General Anesthesia vs Epidural, need opinions please

I still haven't decided. What are the advantages & disadvantages to both of these methods. I've never had any problems with either one. The only reason I would choose Epidural is for a quicker, easier recovery. I'm ok with just being completely knocked out if there is no big difference in the effects of both proceedures.

I'm chosing the epi myself.
When you get completely knocked out you wake up vomiting and disoriented, and feel ****ty all day. You don't want to be vomiting when you've been cut open, hurts like H###. But with the epi you feel nothing, your not sick or groggy, and they can control your pain through your epidural for up to 24 hours after the operation. This is what my dr is doing, so for me that a great option.
Good luck

The anesthesiologist will give you medication to help you from becoming ill when you wake up. The first time I had surgery, I felt a bit nauseous, but managed not to vomit. I've had three surgeries after that and have not been sick once.

The anesthesiologist will talk to you before he puts you out. Tell him/her you are concerned with becoming ill and ask what kind of medicine he/she are going to give you to prevent this. If you want, you can always call and talk to an anesthesiologist now. They can answer your questions and talk to you about medicines. Never be afraid to ask questions. If someone blows you off, stay away from them. A good doctor, nurse, etc. will be more than willing to talk and help you.

As for the epidural, I personally don't want to be awake during a surgery. I think it would stress me out even more. No thanks!

I have had general before and did not feel like myself for a week or more. I opted not to go this route for my hyster. I talked to the A-Man and we together agreed on a spinal/epidural combo. The spinal (from the way I understood) is a 1 shot deal, but will only last a certain amount of time....the epidural was used in case the surgery were to take longer than expected. Than I wouldn't have had to have general on top of the spinal. I was quite nervous when talking about it, and I hope I have the info correct for you. I then had a mild sedative. I was not "awake" during the surgery, but as soon as my name was spoken I woke up. I felt great, talked for a while until I could move my legs, and even asked to see the nasty cyst they took out of me. I would do this again, as I feel it helped my recovery. I was up and walking outside the next day. Did not have the groggy, all over feeling of not knowing what was going on. Hope this helps

I discussed this with my doctor just last week and she told me that the reason they use the epi. is so that they won't need to use as much "narcotics" after the surgery. Pain medication makes me sleepy and a bit sick to my stomach and I know that the epi won't do that since I had it with both of my boys. She said that what they do then is just gradually wean you off of the epi and then send you home with pain medication. I actually really like the idea of it.
She did make sure to point out that they use it for the "after" care of the surgery, not for during the surgery.

I had my hyster on Friday. I opted for the epidural/spinal. It is a bit heavier than just an epi. My Dr prefers this so I went with it. I was given a loopy drug as I got to the OR. Then they did the anesthesia. I dozed on and off thru the surgery. I was awake in the recovery room...felt pretty good. No foggy head or anything like I did when I had general in July.
My Dr said recovery is much quicker with the epi/spinal too. The girl across from me (in the special care unit~you go there the day of surgery in the hospital I was in) had the same thing. She was wide awake upon getting to the special care unit.
Talk to your Dr and see what he/she thinks is best.

Ya know, the epidural/spinal just scares the heck out of me. When I was a kid, my mom told me stories about the possibility of becoming paralyzed because of these procedures. Now I know things have changed, procedures perfected, but that is still in my head and it really terrifies me. Because I'm a chicken, I'm going to let them drug me as much as they want.

I have had both. I had general anestesia for my Laposcopic surgery and for that I was sick for a week. When I just had my Hysto done I decided to go with the epidural. I am so glad I did. They gave me some med that calmed me down so much so that I don't even remember having my epidural. Recovery was so much easier. I didn't have any of the tubes in my mouth and When I woke I wasn't in as much pain. I loved having the epidural. I was scared to have an epidural until I actually had one. I loved it!!

Thank you everyone for sharing opinions on this issue. I have been wondering about this myself. The idea of an epidural appeals to me. I would not mind being awake during the surgery, especially if they will let me see the fibroids and the uterus. Those kinds of things interest me. I am going to talk to my doctor and see if this will be a possibility with my surgery.

The only question that I have is that my doctor told me that I would still be completely out for the procedure, she said that the epi is only for the "after" surgery benefit.