I have a majorly embarrassing fear of surgery. It is so irrational that I will put off procedures that I need. I’m afraid that when I’m under anesthesia that I could wake up, or I could have awareness/feel pain and not be able to communicate it to the surgical team. I’ve heard that they give you drugs so you don’t remember at all- my anxiety-ridden brain wonders if we are all suffering during the procedure and we just forget upon waking. I understand that quite a few folks will require surgery during their lifetime. I have had IV sedation during procedures, and despite having no problems, I am utterly terrified. Please tell me about how ridiculous I am being.
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Not a medical professional, but I’ve been responsible for older folks for enough surgeries. Basically there are 2 forms of anaesthesia:
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1. **Local or spinal anaesthesia** – basically they pump some drugs into the spot being operated if it’s a very specific spot, or around your spine above the area (this is especially used for lower abdomen or lower limb surgeries). You can stay awake, but you lose all sensation in the area, or below that part of your spine. Sensation returns slowly, so it’s not likely it’ll “run-out” and leave you feeling everything that’s going on there mid-operation. Usually sensation comes back a few hours to a day after the operation.
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2. **General anaesthesia** – this is where they put you under. It’s more risky and needs to be carefully monitored, but the risk doctors talk about isn’t you feeling pain or waking up, rather it’s the other way round, that you might go too far under. It’s like a dreamless sleep. You’ll be nowhere close to waking up, so there’s no chance of you feeling any part of what’s going on.
To be the best of my knowledge hospitals in most parts of the world require separate consent for general anaesthesia, so you can just ask them regarding the details at that time.
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