Have you ever been under general anesthesia? What was it like? Did anything strange happen?
As a compliment to the thread about near death experiences I’d really like hearing people’s experiences of losing consciousness under general anesthesia and what’s it like coming back.
Also interested of things anesthetists may have noticed about this during their career.
There's always a risk when getting anesthesia, but I've had it a few times for minor procedures and it's been "fall asleep, things happen, wake up groggy, back to normal after a while" for me.
I don’t remember a damn thing. One moment there was a mask over my face and I was being asked to count backwards from ten (I think I got to about 8?), the next I woke up very bleary with a sore throat.
For a long time I thought I woke in a large room with three rows of cots. It wasn’t until some years afterwards that I realised I never saw the room I awoke in.
I didn’t feel high at any point, but then I have ADHD and even being shot full of morphine by a paramedic (the previous week) didn’t get me high. I wuz robbed.
I broke my top jaw and needed surgery to put my front teeth back into place. I woke up in the middle of that one. I could see them operating in the little round mirror on the doctor’s forehead he used to direct light.
I was definitely still mostly drugged because it didn’t concern me at all and I felt nothing. The nurse and doctor, however, seemed concerned. Their eyes got HUGE. They said something to each other and I was out again. I remember that very vividly.
My girlfriend did that… Woke up in the middle of her shoulder surgery, as the doc was grinding bone away. She asked them to turn the monitor so she could watch. Doc did a double take, moved the monitor, and let her watch for a little bit… While motioning to the anesthesiologist. They must’ve bumped up the meds and knocked her out again, because she went back under.
I didn’t dream or perceive passage of time while I was under. I just instantly went from being put under for the procedure and waking up after it was done.
I have, a few years ago, and it was for eye surgery. It went perfectly fine. I’ve second I was counting backwards from 10 and the next I was waking up in recovery.
However my dad, many years ago, went under for summer kind of arm surgery and woke up on the operating table.
As I understand it, the difference is that in the past, the administration of anesthesia by an anesthesiologist was tricky and imprecise. It took a look at your vitals, your weight, gender, whatever and use that to determine how much to give you. Sometimes your body however would be the kind that that wasn’t enough for.
Now they monitor your vitals more precisely, and can tell by what your brain is doing whether or not you’re properly under or not, and can adjust the anesthesia far more precisely.
It gives me the shudders to think of waking up on the table, but I suppose it beats the years prior to that, again, where it was “Jeremy, get the 40 proof… You, bite down on this and don’t scream too loud, you’ll pop a vessel.”
I actually just had strabismus surgery this past Thursday. I was definitely nervous before going into the operating room, but I’ve been under before for a tonsillectomy. As I was wheeled on my gurney into the OR, they gave me a “half dose” of something to calm me down, but I didn’t really feel much.
Getting in, it was all about the prepping going on around me. Doctors, nurses, residents, etc. all doing their thing. I had these compression-type wraps put on my legs that would squeeze every so often to prevent blood clotting. IV was on the top of my left arm (so much tape and adhesive I now have a few bald spots from arm hair being ripped - I’m a guy if that helps). I had white circles placed on the front of my chest and top of my shoulders which I believe tracked my pulse and such (also took hair when removed).
Everyone was nice, but there was definitely an efficiency and routine to the whole setup. My type of surgery is done regularly in that part of the hospital, so it’s nothing new for them.
When it came time to go under, I was given the “other half” of the sedating drug (not sure on the name) and an air mask was held over my face. I was told to keep breathing in deeply. I did it for like 2-3 minutes before a doctor told the guy holding my mask to “increase it, you’re a bit low”. Maybe that was nitrous? As they were doing that, my arms were being strapped down and I joked if I needed a safe word since this is my first time using straps. They said sure, pick one. Before I could say “pineapples” I was waking up in the post-op area.
Everything was very bright and I was definitely groggy, so I just closed my eyes and let myself come back to reality. The right eye was covered in bandages and a head wrap with sutures just dangling from the inside corner of my eye - that was super weird and caught on the bandage frequently. Eventually I could use my left eye without squinting too much. I was given ice chips and tissues to clear my mouth out from the gunk buildup. Movement was pretty limited with the IV still there and not being able to move my eyes much.
