Posts by amberpilot8

Kevin Garcia12 said:It’s quite peculiar to suggest they wouldn't have any supplies unless we were talking about some tiny boutique clinic that doesn't typically perform these procedures and had to scramble to organize everythingbut even if that were the case, it might explain the complications that arose; if the selection of medications available was extremely limited, even the most elite anesthesiologist could easily find themselves in a precarious situation regarding the duration of effects and such...
One's level of dedication is often dictated by external pressures—the sheer volume of patients waiting, or other responsibilities one must attend to. Otherwise, you might be surprised, but most people simply don't care to know the gritty details, which is why those who actually want answers ought to ask them directly; naturally, this should happen during the preoperative consultation, not two minutes before the procedure begins...
I understand that for many, the idea of anesthesia is deeply unsettling because you lose consciousness and all sense of control, but that is simply the reality of it. When you lie down on that table, you are placing your life in my hands; it all boils down to whether or not you trust that I know what I am doing and that I will do everything humanly possible to ensure you wake up without lasting consequences...

Most of the time we succeed; occasionally, we do not...

Don't mention it...

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I sent you a private message regarding this matter.

It is highly probable that the anesthesiologist had to squeeze every bit of potential out of minimal resources, especially considering he is truly one of the oldest and most seasoned doctors on staff.
Furthermore, one must question the quality of those anesthetics, because all three of us in the room ended up complaining about the exact same pains afterward—stomach issues, aching legs, aching arms—even though the surgery had absolutely nothing to do with those parts of the body.

The procedure was initially postponed because they were completely out of anesthetic supplies; then, when they finally called me back, they claimed to have just a tiny bit on hand—so a few of us patients who happened to have the right "connections" just squeezed ourselves in. As for what they actually used and the quality of those drugs... well, let's just say you don't get that kind of service in a standard American hospital.

I realize that we laypeople shouldn't presume to dive into such complex medical territory, but when it comes to calculating risk, we really ought to understand certain fundamental factors before deciding whether to pull the trigger on a procedure like this. Unfortunately, it seems we're forced to learn through trial and error, because due to the sheer lack of time and dedicated patient care, we're left to scavenge for information online. I’ve had my fair share of both positive and negative encounters with doctors; there were even times when I felt I was essentially performing my own life-saving surgery through sheer self-diagnosis. It is an incredibly daunting thing, handing over your very existence to someone else's hands when you know absolutely nothing about the disease or the treatment being administered.

And I certainly didn't realize that anesthesia could be quite that damn complicated; now, I have a much clearer, albeit sobering, understanding of the reality.

My thanks to you for providing such an exhaustive explanation.

I have always had a deep appreciation for precision, which is why I find myself leaning toward the answers provided by Scott Allen10; however, I am not searching for a scapegoat here. Perhaps you are simply overthinking things—though I suspect you shouldn't be carrying such trauma—but frankly, some of your responses feel somewhat dismissive. It makes one wonder if you and Scott Allen10 actually possess the medical credentials you claim, because this tendency to categorize patients as uneducated or completely oblivious to the truth is quite telling. To be blunt, you leave patients feeling insecure and ignorant, which only serves to fuel further fear and distrust.

I am not looking to point fingers or pass judgment; my sole intention is to obtain a plausible, realistic explanation for why this occurred.

Given the nature of my condition, it was imperative that I be under the care of a highly experienced anesthesiologist. That is exactly what was sought and secured. Every doctor involved in my surgical preparation, along with the entire medical team, operated under the shared belief that my safe awakening was the absolute priority. And yet, despite all that preparation, something senseless and entirely unnecessary happened.

But regarding what you just wrote to me;

"Because waking up from anesthesia while muscle relaxation has been fully reversed and you still have an endotracheal tube in place carries its own set of risks..."

And then there is the point that it isn't always possible to "hit the mark" regarding duration, especially during procedures that are either extremely long or incredibly brief...

All of this tells me just how unreliable the whole process can be, though I remain convinced that if a physician truly possesses both the knowledge and the experience, they should be able to prevent such a failure to breathe from ever occurring.

If you are truly as well-versed in the various scenarios that could lead to such a state as you claim, then I urge you to conduct all necessary analyses and reviews. For you, this might just be one more case in a long line of patients, but for us, the patients, it is an immensely unnecessary and harrowing ordeal.

Kevin Garcia12 said:It is most likely because the procedure was incredibly brief, and they used a relaxant—specifically things like rocuronium or vecuronium, which are the standard go-tos in American hospitals today. Following an initial intubation dose, muscle function typically takes anywhere from 40 to 90 minutes to fully recover. In the case of a much longer surgery, there would be ample time for those relaxants to break down, allowing the anesthesiologist to observe how quickly you metabolize them and adjust subsequent doses or infusion rates accordingly. With a very short operation, you simply don't have that luxury...
In plain terms—you regained consciousness before your muscle function had completely returned to baseline. You aren't losing your mind; this does happen occasionally. While it is certainly preferable to avoid it, perfection isn't always guaranteed in clinical practice...

