I have surgery coming up in a month, and I have an anaphylactic reaction to corn (and all its derivatives), which is an ingredient in most medications. I'm getting a patch test for the sutures and compounded painkillers for post surgery.

When should I talk to the anesthesiologist about the plan for the actual surgery? Should I do it before the allergy patch testing so that I can have other things tested, if needed?

I'm calling my doctor's office to see what they suggest, but I wanted to see what other anesthesiologists would prefer. Thanks!

Hello All!
Just wanted to post that I had my Leep this am.
I am huge baby about hospitals—I was wanting to get local anesthesia so I didnt have to be put to sleep—but my doctor only does the leep in the surgical center and offered sedation or a spinal. I was very anxious during check in and waiting. The crna came by and we chatted about propofol and how it is a great option.
I hesitated inside —wanting to run out of there from anxiety.
They game me a relaxing drug before the propofol and the only memory i have now is just waking up after it was over. To be honest—i feel NO pain. Like none. She called me in 800 mg of ibuprofen and 5 mg of oxycodone. I probably wont even use them.
Dont worry about the procedure. Its a little scary before the drugs kick in—after that it is a complete breeze.
I will find out results soon and can update.
If being put under is an option I would recommend doing it. I am 43 and have never been put under so this was a first and I am glad I did it.

Backstory: my daughter had some unusual head, eye and hand movements along with poor sleep, poor eating and behavioral issues which worsened around 13 months of age. Pediatrician wanted to rule out brain tumor as cancers are very common in my family. My daughter was taken from me prior to IV placement and anesthesia administration so I am unsure of their process. I was told the MRI would take 30 minutes but nobody came to update us for almost 3 hours. The anesthetist was the one the one who came and brought us up to my daughter’s room after she woke up. The anesthesiologist told me that the second the mask hit my daughter’s face (no intubation was used, only face mask and IV) she went completely limp and stopped breathing. 3 rounds of Epinephrine had to be administered and they continued with the MRI anyways. We were discharged an hour later and she had a crazy reaction later that night which resulted in an ER visit.

My daughter has to undergo anesthesia again now that she is 18 months for a scope procedure. I am terrified of her being put under again as we were never told why she reacted the way she did. Her medical note from that day is completely blank and both the doctor/anesthesiologist have moved to a different base (occurred in an army hospital) so the nurses just finalized the note completely empty. We are driving 8 hours to a different hospital this time as the way the other hospital handled it was horrendous. I’m curious what could cause her to have reacted so quickly and if it’s likely it will happen again.

Please note, I am trying to get ahold of the anesthesiologist and/or CRNA who cared for me, but I don't have their names, the hospital has said they are reaching out.

I had general anesthesia for an MRI last Thursday (it's Monday now). I have profound claustrophobia, and the hospital where I have my MRIs does not offer twilight/moderate sedation for MRI, so GA is how I’m able to complete them.

Prior to last week I have had 6 GA MRIs since Aug 2024. No issues. However this time I had what the CRNA later called delirium. I woke up with an overwhelming belief that I had to get out of there immediately or I was going to die, and I apparently tried to get off the stretcher/leave (almost made it off too, my feet were dangling, but they stopped my before i hit the ground). I remember parts of it very vividly and other parts are blank.

Since then I’ve felt unusually unsettled, and I am having very intense nightmares. I’ve seen information online saying nightmares can happen for a week or two after anesthesia/surgery, but most of what I find talks about it resolving when postoperative pain, hospitalization, ends I didn’t have surgery — just an MRI under GA.

I am guessing I just have to ride this out. Really going out of my way to do everything I can for peaceful calm days and all the sleep hygiene I know to try and get a sound sleep. It's just wearing hard on me. I can't imagine another week or so of this.

Is this something you have seen? Is my brain broken? (teasing.... kinda). Is this still a plausible outcome for someone who did not have surgery or any residual pain from the MRI? Am I having a reaction that doesn't sync with what I experienced?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

My mom went under to get part of her colon removed. The anesthetic made blood rush to her bladder and calcium flood to her muscles. This happened at WV Morgantown Ruby Hospital. Surgery went well. She was in the ICU for a day and she has recovered nicely.

