Just vaguely aware for a few seconds. I have had eight major surgeries (thanks, cancer) and have never had it happen again.

[Anonymous]

Best wishes, OP. You will do great.

[Anonymous]

I want to thank everyone for the reassurance of this thread. I am not OP but I am having a surgical procedure next month and I have such anxiety about the anesthesia. Thank you all very much

[Anonymous]

Its like a wonderful short vacation.

As they inject you, imagine you are going for a vacation in Hawaii...close your eyes and visualize a blue ocean in which you are about to dip your toes...then you wake up in recovery.