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.
In: 17
Don’t be embarrassed it’s normal to be scared. I can recommend you [this really good TED video](https://youtu.be/B_tTymvDWXk) that explains the process
An anaesthetic is a weird thing, I give them for a living (I’m an anaesthetic doctor) and have been doing this for 15 years.
It’s a scary thought to have no control about what is happening to you, so don’t beat yourself about having fears about the unknown.
Anaesthesia now is very safe, and to reassure you that you’re not awake and just don’t remember, we can monitor your brainwaves through the anaesthetic, and they are not the brainwaves of an awake person (it’s called BIS or entropy, if you want to read about it).
I won’t lie to you, there are cases of awareness under anaesthesia, but like someone else said, there are most common in very specific cases, eg, the critically unwell, as we have to be skimpy on the drugs we give, to ensure we don’t harm the patient (all our drugs can lower blood pressure, which is no issue in a normal person, but when you don’t have much blood pressure to start with, can cause issues).
To summarise an anaesthetic (as its pretty different to on tv, where the surgeon always seems to do it!). You have a dedicated anaesthesiologist, they have roughly $250k of monitoring equipment, called an anaesthetic machine. We monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level, breathing, carbon dioxide level. And a few other things if we feel fancy. We monitor your brain waves for level of consciousness, and see exactly how much anaesthetic you’re getting (if we’re using the anaesthetic gas once you’re asleep).
The department I work in runs about 35 operating theatres a day, so likely 200ish patients a day. In my 10 years in this department, we’ve not had a single case of awareness.
Good luck, talk to your surgeon when you see them, express your fears, and aim to talk to your Anaesthetist before the day of surgery.
don’t be embarrassed! i felt the same before my tonsillectomy a few years back. i got the IV and the closer we got to the actual act the more i started shaking and getting anxious. to the point people kept asking if i was cold. all i remember was looking up at the OR then nothing. i don’t even remember closing my eyes to sleep or needing the mask. then when i woke up, i was back in my room and a lady asked if i wanted ice cubes or a popsicle to suck on and that was that. so trust me i know how you feel but it’ll be okay! they most likely perform what surgery you need a lot so they know what they’re doing, same with the anesthesiologist
Some good advice here already, but want to reiterate from the patient side of things how it feels (for me anyway). I’ve had two ortho surgeries over the past six months, I got my tonsils out when I was 19, my wisdom teeth out shortly thereafter, and was once put under for an endoscopy. Every single time I have been put under anesthesia, I have been knocked the fuck out, pretty much instantly. In my experience, I haven’t even had time to feel anxious about it. Usually, the anesthesiologist will say something to the effect of “okay, you should start to feel a bit sleepy now,” or something to let you know they’ve started to administer the drugs. Once they asked me to count to ten. I literally barely heard them finish the sentence. I was out. It’s like falling asleep very hard and very quickly. The next thing I remembered was waking up. Eyes closed in the OR one second, eyes open in recovery the next second. There’s nothing in between, and it will be over so fast you won’t even have time to perceive it.
All this being said, be honest with your anesthesiologist about your fears. In all the procedures I’ve had, during prep when I’m lying in the hospital bed waiting to be taken into the OR, the anesthesiologist came in to talk to me. They want to make sure they have your weight right, that they know all the medications you’re taking, etc. This is your chance! Tell them that you are terrified. They will have heard it before and they will be able to explain to you exactly what is going to happen, which will hopefully have a calming effect. The best thing you can do for yourself is be honest with all of your providers about your concerns.
Also, based on some responses here, I want to clarify. No, your fears are not ridiculous, in that many people also have the same fear and anxiety. It’s common. Yes, your fears are ridiculous in that what you’re afraid of is SO unlikely to happen. (1 in 19,600 patients wake up during surgery, or .005% of all patients.) I only say this because I get anxious too, and when I say, “please tell me how dumb I’m being,” and someone’s response is, “no, you’re not being dumb at all!” I think, “see, I knew it, I knew there was something worth being afraid of.” Hopefully this makes sense.
Latest Answers