how do you feel after waking up from surgery?

[minnieandmickeymouse]

I'm going under for the first time, it's just for Lap. surgery to check for endometriosis, and remove it if it's there (we're pretty sure it is).

I'm pretty nervous about how I'm going to feel when I wake up!!

So how did you feel when you first woke up from a surgery? Were you in pain? Do you know where you are? Are you dizzy?

I have 2 more days until my lap.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I don't wake up in the typical way. I'm wide awake as soon as I'm out of recovery (when I was 11, I had to have knee surgery at a Children's Hospital and an hour later I was playing Trivial Pursuit with my mom...the nurses all came in to check on me at different points because I was the talk of the Orthopedic wing because of it.) I'd say most people, from what I've heard and seen, are groggy, not really in pain since it generally takes a while for the anesthesia to wear off, but do know where they are. I've seen some that spend the rest of the day nauseated (there was one who had the same surgery on the same day as the one I mentioned above), but it's been rare that I've seen that.

 

[georgina]

Pain - no. Dizzy - no. A little groggy and confused at first. I do get nausea after anesthesia, so when I have had surgery after the first one, they add something to the IV ahead of time to combat that. It was not bad.

 

[Jenvenza]

Good question! I am having surgery for the first time tomorrow and I have been wondering the same thing! Good luck with yours!

 

[The Orchid]

I come out of anesthesia really fast and am wide awake and alert in minutes. There will be no pain. Remember, the pain part happens when you are knocked out. You won't feel a thing. Upon waking you may be sore, but there is a difference between soreness and pain. If you are too sore, they will give you meds which will make you very happy! But it shouldn't be too uncomfortable at all.

Your mouth may be a little dry. If so, ask the nurse to swab your mouth or give you ice chips. I always wake up and feel hungry, but I think that is somewhat unusual.

 

[MIGrandma]

First of all, good luck with your surgery.

I have had major surgery twice (gall bladder, thyroid) and both times just woke up groggy. Kind of like in a fog. I knew where I was, but I kept dozing off, waking up, dozing off. No pain right away.

When I had my colonoscopy they just barely put me under, what they call "twilight anesthesia" I think. You're under and you don't feel anything of course, but you will react to what they say. Like if they say to move your foot or hand, you'll do it. But you don't remember anything after it's over and you come out of it quicker and are less groggy.

If you're nervous about how you will feel when coming out of the anesthesia, talk to them, they will do all they can to calm your fears.

 

[Angelhalo]

I woke up very loopy and in extreme pain. My pain medication had pretty much worn off. I was a extremely loopy and talking to everyone in the recovery room as if I knew them. So, it was a weird combination of goofy and in great pain. Somehow I was able to get people to understand that I was hurting too and they pumped me back up with pain meds which kicked in pretty much immediately.

 

[lemondog]

I always wake up fine. Luckily I never seem to suffer from some of the more common problems like forgetfulness or nausea.

I have had a lap before. Really there was not too much pain at all, although the doctor did give me mepragan, which made me practically comatose by the time I got home.

Honestly, the worst part of a lap is the pain when the gas starts to escape your body (they us CO2 to expand your belly during the procedure to give them a better view). It's like sharp uncomfortable pains coming through your back and shoulders. It wasn't completely miserable, but I did take some Advil and it kept me awake that night. As far as incision pain I had practically none. Good luck!

 

[SC Minnie]

I usually wake up kind of slow and groggy.

But I alway still feel 'off' for a couple of days after surgery. Sleepy/groggy and just not 'right'. It's hard to explain.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I'm going under for the first time, it's just for Lap. surgery to check for endometriosis, and remove it if it's there (we're pretty sure it is).

I'm pretty nervous about how I'm going to feel when I wake up!!

So how did you feel when you first woke up from a surgery? Were you in pain? Do you know where you are? Are you dizzy?

I have 2 more days until my lap.

I had the same exact surgery 11 years ago. It took me about 4 hours after I woke up for them to discharge me-it took me a long time to throw off the effects of anesthesia. You will probably be in pain, it took about a week for mine to fade. It was TOTALLY worth it and I'm glad I had the laparoscopy done.

 

[Denine]

I'm going under for the first time, it's just for Lap. surgery to check for endometriosis, and remove it if it's there (we're pretty sure it is).

I'm pretty nervous about how I'm going to feel when I wake up!!

So how did you feel when you first woke up from a surgery? Were you in pain? Do you know where you are? Are you dizzy?

I have 2 more days until my lap.

That was an easy one to wake up from. I had it too and do have endo.

 

[minnieandmickeymouse]

Thanks for the responsis so far! There helping me feel a bit better.

 

[BCV513]

I had my first surgery two weeks ago to take my gallbladder. I pretty much snapped awake in the recovery room and was wide awake from then on. I wasn't groggy at all. I spent the night in the hospital and was pretty much awake the whole night.

I do get motion sickness and dizzy a lot and I pass out when I'm sick. When I told the nurse about that, they gave me the seasickness patch to go behind my ear. I think it's called scopamine or something like that. It's the one doctors give to people on cruises. Anyway, I was never dizzy or nauseous after surgery. You might want to ask about it if you're worried. It stayed on for three days. I highly recommend it!

 

[minnieandmickeymouse]

I had my first surgery two weeks ago to take my gallbladder. I pretty much snapped awake in the recovery room and was wide awake from then on. I wasn't groggy at all. I spent the night in the hospital and was pretty much awake the whole night.

I do get motion sickness and dizzy a lot and I pass out when I'm sick. When I told the nurse about that, they gave me the seasickness patch to go behind my ear. I think it's called scopamine or something like that. It's the one doctors give to people on cruises. Anyway, I was never dizzy or nauseous after surgery. You might want to ask about it if you're worried. It stayed on for three days. I highly recommend it!

