Feeling so embarrassed after anaesthesia. Please tell me this has happened to others?

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A week ago, I had a surgery. I was extremely nervous before being put to sleep.

When I came round, I was in a lot of pain but my throat was so dry I couldn’t say “hey, I’m in pain” , so I just started whining “ouch “ “ouch “.

Then I kept taking off the oxygen mask because it was annoying me. I also asked multiple times where my car was and had to be reminded I was in hospital at least twice. I also kept waving to thin air. The nurse was nice enough but I could tell I wasn’t her favourite patient 😳.

Now I remember it, I’m so embarrassed and feel like I was probably a real pain in the arse. Coincidentally, I had to be kept in post op because I was groggier and woozier than expected.

Reassure me please!

@Cerealkillerontheloose DD was only just 12 at the time! It was an emergency appendectomy and pain control was poor across the whole bank holiday weekend on which it happened. She is a red-head and had worries about GA and being conscious. Her anaesthetist was incredible with her, didn’t challenge or minimise her fears, addressed them and talked to her like an adult not a baby.

When I was having DD I reacted so badly to the pethidine. DD was in a weird position in the birth canal and some doctors came in doing rounds, the doctor leading the rounds asked if one of the student doctors could have a feel. I apparently agreed, waited until this poor student doctor had his hand in my birth canal before belting out a rendition of Three Blind Mice and then inviting the other student doctors to have a feel, and if they knew any other staff who wanted to feel, they could come by too.

I was just sitting here smugly after my surgery 2 weeks ago thinking that I absolutely didn’t do anything silly. But I don’t actually remember being in recovery except opening my eyes a couple of times… I wonder 😳

Sadly I have no stories like this, as I seem to wake up calm and collected after GAs (I've had easily over ten of them now, I've lost count) - maybe because I'm hyper mobile???
Anyhow, XH brought DC2 to see me the day I'd had a hysterectomy and another prolapse repair. I was on morphine at the time, but despite this, thought I was totally cognisant. DC announced to me, 'mum, you sound like you're drunk!' Me: 'do I???'

I told the recovery nurse that Freddie Mercury stole my wedding dress. In 2010. When he was already dead.

Not general anaesthesia, but post birth and after god knows what drugs, I said some….interesting things. OH has never revealed exactly what I said and I’m not sure I want to know. I do know I forgot what I’d named the baby and apparently I looked horrified when said baby was briefly (I was quite poorly) handed to me 👀🤣 (I adored her from the minute I properly met her though!)

(and I’m sure the midwives and recovery room nurses have heard it all before)

I often feel weepy / sad coming round from a GA.
One time I just felt really alone, so asked the nurse to "hold hand" and she did hold my hand for a little bit, but not long enough - poor woman was probably too busy. I also vaguely recall asking if she was a Christian (she said she was!)
Another time I said "can I see my husband now?" and the nurse said "is he waiting for you?" and I said "no!" and burst into tears (he was home looking after the children).
The last op I had, I was being checked over by the anaesthetist afterwards, and after checking all was fine, he said, "you can go home soon and enjoy a nice gin and tonic". At this point I remembered, as he was putting me under he had asked me what my favourite drink was and I had said "mmmmmm! Giiiinnn and tooniiiiiiiic!!!" in a dreamy voice. Hilarious.
My DS is going to have to have anaesthetic for dental work soon. I do hope he does something funny when coming round.

@WedRine, that reminds me of my second birth..... Totally with it, but I'd torn along the episiotomy scar from my first. My midwife told me she was going to get another midwife who was more experienced with stitching. Later on, I was asked if another midwife could come in and observe. I was knackered and completely unbothered, so said 'help yourself, everyone's seen it all anyway'. I suspect the pethidine had a bigger effect on me than I thought!
(I can clearly remember it all though, including the box that was placed under where they removed the end of my bed and put my feet into stirrups while they were stitching - it looked like a butcher's shop.)

I had a GA yesterday and as far as I'm aware I just came round and asked what time it was. They were quite surprised I could feel my toes and wiggle them very quickly. It was fentanyl I got though.

