Scared of having a General Anaesthetic

Anaesthetics are very good now. My last two ops I walked into theatre and climbed on the table, the anaesthetic was very gentle I just drifted off to sleep like having an afternoon nap.

They wheel your bed into the pre-op room and by the time you look at what's in the room (I am nosey) the anaesthetist has taken your hand, inserted a needle into your veins and you are out. It's a doddle .....all the best !!

I hate GAs, because I know that when I come round I will, inevitably be as sick as a dog. I have always told the anaesthetist about this but it makes no difference. The last time, I was a day case and I thought I'd been lucky for once. But - as soon as I got home - head in bucket! I was so pleased to have a spinal anaesthetic for my hip.

I have had GAs and been nervous too. It's natural. But some good advice here. Hope you feel better about it now Viviness .

Mr. MM managed very well by himself. He was afraid, and gave me phone numbers and bank details before going in to surgery.
The anaesthetic talked him through everything and calmed him down. His hernia repair took longer than expected, because he had another on the other side which also had to be patched.
We got home at 19:30. All in all it was a good job done.

When did you have yours Joce?
I was 1973, 75, 77 and 1981.

I preferred the decision to have GA’s for all 4 of mine - 1 emergency, 3 elective. (Not least because my epidural during my first labour had only been partially successful )
Sometimes it is known as the Joan Rivers method of childbirth or “Wake me up when the hairdresser gets here”

Have had many general anaesthetics in the past and wil, admit , for the first time, that I actually like the feeling of drifting off. I know, I’m weird- I’ll get my coat! ? lol

I have had 4 c sections was the first in UK to have 4 I had 2 with SBlock brilliant way to do it if you can..

Viviness I have always been scared of LA, I have had many.. I tell the anethatist that I am afraid and he always gives me somthink for it to a lot easer juspt tell him/ her how you are felling hope this helps

Well, DH went to day surgery for his hernia op. He went on at about 11:30 and they said I could come home. He is second in the list, and I have to ring the unit at about 15:30 to see when he can come home. I expected to have to stay, but apparently that wasn't necessary.

I'm another one who's fortunate not to have had surgery needing a general anaesthetic and as Grandmajan has already said, it's rare to die due to the actual anaesthetic as it's usually underlying " undetected " problems in the patient that are the cause-----such as in the elderly.
I don't even remember anything amiss while training in the 50's and 60's while on a very busy surgical ward, so you can imagine the advancements in surgery since !

Although a frightening prospect to many, this particular type of " repair " surgery is so common that I feel sure that the surgeon could carry it out in their sleep. I wish you well and you will be well after this procedure. Great care will be taken I assure you.

I’ve been a nurse for over 40 years and at one point worked in a very busy Intensive Care Unit and the Operating Theatres and I can say it is extremely rare for any patient to need IC or die following an anaesthetic. If you are reasonably healthy and don’t smoke then the risks are low. One thing I did learn is that you increase your risks of problems if you drink alcohol the day or night before because it can react with anaesthetic drugs. My last job was Senior Nurse in Urogynaecology so I consider myself really knowledgeable in that area. Hysterectomy and Prolapse Repair are no longer considered major surgery thanks to the advances made in that area. You could be discharged within 48 hours. There are some great websites that give you up to date information such as patient.co.uk. I gave the website some professional information recently around prolapse repair. The website is run by clinicians in the UK. Send me a message if you’d like more information and good luck.

Definitely plan a holiday for when you are recovered. As others have said, anaesthetics these days are extremely safe, look at the hip replacements on 90 year olds done now that would have been out of the question a few years ago.

In the days when I was nursing, we used to give omnopom and scopolomine an hour before theatre, the scopolomine to dry up secretions, and the omnopom (morphine derivative) to remove all worry, it certain did that, you went down to theatre floating on air! No longer prescribed, but the morphine type drugs you will have on waking will leave you floating happily above any pain.

