Edit: more concise context and question below. Photos of some charting in comments.

39 year old male, 6’ 190lb, wondering how to learn about my poor response to recent anesthesia. I’ve had two surgeries since a colonoscopy two years ago and the most recent caused 2+ weeks of confusion, glacial speech, difficulty speaking, and painful migraines.

I needed 7 sticks to get the cannula placed on the recent ortho surgery. The fifth poked through an artery. I blame nobody but my dehydrated self. Lime-sized hematoma was massaged down to grape-sized in the pre-op pen. I developed dizziness and myoclonus but was able to walk to the OR and was promptly given 9 N20 : 3 O2 to calm me while anesthesia placed the IV themselves. I felt suffocated, my vision went out, I heard a loop of “make a fist”, was able to relax through the choking spasms knowing I was in good hands. When I came to the surgeon was leaning over me and asked “Are you okay? Have you taken drugs before? Are you okay to start the surgery now?”. The paperwork below shows induction and intubation started 18min after entering the OR.

My big question is: What can I do differently next time? Could the weeks of confusion, slow (sometimes slurred) speech, and migraines be a result of the artery puncture? Or from not breathing well during the pre-induction N20? Does my body not agree with the Sevo listed in the table but not on the meds list (unlikely, I know).

Should I request more detailed notes than the charting below from the university hospital or (contracted) provider? Thanks!

I take Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes (not weight loss). I’m scheduled for surgery on Monday, July 27 under general anesthesia. My written instructions said “Beginning July 20, do not take Mounjaro.” My usual injection day is Monday, so I took my last dose on Sunday, July 19 around 11 PM and haven’t taken it since. Did I interpret the instructions correctly, or did I mess up? I don’t have persistent nausea, vomiting, or sulfur burps.

38, 120kg, 5'6" in the UK

New year's Eve 2025 I had emergency surgery for a perforated bowel. Had my sigmoid removed and now have a stoma.

When having the spinal anaesthetic, the first time they inserted it into my back (I'm not sure what the exact process is) I screamed.

It was like lightning pain down my leg.

The anaesthetist asked what happened and I explained.

He said they would try again. I screamed again, my leg jolted and he stopped.

He made a third attempt and it managed to work. I was whisked off to surgery.

I was pretty out of it the rest of the evening, but even then I could feel some discomfort in my back.

1st January, nurses came to get me out of bed to give me a wash , as they shifted forward and got to the edge of the bed, it hurt all In my left bum cheek. Two nurses tried to stand me, but as soon as my left leg was weight bearing, it spasmed. I genuinely screamed. I was trying to get the nurses off me, saying I was in pain, but they kept trying to get me up and I to the armchair. I had to push the nurses off and throw myself back on the bed. They said I will be in pain as I'd just had a big operation. But they meant because of my pubic bone to above belly button scar. That was completely fine. Didn't hurt at all

After 2 full days of me refusing to get up, the pain team came to see me. Some pain meds made it a bit better, but only just.

Day by day I got more mobile, transferred to commode with 1, then my own, then walk to the toilet opposite me (10-15 steps each way) with support, then on my own.

First 7 days I didn't get out of bed at all. I was in the hospital for 15 days total. Hospital said it was piriformis syndrome.

I had 3 months off work. I had to use a walker for the first 3 weeks as I couldn't trust weight bearing on my leg without spasms and lightning pain. I could have easily been back at work in 6 weeks if I didn't have this pain

NHS physio said piriformis syndrome too. Gave me exercises that made it feel worse.

Had an MRI to check for cauda equina, which was negative but that's all it focused on

Day to day I'm managing. Walking helps. Sitting is fine. But standing makes it so much worse.

I paid for a private physio at my local university. The assessment is done by students and looked over by professionals.

Within 10 minutes of explaining, the student went to ask for advice from the professional.

Went through everything again and she said I have nerve damage. The anaesthetist hit my spinal cord and injured it.

She's going to give me a referral to the hospital for an MRI.

So the main question, where do I go from here? Can I expect it to ever go away? Or is it likely to be permanent?

What options could I have to help it?

I just want to get back to normal and not live off pain relief

I'm (25F) thinking very seriously about getting a breast reduction and I'm very new to this entire world. Sorry in advance for length.

For context, I have a huge fear of needles, full on trypanophobia to the point that I've not been for an annual checkup since I was 18, and I've never gotten my blood drawn (not counting the poke with the hole puncher type device, when I was very young.) No wisdom teeth removal, no hospitals, no anesthesia ever. Sleepless nights leading up to booster shots. I passed out at the first COVID vaccine (ofc i still got it I'm not a monster, but it was hell lol) and my mother gave me an Ativan before my booster.

