Anesthesiologist questions...please help!!

[LynneB 0]

I know there are stickys for surgeon FAQ's, but I am looking for questions to ask only of anesthesia Dr & team. A couple I thought of were:

Do you use brainwave monitors to check for awareness during surgery?

What meds are given for nausea both before& after?

I went for preop testing today & anes. was the only ones I didnt get to meet with (they were really backed up) so I wont get to talk to them till Thurs just before I go into the OR & I want to have a list of questions ready for them since I wont have much time w/ them like originally planned.

Thanks for your help!

[Wheetsin 714]

I don't believe we have any anesthesiologists here, perhaps some team members, I don't know. I would suggest calling the anesthesiologist who will do your surgeon's/your procedure and asking them. You may not get (reliable, if any) answers here.

[LynneB 0]

not necessarily looking for answers, mainly just ideas & suggestions of what questions to ask them on Thurs morning. Sorry I guess I didnt clarify that to well, after almost 3 weeks of liquids, my brain is a puddle!! LOL

[Wheetsin 714]

Hmm, misunderstood that. I don't think I asked anything other than how much for them to not kill me. Jokingly, as a former wannabe anesthesiologist... and it wasn't appreciated. Hopefully you can find some good input.

[mama59 0]

It is quite common not to talk to anesthesia until the morning of surgery. You can't usually call them up either. Most don't have an office. They go to work at surgery, they are there all day and they go home from there. Usually they have a billing office. The nurse you spoke to for your pre-op interview should have answered most questions about the anesthesia. The morning of surgery the Anesthesiologist will come in and introduce themselves to you. You will have a general anesthetic which means you will get medicine thru your IV to relax you and then they give you other meds to put you to sleep. Once you are asleep they intubate you with a breathing tube. You have monitors for your heart, blood pressure, Oxy gen level, temperature etc. They do the surgery and you wake up in recovery. Hope that helps a little. mama59:smile:

[dg2tex69 0]

I"m also being banded on April 17 but here in Plano, Texas. Best of luck to you and may you have a speedy recovery!!!

[Sgt Bob 1]

I went to my Pre Admission Testing today and they told me that I should take my Nexium (and only that) the morning of the surgery, as it would help to prevent nausea during and after anesthesia. Do you have anything like that?

If you do, maybe you could call the pre-op people and ask about it.

[IRC 0]

I was banded 2 days ago. I also was told to take my Nexium before I got to the hospital. When the anesthesiologist came in we discussed giving me something for nausea also. So glad she did because in recovery they had to give me another shot of nausea medicine because I was still very nauseaous. So they are very willing to comply.

Edited April 16, 2008 by IRC
Sorry - Reply was meant for Bob

[kozlosap 0]

Hi Counting! Please don't worry about waking up during surgery. I spoke with my DBIL who is a neurosurgeon. He said that no matter what TV shows we watch on cable, he's never had a patient wake up in the OR unless he woke them up on purpose for nerve testing. He also indicated that it's routine to give meds for nausea in your IV before you leave the OR. Generally you also might get a dose of antibiotics too. I'll have to remember all of the stuff he told me so that when it's my turn to have my "big day", I won't bug him! Hope this helped a little.

Edited April 16, 2008 by kozlosap

[Enchanted 2]

I think the original question was more about awareness during the surgery -- not necessarily waking up in the middle. Apparently, what happens is that the patient is paralyzed (on purpose from the anesthesia), but aware of what is going on.

There was a movie on this topic recently and The View did a segment on the same subject. After hearing two terrible stories from women who were aware during their surgeries, a physician was asked how often this happens. I believe the answer was 1 in 100,000? It's very rare and apparently most often caused by patients not giving complete and accurate histories (meds taken, drug use, etc.), but can happen for "no apparent reason," too.

The question I will have is: how many of these surgeries have you attended? I want to see how experienced the doctor is at administering anesthetic to overweight patients -- we're more risky.

Good luck with your surgery.

Christine

Hi Counting! Please don't worry about waking up during surgery. I spoke with my DBIL who is a neurosurgeon. He said that no matter what TV shows we watch on cable, he's never had a patient wake up in the OR unless he woke them up on purpose for nerve testing. He also indicated that it's routine to give meds for nausea in your IV before you leave the OR. Generally you also might get a dose of antibiotics too. I'll have to remember all of the stuff he told me so that when it's my turn to have my "big day", I won't bug him! Hope this helped a little.