Anesthesia Anxiety

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Modog

Hi Modog:  I've been under general three times in my life and found that my family members worry about it -- but not me.  AND I AM THE ULTIMATE WORRIER.

Modog,

What about anesthesia has you feeling so anxious? :>( You will be heavily asleep combined with high doses of pain drugs (often morphine) and your airway will be protected. Your heart and oxygen levels will be closely monitored. There is a Doc and quite often a nurse right beside you 100% of the time. Surgeons really depend on their partners to help keep things going safe and smooth. Menon is in my neck of the woods. I'll go kick him in the shin if he isn't nice to you :>)

Swim

Modog - Jeff has bad side affects from anesthesia so he was worried that he'd wake up sick to his stomach. he explained this to the anesthesiologist who took very good care of him. he felt fairly good when he woke up, considering he had a big incision in his lower abdomen. I had my gall bladder taken out in Jan and having never been put under, I was nervous about it. they put an IV in my hand, the doctor said you'll start feeling sleepy, the nurse said it's going to burn a little, then I woke up in recovery. it's a different kind of sleep and is over very quickly. you'll be fine!! kat

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Husband Jeff 56 years old diagnosed July 27, 2006
PSA 6.5, 2 positive areas in biopsy, Gleason 3+3=6
Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy August 30, 2006
pathology report - all clear - cancer gone
1st post-surgery PSA test <0.1, 2nd post-surgery PSA test <0.1, 3rd PSA <0.1
no more pads Oct 12, 2006
first "real" erection with use of pump 12/16/06
3/07 - occasional dribbles and erections with Cialis and pump

Modog,

Having never been in a hospital and never having been put to sleep I was a little concerned.  As my surgeon told me when I expressed my concern about the surgery that the mortality rate for this type of surgery is less then 0.5% and since I did not have any contributing issues he felt that it was zero in my case.  Despite all of this I have to say when they came in to give me the valium and told me that I needed to kiss my wife because I would not remember after the shot I did shed a tear.  When I woke up in recovery and realized where I was I was pumped up because I had no pain and felt extremely good.  The anxiety that I had about how I would feel was all for nothing.  I had no grogginess and felt like I had just woke up from a very restful sleep.  You will probably still worry some but hopefully all of our comments will help you deal with it better.

Tamu

I understand your anesthesia issues.

When you are in your pre-op interviews, ask to talk to an anesthesiologist and ask all your questions/issues. That should help relieve your anxiety.

Ed

I was also nervous about the anethesia, primarily because I have a very strong gag reflex and a friend mentioned remembering the tube being put down his throat before his surgery. I discussed this with the anesthesia nurse the day before the surgery and the anesthesiaologist the day of the surgery. Both assured me that I would be completely asleep before the tube was put down my throat.

Here is my memory of the last 60 minutes before I was completely asleep prior to surgery:

#1: about 60 minutes prior a nurse took me back to a curtained area, I changed into a hospital gown, and put on the pressure socks to help prevent blood clots. I signed some forms.

#2: about 45 minutes prior to surgery another nurse put the IV in. No meds yet.

#3: about 45 mintues prior, members of my family were allowed to come back and stay with me for about 30 minutes.

#4: about 15 minutes prior, the anesthesiaologist came back and confirmed that I have no anesthesia alergies and just chatted with me. I told him that I was concerned about gagging on the breathing tube. He assured me that I would be asleep when they put in the breathing tube. He was very reassuring. They started me on a mild IV sedative at about that time that made me very relaxed.

#5: about 5 minutes prior, they wheeled me into the operating room. I was pretty far out of it by then so I don't remember much other than seeing the room and some of the hospital staff.

#6: The next thing that I remember is waking up in the recovery room and being talked to by the recovery room nurses.

All in all, it was not big deal. Nothing to be worried about.

Good luck,
Ben

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DIAGNOSIS: 09/25/06. Age 49. PSA 4.6. PSA free 2%. Clinical pathology: Gleason 10. Stage T2a.           

You definitely need to discuss your concerns with your doctor. You will be well attended throughout surgery with people and resources who will respond to any needs that arise while you are out of it. As for the anesthesia itself, you really won't experience much or remember anything. Whatever they were giving me in the pre-op area had me thoroughly relaxed and very groggy so that in spite of my best efforts to stay awake, by the time they wheeled me into the surgery room, I was pretty much asleep. I remember waking up from the movement as they wheeled me in and someone said, "there's your robot" and I looked at the equipment and saw my doctor (everyone was wearing masks) who greeted me. From that point on, the effect of the anesthesia was that it seemed like a split second and I was waking up in recovery. I don't remember the actual administration of anesthesia. When I awoke, I had to ask whether the surgery had been performed because I thought I was still waiting for it. There was no sense of any time as having past since my last moment of consciousness. The bottom line is that your anxiety will be alleviated medically long before you actually get to the point of general anesthesia. It will be over quickly and you won't remember much of it.

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I had some anxiety about anesthesia. I had never had any before and had some slight fear of not waking up or having a heart attack during surgery, or something like that. Of course, the hospital has you sign something saying you realize you could die, though the chances are small. I also happened to hear stories on the radio of people that woke up during surgery - but this is rare.

Going under turned out to be easy. They gave me a shot of some sort, and after that, I don't remember anything, though I was told I was awake and silly for a few minutes. No nausea afterward, I just woke up in post op. Lot of gas after, but that's about it.

I think some fear is normal... but I suggest focusing on getting to the other side, and the statistics that tell us very, very, very few people have a severe problem during surgery.

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