Thanks, urbanscout50! So, she's a friend of mine—she’s actually pretty brave, but she’s just terrified of the whole procedure. She figured she’d rather just sleep through it if possible. She was a heavy smoker for years, and now at 35, she’s dealing with some issues that mean she really needs to get this checked out, but she’s avoiding the big county hospitals. I think it’s mostly people being scared of the discomfort or the pain. Especially when you're facing a new test for the first time, people get so worked up. Honestly, I was a nervous wreck myself during my gastroscopy. I panicked so hard I actually drove all the way from my place out to a specialized clinic just to get sedated. I was just shivering at the thought of the exam. The funniest part is, I've definitely had worse experiences before, like having a permanent tooth pulled without any numbing injection 😢😢😢. Anyway, she’ll probably look into checking out Jordan or one of those private clinics in Washington, D.C.—kind of like how you'd find those high-end clinics in Miami—but there isn't much .
Look, there aren't really pills specifically designed just for that. I take them for birth control—that’s their whole point. You have to get a prescription from a gynecologist after they run all the tests, obviously. Now, one of the side effects can be breast swelling or enlargement. In my case, the cup size definitely went up, though I know that doesn't happen to every girl or woman. I have a perfectly valid reason for being on them—protection—so starting them up just because you're hoping for a little extra growth? Hmm. Seems kind of silly to me. Messing around with your hormones like that is risky business...
Quick question for someone who’s had to go under for a bronchoscopy here in the States... does anyone know if they typically use anesthesia for it? I don't really care about the cost or anything, just wondering how they actually do it—is it more like a light sedation or a full deep sleep?
Haha, so you're telling me those nurses can just hand out anesthesia whenever they want?????? That’s wild. Their advanced training sounds worlds apart from what actual anesthesiology residency entails... at this rate, I feel like I could probably learn to drive a freight train by myself. Sam Hall15, what’s the actual breakdown between an anesthesiologist and an anesthesia tech? Like, what does a tech need to know, and what are they actually doing in there? They aren't supposed to make the calls on the anesthesia itself, right? It's more like they're just there to assist during the surgery?
That’s exactly what this thread is for, isn't it? I actually started this whole thing because I hadn't heard a word about it myself until I saw those "real victims" 😢 on Oprah—you know, people talking about having six-hour heart surgeries and all that. Kevin Garcia12, it’s incredibly, incredibly rare, but it happens. I guess the odds probably come down to a few things... like if the pre-op exams were thorough enough, if the patient actually follows the instructions, or if the anesthesiologist isn't just some resident who accidentally misses the dosage 🙂 and so on. silenteagle47, these people are genuinely dealing with PTSD. They can't sleep, they get hit with waves of anxiety... and honestly, how could they not? I used to be terrified of local anesthesia myself. There was just something creepy about watching the instruments and hearing everything. Even my mom had a bad experience with local anesthesia when she had her tonsils out. I always figured it was better to just sleep through the whole thing. Then I watched that movie *Awake*, where the guy is conscious and in pain but totally paralyzed... gave me the chills. Absolute chills. I don't exactly want to go under that easily either, but if you find yourself in that situation, you don't really have a choice. You just have to trust the doctor. They know what they're doing.
How do you even decide on an anesthesia plan for patients who haven't had a pre-op? You know, those emergency cases where they're rushed straight to the OR—like a major car accident or an emergency C-section and stuff like that.
I’m also wondering about my three wisdom teeth... since I've got three of them waiting to come out, what would an anesthesiologist actually suggest? Should I just knock them out one by one under local anesthesia, or maybe just go for all three at once under general? Honestly, the thought of going under general anesthesia just for dental work sounds exhausting, and I feel like the recovery might be a total drag, but my dentist mentioned that doing it all at once would get it over with much faster...
