Awareness during anesthesia

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Aug 27, 2006

Anesthesia awareness has been discussed before... use our search engine: https://allnurses.com/forums/search.php to find previous threads

TazziRN, RN · Aug 27, 2006

We were talking about this at work just the other day. My tech had gastgric bypass done about 6 months ago. He said he woke up during and remembers the feeling of his insides being rearranged before he got knocked out again. He remembers someone saying, "Hey, he's awake!" and the anesth. saying, "I'll fix that."

June55Baby · Aug 28, 2006

I experienced anesthesia awareness during the STAT C/S with a preemie twin delivery 28 years ago. I felt a searing, burning sensation and thought to myself that I could feel the incision! It was a floating in and out sorta feeling but very aware that I was not totally asleep!

I heard the pediatrician's pager go off with a verbal page to "call the ER", heard the first twin cry and heard the amused "AWWW" from the nurses as (I later found out) the second twin was born with a scowl on her face (she still has that scowl). That's the last I remember until I awoke in the recovery area and started relating what I heard and asking questions.

The nurses and my doctor were shocked. They agreed that there was no way I could have heard/remembered those events if I had not been aware during the delivery.

Later I learned that the anesthesia was "light" so as not to anesthesize my babies. After they were born, the CNA increased the anesthesia.

I can still remember with a sick feeling, that searing, buring pain. I have had many surgical procedures before and one after and never experienced awareness.