However, I'm weighing what I value in life and I think I want to not be a 32G more than I want to never encounter a needle or hospital forever. But everyone I ask about the procedure and lead up to surgery glosses over the needle stuff, which is where I'm focused the most. My understanding is that obviously you're unconscious for the surgery part so to me that's mostly whatever, but I know that you're awake before, when they give you anesthesia. I'm not really worried about *having* anesthesia. I don't think I'll die or anything. It's just...the needles. I promise, I am usually an extremely chill person, except for this one terrible hangup. I keep imagining the deep terror the months, days, etc leading up to a scheduled surgery and it sounds harrowing and exhausting. The night before sounds like my personal hell.

So I wanna ask; How do you manage the anxiety for someone who is like, a clinical needle weenie? Do you have to get blood tests before anesthesia (would i be foolish not to?)? What questions should I ask in these meetings that you find eases the anxiety? Are there any ways to anticipate the effects of anesthesia? (I'm personally very worried about waking up nauseous). I'm just gathering info in hopes it makes me brave enough to override like two decades of pure terror LOL.

(And also, if I go through with it how best can I thank the whole team for dealing with my terrified, neurotic ass? I would personally feel very bad doing something to someone who was struggling so badly with it and I'd love to give a good "thank you for all your time and effort, I promise it's not personal that I cried and screamed and passed out!! no hard feelings" gift. I was thinking my homemade sourdough sugar cookies.)

Not sure if this kind of post is allowed here so I guess the mod can delete if needs to. Worth a try though.

Having a heart ablation done in a few weeks. This will be my third one. I have been put under several times for various reasons and always had a bad reaction to Midazolam and Propofol. Midazolam is supposed to relax you but it always makes me extremely anxious due to the way it makes me feel. Then because I’m almost in a panic state , when they push the Propofol it gets amplified 50 times over and it has always just been a horrible experience.

I’ve told the anesthesiologist each time after this happened the first couple times but they never seem to listen or take me seriously. They still use the same drugs on me and put me through hell. I know they have to get me asleep but there has to be a different way or sequence of administating the drugs.

Does anyone know of an alternative to Midazolam that doesn’t get you so high or drugged up feeling ? I just don’t know if it’s a type of drug problem or a dosage problem.

Any suggestions on how to advocate more for myself to get them to understand how this affects me. What do I do when they always seem to just blow me off ?

It has left me terrified of having to get surgery again. I always end up with insomnia and depression for weeks or months after having a procedure because I just keep reliving everything over and over. Even with the Versed, I still remember most everything until I go out and quite a bit of the recovery in which I end up with Emergence Delirium.

I have had PTSD in the past due to witnessing a friend commit suicide shooting himself in the head. I never had any counseling for it. Just tried burying the memory.

I think this and all the continued bad reactions and recoveries have contributed to why I get Emmergence Delirium.

Any ideas about drug alternatives I could suggest to the Dr or ways to get them to understand would be helpful.

Hi has anyone done a planned c section where they choose to get a General instead of spinal? Im getting general because of severe anxiety and panic attacks. Any experience ?

I am wondering if I can request this. I understand succinylcholine can cause muscle discomfort and soreness or aching after surgery. might I request a paralytic that does not have this side effect assuming medically appropriate?

THANKS!

Why did I get anesthesia in back my for a boobjob?

I had a boobjob about a decade ago when I was 18. The boobjob itself was really, really botched but I could only afford get it all removed recently.

When I got it removed, I talked to my current surgeon a bit of my original surgery and I told them that I remember that the anaesthesia had been injected into my spine, like around the middle of it. She looked confused and worried in her face. Then I got my current surgery, and they did the anaesthesia by my inhaling something

I know there are different ways to put someone to sleep. And that this happened a long time ago, and I dont plan on doing anything honestly. But could there be a possibility that I got some sort of anaesthesia for my lower parts as in childbirth, when it wasn't necessary for a surgery on my chest?

I was only 18 and alone, when I woke up the guy that did the anaesthesia was next to me. I didn't see my parents until long after that I was fully awake. Now, I think back of this and it all makes sense that maybe something happened during surgery that shouldn't had happened, but I just want someone knowledgeable to confirm or not.

I come from a small town, so this wasn't a good clinic, or doctor. The surgery itself was so botched, that my surgeon was horrified of what I had been done inside, one under the muscle, the other over...

Hello 👋🏻 I’m 30F, and have to undergo a kind of urgent colonoscopy at the end of the month and I’m sick to my stomach thinking about it.

