Questions About Surgery And General Anesthesia

[ContemporaryCaflicCrusader]

Only meant to post once sorry

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='FutureCarmeliteClaire' timestamp='1352609916' post='2508032']
Alright, I know I'm practically begging for horror stories, but for those of you who have had surgery and/or been under general, I am curious as my pre-op is coming up on the 30th and my surgery on 12/11.

In your experience, did they put you under BEFORE wheeling you in the OR? Or did they bring you in and then do it?[/quote]

Usually, just before surgery, they give you a shot of a very fast-acting medication that acts almost immediately to put you under. This medication is also very short-acting, but it lasts long enough so that you don't remember anything that happens as they make preparations for longer-term anesthesia.

In my case, I asked them to give me the shot before wheeling me in so that I wouldn't even remember the OR. I saw the operating room, but had no memories after that.

Did I remember pain while under general anesthesia? Nope.

Did I remember anything while under general anesthesia? Nope. (And, I was under for 5 hours!)

What kind of croutons did I say while I was on pain meds afterwards? I don't remember saying anything weird.

LOTS more stuff:

Tell your doctor about the problems you had with pain medications last time. Or, if you've told him/her already, remind the doctor again. Make sure he/she hears you. There are any number of different pain medications you can take, so your doctor has options.

One thing I also did that I was VERY glad about later was to talk to the anesthesiologist a week or two before my surgery. I take a number of medications for chronic conditions, and I wanted to ask him/her what I should do about these--whether to stop taking before surgery or continue taking, etc. The anesthesiologist told me to bring a list with me when I was admitted of all the medications I was taking and the dosage. He said that as long as he knew what I was taking, he would be able to take any medication I was taking into account in giving anesthesia.

Note: The anesthesiologist will almost certainly meet with you just before your surgery. So, even if you have talked to the anesthesiologist before, still bring with you a list of any current medications and dosages. Sometimes, the anesthesiologist for your surgery will not the one you talked with, so this makes it easy for him/her to know this. If you don't want to remember the operating room, this is also the time to tell him/her that you want your "relaxation" shot BEFORE you go into surgery. I think the reason I even vaguely remember the operating room is because I actually got the shot AS they were wheeling me.

Back to having a pre-op talk with the anesthesiologist: One interesting piece of advice the anesthesiologist gave me was not to take any herbal medications for two weeks before surgery. He said that with any prescribed medication, if he knows the dosage, he can deal with it. With herbs, etc. there can be a lot of variation in strengths etc. The anesthesiologist was most concerned that I not take St. John's Wort. (I wasn't taking it anyway, but this particular anesthesiologist seemed to consider this herb a particular problem.)

BTW, every anesthesiologist is different and it's been several years since my surgery, so take the advice of the anesthesiologist you consult with--not my advice.

Back to herbs, supplements etc.--I'm not sure how this advice applies to vitamin supplements, etc. You might want to ask your doctor about them if you currently take them. If I remember correctly, just to be on the safe side, I didn't take any vitamin/mineral supplements for a few days before surgery. But, if you take supplements and talk to the anesthesiologist, this would be a question to ask.

The reason I'm REALLY pleased I talked to the anesthesiologist was that I told him that I get nauseous very easily. (General anesthesia often makes people nauseous--sometimes VERY nauseous.) The anesthesiologist told me that because I tend toward getting nauseous he would use an anti-nausea medication that works very well, and it did! Unlike many people, I was NEVER nauseous after surgery.

You also might want to talk to the anesthesiologist about the problems you had with pain medication before. I think sometimes it's the anesthesiologist who is the one who prescribes the pain medications, at least for the time directly after surgery.

For your own peace of mind, you could also tell the anesthesiologist about your fears about waking up or remembering pain in surgery. I think that there may be a type of monitoring they can do to help ensure this doesn't happen. However, I don't know much about this. If you are concerned, research this on the Internet, and then talk to both the doctor and the anesthesiologist about your concerns. But, as far as I know, this is VERY rare.

As to your fears about saying croutons under anesthesia--There is nothing you can do about it anway, so don't worry about it. There are privacy laws in place, after all. I have NO idea how common this is. The bottom line is that you have no control over what you say under anesthesia, so you can't be held accountable. God understands.

People in pain DO get emotional, cranky--all that stuff. All you can do is the best you can do. Health professionals understand this and know that this isn't the real you. I don't remember much of what I said or did for the first 24 hours, but my Mom was there, and I know I would have heard if I did or said something awful.

