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Scared of General Anesthesia - PLEASE HELP!

J

Jessa

Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2010
Messages
21
I'm 16 and will going under general anesthesia to get my 4 wisdom teeth pulled. I've never had surgery or general anesthesia before and I'm really SCARED of the whole procedure and post-op/recovery.

My main fear is that I don't know the oral surgeon that well (only seen him twice), and I haven't even met the anesthesiologist or other staff that will be working on me during my surgery. I'll be completely at their "mercy" for the time that I'm out. Of course, my Mom will be there too but I won't have any say till I wake up.

I know alot of people go through this every year but I'm still nervous about all of this. Will I be breathing on my own? Will the anesthesiologist stay with me during the entire surgery? When will my Mom be able to join me after the surgery? How long will it take for him to pull all 4 teeth AND put in a TAD(temporary anchorage device) to work with my braces? How does the whole procedure go step-by-step? I read online that GA can make you nauseous or throw-up which I absolutely hate doing! If you follow the rules and fast before the surgery I know it won't be as likely to happen but I'm still worried that I might feel faint from not eating. So when can I start eating again after surgery? I know that's a lot of questions but I really want to know!

Please help me! Thanks in advance!
 
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Hi,

It was a very long time ago, but when I was a child, I had general anesthesia and I didn't notice a thing. I was talking to the doctor, then woke up with my mum sitting next to me. I was unconscious immediately- you won't feel yourself slowly losing consciousness.

After that, I slept longer than most children, but after waking up, I felt fine and was given breakfast.

Sorry, if that isn't much detail for you, but it was just so normal, that there's not much detail I can give.

I wouldn't mind having GA again. It's nice lying in a hospital bed being waited on!
 
Hi Jessa,
I was exactly your age the first time I had GA too, and I had it again about 6 weeks ago. I worried about all the things you're worrying about, but my fears were totally unfounded. The only things you do have to make sure of is that you don't eat or drink anything for as many hours before surgery as they tell you not to - you can't have anything in your stomach or you very well MIGHT throw up - and they sure don't need you doing that while you're under anaesthetic. For me, that was the hardest part - they told me no food for 6 hours, and I was scheduled to have surgery at midday. Not being an early riser (6 am breakfast? yuk!) I hadn't eaten since the previous night, and didn't get into surgery until 3.30pm, so my tummy was rumbling!

It's very rare for people to feel nauseous after surgery, usually you wake up feeling like you've had a good night's sleep, and then most people go home and go right back to sleep again, lol.

The anaesthesist will be with you EVERY step of the way, monitoring your blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, etc. That's their job and they are experts in it. I'm 61 now and I had to have 9 teeth out, and because I have low blood pressure I kept worrying about things like "what if my blood pressure falls too low during surgery, what will they do, bring me out while the dentist is still pulling teeth, eeek?" but of course none of that happened, I just felt a little prick in the back of my hand and opened my eyes and it was 45 minutes later and I was in recovery. I was STARVING, and the nurse brought me a bowl of jelly and ice cream. I devoured it in seconds, but I REALLY wanted a roast lamb dinner with gravy, and apple pie for dessert, lol.
 
i had oral surgery under G.A yesterday,like you i had no idea who the surgeon was or anything,but they do come and see you on the ward before you go to theatre to discuss what they are going to do.My surgeon was a woman from the maxillofacial dept, and she said my teeth were quite simple to remove and would take around a minute each to extract,after she had spoken to me the anaesthetist came and had a chat with me making sure i had no allergies etc.


yes the anaesthetist will be with you the whole time hunni,as they top up and reduce the anaesthesia as required i remember a nurse attaching me to various monitors stuck a blood pressure monitor on me and some pads at the top of my chest etc
id asked for cream on my hands(what they give kids b4 needles lol)as i hate needles and will punch anyone who comes near me with one hehehe,i didnt even feel the cannula going in as he was tapping the back of my hand and making me clench my hand intermittantly and the tapping kinda made my hand feel numb,i seen him with a syringe of white liquid and he said everything ok he injected it and after about 2seconds everything just blurred out and i was in the land of nod hahaha

i was convinced something would go wrong and i wasnt gonna wake up but im told its a common fear.

i dont think i was in the theatre for long although my bf said i was gone about hr and half but i was sat w8ing round in there as the person b4 me had took longer than expected and they had ran out of trolleys lol,im sure it was around 3pm i went down half hr w8,and when i woke up in recovery i seen the clock and i think i made out it said 3.45 so i really wasnt in that long.
As for the sickness feeling,some people can feel sick and others feel great.

i initally felt as if i wanted to yak but never did,i just wanted to sleep,im sure your mum will be able to wait in recovery for you,i did see a guy w8ing in the theatre lounge and his gf hugging him as he was taken thru
im in uk so i dont know if other places have different rules.

but believe me you will be fine and then wonder afterwards what all your worrying was about,the worry for me was the worst part,and in those few minutes it will all be over

good luck x
 
I had a GA for some minor (non dental) surgery a while ago.

