Perfect timing to come up with a movie about anesthesia awareness... Just a few months before my big surgery.. What a bad idea... This is only going to add unnecessary stress to people that are already in stressful/frightful positions (as they're going in for surgery)...

I remember that I asked my anesthesiologist what the odds were of surgical awareness before my step 1/3.. She said that it's almost zero, especially with the type of drugs we're using...

Still though... I hate that I have to see constant reminders of it in commercials on tv (I turn it off when I see it, but it's still a reminder nonetheless)...

Sorry to blabber on... Just find it annoying, but somewhat funny that they release the movie when they did

For those of us who are down south, what exactly are you talking about? What is anesthesia/surgical awareness?

Shelby, I think that Jay is talking about waking up during surgery but being unable to communicate that you can feel them operating on you due to the paralising drugs that they use in theatre.

It's one of my nightmares because I have come round in theatre on a couple of occasions (years ago - not during j-pouch surgery) while they were stitching me up. Now I always mention to the anaesthetist prior to surgery that I have this phobia and he always assures me that I won't feel a thing and will sleep peacefully throughout the whole thing. I have also woken up to the sound of music which my surgeon liked to play while operating but this was usually while being wheeled to the recovery room.

There was a documentry here years ago that showed it was a frightingly common occurance, especially for women during C-section who were supposed to be under a general anaesthetic. I think that anaesthesia has come a long way since then though and this is a relatively rare problem these days.

Shell

Oh, now I remember.... there is a horror/thriller Hollywood movie coming out about this. Ya, I thought the same thing when I saw the preview. Not to mention that I despise horror flicks. And nowadays they are just torturous and sick. I'm not sure who goes to see them...
Jay... remember, this is a movie!

i know!! the movie is called "Awake" and it's with Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba. I almost asked my anesthesiologist (spelling. wow.) about this issue before my surgery but I felt silly. I watched a program on this on Discovery Channel one time, and it really freaked me out. I think it's really rare but I guess they just can't always predict how the body will react to drugs. Poor Jay, I guess you'll just have to try to avoid all the ads, I'm sure you'll be just fine

I just saw a preview for that movie like 5 minutes ago but I didnt know what it was about.

OH MY GOD I saw a documentary about this like 2 years ago. It scared the living breathing #%^&W@# daylights out of me! And now they're making a film?!


But whats good it, this documentary contained info about new things they're doing to stop this- they have a new anesthesia method where your body and mind get put under, but your hand doesn't- so if you were to wake up, you would be able to move just your fingers.

I woke up, and I mean literally just woke up during a dental procedure. And when I say dental procedure, I mean they were viciously ripping teeth out of my cranium. Hahaha looking back on it now, it was hilarious. I woke up after the second tooth, everyone started swearing so I started screaming, and they just decided to rip out the last two while I was awake. Couldn't even tell you how bad it hurt. I think I have PTSD from that alone. Mind you, they didn't numb my gums because I was supposed to be under full anesthesia. Now they're telling me I might have to get my wisdom teeth taken out, and I said NO WAY IN HELL.

I actually asked my anesthesiologist about this before each of my 3 surgeries; I had read an article in my husband's men's health about this and it freaked me out. My anesthesiologist told me that they don't (or at least he didn't) paralyze the body during this type of surgery, so I would be able to flail around if I felt anything. But, he said it would never get to that point because your heart rate and blood pressure would elevate so high they would know something was wrong.

So, while it could happen, there are procedures in place to make sure it's very, very unlikely to happen.

What was most scary for me was that I remember trying to pull my breathing tube out and having them hold my hands down so that I couldn't. They later told me that EVERYONE tries to pull it out - that's how they know that it's ready to come out. Most people just don't remember that part.

oh wow Lisa, i did not know that about the breathing tube. that's kind of creepy. it's weird to think about all the stuff that happens during and after the surgery that we have no recollection of. so far i've been lucky and responded really well to the drugs and can't remember anything. last time I was gone just from whatever ****tail they give you thru the IV before the anesthetic, I didn't even get to try to count back from 10 (usually I get to 9). haha.

I remember before my first surgery, I was being put under and they gave me nitrous oxide before they put the iv in because they couldn't find a vein. I never thought twice about this, but just last week me and my mom were talking about it, and I never realized it, but I scared her more that day than any other day in her life. The nitrous oxide was making me feel weird and hallucinate, and right before, the nurse told me it smelled like "elephants feet" so i started to think about that and I felt like I had elephants feet on my chest- I kept saying "Stop pushing on my chest, I can't breathe" but no one was touching me. The lights in the room started to get blurry, and it looked like I was in a tube with lights at the end- thats all I remember. My mother thought I was dying- couldn't breathe, seeing lights at the end of a tunnel....

I am ever so surprised to read all your experiences with anesthesia. I am an Anesthesiologist and "put patients under" everyday and altho' awareness under anesthesia is a definite entity, it is extremely rare but a risk nevertheless. We are required to discuss the risks of anesthesia before the surgery and therefore this topic comes up. We use amnestic medications which produse retrograde amnesia as well, so almost all the patients don't have any recall.
I hate to think that patients awakening from anesthesia should have to pull out their own endotracheal Tubes or even recall reaching out for them. Usually the transition is extremely smooth and altho' complications can always happen and do---these things are rare and we do our very best to prevent them.
So please do not be afraid of Anesthesia, it is extremely safe and recall (awareness under Anesthesia) is rare.
I myself have had Anesthesia at least nine times since my Colectomy and J-pouch in May,2005 and I have not remembered anything at all. Movies are movies and exagerate things out of proportion.
Rani

I woke up during my first colonoscopy which was "conscious sedation." I remember looking down and seeing a light glowing in my tummy which I assume was something to do with the camera. I was in extreme pain and starting screaming at them to get it out.
I also woke up and remember them pulling the breathing tubes out of my throat and remember turning over to throw up.
I've told all my anesthesiologists since then to please give me a little extra since I wake up easily. The other trouble in waking up so soon in the operating room is that they haven't given you anything for pain and you feel everything!
Eeek, the horrors of waking up. I can say with confidence I will not be watching this new movie!

I'm sure Anesthesiologists are elated a movie about anesthetic awareness is coming out.

Although my mother's friend suffered from a case of anesthetic awareness back in the day, I didn't pay it any mind before my surgeries. The chances of it happening are minuscule. It happens in .1-.2% of all cases. [1] That is way down on the list of potential complications to worry about.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: J-dawg,

I freak out about this as well.

But what really gets me is being wheeled into the OR I hate hate hate that white room, so cold and all the sharp things in there with the big bright lights. I just wish they could knock me out in the prep room..

I won't even watch that entire commercial for that movie. Eeewww...gives me the willys.