I woke up during surgery, Have you?

Nurses General Nursing

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Weeping Willow

136 Posts

These are so scary. I have always tried very hard to avoid surgery at all costs. Now here is another good reason to avoid it. Terrifying.

marie-francoise

286 Posts

There are now adhesive strips called Bis (pronounced "Biz") monitors that can help prevent anesthesia awareness.

These strips, which are attached to the forehead, essentially give EEG readings that help the CRNA know if the patient's awake or experiencing pain.

I heard one CRNA jokingly call them (fittingly for the Christmas season!) "We know when you are sleeping, We know when you're awake strips".

banditrn

1,249 Posts

I was responding to another thread the other day and made mention of the fact that I woke up DURING my last surgery. I got to wondering if this had ever happened to anybody else, so I thought I'd ask.

It happened to me last year. I had a vague memory of waking up and seeing the overhead operating room lights, and being in excruciating pain. I thought I had imagined it, until two different anesthesioligists (teaching hospital) came up to my room, on separate occasions, and asked me if I had any memory of waking up during my surgery. I was shocked to find out that it actually did happen. :uhoh21:

I later requested a copy of both my hospital records and my surgeons records for my own file, and amazingly enough, it wasn't mentioned anywhere in my records. I wooooonder why...Hmmmmm? Of course, my surgeon downplayed the whole incident at my follow up appt.

Has anybody else ever had this experience before? If so, what do you remember, and did your surgeon own up to it?

Are you by any chance a redhead? It's been a while now, but one of the anesthetists at our hospital posted some articles once in our nursing lounge about patients that are apt to wake during surgery. I remember that for some reason, readheads tend to do this more often.

Specializes in midwifery, NICU.
Are you by any chance a redhead? It's been a while now, but one of the anesthetists at our hospital posted some articles once in our nursing lounge about patients that are apt to wake during surgery. I remember that for some reason, readheads tend to do this more often.

bandit...thats interesting. i have heard for years about redheads experiencing more pain/ having a lower pain threshold, seems it does apply more in L&D. Being Scottish, with perhaps more redheads.....I just dont know yet!!!! (not being of Viking lineage!!) :lol2::lol2:

kukukajoo, LPN

1,310 Posts

Well I am brunette with a ton of red highlights so maybe that is why I wake up! met with anaestheology today and they are aware I have a hx of waking up during surgery and said they will do all they can to prevent it on my upcoming T & A. Makes me happy since I woke up during a procedure when I was 5 and then again last year when I had my lap chole. No pain, but awake and last time was panicked as I could not open my eyes or talk (eyes were taped and and I was intubated!) CRNA caught it and yelled Breathe! and I deeply inhaled and no pain ever felt.

The one as a child I remember being covered with blood and the nurse saying to me "you are not supposed to be awake!" again no pain felt and obviously my eyes were not taped as I was able to look about the room and down at my belly.

chadash

1,429 Posts

Specializes in Nursing assistant.

Ughhh! Just happened to me, remembered trying to say "please hurry and finish", but no one mentioned it happening, so maybe it was a dream? Recovery nurse said that "they had to stop your surgery once to get your BP down" but that is all I have heard.

Rather unpleasant, and I feel naseated when I think of it.

Sound like it?

lamazeteacher

2,170 Posts

Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
Ughhh! Just happened to me, remembered trying to say "please hurry and finish", but no one mentioned it happening, so maybe it was a dream? Recovery nurse said that "they had to stop your surgery once to get your BP down" but that is all I have heard.

Rather unpleasant, and I feel naseated when I think of it.

Sound like it?

It's more likely the anaesthesia was lightened, to raise your blood pressure. You're past that experience now, and can get over the reaction to it as time passes. That was a very rare occurence, which could have been caused if you're very small, or have a lowered tolerance to sedatives, which would make your blood pressure go down further than was safe.:rolleyes:

chadash

1,429 Posts

Specializes in Nursing assistant.

Thanks! Whatever happened, it was not a bit traumatic, just unpleasant.

The nurse did say that my BP was up, not down, which struck me as odd too. But then, I was all narced up, so I might have heard wrong.