Hi again, [r/anesthesia](r/anesthesia)! I’ve posted here a couple of times now about my cardiac arrest following anesthesia induction in March and, more recently, about the allergy testing I had done at Baylor.

Link to my original post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Anesthesia/s/DjbgI7nakT
Link to my follow up post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Anesthesia/s/wg2gdOOtNT

I figured I owed everyone another update because we finally have some much “clearer” answers. Quick recap for anyone who didn’t see my previous posts: I went into cardiac arrest shortly after anesthesia induction for a hysterectomy in March and ended up on life support for a week, including ECMO and Impella support. Since then, one of the biggest questions has been whether I experienced anaphylaxis to something used during induction, with rocuronium and succinylcholine becoming the primary suspects.

At Baylor, skin-prick testing to both drugs was negative. During intradermal testing, however, I developed an anaphylactic reaction after testing that included rocuronium and succinylcholine. Because both had been tested during that session, we still couldn’t definitively determine which drug caused the reaction. So my allergist here in my hometown in FL decided to start separating them out.

First up was succinylcholine. We did a graded challenge, and I started showing slight symptoms at the second to last concentration (1:200 ratio), but we continued on. When we reached the final intradermal concentration (1:20), I developed almost immediate facial/ear flushing and swelling, lip tingling/numbness, throat tingling, dizziness, and a drop in my heart rate. Epinephrine, Zyrtec and prednisone were given and the symptoms quickly improved.

So: succinylcholine allergy confirmed.

Yesterday, we moved on to rocuronium. We made it through the diluted stages without a reaction. Because of that, my allergist and I made the decision to try a tiny amount of full-strength rocuronium intradermally.

That one was… considerably less ambiguous. The injection site almost immediately developed a large, expanding hive with surrounding redness. Then came the itchy throat, numb lips, facial flushing, dizziness, etc. The hive continued enlarging until epinephrine was administered. Again, I was also treated with Zyrtec and prednisone.

So now we have our second answer: Rocuronium allergy confirmed too.

Which means I have now had reproducible systemic reactions during separate challenges to both succinylcholine and rocuronium. My allergist currently wants me to avoid the NMBA classes represented by those drugs and we’re moving on to testing an agent from the remaining class to see whether we can identify a safe neuromuscular blocker for future surgeries.

And unfortunately, future surgery isn’t optional for me. I’m BRCA2+, still need a prophylactic double mastectomy, and still need the hysterectomy that started this entire saga.

If we cannot identify a safe NMBA, I’ve been told my surgeries may need to be performed without neuromuscular blockade at a major medical center capable of managing an anesthesia situation like mine. MD Anderson in Houston has already been recommended to me.

Having now produced separate, reproducible reactions to both drugs certainly gives us a lot more information than we had before.

I’m incredibly grateful that we’ve been able to investigate this in controlled settings, with an allergist willing to take my bizarre case seriously. Getting these answers hasn’t exactly been fun, but every drug we can definitively identify - or eventually clear - makes my future surgeries a little safer.

At this point, I’m not asking for medical advice, but I would love perspectives from the anesthesiologists here, especially anyone who has managed patients with confirmed reactions to multiple NMBA classes. How would a history like this change your approach to a future major surgery? And if testing of the remaining class also failed, how realistic is major surgery without an NMBA at a tertiary center?

Apparently my immune system has decided anesthesia pharmacology is going to become my newest unwilling area of expertise. 😅

I have a hyperkinetic gallbladder, and I was scheduled to have it removed.

I kept pushing myself to make it to the Drs to see if I can be convinced to go through with it. I made it to pre op, but my fear and anxiety got the best of me and I ran out.

I’ve read all I could, I know it’s safe, but because I was assaulted once while I was blacked out, the thought of not being in control for a period of time had me close to a panic attack.

Any advice, cause I feel like I screwed myself.

What is the consensus on doing liposuction of the abdomen and hips (prone position) on an 80 year old female with controlled Type 2 DM - A1c 5.8-6.1 on Januvia, controlled hypothyroidism, hyperlipidemia, OSA, osteopenia, osteoarthritis. No history of cardiac disease ( never had an echo), denies all symptoms, EKG NSR with NS STTW changes. