Anaesthesia

[themalteser]

I recently had a colonoscopy and for the first time I had a sedation. I felt this instant relief from anxiety; it was actually quite nice. However, I felt quite dizzy after for the whole day!

Please, can you share how you felt after anaesthesia? Did you know you had a major surgery? Were you relaxed or anxious?

Also, when the doctor gave you anaesthesia did you feel yourself “go” or no clue?

Thank you, and I look forward to your responses.

 

[Keithl]

So for colonoscopies I have had propofol and that is nice, I can appreciate the appeal it had for Michael Jackson. Great rest and you come out of it relaxed and easily. So it depends on what they gave you. After my OHS I was nauseous for the rest of that day and night. I threw up 3 times. Opening my eyes and moving my head felt like the room was spinning. Not sure what they used, but horrible waking up. Someone on these forums has bad reactions and talked to the the anesthesiologist and there is something they can do to minimize the after effects.

 

[pellicle]

myself I've not had anxiety but I have had a few colon exams ... I never felt relaxed about the probes

as to how I felt after anasthesia, it was groggy, took time go get my head together (like a slow reboot of processes)

maybe it gave you a chance to relax from this:
https://news.psu.edu/story/588426/2...y-strategically-choose-worrying-over-relaxing

 

[themalteser]

Hi @Keithl. I didn't have propofol, but they gave me Midazolam instead. It was relaxing, but yes, it did make me dizzy after. Do doctors give anything to help with nausea and dizziness after anaesthesia?

@pellicle Haha, no I didn't like the thought of the probes also, I have been rescheduling over and over again since last February as I did not want to do the exam! however, Midazolam helped me feel ok.

Thank you for sharing the article. It is excellent research as it may help with finding an alternative treatment for people like me. It happens to me when I try to relax; I usually get more anxiety/worries. Perhaps it is strategic, in that I choose to worry. Staying in this state, I suppose it would keep me 'prepared' for untoward situations.

One of the problems is that I do not know how to 'switch-off'. Maybe having surgery would help, but something that has stuck in my mind is what my Cardiologist said. He told me that after surgery, there would be different anxieties/worries. Bit crappy what he said to an anxious man I suppose, but what he is trying to say is that the fix is not surgery, but it's in my mind, something that I need to work on now.

 

[johninsd]

I've had multiple colonoscopies starting about 22 years ago - I needed multiples as the first one found so many polyps that the only cure was surgical removal of the colon with ileo-rectal anastomosis (look that up if you're curious I won't get into details here). The first few times they used fentanyl and I rather enjoyed it for a few seconds before going out. Lately they've been using propofol and there is no transition - just go from awake to waking up with no in between. I must say I prefer the fentanyl. When I had my OHS almost 5 years ago I believe fentanyl was involved (I'm something of a conossieur now). Waking up from anesthesia is as pellicle said above something of a reboot process - nothing to be anxious about, just takes a little longer than awakening from normal sleep. It does take a few days to get fully over the grogginess but it's no big deal. I wouldn't recommend flying your Learjet right away but just do what you feel up to otherwise.

 

[LondonAndy]

I have had anaesthesia only for my OHS I think, though had something when they did the pacemaker a week later but it was something different apparently. I don't remember being given it, and a nurse said that there is an element of retrospective memory loss, for want of a better way of putting it - nothing to be anxious about, I just don't remember anything after I arrived into the anteroom outside the operating theatre.

Afterwards, when I woke from the surgery I was obviously on one of those trolley bed things in intensive care, beside a window with the sun streaming in. My first thought was "well this is a nice hotel", and then I moved my head a little and became aware of the tube in my throat. No discomfort, no anxiety, just laid there a minute or two longer until they came and started to remove it.

A few days later I had colour spots in my vision, and was told that was a side-effect of the anaesthetic that some people experience. It cleared a day or two later.

 

[Duffey]

They can give you antii-nausea med in your IV. They always ask me before procedure/surgeries if I’ve had any problems and when I say, vomiting-dry heaves, they take care of it. The GI docs use a combination of versed/fentanyl for colonoscopies here locally. You must have a driver in order to undergo the procedure and you are warned to not drive for 24 hours.

 

[Keithl]

They gave me some meds and then some sort of patch the first 2 days. The patch was put on the side of my neck. Can’t say it worked or not as I was fairly still. I was not throwing up after first day, they also switched me from fentanyl to some other opioid as they say fentanyl causes nausea.

 

[epstns]

For my first cath, I had a mix of fentanyl and versed. Easy in, easy out. No real transition feelings. Just a bit "slow" after for a couple of hours. For the second cath, and pacemaker replacement, colonoscopy, etc., I had propofol. With that one, I felt the "wobbly" bit as I went out, but awoke easily, with no nausea. Just took a bit longer to re-boot.

 

[rich01]

You can ask for the minimum anesthetic. They should be able to increase the amount if you start feeling more pain than you can/want to handle.