But I do see where people would get the impression they woke up during surgery. Let's say, maybe you might become aware during the early post op period, before they take you out of the OR. The room is quite bright, and the sounds so loud, it could leave an impression. No one in the room looked a bit worried, just busy.

jj23

1 Post

i'm really confused about the whole "awareness" thing. I woke up during a foot operation, but it was nothing like what everyone calls anesthetic awareness. I was talking to the doctor, i remember everything, i could move and see (they didn't tape my eyes shut??). there was very little pain , unlike what most people describe, because they numbed the entire lower part of my leg. all i could feel was a repetitive pressure shooting into my foot (the doctor said it was the numbing drug), it just gave me a small dull pain in my toe. i know someone mentioned that waking up right at the end of your surgery isnt the same as anesthetic awareness, but this wasn't the end. The doctor was still working, so i just carried on a conversation with the anesthesiologist until the surgery was over (i got bored, if that gives you an idea of how long it was until the surgery was over). So am i just a wierd case, or is this something completely different from anesthetic awareness, and if so, what is it?

Specializes in Pediatrics, Nursing Education.

well, i didn't have a MAJOR procecdure where i woke up, but when I had my wisdom teeth out...

they lost the IV (i have difficult veins and it took MANY attempts to get it in in the first place... the nurse placing the iv threatened to put it "in my foot" and i was like... "I'll walk out before you do that!!"... they finally agreed to use a 24 guage rather than the honking 18 guage she was trying to use... but she had lost all the good veins in the process....) so, when they lost the IV during the procedure, they just tried to finish up "really fast"... i had four impacted wisdom teeth...

my mom was waiting on me and apparently i was SCREAMING the entire time. scared other people in the waiting room.

i don't remember much of it except that it hurt. and no, i am not afraid of dentists...

the worst thing was that i had a DRY SOCKET and it hurt so badly i couldn't hardley talk, drink, or eat until i got it re-packed...

CRNA2007

657 Posts

You had regional anesthesia not a general anesthesia. The only thing out on you was your foot. This is normal not the same thing as anesthesia awareness.

i'm really confused about the whole "awareness" thing. I woke up during a foot operation, but it was nothing like what everyone calls anesthetic awareness. I was talking to the doctor, i remember everything, i could move and see (they didn't tape my eyes shut??). there was very little pain , unlike what most people describe, because they numbed the entire lower part of my leg. all i could feel was a repetitive pressure shooting into my foot (the doctor said it was the numbing drug), it just gave me a small dull pain in my toe. i know someone mentioned that waking up right at the end of your surgery isnt the same as anesthetic awareness, but this wasn't the end. The doctor was still working, so i just carried on a conversation with the anesthesiologist until the surgery was over (i got bored, if that gives you an idea of how long it was until the surgery was over). So am i just a wierd case, or is this something completely different from anesthetic awareness, and if so, what is it?

JezzysRN09

8 Posts

I know this is an old thread, but this just happened to me yesterday. I was put under sedation (not general anesthesia) for a lipoma removal off my back. I was told that I would be put under sedation and the surgeon would use local anesthetics to stop me from feeling pain. I remember getting the sedation, feeling very sleepy and closing my eyes. The next thing I know I can feel a knife in my back cutting repetitively. For some reason I was unable to speak (I was not on any paralyzing agents, so I'm not sure why I couldn't talk) but tried to flinch and began to cry. The surgeon heard me crying and I heard him say "Is she crying?" The anesthesiologist then looked at me and asked if I was in pain. I was able to nod my head yes and then I guess they gave me more sedation because the next thing I knew I was waking up in the PACU. I woke up in a terrible panic and began crying again. It was very scary and I'm still feeling upset about it. The nurse in the PACU flagged down the anesthesiologist to talk to me. He acted insulted that I wanted to ask what happened. I told him what I experienced and his response was just, "Well we were only using light sedation, you were never completely out." I understand that it was just sedation, but it would have been nice to hear "I'm sorry you had that experience."

If I ever have surgery again I will make sure that Anesthesiologist comes nowhere near me!

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