Laryngospasm or other physiological factors could also play a role in obstructing breathing despite having adequate muscle strength, but most likely, the relaxant was the culprit...

Plasma protein levels might play some minor part, but they are hardly the deciding factor here. It is quite simple: either too much medication was administered, or there wasn't enough time for the body to clear it. One might argue why plasma protein levels were low in the first place—whether that is an isolated issue or tied to broader organ dysfunction involving the liver and kidneys, both of which are central to drug metabolism and excretion... 🙄

This isn't about "protein-muscles," but rather proteins like albumin and alpha-acid glycoproteins that act as carriers for drugs in the bloodstream. As for the possibility of an overdose—perhaps. We generally know the initial induction dose, and if that dose is excessive for a 40-minute window, then it is excessive. Perhaps they should have waited a bit longer or administered a sedative so you wouldn't remember the ordeal, but can one regulate it with such surgical precision? Not exactly... 🤷

Regarding the claim of negligence, I cannot comment on that since I wasn't there, but it is entirely possible the doctor was occupied elsewhere while the technician was focused on you—which, by all accounts, they were...

As far as the equipment goes, if you are disconnected from it and the breathing tube has been removed, the machine is essentially useless to you in that moment; the only thing that matters is watching the patient... ☕

rolling eyes, sipping coffee, I don't know... I fail to see the point of these little emoticons.
Am I crazy? Certainly not.

I received a dose of hydrocortisone because, given my prolonged use of corticosteroids, they assumed my adrenal cortex function was suppressed.

Essentially, provided the anesthesiologist was fully briefed on the patient's overall medical status—which they should have been through the provided records and our conversation—what happened should never have occurred.

And all of this could be prevented if we prioritized establishing stable breathing before attempting to wake the patient. Why is that not the standard protocol??

Of course, we are talking about enzyme-protein interactions and protein-muscle connections; if muscle relaxants used during general anesthesia—which function by blocking muscle activity—fail to wear off once the patient awakens, it is likely due to a deficiency in specific enzymes... or, more realistically, a simple lapse in judgment by the anesthesiologist.

Scott Allen10, oh Scott Allen10... this is information you really ought to have mastered by now.

Of course I’m still breathing; there’s really no need for all this unnecessary theatrics.
I am currently grappling with a deficiency in my protein intake, which—if I am being entirely honest—is the solitary reason behind my current predicament; I have spent quite some time researching the matter online to confirm my suspicions.
And I won't even begin to mention the sheer volume of findings on this list. The numbers are simply grim. !!!!!!! Looking at this analysis, I have to wonder—what on earth is happening to the medical profession? It seems like today’s doctors can't even interpret basic findings anymore.

Scott Allen10 said:There was absolutely no cause for alarm, truly—nothing dramatic to report here. If I may venture a guess, you might have just experienced a bit of respiratory struggle following the reversal of the paralytics. It’s nothing to lose sleep over.

Scott Allen10, Scott Allen10... I honestly felt as though my very breath had been stolen from me; I was on the verge of suffocation.
"My sister didn't just scream, 'She isn't breathing!'" It wasn't some panicked outburst; it was a realization that cut through the sterile air of the room. And how exactly does an anesthesiologist react to a situation like that? To think that someone tasked with maintaining life can be caught off guard by such a visceral moment is truly exhausting.
Despite all that cutting-edge, high-tech equipment they have at their disposal, they still failed to realize I was gasping for air—that I wasn't even breathing.
I wasn't merely flirting around; quite the contrary—it was an exhaustive, drawn-out affair that seemed to persist indefinitely.
I previously navigated two general elections without any significant incident, and everything proceeded quite smoothly.

To build upon my previous point: fundamentally, the patient must remain unconscious.
Until he manages to catch his breath and find some semblance of stability, that's the end of the story. Period.

There is simply no response🤷

I have a question for the group; essentially, during a relatively minor surgery that lasted about forty minutes, I experienced something terrifying upon waking. I could see the lights in the operating room and was fully aware that I was coming around, yet I found myself completely unable to breathe. I tried to cry out, to signal for help, but neither my tongue nor my lips would respond—it was as if I were entirely paralyzed. I could hear the doctors telling me to breathe, but the air simply wouldn't come. In a moment of pure desperation, I began thrashing my head from side to side to signal to them that I was suffocating, and only after a few frantic movements did I finally catch my breath. Why on earth would this happen? It has left me profoundly traumatized.
Prior to this incident, I had undergone general anesthesia twice for procedures lasting about an hour each, and I never encountered anything even remotely like this.
Thank you.