It took about 2 hours before my mom was let in (she was the +1), then another 30 minutes or so for the surgeon to come in to wash my right eye of blood and adjust the sutures. That was a 3x process which wasn’t painful, but really uncomfortable. I’d look at a light, they’d measure the eye movement between left and right, then lay me back and tighten the suture. Rinse and repeat until the doc was confident. Another 1.5 hours or so and I was able to leave.
Not sure if it’s normal but I’d say I was coherent and ready to wear normal clothes by the 1.5 hour mark after surgery. By the end, I could move, change clothes, talk, everything, but hospital policy was to wheel me out. If you want to know about recovery after, I’d be happy to share - I’m on day 4 now.
Got propofol for a colonoscopy and it was like taking an amazing nap. One moment I’m talking to the doctor, the next I’m waking up in recovery a little groggy but feeling refreshed.
Once for a colonoscopy. Was totally lucid talking to the doctor & nurse then next thing I know I’m in the recovery room. I get dressed & am taken out in a wheelchair. I remember part of the ride home but clearly blacked out in the car for a bit. Had one or two similar blackouts that day, then nothing more.
The good shit: I was just chatting joking with the nurse and doctor then I was really stupid and in pain several hours later
The dentist kind: I was awkward and fell asleep fairly quickly, woke up unable to feel pain but able to feel the vibrations of the drill in my teeth. Everything was fuzzy. Then I barely opened my eyes and promptly got another dose. I then slowly woke up over and over just to vomit in the recovery room. This took several hours. I eventually was able to be walked to the car and remained nauseous and vomiting for the rest of the day
It varies depending on the drugs used, I've been under multiple times now, the big one being for an open heart bypass.
That one I saw nothing, felt nothing, but coming out of it I remember them pulling out the breathing tube and putting me on a bi-pap machine. I had to beg to be taken off of it because it was stopping me from exhaling. I could breathe in fine, but the back pressure wouldn't let me breathe out.
Then the drugs, it was a combination of a bunch of things, propofol (the stuff that killed Michael Jackson), fentanyl (the stuff that killed Prince). Oxy, the works.
I was having weird hallucinations. If I closed my eyes, I could see a perfectly painted brick wall about a foot in front of my face. I could see the detail on the bricks and the mortar, the texture of the paint. Bonus - every time they put me in a different room, the wall would change color.
Had a kidney taken out. Once in the OR they gave me the stuff and I was out like a light. Woke up in post-OP feeling like I got hit by a bus, just groggy and sore from having a Mr. Handy digging around in my belly for a bean. But I healed up and am doing well.
Nothing weird. I’ve had both general anesthesia and the “twilight” stuff (versed no propofol).
I was put under general once in my 20s. I don’t really remember anything odd happening before or after, but I was sick as a dog after.
The last time under general I remember getting wheeled into the operating room. Then, chatting with the nurses/anesthesiologist, and then just a rush of the most amazing feeling ever. I got an “oooohhh fuuiuuccckkkkkkkk” out before passing out. I woke up freezing and shaking uncontrollably (I’ve been told this is normal). I remember parts of the drive home, and getting in the car, but not all of it.
Twilight was effectively the same. Got put in the oral surgeons chair, nurse said something like “here we go” and a rush of pretty good feeling, then out cold. This time I woke up at home with absolutely no recollection of getting there. Husband said I was talking a million miles a minute (not like me). He also said I totally thought I was just going to walk out to the car. My body apparently had other ideas. I woke up the couch in different clothes, so I’m sure that was entertaining trying to wrangle me into.
Broke my arm snowboarding. It was totally crooked, they had to put me under to set it. I fell asleep couldn’t move, but was awake the whole time. I just laid there and listened to the doctor and nurses conversations. The second time I had to get all 4 wisdom teeth pulled but they had to do a biopsy on a growth in my jaw. That one was just a count down then I woke up shivering in a medical bed next to other people that got put under. No dreams, just woke up and asked for a blanket.
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