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Don’t be scared of waking up under anesthesia, says nurse anesthetist
Waking up while under anesthesia is a huge fear for many people, but a nurse anesthetist has shared a message to settle everyone’s minds.
She explained that anesthesia is composed of several drugs, gasses and techniques that all work together to keep you comfortably unaware of your surroundings.
Don’t be scared of waking up under anesthesia
“To fully wake up under anesthesia while surgery was going on would mean full-blown negligence,” Olivia Reeves said on TikTok.
She explained that the type of anesthetic you are given depends on each individual surgery and case. Some require a very low dose where you “come in and out” of consciousness, but that would be done on purpose for a specific reason.
However, in most cases, you are given general anesthesia which is designed to keep you in a state of controlled unconsciousness so you are completely unaware of the surgery and do not move or feel pain while it is carried out.
During general anesthesia, you have tubes down your throat and are given paralytics so that you don’t move. Waking up is unlikely, but even if something did go wrong with the anesthetic, you would never fully wake up straight away.
“Even in the worst case scenario if my machine cut off, everything cut off and all of a sudden all the drugs from my cart that I’m choosing to give you just suddenly evaporate and disappear, you’re not gonna all of a sudden just wake up from anesthesia,” she revealed.
Waking up is a “gradual” process and loads of things would happen before you wake up to show the doctor something is wrong. Your heart rate and blood pressure would skyrocket and machines would start beeping loudly to show that you were in the first stages of consciousness.
“Your body would respond to surgical stimulation (slowly begin to show signs of discomfort) long before your mind is aware that it is in discomfort, pain or stimulation,” she said.
At this point, the anesthetist would be aware that the medication is starting to wear off and would give you more to send you back to sleep. So, when we talk about waking up from anesthesia, it doesn’t mean you are suddenly alert and fully conscious.
How many people wake up while under anesthesia?
In one or two of every 1,000 medical procedures involving general anesthesia, a patient may become aware, the American Society of Anesthesiologists reveals. This is known as anesthesia awareness, when the patient can recall their surroundings while under general anesthesia.
That sounds like quite a high number, but it’s important to remember that patients do not usually feel pain during anesthesia awareness. Although it can be upsetting, the body remains numb so you can’t feel anything or move, your mind simply starts to wake up.
You may be somewhat familiar with what is going on if you do happen to ‘wake up’ in the middle of a surgery which can feel traumatic, but it’s not a case of suddenly becoming fully conscious without anyone realizing. That would be extremely rare and serious.
Most people will experience no side effects while under anesthesia and will wake up unaware of what went on. Common side effects after the surgery include feeling sick, shivering, confusion, memory loss, dizziness, bladder problems, bruising and a sore throat from the tube, the NHS explains.
Olivia Reeves is a registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) in California, who regularly administers anesthesia to patients in the hospital.
