question abuot general anesthesia

[fogg88]

Okay, I'm having minor surgery in a few weeks, and even though I'm sure a local anesthetic would be just fine, the surgeon insists on putting me under.

For those of you who have had G.A., what can I expect? Do I really need someone to drive me home afterwards, or can I shake off the grogginess and do it myself? Post-anesthesia headaches at all?

 

[bran987]

DO NOT DRIVE
under any conditions
you will need help just to be put into your car

 

[Lestat]

Okay, I'm having minor surgery in a few weeks, and even though I'm sure a local anesthetic would be just fine, the surgeon insists on putting me under.

For those of you who have had G.A., what can I expect? Do I really need someone to drive me home afterwards, or can I shake off the grogginess and do it myself? Post-anesthesia headaches at all?

I know quite a bit about anesthesia.

And any good hospital will NOT let you leave until they see who is driving you home, period. You cannot drive within 24 hours of general anesthesia, but most importantly not in the first 8 hours or so. The anesthesia is still very active in your system, just not enough to keep you fully unconscious.

 

[fogg88]

Thanks for the info! Green for both of ya.

 

[danielson]

whats the sugery

it sucks....walking might be an issue post op

 

[Robert Jan]

I know quite a bit about anesthesia.

And any good hospital will NOT let you leave until they see who is driving you home, period. You cannot drive within 24 hours of general anesthesia, but most importantly not in the first 8 hours or so. The anesthesia is still very active in your system, just not enough to keep you fully unconscious.

 

[Hangfire]

Okay, I'm having minor surgery in a few weeks, and even though I'm sure a local anesthetic would be just fine, the surgeon insists on putting me under.

For those of you who have had G.A., what can I expect? Do I really need someone to drive me home afterwards, or can I shake off the grogginess and do it myself? Post-anesthesia headaches at all?

Tell the surgeon to fuck himself. You can have IV sedation which puts you in a twilight state, but still remain conscious. I would avoid general anesthesia unless absolutely necessary.

 

[cutiepie04]

You will definetly need someone to take you home, and help you around for awhile. General Anesthesia is not something that you can shake off in a few hours. You will need time to let it get out of your system.

What kind of surgery are you having done? If it is really that simple then a local should be just fine. Talk to your doctor about your concerns, and I am sure that something can be worked out.

If you have to get GA, then definetely let someone take you home, and get lots of rest.

Good luck with your surgery.

 

[Smurfy]

I'm surprised that a hospital would release someone same-day after having general anesthesia. GA will leave you not feeling yourself for really about a week for every hour youre "under" or so Ive heard. Ive had GA several times and this seems to be about right. Good luck

 

[jerkbox]

you'll feel like shit when you wake up....i puked as soon as i stepped out of the car when i got home.

you'll need someone to drive you. you will most likely have a headache and nausea

 

[Lestat]

you'll feel like shit when you wake up....i puked as soon as i stepped out of the car when i got home.

you'll need someone to drive you. you will most likely have a headache and nausea

Nausea is the most common side effect, but it doesn't effect everyone. There are also meds they can give you to get rid of the nausea.


Many surgeries are outpatient and they release you sometimes withing an hour, sometimes a couple of hours, but that doesn't mean you are free to go do anything you wish, they release you into the care of a friend or family member in most cases.

 

[digger]

I drove myself home after getting my gallbladder out; I do not recommend that anyone do that. (Out of reach of my relatives and friends at the time... which was still no reason not to call a freakin' taxi.)

Tolerance for anesthesia varies a lot. I took it pretty well; no nausea or headache at all. Some people puke when they wake up from it, every time. Hard to tell in advance. The Mrs. is pretty sensitive to almost all medication; she went in for an arthroscopic procedure on her knee and was groggy and gulpy for most of the day afterwards.

Talk to your doctor, man; it's your bod he's cutting on, so you and he need to understand each other.

