Having my first general anaesthetic this week and I am nervous!!

[User20231]

As the title says… having my first ever operation this week and my first general anaesthetic. I do feel pretty nervous. Everybody who I’ve spoken to about it and who has it had before has said it happens really quickly and the next thing you wake up.

I’ve always worried that it would only half work and I’d be half asleep but could still feel. I know it sounds silly and I know the doctors are experts, but yes I am just nervous 😬

*hideous tights

I had no issues going in but had severe nausea coming out, to the point where the nurse had to inject anti-sickness medication to stop me throwing up.

It took around 2 days to feel myself again, very tired and really feeling rough.

Lots of liquids to flush the stuff out of your body and rest.

Please Donegal ‘t be worried. You will be fine

Please don’t be worried, you will be fine

Oh, it's lovely. I had it when I had my wisdom teeth out. 😁

They usually give anti sickness meds and painkillers along with the anaesthesia, so I’m sure you’ll be fine! I had my first GA last autumn ages 51 and it was totally fine! I just felt drowsy and v dehydrated after, no appetite but that’s all. If I can go through with it anyone can as it’s always been one of my biggest fears. Best of luck (not that you need it) 🥰🥰

Oh and as well as the crying and not sleeping well for a month afterwards, I had really bad constipation! Possibly due to all the meds I was on, or not being able to "go" in hospital.
I also had to inject myself in the stomach for a month to prevent blood clots, but got used to that very quickly, having initially thought there was no way I'd be able to do it.

One of my best memories of it is the lovely porter wrapping me in a heated blanket to wheel me from the admissions unit to theatre - it felt safe and comforting, like being a child again.

When I had my knee replacement, I was in for 3 days. I was on a PCA morphine drip, and didn't manage to "go" until the morning I left. Opiates always do that to me. I was lucky in that I had a community nurse come to the house to give my injections.

It all went well! Don’t remember going to sleep except the anaesthetic asking me how long I was going to be off work and then next thing I am waking up in the recovery area.

Do feel pretty drowsy now eating my sandwich, and spaced out!

Thanks for everyone sharing their experience with me!

Yaaaaaaaay well done! @User20231 glad it all went well

Yay! Well done you :) Did you 'enjoy' it?

Glad all went well. Just relax and enjoy resting and being looked after now.

Thank you all! @AlwaysTheGoodGirl they had trouble finding a vein at first and I didn’t get the “fighting off sleep feeling”. I just remember talking to the anaesthetist as he was putting the drugs in, can’t remember what I said and then next thing I am in recovery!

@User20231 Glad it all went well for you. It has reassured me for Saturday when I get mine!

Anaesthetists are amazing!

Lost count of how many I’ve had- but I think it’s a great feeling! The drug they give you beforehand is incredible. You are so relaxed that the building could be on fire and you wouldn’t give two shits 😆 Best sleeps I think I’ve ever had were under GA!

I’ve had a GA once. I don’t recall getting premeds - just lying down and the anaesthetist telling me to count backwards from ten. I got to seven and the next thing I knew, I was coming round in the recovery room. No dreams, it was just a blank.

I felt rubbish for at least a few days afterwards.

Did you "enjoy" the sleep? 😁

Aw glad it all went well 🙌🏼

@KatherineJaneway you’ll be absolutely fine! I was really worried about the whole going to sleep element and what if it didn’t work or took ages, but I don’t remember a thing except him asking me a question about work, thinking hmm is this going to work and next thing, I wake up in recovery. To be honest I don’t really remember much either about the recovery ward or when my consultant came to see me afterwards, it was all a bit of a blur.

You might be fine but I did feel very drowsy at first and had a strained voice as I had a breathing tube. I then felt very nauseous when I initially stood up but I was okay when I sat back down / lied down. My op was about an hour and a half.

@minou123 haha yes I think I did - I keep thinking about it and how you just don’t remember or feel anything!

Weirdly I still have this funny taste in my mouth. I guess it’s from the anaesthetic.

Meant to say as well @KatherineJaneway good luck with your op and let us know how you get on!

If you are having only a little op, you will love waking up from the GA - like waking up from the best nap you've ever had. Not to minimise experiences of people who've had more serious ops than me, but I only had a lap&hyst and the GA was actually a lovely experience at both ends, going under and waking up.

Anyone else struggle to sleep their first night after a GA? I thought I would be wiped out but in fact, sort of the opposite…

maybe it’s more thought with what op I had. It was on my ankle so I have to keep it elevated all night which obviously isn’t the most comfortable position! But yeah, a very poor nights sleep but I suppose I have all day to rest!

I bloody loved my GA. It’s such a weird experience - people working all over your body, sticking sensors in and getting the cannula on, working so quickly but with such care. I felt genuinely loved and looked after by these strangers. Then come the drugs, and oh boy what a feeling - absolutely smashed in an instant, talking nonsense, trying to focus on the clock but can’t, and then all of a second you’re somewhere else, talking nonsense to someone different. The big clue it was over for me was that I had a sore throat and felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. I cried a bit in recovery, but I remember saying ‘I’m totally fine I just really feel like crying’. Time in recovery was weird, felt like seconds but think it might have been a good 30 mins.

Then at home that evening I just felt strangely peaceful and relaxed. I did have some insomnia, and felt wiped out and moody a few days after. I was lucky that the procedure itself (removing a tricky coil) was no big deal, but I think I’d look forward to another GA, it’s a pretty strange but fun experience.