anesthesia awareness

[Nina51]

can you imagine? hey docs of the lounge, ever have any experience with this phenomenon that you know of?

http://www.anesthesiaawareness.com/

larry king just did an hour on this topic. having undergone numerous surgeries, this was pretty fascinating.

[andrewsmart]

stephen king does a short story where a guy is awake through his own autopsy.

[Jeffrey Porter]

always wondered about that. more than likely it'll happen to me.

[JokerGirl]

I wake up every time I'm placed under anaesthesia and remember completely what I've been feeling during the brief moments that I'm awake. My anaesthesiologists have usually been pretty good, so they havn't lasted as long as other people's waking experiences.

I've woken up while getting my wisdoms out, woken up during my knee surgery, and woken up during my most recent where I had to get a colonoscopy.

It certainly feels like crap, but honestly what I was feeling still seems like a dream to me, so I don't really put too much worry into it.

Now if my anaesthesiologist sucked and didn't pay attention to what was going on and that I was awake the whole surgery, then yes... I would not be a happy camper.

[MandM]

My mom was awake during a breast lump surgery. That was in the days of ether anesthesia. The doc didn't believe her until she started recounting his conversation during the surgery. Yuck.

[O'Man]

I was in and out of various levels of awareness during my 7 hours on the table when I had the ablation procedure and the 6 cardioversions done to my heart. I would have preferred if they could have put me under deeper, but I cannot complain. Everytime I was able to talk they pumped in more anesthesia. Though that term "Discomfort" really doesn't describe the pain.

I cannot imagine being alert for a procedure in which they open you up.

[jpfelix]

there's such a fine line between awake and dead.

[drauka99]

I woke up during my wisdom teeth extraction, they also had to gas me twice before they put me under and 10 minutes after they woke me up (on purpose this time) I was back at full speed.

I dunno if its me or just the doc's bein skimpy with the meds, the doc doing that one seemed kinda shocked I woke up

[snulma1]

Before we paralyze someone to intubate them, we always sedate the patient...HEAVILY for that reason. I can't even imagine how scared I would be if I was paralyzed, unable to even tell my body to breathe and wide awake.

I don't know all the implications of that study, but im sure there are some people who just process drugs faster then others so a normal dose may not be as long lasting for them, so they wake up.

[redawg]

I woke up during my second back surgery. I was 15, and remember being scared to try to talk or move. They were putting a Harrington Rod the entire length of my spine, and I knew one slip could make me paralyzed for life! I had no pain, and probably couldn't have moved if I tried, but I was awake enough to be scared. And, it didn't last too long.

[Aliie]

I saw a story on TV just 2 days ago about this very thing. It is terrifying to think of it. I had seen a story on it years ago also. The 3 times my son was put under for his surgeries in the past 2 years I sat in the waiting room wondering if it might happen to him. I can say thank god it didn't, I would have lost my mind.

[Jeffrey Porter]

i was awake for my wisdom teeth removal. just local anaesthesia.

[BigSkyBart]

I would expect local anesthesia on an island, why bother with the imported stuff?

[Jeffrey Porter]

ha, ha.....very funny......

[drauka99]

Originally posted by Jeffrey Porter
i was awake for my wisdom teeth removal. just local anaesthesia.

my DR liked giving people the drugs, he firmly stated that he WOULD NOT do my wisdom teeth removal if I was awake. Said he thought it was inhumane

[otolith]

I have not had a patient ever say to me that they remember much of anything about their surgery--if it was under general or local with sedation. I've had people talk about fantasy football, their jobs, etc. and they never remember talking to me about it. I also don't tell them what they said or even ask them, as people tend to get pretty embarrassed about it, even though I have yet to have someone say anything terrible.

[drauka99]

I flirted with the nurses, is that bad?

[Nina51]

Originally posted by drauka99
I flirted with the nurses, is that bad?

you're going to hell in a handbasket.

[JokerGirl]

I very clearly remember waking up during those three procedures. The wisdoms I don't really remember any pain, but I remember hearing the crack of the tooth being pulled out of my jaw. For my knee surgery and colonoscopy I clearly remember waking up to the point that I opened my eyes. With the colonoscopy this year, I just remember this awful pain, so I was groaning a bunch, then opened my eyes to see the nurse holding my hand and her rushing to get some more drugs into me with the other hand.

[BigSkyBart]

my wisdoms were pulled with novacain & pliers, the little dentist just about had to climb in my lap to get enough leverage to yank them out.
I went to the bar for steak & beer on my way home
I've been under general 4-5 times & never had a twinge of pain or awareness of the procedure, while under.

[drauka99]

Originally posted by Nina51
you're going to hell in a handbasket.

I knew THAT already ....I was wondering if you know...they did bad stuff to me while i was out.........???


Not that there would be anything wrong with that if they did - they were kinda cute

[joeychitwood]

In the ER, we frequently put people to sleep briefly with general anesthetics and then paralyze them with short or long acting paralytic drugs in order to place a breathing tube in the lungs. It is crucial that we maintain adequate sedation, preferably with drugs having a strong amnestic effect (drugs which induce amnesia) so that patients aren't awake and aware while they are paralyzed.

We often maintain the paralysis for hours if the patients is violent or thrashing about. We give large doses of sedatives to eliminate awareness.

We also perform many painful and invasive procedures while the person is unconscious and paralyzed. I always ask the patient if they had any awareness while they were paralyzed, and so far, no one has told me that they could remember anything.

[skeletor121]

I have been put under general 5 times (wisdom teeth, tonsils, nose, hernia, and shoulder) and had a block/sedation in once (this being the most recent, my ankle). I never woke up nor remember anything from any of the surgeries.

I don't really remember waking up, except once when I had some issue where they shot me up with morphine just before I woke up (heart racing or high blood pressure?). I remember yelling at the nurse, being really mad, and feeling like I should hit her. That is when I woke up and realized I was acting weird and asked her what was going on. She said I just woke up mad. Glad I got control of myself before I did anything I would really regret.

[english83]

I had to be awake for my 3 big procedures because they were playing Roto-router in the 3 veins in my brain. I had to be able to tell them if anything felt funny. And yes that did happen and I heard the neurosergon say "Opps, I think I went too far". That was kinda scarry, but I was sedated so only about 10 brain cells were tweeking the rest of them were just hanging out. It's very difficult to explain that feeling.

[Jeffrey Porter]

better you than me English..

assist...........