Surgery time/length and coming out of anesthesia?

By Love_Gardening on 05 Jul 2012

Hi everyone ~ I'm new (been lurking for a little while). I just received insurance approval on Tuesday and got surgery scheduled for August 20th! I was wondering how long everyone's surgery took? Also - what was it like for you waking up from the anesthesia? I had my gall bladder removed a few years ago and I remember being awake and trying to talk but no one could hear me. It was the scariest thing! My PS estimates about 3 hours of surgery for me.

Comments (5)

marKtoD 20 Oct 2012

Mine was 5.5 hours long which was Longer than anticipated. I worried when I woke up that there was a problem because it took so long. I had some bad problems not getting my bladder to wake up. I'm 5 days out now and it still isn't totally normal but for the first 36 hours I couldn't go or couldn't empty. I'd pee and then still feel like I needed to because I did. Also having problems getting the GI track moving :(. Been over a week since I've had a BM. Hoping it resolves soon!

e34h 20 Oct 2012

Oh no, that sounds awful. The GI was rough for me too but it only took me until the third day. I used milk of magnesia but the 2 things that really worked for me were aloe juice (it tastes really bitter but you can always mix it with something) and putting a little foot stool in front of the toilet to put my feet on. It just puts your body in a better position. Also hydrating with coconut water in addition to regular water can help too, especially if you are using milk of magnesia because it will help replace the potassium. Good luck!

IzzyBizzy84 7 Jul 2012

My surgery was a little less than 4 hours. 7:30-11:19am. Waking was really rough for me personally... They claimed I had been awake and told them my pain was a 7/10 but I don't remember any of this. I kept dosing off in recovery and my oxygen levels was drop... they would have to wake me to get me to take deeper breaths. I was able to leave the surgical center at 2:30.

MaKiNcHaNgEz 6 Jul 2012

My surgery was four hours long. I never had surgery before. I met the anesthesiologist who was informative. But I didn't as many questions as I figured the less I ask the less I would be nervous about. When it was time for the surgery she put "margarita" in my iv rolled me into the room and the last thing I remember was someone asking me to get on another table then I was woke up and didn't have any nausea and having to use the rest room.

StaceyLynne 6 Jul 2012

My surgery was 4.5 hours. I had some fear about being aware of surgery and unable to communicate that I wasn't out. I spoke to the anesthesiologist about it. And he said they monitor several things that can indicate "awareness". It was all fine and over in the blink of an eye for me. Good luck!