I made it through the pre-op!

Today was my pre-op. I was quite nervous. Anything like this freaks me out. Well the nurse was lovely and I met the anesthesiologist too who was a very nice man.

When I walked into the hospital I felt quite at ease UNTIL they asked me sit and watch the pre-op video. I just cannot imagine myself walking into the OR. I told them I get panic attacks so they noted that I may need something 'fuzzy wuzzy' to make me feel at ease when I arrive.

I asked a few things I was curious about - ie how does the anesthetic work? I wanted to know if it freezes you as well as putting you to sleep. You'd better believe that if I am asleep, a knife going into me is gonna wake me up!! He explained how it works and then I felt better.. I think

Well I am still undecided if I feel more at ease or more anxious. Sometimes knowing TOO much is not a good thing for me. Time will tell.

I know exactly what you mean about knowing too much. We will be fine, my LSH is a day before your.

Best wishes

I was nervous too, while waiting for my hyst. I got to watch a video about my surgery too, and I agree that it might have been more than I really wanted to know On the otherhand, I did ask to be told everything that I needed to know.

Best wishes, I hope that all goes well for you.

Hi Mandy,

It sounds like you got good information from the anesthesiologist, but for the benefit of others who might check this thread, I'll give a little detail (from my personal understanding - I am not a healthcare professional). Note that this may be TMI for some of our sisters.

(General) Anesthesia consists of medication to cause the following:
1) Preanesthetic medication. This is meant to help you relax and to faciliate induction. Medications used for premedication include: midazolam (Versed), phenergan, and opioid analgesics such as fentanyl or demerol.
2) Induction/loss of consciousness. This is not "sleep," so there will be no dreams (although sometimes there are hallucinations or distorted perceptions especially upon awakening.) Medications used to induce unconsciousness include: propofol (Diprivan), thiopental (sodium pentothal), etomidate, midazolam (Versed). Usually an analgesic such as fentanyl will be added to the sedative/hypnotic.
3) Muscle relaxation. Muscle relaxation is necessary for abdominal surgery and also facilitates intubation (breathing tube going into the throat.) Prior to intubation, you are ventilated with a bag and mask and 100% oxygen to get your blood as saturated with oxygen as possible, and the anesthesiologist will normally put a small airway in your mouth that holds your tongue up and teeth apart until you can be intubated. This is essentially chemical paralysis and the anesthesiologist will put you on a ventilating machine once you are intubated. Muscle relaxants include: succinylcholine, vecuronium, pancuronium and rocuronium.
4) Analgesia and maintenance. Once you are intubated, the anesthesiologist will give you more medication to keep you asleep and pain-free. This may be an inhaled anesthetic (such as isoflurane, halothane, nitrous oxide, desflurane), injected medication (such as a propofol drip plus fentanyl) or a combination of both. The anesthesiologist will monitor your blood pressure, heart rate, ECG/EKG, temperaure, oxygen saturation, and amount of oxygen you consume, along with a muscle twitch monitor (to determine when you need more muscle relaxant). Some hospitals now also mandate the use of a bispectral monitor (which monitors your brain activity and indicates your level of unconsciousness.)
During maintenance, you may have other monitors or devices placed such as an oro- or nasogastric tube to suction residue from your stomach.

Generally, induction to intubation is less than five minutes, and you may be ready for surgery within ten to fifteen minutes. The anesthesiologist will make sure that you are stable and that the medications (including any inhaled anesthetics) have had enough time to take effect before any incision takes place. The only exception would be in a dire emergency when time is of the essence.

There are several different people who might make up an "anesthesia team":
Anesthesiologist: a medical or osteopathic doctor (M.D. or D.O.) with clinical training (and hopefully board certification) in anesthesiology; the supervisor of anesthesia, especially in general anesthesia.
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist: a registered nurse (R.N.) with specialized training in anesthesia (in the state of Ohio most CRNAs are also Clinical Nurse Practicioners (CNPs) with at least a Masters degree). CRNAs are capable of performing most, if not all of, the tasks that an anesthesiologist performs, but must be under the supervision of an M.D./D.O. anesthesiologist under all but the most emergency circumstances.
Anesthesia Resident: this is an M.D./D.O. medical school graduate who is training to be an anesthesiologist. S/he works under the direct supervision of an anesthesiologist in the first year and may have looser supervision in later years.
Anesthesia Assistant: this is a person who has training in anesthesia and usually has a Masters degree; the A.A. may perform some tasks similar to a CRNA, or even work solo on a particular patient but is under the supervision of an anesthesiologist.
Anesthesia Technician: this person helps the anesthesiologist, CRNA, or AA with tasks such as intubation and placement of monitors. For example, the AT does not perform the intubation, but may inspect the equipment and get it ready for the anesthesiologist to use.

Thanks for the replies sisters and the awesome . Thankyou Bandimal for the detailed info I just wish I could go to sleep when I leave my house and wake up when it's all over. I am a nervous patient and going into the hospital and seeing all those people milling around me and the equipment is what I am most anxious about. Gotta breathe, gotta breathe....

	Quote:
Originally Posted by MandyG Thanks for the replies sisters and the awesome . Thankyou Bandimal for the detailed info I just wish I could go to sleep when I leave my house and wake up when it's all over. I am a nervous patient and going into the hospital and seeing all those people milling around me and the equipment is what I am most anxious about. Gotta breathe, gotta breathe....

I keep saying "just let me go to sleep on Tuesday night and not wake up until it is over on Wednesday morning." (My Mom was the same way and her doctor put her in the night before, not sure if they sedated the night before to keep her calm or not.)

I asked my husband how I handled the cone biopsy 3 or 4 years ago and he said I was a basket case before hand but did fine during the procedure and coming out of it. Since I have no memory of it I have to trust him, praying I can handle myself with some decorum on Wednesday (meaning no panic attacks before or after surgery).

I suffer from panic attacks too but didn't have any before surgery although I fully expected to.

Some kind of peace came over me the night before and I was able to sleep like a baby. I guess it was God.

Now, in the pre-op room I did get pretty scared and cried and kept saying I couldn't do it. The nurses, of course, asked me if I really meant that or if was just nerves. It was hard to tell them that it was just nerves because I knew I'd have to keep going.

But, by the time I got to the OR and all those people were around me, I felt better. The anesthesiologist was great and calmed me down so much. Then, a few minutes later it was la-la land time.

You will do wonderfully! Keep us posted!

Last year I had abdominal surgery--twice in two days because they messed up the first one and had to go back in. So I got a little more experience with anesthesia than I wanted, and it was my biggest fear. I'll tell you that I don't remember going under for the first surgery at all. She may have put a little something in the IV before putting me under all the way.

The second surgery, the anesthesiologist was talking to me and asking me questions, and right in the middle of an answer I was giving, everything just faded out and then I was waking up after the surgery.

They make it very easy on us! Don't hesitate to ask for something to relax you beforehand. They're there for YOU, not the other way around. Good luck!