And, during the times you are conscious and lucid, I think the best thing you can do is to say "Please" and "Thank-you" to the health professionals taking care of you. And, tell them how much you appreciate all they are doing. Mostly they hear complaints, so a "Thank-you" means a lot. Tell them what they did RIGHT!

But, obviously, if you feel genuinely neglected, speak up. Actually, the very best thing you can do is to have a family member or friend physically there to speak for you and make sure that you are being taken care of. The ideal person to have with you is a friend or family member who is assertive but nice (and realistic). And, a friend/family member who is familiar with the health system is even better. Also, it doesn't hurt for the family/friends watching over you bring the nurses/aides etc. chocolates, treats, whatever. It shouldn't be this way, but I think people in the hospital get better care if the health professionals taking care of them know there is always someone watching out for the patient.

One of the best things you have going for you is that you are young. Younger people generally recover MUCH more quickly and fully from surgery than people who are older--even if the older person is generally healthy and in good shape. Our body is simply more efficient at healing itself when when we are younger, even if the older person is receiving the very best medical care available.

Oh yes, scientific studies have proven that prayer helps healing. I heard of one study awhile back where neither the patients nor the doctors knew which patients were being systematically prayed for, and which were not. The group who was being prayed for healed faster.

Obviously, we at Phatmass will be praying for you. But, if you know any Communities of contemplative Nuns or Brothers/Friars, ask them to pray for you, too. Also, I know The Association of the Miraculous Medal takes prayer requests, and will have a votive candle lit for you at the shrine of the Miraculous Medal in return for a very small donation. (The prayer itself is free.) This is just one example. It can only help to have as many people praying for you as possible.

It goes without saying to make sure that the hospital knows that you are Catholic.

Try not to worry--at least as much as you can. LOL But, a body that is less stressed heals faster.

You will certainly have my prayers, such as they are. But, will you remind all of us on Phatmass much closer to the day of your surgery? The prayers of Phatmassers as a group have had a lot of power in the past.

Oh yes, be sure to ask MIKolbe to make sure that his daughter Addie prays for you. She is very young, but her prayers are already very powerful. I predict she is going to grow up to be an amazing woman.

I didn't mean for this post to be so long. I hope there was SOMETHING in it that helped.

Edited November 11, 2012 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='FutureCarmeliteClaire' timestamp='1352609916' post='2508032']
Alright, I know I'm practically begging for horror stories, but for those of you who have had surgery and/or been under general, I am curious as my pre-op is coming up on the 30th and my surgery on 12/11.

In your experience, did they put you under BEFORE wheeling you in the OR? Or did they bring you in and then do it?

Do you remember pain while under general anesthesia?

Do you remember anything while under general anesthesia?

What kind of croutons did you say while you were on pain meds afterwards?

That's a good start... I think my biggest fear with all this (besides like waking up during surgery or something) is afterwards. I'm the kind of person who won't use bad language or anything, but in situations will definitely be thinking it. A lot. Haha... So, I'm worried that I'm going to be like vulgar afterwards, lol. I've never had surgery before or even teeth pulled or anything. I was on some pretty strong meds for the pain before they figured out what was wrong, but nothing like these ones... I remember two things about being on the meds I was on, that they made me so unstable I couldn't walk, and I was very weak along with that. But also, I was a lot more emotional than usual (which is not fun to be around... haha) and VERY mood swingy. Like, one time, I was in Mass, just sobbing my eyes out because part of my face had gone numb or something (who knows... those pain meds really messed me up) and people had to calm me down afterwards. I DON'T cry in front of people besides like my family. I don't even like crying in front of my siblings. So that was very weird for me.

That's my other theory. That I'll be a complete and total emotional wreck... These days I'm already on the verge of tears most days because of stress and anxiety, and am very easily put over the edge. So, the whole post-operative thing worries me... lol.
[/quote]
Tell your pre-op nurse that you have panic attacks/stress and they will take extra time making sure you are comfortable. I tend to come out of anesthesia swinging so I always tell them in advance, and usually they make sure someone is talking to me quietly as I wake up. I also take a very long time to wake up enough to leave and usually the last person off the floor and I warn this about that as well
If you are having any chest surgery and want to sit up, make sure your support person puts a hand behind your back and pushes you up instead of pulling at your arms. I wish I knew that BEFORE they wanted me to try it.
If you start to feel pain, tell them BEFORE the pain gets bad, because it might take awhile to get back to you with that med.
Remember its your body and its their job to make you comfortable.

