General Anesthesia

Question

I’m going under general for the first time in two weeks for a brain biopsy.

Explain it and how it’s safe.

I’m not scared of the biopsy, just the general.

Is that normal?

In: 90

Answer 1

there is an entire team of people in theatre whose whole job is monitoring the effect of the anaesthetic on you. they do the ‘something went catastrophically wrong with the anaesthetic’ thing in medical TV shows because it’s dramatic and exciting, but in reality (and especially in non emergency situations) it’s very rare for something to go wrong.

my experience was this: I was walked into theatre by one of the surgical team, who made light conversation with me throughout. my dressing gown, slippers, and glasses were all put in a plastic bag and labeled with my name – my other jewellery I’d removed earlier and left with my husband. I lay down on the table, and the anaesthesiologist checked my hands to see which had the better veins. he told me what he was doing before he did each thing – inserting a cannula, injecting the medication. I didn’t have to count backwards or anything. the last thing I remember is thinking, I feel really dizzy but not sleepy at all what happens if I don’t fall asle- and then I was out.

there’s no sensation of time passing like there normally is when you sleep. you probably won’t remember any dreams. you’ll start to wake up in recovery – that’s where they take you after surgery but before returning you to your room/ward, to make sure you get extra monitoring as you come around. my memories of recovery are very hazy, which is normal, you normally wake up a bit and then drift off again a few times.

afterwards your throat will probably hurt a lot, because once you’re out they put a tube down to help with keeping your breathing stable. they should remove it before you wake up. the weirdest immediate after effect for me was I couldn’t tell when my bladder was full, so I had to consciously remember to go for a wee even though it didn’t feel like I needed to.

it’s pretty normal to be nervous of the anaesthetic, I know I was, and the surgical team are used to it. they should explain everything to you and tell you they’re happy to answer any questions you have.