What To Expect When You're Put Under General Anesthesia For Surgery

If you need to have a major surgery, then you can expect to be put under general anesthesia prior to the procedure. General anesthesia renders you completely unconscious. You won't feel any pain or be aware of what is going on. Other than that, though, what can you expect from the experience of general anesthesia? Take a look.

The anesthesia will be administered by a specialist

There are doctors who specialize in administering anesthesia and observing patients while they are under anesthesia. They're known as anesthesiologists. Your surgeon will collaborate with one of them to provide you with the care you need. You will likely meet the anesthesiologist prior to your procedure. They may ask you a few questions about your health history and previous medication use, and they'll use that information to help specifically determine the doses of anesthetic medications you're given. You probably won't see the anesthesiologist again after you wake up.

You'll be intubated after you're unconscious

While you are under anesthesia, there will be a tube down your throat to ensure you get enough oxygen into your lungs during the procedure. But this won't be inserted until you are already asleep, and it will be removed before you wake up so you don't have to worry about the insertion and removal. If your throat is a little sore when you wake up from surgery, this is why.

You'll wake up slowly

After the surgery is complete, your anesthesiologist will slowly reduce the amount of anesthesia you're being given until you wake up. You'll slowly come to. At first, you may act confused or say things that don't really make any sense, but most people are quite aware and back to themselves within an hour or two of waking up. However, you'll probably be on a high dose of pain relievers, being that you just had surgery, so this may cause you to continue to feel loopy even once the anesthesia is out of your system.

You may have some nausea

The most common side effect of anesthesia is nausea. If you start feeling nauseous after waking up from surgery, let your nurse know. They can often give you anti-nausea medication to help combat this side effect.

Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what to expect from the process of undergoing general anesthesia for surgery. Talk to your surgeon if you have any additional concerns or questions about general surgical care

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