[To Jesus Through Mary]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' timestamp='1352654110' post='2508134']
You should have someone with paper and pencil to jot down what you say as you wake up. Good memories.
[/quote]

Haha! That is an amesome idea. I woke up in ICU after my surgery saying some very bizarre things.

As for before or after going to the operating room, mine was during. I was being wheel to the operating room on the table and the doctor told me to count backwards from 20. I remember 17 and doors opening and that was that.

But FCC- I am praying for you. I am sure this is a nerve racking time for you. You will do great!

[TheresaThoma]

Just really communicate with your doctors. I went under general IV sedation for my wisdom teeth. They were really good about explain what was going on. Pretty much all I remember is them telling me I might feel a bit weird and then the next thing I knew they were asking me if I could walk over to the recovery room (a nice quiet dim room with a big comfy chair).
As others have suggested be proactive with pain meds after surgery, don't wait until the pain is bad because the pain meds can take a bit to kick in.
We'll be praying for you!

[AnneLine]

This IS a fantastic thread!

I'll ditto what was said earlier about prayers and especially about the Anointing of the Sick. If you haven't already been anointed, you have more than enough reason to request it... and it is designed for HEALING of soul and body. It is to give you the graces to deal with what you have to deal with as you are healing. I absolutely know that probably one of the most profound spiritual experiences I have had was the direct result of being terrified before my eye surgery (my first non-emergency surgery) and the graces that came from that sacrament....

And Claire... Sometimes it is harder to willingly walk into an operating room in a non-emergency situation... if you're in an emergency situation, you don't have a lot of choices... but it's harder dreading it a few weeks beforehand, isn't it....

Hang in there, and pray for me, please! I suspect your prayers are VERY powerful before God at this time...

Anything I or any of the rest of us can do, you know we will.... could you please arrange for someone to let us know how you are doing after the surgery... you may not be able to use a computer easily in the first days after surgery.... so have a back up plan in case you need it... someone you (or a family member) can call and post stuff for you. You might also want to put together a list of email contacts you want your family to have if they need to send out a status report... .just a thought....

[MissyP89]

C, remind me tonight to tell you my story. I'm at work until 10, so I'll be around by 11:15.

General stuff:

*You won't feel a thing during surgery. These guys are pros.
* You MAY get sick afterward. Ask your parents if they've ever had problems with throwing up after surgery ... it's more common in families.
* You are going to be in pain. Drugs will help, but in your situation (as in mine) it won't make it go away completely. But that's OK. You will recover. It just takes time.
* Don't worry about anything you say or do while on drugs, either before or after surgery. Everyone will understand it's not you and you don't mean it. I was screaming f-bombs in a children's hospital. But remember, it's not your fault. The people caring for you are going to see you happy, sad, and everything in between. Just focus on getting better.

More soon.

ETA: Tell your mom I'll be glad to keep the folks here posted. She's welcome to text and leave me voicemails. But again, there are others that can do that, too. Just an offer.

Edited November 12, 2012 by MissyP89

[sixpence]

I was put under when I was in kindergarten to have a large birthmark remover. I just remember the doctor pick me up and put the thing over my mouth and the next thing I remember was waking up in a recovery bed. The other time was just a few year ago with wisdom teeth, I could hear everything that was going on, but I could not feel anything at all (which was pretty weird, but not scary). Afterwards I was just groggy. Afterwards if I said anything bad I'm sure no one knew since my mouth was numb and full of gauze lol. I think you will be fine

[FutureCarmeliteClaire]

Thanks for the amesome replies, guys. This is a great thread.

Missy, I will talk to you then! If I'm not already asleep... Lol

I will definitely be keeping you guys updated. I'm not sure who yet, but I'll put someone on update duty. I'm guessing that in no time I'll be texting and stuff again, I'm pretty addicted, so... Yeah. Y'all might even get an update from me afterwards!

Thanks so much again, you guys are amesome.

[cmaD2006]

Not sure if anyone has suggested this -- but get the Anointing of the Sick a day or two before the surgery. It really helps calm the nerves and to give you peace for the surgery. And hopefully also help the healing along.

I was a wreck a few days before my gallbladder surgery, and my then spiritual director (rest in peace) gave me the Anointing of the Sick. I calmed down right afterwards, knowing that whatever happened, everything will be fine.