I hope everything has been explained to you in detail so you know what to expect. Your anaesthetist will come and see you about an hour beforehand, do ask him any questions worrying you, he will reassure you. You will probably walk down to theatre and lie on a trolley bed in a little anteroom, you won't see the theatre itself. An injection will be given into your hand or arm, which will make you feel woozy, and you will be asleep within 10 seconds. The next thing you will know will be the nurses talking to you as you come round in the recovery room, any you will be wheele back to your bed.

You will have a catheter in with a bag attached to the side of your bed, and quite likely a drip in your arm for 24 hours. You may have oxygen being fed just under your nose for a few hours. One word of warning, beware the senokot if you are sensitive to it, and only take one of the two tablets!

I am sure it will all go smoothly, I imagine you will go 'off air' for a few days, but do come back and tell us how you are getting on when you feel like it? Wishing you a speedy recovery.

for both knee replacements, I had an epidural and spinal block-and I really do not regret it. Much faster recovery and no side effects. I had one for an emergency C section, after long Labour due to transversal breech - in 1973, in the very early days (the first one they had done at the Hospital).

Thank you - feeling a little better and more positive after reading the last three posts. I'm now planning what to do when I'm fully recovered and trying to be positive and ignoring the negative thoughts. Thank you all once again.

Viviness I don't think you're being silly, its a very natural anxiety.

But you can talk to your team (or even your GP beforehand) and ask for something which will help you feel calm about it.
As MiniMoo says, we are out of control in such situations, so understandably feeling scared, who wouldn't? But also, we are in the hands of experts who have been through this routine hundreds, if not thousands of times before.
Put your faith in them, not your anxieties

I'm looking forward to reading how you've bounced back to full health and feel wonderful again!

I had a general anaesthetic when I was 7 for a tonsillectomy. I was sick in the bed as I was coming round, and was told off by a very scary and very strict ward sister.After she left a West Indian nurse came and gave me a big hug and told me not to worry. She was so kind I’ll always be grateful to her. After my recent op I felt fine- no nausea at all. Anaesthetics are improving all the time.

My friends DH is a consultant anaesthetist. He says that anaesthetics have never been safer and that they are a completely different ballgame to even 10 years ago in terms of side effects. There was a really big gap between my most recent op and the previous one and I was dreading it as I’d felt so ill and been very sick after it. I couldn’t believe it when I woke up feeling absolutely ok, barely groggy and not at all nauseous. You’ll be fine but definitely tell the nurses and the anaesthetist on the day that you feel really scared.

Thank you all for your comments and yes I will have a chat to everyone! Maryeliza 54 I have been told I will be having a hysterectomy vaginally, but my Consultant wants to take 'a look around' just to check things out as if my womb is in its correct position my bladder will be repaired, but it will probably be the full operation as my cervix is low. I am planning to get everything in order and keeping my mind busy is driving me nuts. I swing from moments of fear to moments of excitement as I want to get back to normal. Thank you all, I think I do feel better (for now)

I’ve just looked it up. The death rate under anaesthetic is 0.06% and includes those undergoing emergency surgery for life threatening injury.

You’re safer than you would be if you stayed at home!

I’m the same. About 15 years ago I had to go in for a minor op. I told the nurse I was scared, and the anaesthetist came, sat on the end of the bed, and explained the whole procedure. My last question was “How long will I be under?” “About fifteen minutes” he said. I felt really silly, when I thought about people having long, complicated operations, but he told me not to worry. Last year I had a lumpectomy, and again the anaesthetist came and explained everything. It was very reassuring. Tell the nurse about your fears, and I’m sure you will be reassured. I hope you make a good recovery.

My husband goes in for a hernia repair next Tuesday. He has never had a general anaesthetic, and is also scared. I've had two, and wasn't worried about either. As an operation is out of our control, it's natural to be afraid. Try not to worry too much.
I'm reassuring my husband, but I don't think it's doing him much good.

It’s a perfectly rational anxiety. Talk to the anaesthetist if you can, or ask the clinic team to explain the type of anaesthesia possible with your surgery. I had a bladder repair while wide awake with a spinal anaesthetic. All very comfortable and non traumatic. So do ask, don’t just sit and worry.

Do you know if you are having a laparoscopy or an open procedure?