 

[big4life]

Nausea is the most common side effect, but it doesn't effect everyone. There are also meds they can give you to get rid of the nausea.


Many surgeries are outpatient and they release you sometimes withing an hour, sometimes a couple of hours, but that doesn't mean you are free to go do anything you wish, they release you into the care of a friend or family member in most cases.

Yep, I have gotten sick every time that I have been under. The last couple times they even gave me something for the nausea and it didn't help.

The hospitals around here will not release you without someone being there to get you home. Then they call the next day to make sure that you're ok/alive.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

i had a mild general anesthesia a little over a year ago and they wouldn't do the procedure unless my driver was there. hell, they didn't even want me to walk after the procedure, but i insisted and did no problem. then they made me lay in the bed for 20 minutes or so after the procedure, which i still wanted to get up the entire time. i was actually in agony and laying down/sitting down wasn't helping.

when i was 7, i had 2 surgeries. the GA was HELL to come out of. i can remember barely opening my eyes many many times throughout the night after the first surgery. i believe i was under for 4 1/2 hours. took me well over 14 to wake up enough to even ask a nurse where my parents were, then i went back out for a few more hours. granted, i was only 7, but i can imagine that anyone coming out from under a general anesthesia would have similar effects. (yeah, that was a hell of a lot of fun....7 years old...wake up groggy...still dark...look over at your arm and the cast is covered in blood.....)

find someone to drive you or take a cab. don't put someone else's life at risk because you think you can drive home.

 

[jenscats5]

I had surgery a year ago in February and had GA. I didn't have the nausea but got meds for it and didn't need them. They can also give you a shot for anti-nausea in advance.

The process I had: It was same-day surgery in a hospital. Checked in, waited, got given my gown & stuff, put all my stuff in a plastic bag under the wheeled bed with my name on it. Got wheeled into pre surgery and the anethesiologist came & talked to me about when I had last eaten, drank anything, my health, etc. Follow the directions when they tell you not to eat or drink after X hours or they could cancel the surgery. They hooked up my vein and injected me with a "cocktail." I started to feel damn good, but was still nervous. They gave me another cocktail, wheeled me into surgery, put the mask on my face & told me to count down 10, 9.....didn't make it past 9.

When I woke up I was freezing!! Couldn't stop shaking -- side effect of anesthesia. Also was very very thirsty. HAVE WHOEVER IS PICKING YOU UP BRING YOU CHAPSTICK & LIFESAVERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You may have cotton mouth. Mine was awful -- worse than any other side effect. There was no way I could have driven myself home either......

I had surgery again in Sept. where they gave me "twilight" but as far as I'm concerned I was out. Don't remember anything. Little to no side effects with that one.

 

[FitFossil]

Tell the surgeon to fuck himself. You can have IV sedation which puts you in a twilight state, but still remain conscious. I would avoid general anesthesia unless absolutely necessary.

I second that. If you can go with IV versus general, it's a lot easier on your body. Although when I've had IV sedation, to me it feels like I'm totally "out". It's the coolest feeling when you start going under!

With either one though, you'll still need a driver. After a general, your throat will be killing you from the breathing tube, it'll be really hard to pee (and it'll stink), and you'll feel generally crappy for a day or so. With the IV sedation, you don't have any of that.

 

[Robert Jan]

Tell the surgeon to fuck himself. You can have IV sedation which puts you in a twilight state, but still remain conscious. I would avoid general anesthesia unless absolutely necessary.

I agree he should stress his doctor to avoid GA unless truely necessary, but There is no need for the militancy... personally I think doctors are hated on too easily. When they do something wrong we hang 'em, but when they do something right we take it for granted. Most people imo seem to forget what it takes to become and to be a doctor. they arent spoilt preppie boys who got off easy, as an exception, they actually worked hard and studied their ass off for their above average income.