Last year, I had my second ever routine endoscopy. First one was years ago with a now retired doctor, and I had no issues. Last year I don’t know what the hell they did but when I woke up they shooed me and my husband out as fast as possible. Or at least that’s what he told me because I was barely conscious and vomiting blood. He said they mumbled something about me losing oxygen and BP and having to take me out of the procedure, but insisting I was fine. I was not fine. I went to the ER a few hours later and turns out not only did I aspirate but I also had a collapsed lung. The doctors said I was very lucky to come in when I did and that I should sue the medical practice who did that to me. I ended up in the hospital for 4 days and had lasting lung scarring and tissue damage.

It’s kind of unclear how it happened since they rushed me out and I am obviously seeing a different doctor now. I told him about this instance and he said “You should be fine.” But I do not feel fine!! I feel like I’m currently counting down to my doom.

He also said he won’t do one without anesthesia, and since this is a STAT colonoscopy, I don’t know if it’s worse to find another doctor and wait another month and a half for an appointment just to do the same song and dance.

TLDR;; I’m very scared. Is there any other alternative to full sedation?

Recently had local anesthesia applied to my hip for a mole excision and biopsy. I got my period the next day despite it being two weeks early. Two weeks later and now I have my period again but on my normal schedule. I've had local anesthesia applied many many times before in different places, mainly my mouth, but this has never happened. Has this happened to anyone else?

Had my first try on anesthesia yesterday for my BA.

And I was so amazed lol

One time I was talking to the doctor, next I'm on the recovery room.

I don't even know how I moved there. Lol

I was so afraid before the surgery now it just amazed me. And safe to say I could do it again. ✌️

i was a bit congested and i heard i had to tell staff about it but never go the chance to until i was in the operating room

he shrugged it off and gave me a nasal spray when asked and he put a mask that delivered n2o to me. i had iv sedation as well so he took both my arms for a tiny pinch. when the medication was being administered i began feeling extremely drowsy, still thinking the operation would last 30 mins to an hour. however 5 minutes later i felt EXTREMELY high and 1 minute later i was woken up by staff asking me to go home.

for those worried about getting your teeth extracted please stay calm about it! it will totally be worth it and will save you the pain in the future.

i was extremely anxious going into the waiting room but the anesthetic really slowly took me out. i had this phrase in my mind to help deal with the effects of the drugs (it may help you relax): "fuck it, time to relax/reimagine reality". because of the n2o i was smiling at the start and slowly started to melt into my consciousness.

it was an amazing feeling to legally try drugs lol.

overall, you'll make it, just don't drink water 2 hours before the surgery on accident like me (gave me 2 hours to prep waiting for the surgery).

its about 10-11 hours after the surgery and numbing is going down but i have ZERO pain. really goes to show how much anesthetic they use to make sure you are completely comfortable

My son is currently 5 months old and has a very mild congenital condition affecting his genitals. Because of that, he wasn’t able to have a routine circumcision done at birth. He is now scheduled for an elective outpatient procedure when he is one week shy of 8 months old. The surgery is expected to take about two hours and will be performed under general anesthesia. He is a very healthy infant.

To be honest, my biggest hesitation isn’t the surgery itself which is very safe, it’s the anesthesia.

I’d really like to better understand the actual risks from the anesthesia perspective rather than just hearing that it’s “safe.” Please keep in mind we will not get to speak to the anesthesiologist until the day of so my mind is racing right now.

A few questions:

Main concern: What is the overall risk of serious complications or death from general anesthesia in an otherwise healthy infant undergoing an elective outpatient procedure? Does age change these risk factors? (8 months old vs waiting until after 1 or older).

What type of anesthesia is typically used for a healthy infant undergoing a short outpatient procedure?

Are the concerns about anesthesia in infants mainly related to prolonged or repeated exposures, or is there meaningful concern with a single, brief anesthetic?

If this were your own child or grandchild, would you feel comfortable proceeding with surgery at this age, or would you choose to wait? Why or why not?

Are there any questions you wish more parents asked before consenting to anesthesia?

I’m not looking for medical advice specific to my son or trying to second guess his care team. I’m simply trying to educate myself so I can make the most informed decision possible and better understand the anesthesia side of things. We are doing the procedure but essentially want to know if we should wait until he’s a little older.

Thank you in advance for being gentle and sharing your expertise.

Iv seen my relatives grandma etc in hospital dying was thinking does the drugs pain relief help or is it still a painful slope.