They did ask me if I get motion sick, and I told them yes, I take draminine and I'm fine. They said they would be giving me anti nausios(sp?) meds before they put me under. Will that help me not be sick??

 

[lovetoscrap]

The answer is that no only is everyone different, but every surgery is different and every anestheiologist is different.

I have had multiple surgeries. My waking up experience has been different with each. Some were horrible and I was vomiting and confused and dizzy. Some it took me hours longer to wake up in recovery then normal. Some were great and I while I was groggy I felt okay pretty quickly. Some I go home and sleep for about 2 days. The last one I was home watching TV, eating meals and socializing with my family and felt great.

Until you go under for the first time you really don't know. I now know to tell them that I am very likely to vomit and that I don't wake up easily so they adjust the meds they give me accordingly, and that is why my last few experiences have been much better.

As for pain that is all dependent on what they are giving you in your IV, if they gave you a local anesthetic in surgery that will remain in place for hours, and your overall pain tolerance. Certainly Lap procedures are much easier to deal with than larger cuts but you still will be sore and uncomfortable.

I also think that the anticipation of what may happen has always been much worse than the actual! If you are really anxious when you get to the hospital they can give you something to calm you down once the IV is in. I find that very helpful because otherwise I am likely to try to jump off the bed as they are wheeling me to surgery!

Best of luck for a great outcome!



ETA: Ask your doctor if they will be filling your abdominal with gas during the procedure. Not sure if they do for that procedure but I think they do for many lap surgeries to get room to see and work. That can be very painful for a few days if they do. After I had my Gallbladder out that hurt worse than the surgery areas! You can help by walking and raising your arms and using heating pads-- the pain is usually in your shoulders.

 

[lovetoscrap]

They did ask me if I get motion sick, and I told them yes, I take draminine and I'm fine. They said they would be giving me anti nausios(sp?) meds before they put me under. Will that help me not be sick??

Yep, and ask about the patch PP mentioned. I had it also my last surgery and it is the only one that I haven't been even slightly nauseous with.

 

[RachelNinja]

I had 2 surgeries when I had to put under (this is other than twilight anesthesia that a PP mentioned for -oscopy procedures).

Waking up from my first surgery for my lap cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) was difficult. I vaguely knew where I was, but the pain from the carbon dioxide as well as the nausea from the anesthesia was terrible. They held something under my mouth because I kept gagging but did not throw up. They kept asking me what was wrong because I was moaning and inconsolable, but my eyes were closed so I still wasn't completely awake. When I nodded to indicate that it was pain, they gave me more morphine and suddenly, I was quiet again and was in and out of sleep for a little while.

I did hear the nurses explain that the carbon dioxide was causing more pain for me because I was really thin (being sick made me lose a lot of weight unexpectedly) and they had to pump more in. As for the nausea, before my surgery, I was approached by someone to participate in a study about anesthesia and nausea for girls my age (I'm 24 now but was 22 when I had the surgery). They were doing research to see if it would be worth it to make an anti-nausea drug for girls my age. Maybe they were finding that we had bad reactions?

Of course, I have friends who had the same surgery and both of them came out fine! Haha, so it really is just a case by case basis. I agree with what everyone else said though ... if you are in pain, tell a nurse and they will give you more painkillers.

The second surgery was a lumpectomy. That one was a breeze in that I didn't have pain and I didn't have any nausea at all. The only thing that happened when I woke up was that I had a sore throat/dry mouth from the tube, but the oxygen mask helped as it was cold air so it helped me "recover" from that quickly. The thing that I find annoying about surgeries is the fact that the IV drip always make me have to go to the bathroom right after I wake up! I think that's why I wake up really quickly from anesthesia so I always have to tell a nurse.

Good luck with your surgery! Just remember that if there's anything going on when you wake up, just let a nurse know. They will do what they can to make you feel better. I used to be really shy, but now I know that it's better to just speak up, even if it means calling for someone's attention when I don't see anyone around.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Something else that has helped me over the years is hand signals. When I don't feel well I don't talk. Flu, stomach virus, surgery etc.. I just don't like to talk for some reason-- my dd is the same way. So DH and I have developed hand signals so he can help me and communicate my needs to the nurses. Simple things like drink, nauseous, yes and no, stop, bathroom, and pain. That really helps when I am nauseous, dizzy, groggy etc. I don't have to be frustrated that I also can't get what I need.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

I had surgery 9 years ago to remove a very large cyst from my left ovary...I have endometriosis as well...and I very clearly remember falling asleep and waking up! The first thing I remember about waking up is shaking my head back and forth, something being pulled out of my mouth (breathing tube?), and someone calling my name. The first thing I said was "What time is it?" and they answered "Ten thirty." I tried to sit up and look at the clock myself, and it was 10:30. I then tried to ask "Has anyone called my mother?" (she was the one in the waiting room), but because my lips were dry and sticking together, it came out as "Anyone...call...mama..."

Then I realized that my back was sore from lying it, since I never lie on my back. The nurse had me try to grab the side of the bed so she could shove some sheets under my back, so I could get the pressure off. That's when I realized that my lower half was still pretty numb. My doctor then came over to tell me that she'd found 2 other cysts on my right ovary, but she was able to leave both ovaries and none of the cysts were cancerous, as she'd previously thought. I said "Oh, good, thank you" and immediately passed out again!

I woke up again around noon, when they took me to my room...I was wide awake at that point, more than coherent, and was able to manuever myself from the gurney into the bed in the room.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

The first time I was put under was last week to get wisdom teeth removed and I remember having the IV put in my hand and watching it drip. I didn't get drowsy or anything. I blinked and I was awake and it was over.

It is scary but doesn't hurt. When I came home I was dizzy and slightly out of it, but that's about it.