Waking up During General Anesthesia

[Kris67]

I had a dental implant placed yesterday under general anesthesia, kind of. The first attempt for an IV seemed to go well and they started with a medication to relax me before putting me under. I remember it beginning to take effect so I thought they had a good line but then I woke up shortly after he began the procedure, the surgeon said my vein had collapsed so he tried to start another one in a different area but that vein burst. He asked me if I wanted him to keep trying more veins or remain awake for the rest of the procedure so I opted to remain awake knowing it might take a lot of time to try to get a good vein. Thank goodness he had done the local injections before i woke up so I didn't feel any pain. I am not afraid of pain, I have PTSD which is why I have avoided the dentist my entire life until Nov of last year when I had no choice but to get a damaged tooth extracted because of all the infections I had over the last few years from it. Same thing happened back in Nov when I had a dentist/anesthesiologist do the extraction; first IV seemed to be fine but the vein collapsed after I went to sleep, he realized it and placed it somewhere else without me waking up.

So now I am really scared if I need to have future surgeries under general anesthesia, how does this happen twice within 4 months by 2 different extremely good doctors? I am not sure that doctors usually give a local injection when using general anesthesia, I am so fortunate that this surgeon did because he had already made the incision so i would have woken up in horrible pain if he had not! I was awake for the scariest part (for me) using the first and second drills to make the hole, screwing in the post, xray, placing a the healing cap then the sutures...I remember it all. It makes me scared that i can't even depend on general anesthesia so what do I do if I have to have surgery in the future? Has anyone else had a similar experience with general anesthesia and veins that collapse?

 

[Mugz]

I'm so sorry to hear about your very scary and totally nerve wracking experience. I have to say how incredibly brave I think you are for going through with everything despite this huge complication, especially for someone with PTSD and being completely aware and able to remember it all like you were.

While I have not had veins blown from anesthesia, I have from other medications IV infused on several occasions and I remember them telling me it often has to do with the makeup of the medicine - some is harder on your veins than others. Also rate of infusion too I think they said and if you've been getting medication via iV (like medical treatments) frequently. With regard to general anesthesia, I do know from experiences other than dental that you may go to sleep with medicine in your IV but are KEPT asleep with a mixture of gasses and meds once you are intubated (with tube down your throat) so it isn't always only one way. Maybe that's done for dental too, not sure.

Hope you have a smooth recovery - you certainly earned one!!!

 

[Kris67]

Thanks for the support Mugz! I also had a fear of waking up during surgery; I can't believe it happened. The surgeon handled it very well and gave me the choice to keep trying more veins or continue awake. I was proud of myself that day for choosing to remain awake, and kind of toughen myself up for future visits, but the whole experience of waking up when I shouldn't have has left me more unsettled each day. It's triggering old PTSD stuff a little and now I am not sure how well I will handle going back to finish the implant process where I will be awake. I am very comfortable with both the oral surgeon and the dentist and I completely trust them, it goes back to horrible memories as a child that get triggered by certain kinds of medical work and exams

I wasn't asleep for very long but fortunately the meds that did get into my system helped me remain calm after I woke up. I had nitrous oxide throughout, but that did nothing for me, and I remember him telling the nurse I had x amount of Fentanyl and x amount of Versed after everything was done...I guess it was enough to help keep me from freaking out there on the spot. He didn't charge me for the IV meds because it didn't work out as planned so that was nice of him and saved me at least $350. I would rather pay out of pocket for GA than experience PTSD symptoms but I should be fine after some more time.