What about ufc fighters getting knocked out and going unconscious how does the person feel, Iv never been in a fight. But obv iv hurt myself like fell down or got a tooth repaired

I had a bad reaction to mivacurium about 30 years ago and for a while it was no big deal because I was told that it wasn't in use anymore but I recently had a procedure done and the anesthesiologist said it's being used again. How does one get the Cholinesterase Test to check the enzyme levels? I have kids so I'd like to get the ball rolling on this and my PCP has been no help, she wants me to go the allergy doctor and I can't contact any one at the local hospital.

I have inconsistent reactions to coming out of anesthesia. What do I ask for or tell the anesthesiologist to help?

43 female 5'7" 240lb. Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, Autism. I've had surgery with general anesthesia 3 times, but I have to do another and would like to avoid the panic attack coming out of anesthesia, if possible. Doing medical things is hard for me anyway and I don't want to start avoiding medical things I need to do even more.

First surgery was getting my wisdom teeth removed when I was around 12 years old. I remember chatting with the nurses and then all of the sudden they were telling me to leave. I was really confused and said they needed to take out my teeth and they laughed and said they already did. I burst into tears, started shaking all over, and cried all the way home and then fell asleep for a few hours. After thinking about it as an adult I wondered if the time skip was what freaked me out.

Because of that experience when I had my second surgery (I was 38 at the time) for hacing a lump (benign) removed from my breast. I told the anesthesiologist that it bothered me that I couldn't remember falling asleep and if there was a way to make it more obvious (he told a colleague "she can't remember falling asleep" in a kind of condescending way so it made me feel like he was making fun of me with an inside joke, if you have thoughts about that I'd like an explanation too). But I don't remember being in the OR and suddenly feeling very heavy and I asked if he had started and he said yep. When I came to I remember feeling sleepy and kept dozing off, but I didn't cry or shake and no panic attack.

The third surgery (43yrs) was for having my tubes removed and an (uterine) ablation. I asked the anesthesiologist if he could ease into it and he said he could go slow instead of a fast push. But I didn't get to explain because two nurses were still trying to get the IV started and the surgeon came in for his turn to talk to me. I remember shifting myself to the OR table and getting situated where they wanted me, and then a (very sweet and kind) nurse was asking me how I was doing. Started shaking and crying and needed to work very hard to control my breathing.

I'm wondering if there's something I can ask for that will help my recovery not include a panic attack. Is there a physical reason that this could be happening, or is it psychological? I am going to try very had to talk to the surgeon about this during my post op visit, but I often have trouble with that, so I'm hoping for some help here. Thank you for your time.

hello, i just wanted to ask about pain in especially calves after surgery. I had lateral cervical cyst removed from the neck. It took aprox. 2 hours to get it done. I was in general anesthesia when it happened. And now its been 10 days since surgery and am just wondering what could potentionally be reason for my pain in calves, muscle pain. Pain started the next day after operation, and its been present ever since. Most of the time throughout the day i can feel these weird sensations, or just dull pain in calves. So am just looking for any possible causes. Is it worth it to get my bloodwork done by now? Thank you for your opinions in advance.

I was told to post this here.

As the title explains, last week Thursday (four days ago) my 3 year old son had to have surgery for a inguinal hernia. He was put under anesthesia using a mask, not intravenously. The surgery only lasted about 50 minutes and he woke up within 30 minutes of it ending.

There have been no other complications, but ever since he woke up he has been stuttering very noticeably. He seems to not really notice it himself, so luckily he is not getting frustrated, but it is very concerning.

The surgeon told us on Friday that she has never experienced this before but that it must be a side effect of the anesthesia, because he has never stuttered or had speech problems before (quite the opposite, he is very talkative and started speaking relatively early) Our surgeon told us to give it a week and that it should go away on its own. Our current plan is to get in contact with the anesthesiologist and with our normal pediatrician to ask them what their advice is and if we should start speech therapy.

I just wanted to see if anyone else had possibly experienced this before. Thank you!

Can someone please offer some advice?

I am considering a combined spinal epidural for c section to lower the risk of interoperative pain.

Very nervous about statistics that show around 10% of planned c sections feel some interoperative pain. I am assuming this would be from the spinal wearing off/being patchy/not reaching deep enough.

My logic is that if you have both anaesthetic types then the epidural could cover what pain the spinal doesn't and reduce risk of interoperative pain greatly.

Do I have the right idea?