So, I was catching up with my uncle's buddy the other day—we were chatting about some hospital stuff—and he mentioned this wild thing that happened during a hip surgery he had a while back. He said he experienced this weird kind of awareness; like, he could actually hear people talking and felt totally awake, yet he didn't feel any pain at all. But here’s the kicker: he said it was actually a great experience. Like watching a really good movie playing in his head. No panic, no anxiety, nothing, just... chill. 🤣Since anesthesia is basically a cocktail of different drugs, is it actually possible for someone to have a "positive" awareness experience like that? Also, random question about animal anesthesia—my cat just had his neutering done recently, and he was throwing up while he was drifting off under the meds. Do they actually use the same types of anesthesia on animals as we do on humans? Not necessarily the same dosage, obviously, but I mean the actual types and chemical makeup? If these questions seem a bit morbid or just plain silly, I swear I'm being serious, I'm genuinely curious, hm. It's been sweltering here in Phoenix for days, so maybe that explains why I'm feeling so sluggish and asking such random things. 🤣
Regarding birth control pills before surgery—can I just stay on them as usual? Since you aren't supposed to miss even a single dose, I'm a bit stuck there. Also, about those side effects from general anesthesia... honestly, the idea of waking up during surgery really creeps me out. Even if the chance is just 0.01%, it’s terrifying because you have no way of knowing if you'll be that unlucky person. Is being afraid of this actually rational? And what are the statistics here in the US regarding this? Are there actual cases, and what kind of percentage are we looking at??... urbanscout50, thanks for all the detailed answers😍
In some of my earlier posts, there was talk about how that muscle relaxant isn't really the go-to for shorter procedures—or maybe if you aren't actually opening up the abdominal cavity. But when we're looking at things like an appendectomy or gallbladder surgery, which are much quicker, do we still use the muscle relaxant??? And why on earth does someone have to be completely paralyzed just to handle throat or sinus work🤷? There's also this one thing that’s really tripping me up. It was mentioned before that the relaxant paralyzes everything except the heart muscle and the smooth muscle in the gut. So, if basically every muscle in the body is paralyzed and numbed out, how is it even theoretically possible for a patient to feel pain if they experience awareness during general anesthesia???? I mean, I get that they might be awake enough to hear people talking, but that whole part about feeling pain😕
What does it actually mean when we talk about locally enhanced anesthesia? And why is it that for some people, local anesthesia just... doesn't "take"? Like, it fails to work properly. What determines that outcome?🤷🤷🤷 Also, something else regarding anesthesia and OB-GYN stuff—how do they even decide to perform a D&C using just local anesthesia combined with something like Apaurin? Because from what I've seen on tons of forums and just hearing stories from women, doing it solely with local numbing still hurts like crazy, honestly.😕
I’d also like to circle back to that question Hudson brought up... if someone actually goes through true anesthesia awareness, what are they supposed to do? Who can they even talk to? It seems like so many papers out there just say people don't believe them when they report it, which is... well, yeah. Hm.
So, what's actually the difference between getting anesthesia through an IV versus just breathing it in through a mask? I ended up with the mask for my tonsils, but then for my weight loss procedure, they went with an injection... you know, straight into the vein.
I’m kind of wondering what kind of sedation they gave me for my gastroscopy. I mean, I was out for maybe five or six minutes tops, and I even had some weird little dreams during that window. Is it possible it was something like Propofol or maybe Midazolam? I noticed the doctor's name on the consent form started with a P, so I'm curious. Does anyone actually know what those drugs do to you? I honestly don't remember a single thing from the procedure itself.🤷🤷🤷
It sounds pretty comforting when you talk about those types of monitors, though I guess I’m just lucky. When I had my tonsils out, I didn't feel a thing—just slept right through it. They had me on an oxygen mask and pumped some stuff into my IV, and honestly, I don't remember a single second of it. Even for my gastroscopy, they gave me a quick sedation for maybe seven or eight minutes, and I know for a fact I was dreaming during that little window😛, and afterward, I was being incredibly chatty😂😂😂As for those horror stories involving surgery, I heard about this woman in the UK who started an online campaign to raise awareness about anesthesia awareness. People all over the world share their stories online, and most of them describe being fully conscious through the whole ordeal—aware of themselves, the surgeons talking in the room... some even reported feeling actual pain, whether they couldn't fall asleep at the start or woke up mid-procedure. I can't imagine how traumatic that is. If those people are seeing therapists now or dealing with nightmares and flashbacks... it's clearly very real for them.😢
Alright, I think I’m finally starting to wrap my head around this, but one thing still trips me up. How on earth does an anesthesiologist not realize someone is actually awake?? I mean, wouldn't your heart rate spike or your blood pressure go haywire? Or even just your breathing patterns? Is it possible that you lose all control over those things and the machines just make everything look perfectly normal on the monitors while you're actually conscious?
Quick question for Dr. Pelé, do they actually give you a full muscle relaxant for every single surgery done under general anesthesia? I was falling down some internet rabbit holes earlier and saw this story about a woman undergoing eye surgery who could actually feel what was happening, even though she couldn't move a muscle. Then there are all these other cases—hip replacements, sinus stuff, you name it—not just heart surgery. It’s all a bit fuzzy to me... why on earth would they bother paralyzing every muscle in your entire body for something like a throat procedure 🤷???