“Is spinal anesthesia better than general?”

It depends on the procedure you will have. For example, if you are pregnant and will have a cesarean, the spinal anesthesia is absolutely better both for you and your baby. If you have a different kind of procedure, the type of anesthesia may not make such a big difference. It also makes a huge difference based on your prior medical history, but being 25 y.o., most of the time it means you are otherwise healthy (unless I am totally wrong and do not have all the details). So, in the end, it is important what you agree to, what you feel comfortable with and whether you are pregnant or not.

Depends what surgery you're having. Regional anesthesia is definitely "better" for c-section because you don't have to manage the patient's airway with a breathing tube.

There are different approaches to administration of anesthesia. Spinal Anesthesia and General Anesthesia are both valid approaches to anesthesia administration. The decision of which one to use depends on the situation. In some situations, a spinal anesthetic is probably the better approach to use, while in other situations, spinal anesthesia would be exactly the wrong choice, and general anesthesia is better to use. It is not possible to simply state that either Spinal Anesthesia or General Anesthesia is "better", without first understanding everything about the context in which administration of anesthesia is being considered.

This is an opinion question, really. "Better" is a subjective term. Spinal (typically with propofol sedation) is associated with a lower instance of nausea and vomiting. Waking up from propofol is typically quicker and cleaner than from a gas general. General anesthesia typically includes a breathing tube, so is associated as well with an irritated throat. Spinal anesthesia isn’t a good option if you have certain heart conditions or bleeding disorders. It is also limited to certain procedures (lower half of your body - basically anything below the ribs). Also, spinal anesthesia duration might be significantly longer than the surgery, depending on which drug is used and which surgery you are having. Spinal anesthesia has about a 1:1000-1:100 chance of causing a spinal headache. Finally, the incidence of some awareness is slightly more likely with sedation compared to general. But, as far as I am concerned, spinal is better if it’s an option for you.

There is no evidence that one is safer than the other for the average healthy patient. Some certain health conditions can make one more preferable over the other but generally speaking outcomes are the same. With spinal anesthesia less anesthetic can be given so the recovery time is less. This is the benefit that leads most people to choose spinal anesthesia if it’s an option for the patient.