Good afternoon, dear anesthesiologists. I will have surgery for a torn meniscus in Poland, where cannabis is still a taboo topic. I am a medical cannabis patient, and I have been using it for one year, day by day, according to the dosage prescribed by my doctor (0,25g x 4 times a day). I am really concerned about how cannabis will react with anesthetic drugs. My doctor recommended that I should not smoke for three days before surgery, even though my doctor told me about the three days of sobriety, I was afraid that it still would not be enough, by looking at my dosage and the time of usage. I have decided that I will stay sober for two weeks before surgery, and I am using THC-free CBD oil to soothe withdrawal symptoms. I am planning to stop taking CBD for a week before my surgery. I am thinking about the possible interaction of THC and CBD metabolites with anesthetics. I am really afraid of the thought of waking up during the procedure or any other complications.

Thank you very much in advance for your reply. Have a great day.

I had arthroscopy (knee) 39 hours ago and since then my fingers have been weird. I also had 2 cannulae in that arm. The hand isn't weak or something like this, just a tingling feeling. Any ideas? I am terrified. And how long can it last?

I fell hard in january while cycling and slipping on a little bit of ice that still was on the street. Because I had a concussion and was delirious the hospital didn't want to operate right away and so three days later I got my cheekbone fixed under complete anesthesia. I am autistic, meaning I have a big fear of the unknown and surgery is thus hell for me. I was so incredibly scared the two days before, not for pain but the moment of forcefully going unconscious. Crying and all. In the end it wasn't that bad as I don't even remember the moment of them putting me to sleep, I just woke up in a different room. It wasn't a bad experience but I could only say that after it was done.

But that bone was fixed with a metal plate and now it has to get removed under local anesthesia. Which means I'll be there for the 45 minutes that are planned for the surgery. It's now thursday and the operation is next tuesday. It will be done by an incision in the mouth.

Tonight I already had full on panic attacks. Haven't slept for three days and not eating much either. I'm worrying about everything. I'm one of those people that already doesn't like the dentist or last time when they had my stitches removed which was just 2 minutes instead of 45. How will it feel when they're literally under my skin? Will I hear strange noises? Do they need to untie screws of the plate? They're also going to shave off some bone tissue to correct my assymetrical face and I'm really not looking forward to that, they will be scraping my bones!

It's the very first time I'll consciously experience a surgery and I'm having a total meltdown here. Can somebody tell me how this procedure is going to look like? The hospital isn't very informative, haven't heard from them since we planned it in April. Can you assure me I won't feel them working inside me or on my bone?

Hi there. Im 30ish F diagnosed a year ago (although i might be infected couple years before from my abusive ex). Anyhow, i will be undergoing a small surgery that requires general anesthesia, you know where you are totally asleep and cant feel nothing. As i live in a country that HIV is truly frowned upon and the fact that im female does not make it easier on me, im planning to not disclose my condition to the hospital. I always take my meds so im sure im undetectable and cannot transmit to anyone (as i also have a partner that is negative).

My question is, im afraid that my ART might clash with the anesthesia. Im taking TLD type (not sure if its internationally the same name? I could reiterate the substance if needed). My surgery is afternoon and i usually take my meds during the evening. Is there something i should make sure? Im afraid because i regularly take ART is gonna mess with the anesthesia and make me not wake up again after the general anesthesia 😭 please kindly help 🥺

Hello! Firstly, thank you to all the anesthesiologists + techs + all for what you do; it blows my mind. I've had several surgeries, no negative reactions thankfully. But I keep coming back to this comment from the most recent surgery, which was about 5 years ago.

Context - I'm a very small adult, < 150 cm / 5ft and < 45 kg / 95 lbs. Not a dwarf, as far as I know, just born very premature and got some unlucky genes. The procedure was routine, laparoscopic.

I was chilling with the heavy, warm pre-op blanket thing when these two younger people walk in. I think they mentioned that they would be handling anesthesia during the procedure. I'm stuck on what the two of them said when they first saw me - something to the effect of "Oh, this will be an easy intubation!" I start chatting with them and asking if they are residents (which they were), they were surprised I knew what a resident even was (lol), etc. Anyway, the rest is kind of fuzzy.

Why did they say that? Was it because of the procedure itself being straightforward, or something to do with my stature? As far as I can tell, I've never felt soreness from the tube after waking up. I wondered if it could be my size because the tube would be smaller (than for an average adult). But then I also read that drug dosage can be trickier on pediatric patients (...which I'm not, but obviously the frame would be similar).

I'm so curious about what they meant -- if possible, please help me put this to rest! Thank you!

Hi M(21) here at Seattle to receive open heart surgery to repair a aortic valve on Friday and today on Wednesday I got a text from my doctor talking about possible nerve block anesthesia, I read how they do it and the damages it can do and I was wondering if anyone has gotten the surgery and got the nerve block anesthesia, I wanted to know the big risks or how it went with someone that used it, thanks!