Yes - you can't eat for six hours before hand, this is essential. Everyone will be with you every second of the procedure, constantly monitoring and watching you. You are in safe hands.

As for the actual anasthetic, well its a tiny scratch in the back of the hand nothing to worry about, hardly felt it. I was given oxygen to breath and in goes the first drug - feel a bit wierd, but its not unpleasent (bit like being a little drunk), in goes second white milky drug, before the syringe is half empty - I'm instantly awake in the recovery room. No 'sinking' feelings or anything like that. Two hours instantly vanished and I was finished without a care in the world. They could have sawn my leg off and I wouldnt have cared! LOL!! I had to go home and have a sleep for the rest of the day as it did wipe me out.

But it was really cool and have no worries again about GA.

Relax, don't panic. Everything's going to be fine.

:)
 
The white drug is Propofol I think.


Dave.:hidesbehindsofa:
 
Hey Jessa!

I had GA TODAY, to cut out four yucky wisdom teeth. I am 30. I think in a lot of ways I'd rather have done this at 16. The older you get, the harder it is to deal with! Especially the anxiety part. :)

If you are freaked out about the oral surgeon, I think you should talk to him, tell him of your fears, ask all the questions you want and get comfortable with him. Of course it's also a lot easier to just get in there, get it done and get out. Sharing your questions here is always helpful too!

Being completely at someone's mercy is never fun, but we're talking about a trained, seasoned professional here. I looked up the stats at my oral surgeon's office. He's had a 30 year long career, and they see up to FIFTY PATIENTS a day! If I am going to want to be at someone's mercy, it's definitely in that situation for sure - with a qualified pro :)


Will I be breathing on my own?

You breathe on your own. They put a little tube in your nose to help give you a little oxygen. This calmed me immensely, actually. And it was only in there maybe like, 10 seconds before I was out.

Will the anesthesiologist stay with me during the entire surgery?

My anesthesiologist was also my oral surgeon. He was there the whole time. :)

When will my Mom be able to join me after the surgery?
They sent my boyfriend right back to me immediately.

How long will it take for him to pull all 4 teeth AND put in a TAD(temporary anchorage device) to work with my braces?
I didn't need a TAD, but my surgery took 40 minutes. For all I know, I could have been asleep 40 seconds.

How does the whole procedure go step-by-step?
I am about to post a success story in the Success forum that has all my details.

I read online that GA can make you nauseous or throw-up which I absolutely hate doing! If you follow the rules and fast before the surgery I know it won't be as likely to happen but I'm still worried that I might feel faint from not eating. So when can I start eating again after surgery? I know that's a lot of questions but I really want to know!

Not a lot of questions at all. I was freaked out about this beforehand, too. Then they told me that part of what they use to put you under is a cocktail of drugs, one of which is an anti-nausea medication. So throwing up happens mostly when a person gets up too fast or tries to move around after. I was actually dancing after the anesthesia because music was playing in the office, and tried to get out of the chair. They put me right back down. LOL. Trust me, they don't let you out of their sights.

I hated not eating, but I got a big huge frosty and all the good, soft food i wanted today right after the procedure. I thought I would be starving and miserable, but I'm really excited. I have eaten a ton of comfort foods i missed when I spent the last week anxious about the procedure. :)

If you need to PM me, let me know! I had two simple extractions on the top, two partial bony impactions on the bottom. No stitches, no pain AT ALL yet (it's still day 1). I am taking Vicodin and ANSAID for pain and inflammation around the clock. The bleeding wasn't too gross, and I actually have only slept incrementally throughout the day today, and have been back to normal activities. You will be, too. :)
 
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A week ago I just had mine pulled at the age of 43 with the IV sedation (same as GA? I am not sure on this).

It went just fine and I'm sure you will do just fine too. The worst part was the numbness that took about 12 hours to fully resolve, and that was just more weird than scary.
 
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