Local or general anesthesia?

So, I’m heading in this Wednesday to get my tonsils out at Salisbury. 😢 I always assumed they only used general anesthesia for kids, but my anesthesiologist told me they put everyone under there—whereas over at Vineyard, they do local anesthesia for all adults. It feels a little silly that two hospitals would have such different standards for the exact same procedure, but whatever 🙄 . The doctor mentioned going with general because the alternative is "really nasty," though she said if I really insist, she can handle it locally. To be honest, I've been under general before and felt terrible; it took forever to feel human again, and I generally prefer avoiding unnecessary chemicals if I can just get it over with. On the flip side, I once had local anesthesia used near my spine, it didn't take properly, and I ended up being cut while awake. It was a nightmare. So, I’m leaning toward local, but I’m still not 100% sure... Any experiences, opinions, or advice from doctors or patients would be great! 👍 What does she mean by "really nasty"? 😕

So, I recently went under for surgery with local anesthesia and honestly? I didn't have any major issues or feel like total garbage afterward.

I don't really have a hard and fast rule about this; I think it largely depends on the nature of the surgery itself. For anything more extensive—the kind of procedures where they’re digging a bit deeper—I’m inclined to lean toward general anesthesia. Of course, that assumes you’re actually in decent shape, with no underlying issues regarding your heart, lungs, or even just your ability to sleep and wake up properly. A neighbor of mine had tonsillectomy surgery last year, and they opted for general anesthesia; they woke him up almost immediately after the procedure was finished, and he was clear-headed enough to start texting people within an hour. My wife’s experience was a bit different during another surgery; they also used general anesthesia, but they didn't wake her up right away, letting her sleep for several hours instead. It took until the following morning before she felt truly lucid, though that particular operation was significantly more taxing than a routine tonsil removal. Given that local anesthesia can sometimes be a bit hit-or-miss in terms of how long it lasts—especially when you're dealing with something in the head area—general anesthesia just seems like the more practical choice.

I’d say go for general anesthesia every single time, provided there isn't some massive risk involved where you might not wake up... I mean, look, you’ll go see the anesthesiologist first, get all your tests done, and if they give you the green light, just opt for the general stuff. Once the surgery is over and you come to, you're definitely going to be sleeping through the rest of the day and most of the night anyway. You might feel a bit wiped out later on if your body doesn't handle the anesthesia perfectly, but that's about it.
Personally, I wouldn't even dream of choosing local anesthesia for anything involving the head area; the thought of being wide awake while someone is digging around in my throat is just absolutely unthinkable to me.
And honestly, people saying it's "really bad" is such an exaggeration—if it were truly that horrific, tonsillectomies wouldn't be considered one of the most routine procedures out there. I mean, think about how many kids in the States have them done without a second thought.

Thanks for all the replies!🙂 I’d love to hear from anyone who’s actually had that procedure done at the local clinic in Beverly Hills...

Don't be paranoid. Just head to the general hospital and get it over with.
When I had my tonsils out, I went under general anesthesia, just like everyone else...

I’m not being paranoid at all. I just have options, so I like to ask around before I make my move.

Honestly, I’d go with general anesthesia every single time if there aren't any major medical red flags. When you're looking at tonsillectomies for adults, you really shouldn't mess around with local options. It’s a whole different ballgame compared to what kids go through, and the risks are way higher—especially if someone gets a little reckless and doesn't follow the recovery instructions to the letter.

slyhound5 said:I actually had surgery under general anesthesia pretty recently and, honestly, I didn't really have any major issues or feel too terrible afterward.

also

Look, fadedheron18—if I were in your shoes, I’d listen to Scott Allen10. A buddy of mine had his tonsils out under local anesthesia once, and he told me it was pure hell. He could actually smell his own tissue being cauterized. Honestly, girl, that sounds like straight-up torture!!!

In my experience, going with the general anesthesia is the better way to go. I've been through both. With an Epidural, once it starts wearing off, it’s honestly miserable. I felt the most intense chill of my life—like I was buried under a mountain of ice. General is a bit of a trip until you get something to calm your nerves, but once you settle down, you're just itching for them to knock you out and get it over with. When you wake up, your mouth feels like sandpaper, and you can't drink anything right away. On another note, does anyone know why they wrap your legs in those elastic bandages? I felt like a total mummy after my spinal surgery.

from what I can gather, it’s because of some thrombosis issues

It’s wild how many different ways people react to anesthesia. Even with general anesthesia, based on what I've been through, the experience isn't some universal constant; there are always these little "add-ons" involved.
To be clear: when I had surgery on my thyroid, they used general anesthesia, and waking up was such a slow, grueling process. It was this incredibly unpleasant sensation of being totally numb, and that feeling just lingered way longer than it should have.
For smaller procedures, like a biopsy, it’s still general anesthesia, but it's much shorter—unless they add an injection like vecuronium, in which case you're awake in a heartbeat like nothing even happened. With those shorter ones, you don't get that heavy, suffocating numbness during recovery that you do after the major stuff.

