“What does waking up from anesthesia feel like?”

It varies from person to person and depends on the procedure and length. Some people feel dizzy, or nauseous, others agitation, or even euphoria.

You won't remember much. Depending on the anesthesia type, you may feel euphoric or nothing at all.

Boris Yaguda, M.D.

Like waking up from a drunken stupor.

It depends on the type of anesthesia you’re given. If you receive local or regional anesthesia, where local anesthetic is injected into the area or region of the body being operated on, you will not feel any effect of anesthesia more than numbing of the area(s) involved for a few hours. If you receive general anesthesia, you should expect to feel foggy for a few hours or the entire day. If a tube was inserted into your throat to help you breath during the anesthesia, you might have scratchy throat for the entire day. You might feel nauseated or even vomit sometimes after general anesthesia. That would usually be treated before you’re discharged from the surgery center or hospital.

There are several different ways people may feel. Some rest quietly. Pain ranges from nonexistent to extreme, some are delusional. It is variable.

It depends on what type of anesthetic you are having, your general health and length of the procedure. Most anesthesia is a combination of sedation and pain control by IV, and if needed supplementation of anesthesia by gas. You should not experience any untoward affects waking up. Some people will experience some nausea, lightheadedness or grogginess for a short time after the procedure. Nausea can be controlled with medication. In general these side effects are transient.