There is a new vibe in the air, where everybody picks up some random, specific knowledge from different fields, and it is giving people a false confidence in their knowledge. From my (passive) experience in hospitals, I'd say the guy probably seemed like he would be very stressed out when conscious and just sedated and this could hamper the operation. I've seen people be put under for minor local surgery,simply because they were for instance so scared of the procedure or distrusting.

At the same time I know a woman who is all into self control and meditation and whatnot, and she opposed having a vertebral aneasthetic injected into her back and she and her surgeon agreed to do a full knee reconstruction (!) without any aneasthetic.

I recommend you get on the same frequency and altitude as your doc, dont look either up or down to him, and express your concerns about the chosen method of aneasthetic. He will explain his decision and if he was wrong it's likely you can work it out. If not, THEN say fuck him and find another doc

 

[Hangfire]

I second that. If you can go with IV versus general, it's a lot easier on your body. Although when I've had IV sedation, to me it feels like I'm totally "out". It's the coolest feeling when you start going under!

With either one though, you'll still need a driver. After a general, your throat will be killing you from the breathing tube, it'll be really hard to pee (and it'll stink), and you'll feel generally crappy for a day or so. With the IV sedation, you don't have any of that.

Good point. If you don't urinate on your own within a certain period of time, they'll insert a catheter to help the process. That alone is enough to avoid GA, but consider all of the things that can go wrong when your under and the choice is clear.

 

[Lift Chief]

When i went under to get my wisdom teeth out i thrashed around so violently they had to call 4 or 5 nurses in to hold me down while they completed the procedure.

You can't be sure how you'll react to GA.

 

[Hangfire]

I agree he should stress his doctor to avoid GA unless truely necessary, but There is no need for the militancy... personally I think doctors are hated on too easily. When they do something wrong we hang 'em, but when they do something right we take it for granted. Most people imo seem to forget what it takes to become and to be a doctor. they arent spoilt preppie boys who got off easy, as an exception, they actually worked hard and studied their ass off for their above average income.

There is a new vibe in the air, where everybody picks up some random, specific knowledge from different fields, and it is giving people a false confidence in their knowledge. From my (passive) experience in hospitals, I'd say the guy probably seemed like he would be very stressed out when conscious and just sedated and this could hamper the operation. I've seen people be put under for minor local surgery,simply because they were for instance so scared of the procedure or distrusting.

At the same time I know a woman who is all into self control and meditation and whatnot, and she opposed having a vertebral aneasthetic injected into her back and she and her surgeon agreed to do a full knee reconstruction (!) without any aneasthetic.

I recommend you get on the same frequency and altitude as your doc, dont look either up or down to him, and express your concerns about the chosen method of aneasthetic. He will explain his decision and if he was wrong it's likely you can work it out. If not, THEN say fuck him and find another doc

With all due respect, you inferred an awful lot from fogg88's post. He seems to be fine with the idea of sedation or even local. M.D.'s are no better or smarter than most professionals and they need to be questioned on their decisions if it doesn't seem right. fogg says the surgeon INSISTS on GA. My experience with M.D.'s is that they take the path of least resistance unless challenged by knowledgeable patients. Treat them as you would any other professional that you hire to work for you. Once you've established that he is working for you, you will get the treatment you want, the way you want it or you find another. I always address my doctors by their first names. They hate it, but it lets them know who works for whom.

 

[digger]

With all due respect, you inferred an awful lot from fogg88's post.

What is the upside of telling your doctor to go fuck himself? All we're saying is to treat this doctor as an adult and a professional. Why be so dead set on turning it into a yelling match?

 

[Hangfire]

What is the upside of telling your doctor to go fuck himself? All we're saying is to treat this doctor as an adult and a professional. Why be so dead set on turning it into a yelling match?

Ever hear of a "figure of speech"? Who said anything about yelling? Like anyone else you hire to perform a service, M.D.'s need to know that you are able and willing to make decisions about your own care. If you don't want to participate, that's your choice. Any doctor that insists on GA when you have made an informed decision that you'd be fine with with a less dangerous anesthetic should go fuck himself.