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General anaesthetic

  • Thread starter Thread starter AnnieC
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AnnieC

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I have to go for a small day surgery procedure and endoscopy on Thursday for which I will be put out with a general anaesthetic bit worried as never had one before...never had anything to do with hospital before so I am really nervous about it. I have gone all my life now 75 without having any illnesses or operations apart from having to take blood pressure tablets the last few years but then most elderly people do. Not even been to an out patients clinic until now so feeling really overwhelmed by it .I went for the pre op checks last Friday and everything was ok ECG normal even my blood pressure was good even though I was really stressed, Has anyone here had a general and what can I expect when I come round how will I feel and how long does it take to get it out of the system
 
You may feel a little queasy after coming round from the anaesthetic but the effects are gone after a couple of hours, tbh when they administer the drugs you are knocked out like a light, last time I had one they said to count to 10 and I got to 3.

Try not to worry Annie as you'll be in safe hands, good luck and hope all goes well.
 
Yes Annie. I have had a general anaesthetic 5 times. I was diabetic with the last 2. Hospitals can be very overwhelming. Will there be anyone there with you? It's really helpful to have someone else find the way etc. if you are really nervous. As noblehead said, don't worry it's fine really. I have had 3 day procedures and although they said I could drive after 24 hours I still felt a bit light headed for a few days, so didn't drive until the 4th day after each one. It's OK, you may just feel a little weak and tired, but I always do if I'm sitting around in hospital all day anyway.

Is this Thursday 4th that you're due to go in? I'll be thinking of you.
 
Hi there I'm a theatre sister and will happily answer any questions.
Its very frightening I know before a first general. But the drugs we use today are so gentle. If you are very anxious your aneasthetist will prescribe what we call a pre med to be given an hour or so before you go down to theatre suite. When you wake up a recovery team will be with you and care for you really well. With these newer induction drugs very few people wake up nauseous
Good luck.
 
I've had a few and never had any trouble at all. They will insist someone is there to take you home and be with you for the next few hours. Last day procedure I had with a general my husband was waiting in the general waiting room along the corridor from my day ward. I wasn't even allowed to walk down to find him. The nurse went to get him for me so she could see I had someone. As soon as you have had a rest, a cuppa and a piece of toast, and your temperature and BP are OK they should let you go. It really is nothing to worry about.

As Noblehead said, the anaesthetist will ask you a question, or to count to 10, but you never get there, and next thing you know you are out of theatre with a nurse staring at you and smiling. Once, when I woke up, I looked round and asked when I was going to be done! I didn't even know it was all over and done with!

Good luck Annie
 
I forgot to add, they took my blood glucose by finger prick before I was taken down to theatre. I think they do this with diabetics to make sure all is well.
 
I went for years not having any 'medical intervention' but just to say I have had two GA's and two endoscopies, one GA was fine and both endoscopies, very good afterwards, so no problems and good after care as well :) After I came round from 2nd endoscopy and got dressed, the nurse brought in tea and biscuits and we were chatting about perfumes because she liked what I was wearing and wanted to buy some, so very caring and friendly, which is a big plus.

Good luck :)

RRB
 
Hi Annie , all will be fine , it is awful to feel so scarred though , I am phobic about all hospital procedures , but always end up feeling brave , we do get our strength from somewhere ....the team will look after you , and tell the staff how you feel , it will all help ...good luck with everythung , let us know how you get on :)
I did take some coconut water and a banana with me last year following surgery ....they were easy to digest ...with a dry mouth ...you can ask,for Ice cream if they have some , but you might be given ice made into lollies to suck on...
You will be home before you know it ...can't afford to keep you there long ;)
Idea ...if you have a couple of meal options ready for you and your husband for a couple of days , so you can have a little rest ..., it will save you worrying about what to eat ...tc kat x
 
zand said:
Yes Annie. I have had a general anaesthetic 5 times. I was diabetic with the last 2. Hospitals can be very overwhelming. Will there be anyone there with you? It's really helpful to have someone else find the way etc. if you are really nervous. As noblehead said, don't worry it's fine really. I have had 3 day procedures and although they said I could drive after 24 hours I still felt a bit light headed for a few days, so didn't drive until the 4th day after each one. It's OK, you may just feel a little weak and tired, but I always do if I'm sitting around in hospital all day anyway.

Is this Thursday 4th that you're due to go in? I'll be thinking of you.
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Thanks Zand yes it is this Thursday and my daughter will be going with me
 
i,ve had a few operations with generals
my last operation 5 years ago, when i was back on the ward, i was walking about straight away and home 3 hours later
 
Thanks everyone I am sure I will be fine it is just the fear of the unknown I think, I know I will be well looked after at the hospital and at home.
 
No idea how it works where you are but here in Ontario, Canada most surgeries that are dun with a diabetic mean you tend to get an early surgery time, my last surgery they had me in at 7am (had to be there by 6am) - now i'm NOT your typical person for medical because of other medical issues and biochemistry. For me I woke up within a few moments of the sleep agent being withdrawn and was fully back to awareness without being sleepy by time I was wheeled into recovery (last surgery was a hysterectomy).

I they took my glucose reading when I checked in and once I was gowned they had me on a very slow drip designed to keep my levels up without them hitting the roof or tanking (the stuff kept my number around 6 to 7 which for the hospital was a safe level for what was being dun). Last surgery they actually applied a CGM (continues glucose monitoring system) before surgery to keep track of my levels during the op (was told because of the length of time I needed to be under they needed as an accurate reading as possible to make corrections as necessary). Woke up and saw the graph of my numbers during the op, was interesting started at 5 at admittance, then was at 5.5 when the cgm was applied around the middle of the op I hit 7 then tanked to 4.5 shortly there after, correction was given and i rocketed to 10 then dropped to 6 which is about where I woke up at.

My mom had major surgery a couple months before she passed (she was 86) she went though it without issue, but she wasn't put under because to do so would have killed her, but she was put as close to under as they could and what ever else it was they used to freeze the area so it wasn't hurting her to much (she had to have her g-tube replaced, which means the old one hand to be removed and a new one put into her tummy). She was home by the end of the day and fully aware of everything going on around her, in recovery she was fine took her the standard hour to get back to fully functional but nothing out of the ordinary. All her surgeries where dun between the 8 and 10 am mark which is about standard here for most diabetics having surgery in hospital.
 
I don't think being diabetic makes a lot of difference to surgery time here. I was last on the list for my last day surgery and was the only diabetic.
 
Too many ops and investigations under local and general as a diabetic. The only full anaesthetic that I was ill on was my hysterectomy. When I came round I told nurse I was going to be sick, she said "no you won't be sick, you're just queasy. I puked up yellow stuff all over her. Never had the same trouble again, and had full anaesthetic's.

Must say that every op I have had as a diabetic I have been treated exceptionally well.
 
Great advice from everyone. I've had a few general anaesthetics too but only one (June this year) as a type 1. I was well looked after, monitored and bgs around 8 the whole time. Came round quickly and discharged fairly quickly. All the best on Thurs @AnnieC .
 
AnnieC said:
Thanks everyone I am sure I will be fine it is just the fear of the unknown I think, I know I will be well looked after at the hospital and at home.
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Good today Annie and all the best.

RRB :)
 
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