As for the Epidural, despite all the horror stories I heard from others, it turned out to be the best option for me. Even though the surgery lasted nearly two hours, my only real sensation was boredom, just wondering when it would finally be over. As the effect wore off, everything felt completely normal, and the feeling just steadily returned to my legs.
Now, regarding tonsillectomies—even with all the sedatives they pump you full of, I think local anesthesia would be a total nightmare. Someone described it perfectly before. You're talking about your own throat, the positioning of your head, your mouth, and all that. For those kinds of procedures, I’ll vote for general anesthesia every single time, regardless of the risks.
That leg wrapping thing is probably meant to prevent thrombosis, but I wonder if every hospital follows that same "protocol"? I mean, what happens during hip surgery? They don't wrap anything; instead, you just wiggle your toes as soon as the numbness fades and take anti-thrombosis shots, or you can just pray to God that you aren't one of the unlucky ones—especially for us older folks!

There are honestly a million reasons why one person might bounce back from anesthesia feeling totally fine while someone else feels like they’ve been hit by a truck for two days straight.
It all comes down to the specific cocktail of anesthetics and painkillers used—including the dosage—combined with how fast your own body processes everything to finally "turn the lights back on."

But if I had to give you a really, really simplified version... the speed at which you wake up and shake off that post-op grogginess mostly depends on whether they used muscle relaxants during the procedure.
These are drugs routinely used in most general anesthesias—especially for those bigger, longer surgeries—that basically freeze your entire skeletal muscle system once they hit your bloodstream. We're talking every single muscle from the top of your head down to your pinky toe. Again, because everyone's metabolism is different, some people clear it out faster than others, which is exactly what rapidranger79 was describing after her thyroid surgery.

Now, about those compression stockings—they are literal lifesavers! See, even when we're wide awake or just tossing and turning in bed at night, our legs maintain a certain level of muscle tone. Whether we're walking, wiggling our toes, or just shifting around under the covers, that muscle activity helps pump blood from our lower extremities back up toward the right side of the heart. Unlike arteries, veins don't have their own muscular layer to do this heavy lifting on their own.
So here's the thing... when someone goes under for surgery, they get the anesthetic injected into their circulation along with a muscle relaxant that essentially "freezes" everything. That vital muscle tone just vanishes. Suddenly, the circulation in the legs loses its main engine, everything slows down, and the veins in the legs dilate significantly because the pooled blood is struggling to make its way back to the heart. If a few things go wrong at once, you end up with a potentially fatal blood clot stuck to the vein wall. After the surgery—sometimes quickly, sometimes even after you've made it home—that clot can just break loose, hitch a ride in the bloodstream, travel up to the heart, shoot into the pulmonary artery, and... bam... causes a pulmonary embolism, which can be instant death if it's big enough.
By wearing compression wraps or, more commonly nowadays, compression stockings before surgery, you're basically providing that "muscle squeeze" for your legs and preventing that whole nightmare scenario.
On top of that, doctors usually prescribe subcutaneous injections of Claritin, Clexane, or similar low-molecular-weight heparins to drive that risk of all this crap even lower.

I think when they say it feels "really nasty," they mean the local anesthesia just doesn't hit the spot for everyone DURING the tonsillectomy. I've actually heard plenty of stories about that happening!

Hey, looks like you guys had plenty to talk about while I was out🙂 I was over at Mayo Clinic (honestly, the most depressing-looking hospital in the area, but hey, I wasn't there for the architecture) getting everything sorted at my local👍 They numbed me up pretty well with some spray and shots😬 in my throat, cut it out, and that was that. It was a bit more uncomfortable than getting a wisdom tooth pulled, but not by much. I did end up bleeding quite a bit later when something flared up on the left side, but they fixed it fast. Now I'm just chilling at home eating soy pudding.🙂
The downsides:
*I showed up on Wednesday at 8 AM, the doctor checked me out, said everything looked good, and the surgery would be tomorrow. That was at 8:15. I figured, alright, see you tomorrow morning, but nope! Apparently, I have to stay overnight. Why? Because "you can't just show up for surgery off the street"🙄 If you ask me, it’s just a waste of money, but whatever. I did sneak out for a bit in the afternoon to grab something healthy downtown😬
*In the evening, they tried to pressure me into taking a sleeping pill "because that's how it's done." I just tucked it in my pocket and slept like a baby instead.
*There's clearly some bug going around the ward because everyone is coughing and wheezing. By evening, I caught it too—not exactly ideal right after a procedure...
The upsides:
*Everyone was incredibly kind, caring, and sweet—and that's what matters most to me.🙏 Sending love to any staff members reading this!!!😘
*Those amazing little pain meds they gave me... man, what a relief once the pain stops.😍

Does being a smoker actually change how anesthesia hits you? And why is there so much paperwork involved with signing consent forms anyway? It's not just some legal loophole for when things go south and nobody can do anything about it, right?

Megan Wilson3 said:Does being a smoker actually change how the anesthesia hits you? And why do they make you sign all those consent forms anyway—is it just a way to cover their backs if something goes wrong?

Honestly, the risk of running into complications is way higher for smokers compared to non-smokers,
especially during that early recovery phase right after surgery.
As for the paperwork, signing that consent form is basically you acknowledging that you understand the procedure and the potential risks involved. I mean, in medicine, nothing is ever 100% guaranteed, no matter how routine the surgery seems or how top-tier the surgeons at Mayo Clinic might be... things can still go sideways.
So, in a way, you're kind of right about why they do it, though it’s more about informed consent than anything else.

It’s local, no matter how you slice it...

trebor said:When it comes to those elastic sutures—they really do save your life.
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Then why didn't they use them on me when I had my surgery? They gave them to some other girl who was on birth control...
Now I'm just terrified of going back under the knife...🙂