Anesthesia Worry

[roni 711 6]

Hi, I'm new here and posted this on another thread, but it didn't get a response so I thought I'd post it as a new thread. Just started the process, but have a big worry. It seems like I have a hard time waking up from anesthesia (I was once the first patient in and last one out of recovery and the doc asked my husband if this was normal for me). Does this happen to anyone else, and is this something to worry about? Thanks!

[raerae39 8]

I am really groggy for three or four hours afterwards. It takes me up to a week to get out of the "fog".

[mrscastillo 32]

my mom always tells me 'just keep telling yourself to wake up'

five surgeries later, I find it really helps!!! Right before i go under, I keep saying it... I'm the last to go under, first to come out everytime

[slojo 150]

I had no hangover effect once i was up and around. I recover quickly though. It's hard to say how you'll feel...

[Parker's Dad 50]

Don't fight it as you go under. I have had it twice for kidney stone stuff. The first time there was no issue at all. Woke up, doped up, no pain or nausea. The second time for some reason I was really nervous and worked up for some reason. I remember it taking a whole lot longer to go out and when I woke up I was screwed. I was so sick and nauseated and groggy. It hung around for several hours even after I got back to my room. They brought me dinner later. Salisbury steak. Needless to say, to this very day I won't even look at salisbury steak and the was 12 years ago!!

[Debvzw 48]

Sorry to tell you this but yes I have a hard time waking up. In the last 5 years I've had 3 surgeries and it seems like it gets harder for them to wake me up after each surgery.

I had my VSG surgery on 3/6 and I woke up in the ICU. The surgery went well and the doctor went to tell my family that it went well. When he returned to e OR I was sitting up and they were trying to wake me up. He said a all of a sudden I fell over and went back to sleep. From what I've been told they worked on me for over an hour in the OR trying to wake me enough to send me to recovery room. Instead of waking up, I actually stopped breathing so they had to reintubate me. He said they were starting to panic when he told them that I told him I'm hard to wake up. He shared this with the OR tem so they decided to take me to ICU and let me wake up on my own terms.

I had surgery at 1 and didn't wake up until 9PM. It was scary for me and my family waking up in ICU with that 'thing' down my throat. But good news is that once I was up and the breathing tube was removed I was fine. Luckily I warned my doctor about this problem. He told me to ALWAYS remember to tell the surgeon and the anesthesiologist about my difficulty in waking up when I have surgery and everything should be fine.

I wish you luck with your surgery and waking up. I must say if I had to do it all over even with the stint in ICU, I would do it again in a heartbeat. This surgery is the best thing and I wish I would have done it years ago. It's only been 6 months and as of this morning I've lost 99 lbs and feel great.

Btw, even though I was in ICU, I was discharged from the hospital the following day and never had to take any pain meds. I've been very lucky as I've not had any complications and e weight keeps falling off (knock on wood...haha)

Best of luck! You won't regret it.

[Ready4success 380]

I had difficulty waking up (emergence) from anesthesia for my last two surgeries. I explained to my surgeon, and my anesthesia personnel and they assured me that they would only give me what I needed, when I needed it. It's not uncommon for overweight/obese people to have problems waking up from the anesthetic gases, due to its solubility in our tissue. When a patient has a lot of tissue (obviously we do), it takes longer to for the anesthetic gases to be released from the stores. There have been many studies done on it. Google anesthetic gases and obese patients if you would like to know more.

[Rootman 1,101]

It's really a mixed bag with everyone reacting differenlty to different mixes of anesthesia. I typically have no issues with the mix they gave me for dental surgery )wisdom tooth extraction) but had a hell of a time with any deeper sedation, I didn't want to wake up and would not breath either, the blood ox alarms kept going off.

Please discuss this with your surgeon and ask for a consultation with your anesthesiologist BEFORE the surgery date to discuss your concerns.

[cherrybombknits 184]

I actually woke up during my first surgery (tonsilectomy). I didn't feel any pain, I just remember opening my eyes and looking around a bit. The doctors freaked and put me back under, but I make sure to meet with the anesthologist beforehand and tell them to keep a good eye on me. I also tend to have lengthy conversations while I'm coming out of it, but I never remember what I said. Last surgery I spent an hour post-op explaining how fantastic my husband is to the nurses. He was very well received in recovery lol.

[roni 711 6]

Thanks everyone. I definitely will tell my surgeon, and ask to speak to the anesthesiologist . This really does scare me.

[LibbyLou 59]

I wake up crying, like a baby...They say that usually happens with children. I think it is because I am pretty tensed up most of the time and my body finally gets to relax. As long as I wake up! We will know tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.

[roni 711 6]

Hope all goes well!

[wantmyhealthback 1]

I told the anesthesiologist at my pre admission visit and told me they could cut back on the relaxation drugs so I would wake up sooner. Enough that I am relaxed, but not quite so much.

[roni 711 6]

Thanks! Hope that works for me!

[Boston George 84]

I have the same worry! I have never had surgery before and the sleeve will be the first one. I'm really nervous about anesthesia and waking up from it