“Is general anesthesia scary?”
I am a 30 year old male. I will have surgery under general anesthesia for the first time. Is general anesthesia scary?
3 Answers
It depends on your medical history and type of procedures. Generally general anesthetic is safe for otherwise healthy patients and if you have specific concerns you can talk to your surgeon about an anesthesia consult regarding your particular surgery but mostly we give our patients medication to relieve their anxiety before going to surgery and most people are comfortable going back to surgery.
General anesthesia is not fearful; it is wonderfully easy. You will have an oxygen monitor placed on a finger, a blood pressure cuff on an arm, and a few sticky pads put on your chest to monitor your ECG, then you will breathe some oxygen and then drift off to a peaceful sleep. Before you know it, you will be waking up pain-free and your surgery will be completed. Easy as pie!
Trust your doctors. Follow the instructions of your anesthesiologist. General anesthesia is like a trip. It doesn't need to be scary.