My 15 year old DS, who was training to for a black belt in karate, thought the recovery nurse was his sparring partner.
Took 3 nurses to hold him down to so they could administer some calm down drugs.

Before my first GA I was unimpressed by the surgeon- she was later investigated for other operations - and remember thinking I was a snake and, after falling off the trolley, trying to wriggle my way to freedom. I’m not brilliantly sure what else I did, as DH wouldn’t tell me, but he was very anxious before my second GA, and talked at length to the anaesthetist. The second anaesthetist was obviously so good that I treated him to a full disquisition on the plot and merits of Game of Thrones. I don’t even like Game of Thrones.

When I was 15 I had GA for a procedure and when I came round I got really aggressive at a nurse, told the doctor his arms were disgustingly hairy and told my mother I was pregnant(I was a virgin) 🥹
Wouldn't stress about it they see this shit allllllllll the time!

Shall we be charitable and assume that the only reason for posting something like this on what is otherwise such and entertaining and supportive thread is that nolamesallowed is currently just coming around from a GA

I kept tearfully asking for my physiotherapist to the point where someone eventually humoured me and called up to the physio dept and asked him to pop down.

On seeing him I cheered up a bit, asked after his dog and told him very exasperatedly that he shouldn't have parked there but that if he pumped his tyres right up, the car would probably float long enough to tow it out of the car park.

I have no idea what they gave me but they should be selling it.

The same thing happened with my daughter when she was 4- took nearly an hour to calm her. She tore her gown off and threw herself about violently- they stuck us in a tiny room and left me to it. It's a sensitivity to the sedation that some people have. (My partner's cousin is the same, apparently.)

Made sure they knew for the next time!

The only time I have ever had a general, I woke up to find a lovely nurse standing by the bed with a cup of tea and a plate of marmite toast. I was astonished and grateful and did the whole 'oh my goodness, my favourite, how did you know? Etc etc' and she told me that I had been bellowing 'TOAST! TOAST! MARMITE TOAST!' for about ten minutes 😳

As a child, I screamed so hard after my tonsillectomy that they had to sedate me. When I woke up later I was, unsurprisingly, in quite a lot of pain.

As an adult, I cried, asked for my mummy and vomited.

I'm cringing as I type this but I am an absolute nut job with anaesthetic.

Once I woke up after an op and was fully convinced that I was dead.

I started crying "why did ye kill me? Who fucked up? This is real bad, someone fucked up. I am too young to die.

Then screamed - FIX ME, SAVE ME BEFORE I'M FULLY GONE. NOW - THIS IS URGENT. SOMEONE NEEDS TO SHOCK ME BACK TO LIFE FFS!"

Mortified.

''Shock me back to life'' oh that's a good one!!

Even though they hear it every day, I'm sure that one went down in a book.

I went out screaming, because the anaesthetic stand like a fucker and my hand was in agony. I wondered why the theatre nurse was gripping my wrist so damn hard!

Seriously don't worry! I've worked in sedation and a guy kept saying he wanted to "slap some ass"
I had a gynae operation in 2020 and when I was coming around it was really painful, I was shouting out that my fanny hurt and nearly puking. I'm usually a really calm person with a high pain threshold, bet the nurses thought i was so dramatic.

Anaesthetic can do strange things to people.
I trained as an ODP, as on recovery placements saw the whole range of behaviours from people coming round. It is not uncommon to feel tearful and depressed, but some people say odd things or do stuff like insist they can go home that moment (chap did sit ups in his bed to prove that point... he was not young, and I am not sure he would have attempted them normally!).
More often than not, was people asking if the op had even taken place as time goes in a blink of an eye when you have a GA.

We haven’t had such a hilarious thread in ages. What is it with anaesthetics that makes everyone so loving? At least when not aggressive:) So many declarations of love.

'TOAST! TOAST! MARMITE TOAST!' for about ten minutes

that is brilliant !

I had a sedation last year , I was teetering on the brink of "Ouch that stings" and "Sod it , I'm just going to go under"

They said I was chattering and answering questions , I was thinking "No you''re fibbing I was well gone!"
What did I actally SAY ?