Awake during surgery: 'I'm in hell'

CNN ^

[Chet 99]

(CNN) -- When Carol Weiher was having her right eye surgically removed in 1998, she woke up hearing disco music. The next thing she heard was "Cut deeper, pull harder."

She desperately wanted to scream or even move a finger to signal to doctors that she was awake, but the muscle relaxant she'd received prevented her from controlling her movements.

"I was doing a combination of praying and pleading and cursing and screaming, and trying anything I could do but I knew that there was nothing that was working," said Weiher, of Reston, Virginia. Weiher is one of few people who have experienced anesthesia awareness. Although normally a patient does not remember anything about surgery that involves general anesthesia, about one or two people in every 1,000 may wake up during general anesthesia, according to the Mayo Clinic. Most of these cases involve the person being aware of the surrounding environment, but some experience severe pain and go on to have psychological problems.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Well, I used to have fillings done without Novocaine, but drew the line at a root canal.

[Gene Eric]

I remember the long rail* penetrating the root. Were it not for the restraints, no doubt my reflex would have broken some ribs...

G’night for real this time...

* the big-ass needle right into a raw nerve

[saundby]

Personally I don’t do general anesthesia for surgery because I’ve already got enough health problems without dealing with the effects of a general. In my case, the tugging and cutting and cauterizing and all doesn’t bother me much. But for anyone it does bother, yeah, I can see wanting to be out for the count.

In the article, it =is= pretty terrible. Disco music? Arrrgh! Make it stop, make it stop! Not ABBA-noooo! Aiiiieee, it’s ELO! Must...stop...BeeGees... :D

[HiTech RedNeck]

Aw, they were being chintzy with the benzocaine.

[TaMoDee]

There was a screen on my chest to cut off my view. At the end I asked for a piece of the bone. Doc says; “We can’t let you leave the hospital with living tissue.” I said:
“The bone is over there on a table and I’m over here. It’s not alive anymore.” He showed me the dish full of bone etc,
about the size of a one pound butter container.

[Cindy]

LOL...disco music is like caffeine for the ears.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Carried infections are probably the actual worry. Dentists are the same way about pulled teeth now. Somebody might get an infection off of the tooth, I suppose, and might sue the dentist. Such is life in this wonderful America.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Ah, ah, ah, ah, staying alive, staying alive!
Ah, ah, ah, ah, staying aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive

[grame]

This happened to my husband back in the 90’s. He was having angioplasty and they were inflating the balloon to decrease the blockage and he began to talk to the nurse, telling her how much pain he was feeling. He remembers everything clearly and the fact that he was trying to sit up. She said, ‘well, they are inflating the balloon, it feels like it would if you were having a heart attack.’ Not funny and they scurried around and gave him more valium. Interestingly enough, surgical notes and dictation have absolutely no record of this event. But for more than a year he had frequent and serious panic attacks. I would constantly sit with him while he decided if we were going(again) to the ER. They finally figured out the issue and he saw a therapist for more than a year, began his lifelong association with ativan and recovery. From then on his chart was seriously marked up with the words, EXTRA VALIUM NEEDED. Not a happy time, but God has guided us through.

[Cindy]

Giggling...exactly what I had in mind.

[Right Wing Assault]

Weiher had to have subsequent surgeries, including an operation on her other eye and a hysterectomy, and the experiences were terrifying.

Come on, reporter! Does that mean she was terrified going in but she didn't wake up or did she wake up in pain again? It mkes a difference. Clarity is helpful to your readers.

[comps4spice]

I had knee surgery a few years ago. They gave me the anesthetic, I felt them lift my right arm and drop it to see if I was still awake and I could hear them talking. I then felt them tilt my head back and intubate me. I was trying to gag but couldn’t move in the least.

The last thought I had before going under was: “This is how I will die”.

Next thing I knew (in what seemed like mere seconds), I came to. Frightening enough, but nothing like this woman.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

“...we’ll be fortunate if the anesthesiologist speaks fluent English.”

There likely won't be an anesthesiologist. There will be a combination of anesthesia technicians and nurse anesthetists, with maybe one anesthesiologist for every five or ten ORs, in case anyone has questions.

[cva66snipe]

Anxiety disorders have long been associated with recent surgery as one of the causes. Benzo's {Ativan, Valiom, Xanax} seem to work the best for more severe forms. I'm a 16 year Xanax user myself and my wife 25 years. We can't take antidepressants.

It's strange but my great grandfather was a doctor from about 1900-1935 or so. One of his biggest fears it was said was being buried alive.

[Slings and Arrows]

If it was the Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive,” then I’d *really* be worried! (If you’ve taken a CPR class you’ll know why!)

[greenhornet68]

Check out the movie, Awake.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211933/

[Quick Shot]

There are more english speaking people in India than the USA.... Now it english with an english/india accent, but it is english.

[R. Scott]

I’ve had a number of eye surgeries, from minor laser and cryogenic repairs of small detachments to bilateral cataracts and scleric buckles.
The cataract surgeries were about 20 years ago. I watched the procedure, there was no pain and I was juiced up enough to enjoy watching the scalpel cut my eyeball, watch the tube enter and suck out the lens. I complemented the surgeon on his skill. He seemed to freak a bit and asked if I was doing OK. I replied to start sewing it up. In recovery he told me he wasn’t used to patients talking to him during surgery.
I had my last scleric buckle a couple years ago. When the surgical team were talking to each other I joined the conversation. We even started joking.

[Cindy]

Now those are good experiences
Thanks for sharing.

Modern medicine at its finest.

Yep, I prefer to be awake (except for major surgery), and the meds the doctors now give the patient are truly incredible.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

I’m going to need Valium to keep reading this thread! Awful things can happen in hospitals. :(