Even if you don’t wake up during surgery, it feels like there’s an imprint of the trauma. I had a very long operation and by the time I came round I was in pieces emotionally, with no clear idea of what had happened but still a deep sense of dread. On some level it felt like my body knew what had just happened.
Waking up during surgery
11–20 of 44 posts
Re: Waking up during surgery
#12I've woken up during surgery (for appendix removal). It was uncomfortable but not especially painful. I didn't feel panicky or disoriented, but then I've always been OK with medical situations. The anaesthetist looked pretty horrified though.
My spinal analgesia for an unplanned c-section utterly failed. My anesthesiologist thankfully kept it together and immediately went to our discussed plan B, but I felt so bad about it that I sent her a gift basket. I wonder how common that all is.
Re: Waking up during surgery
#13I recently had a foot injury. In the ER they put me under and the (fantastic) surgeon "twisted" the foot back into place. I don't remember anything, however other people said I was moaning in pain while under anesthesia. Pretty weird.
It could well have been that you got a dissociative agent. This is not uncommon in the ED. I remember using etomidate when I was a resident to deal with a kid who lacerated their tongue. After the shot a screaming kid who wouldn't let anyone near his bleeding mouth was totally compliant and willingly stuck out his tongue so I could throw a couple stitches in it.
Re: Waking up during surgery
#14I recently had a foot injury. In the ER they put me under and the (fantastic) surgeon "twisted" the foot back into place. I don't remember anything, however other people said I was moaning in pain while under anesthesia. Pretty weird.
Ever since I’ve been a little kid this one thing has stuck with me; if you can’t remember it, is it like it never happened? I used to wonder that about nightmares, but I tended to go with the view that a version of you did suffer, and on some level the impact is there. Like a person with anteretrograde amnesia who can’t remember learning to work a specific maze, but still realizes the gains of the previous attempts.…
As recently as the 1980s, they would do heart surgery on newborns because the surgeons felt that the babies wouldn’t remember anything about it. It sounds monstrous to me, however.
Re: Waking up during surgery
#15Wouldn't your heart rate increase to alarming levels? If you were awake & in pain during surgery, you would (of course) freak out. Even if you were paralyzed, your heart rate would increase and the doctors would know. This is what a doctor once told me when I asked. I'm not sure how to contrast that with what the article says.
Especially in the case of an intubated patient with neuromuscular blockade, I don’t think an EKG would be useful. You’re already going to have all kinds of fluctuations from the anesthesia, muscle relaxants, analgesics and just from the intubation. I’ve read about the use of EEG [1] as a way to detect awareness, but it has serious limitations. Most of all though, many anesthetic agents have a profound effect on the autonomic nervous system, and I don’t think your body would react as it would if you were conscious. You probably wouldn’t have a significant increase in heart rate, you’re already not breathing on your own, you probably wouldn’t sweat or cry either.
[1] https://twin.sci-hub.se/5746/9679b963c5859d4991d906fef74c0b7...
Re: Waking up during surgery
#16Even if you don’t wake up during surgery, it feels like there’s an imprint of the trauma. I had a very long operation and by the time I came round I was in pieces emotionally, with no clear idea of what had happened but still a deep sense of dread. On some level it felt like my body knew what had just happened.
It's common for people to be disoriented and emotionally unstable after surgery.
Re: Waking up during surgery
#17I recently had a foot injury. In the ER they put me under and the (fantastic) surgeon "twisted" the foot back into place. I don't remember anything, however other people said I was moaning in pain while under anesthesia. Pretty weird.
Apparently patients do experience pain under certain anaesthesics, but that they do not remember upon awaking. Pretty disturbing to me. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/12/surgical-...
When I got my wisdom teeth removed, I regained conscience in the middle of sobbing. I remember feeling a strange disassociation because I didn't feel any pain or know why I was intensely crying.
During the procedure they split the roof of my mouth from stem to stern and had to stitch it back together.
When I got home I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I had a bad black eye.
I wish I could have reviewed footage of whatever cage match I was involved in!
Re: Waking up during surgery
#18Even if you don’t wake up during surgery, it feels like there’s an imprint of the trauma. I had a very long operation and by the time I came round I was in pieces emotionally, with no clear idea of what had happened but still a deep sense of dread. On some level it felt like my body knew what had just happened.
It's common for people to be disoriented and emotionally unstable after surgery.
But should we take that observation as evidence against, or for...?
Re: Waking up during surgery
#19Even if you don’t wake up during surgery, it feels like there’s an imprint of the trauma. I had a very long operation and by the time I came round I was in pieces emotionally, with no clear idea of what had happened but still a deep sense of dread. On some level it felt like my body knew what had just happened.
Are you sure that isn’t just the comedown from the anesthesia?
Re: Waking up during surgery
#20I recently had a foot injury. In the ER they put me under and the (fantastic) surgeon "twisted" the foot back into place. I don't remember anything, however other people said I was moaning in pain while under anesthesia. Pretty weird.
Apparently patients do experience pain under certain anaesthesics, but that they do not remember upon awaking. Pretty disturbing to me. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/12/surgical-...
As disturbing as it is, when you consider how surgeries used to be performed before anesthetics we're still pretty lucky to have them. Even if it just paralyzed you it would still probably be an improvement just because the surgeon would be able to work without you moving.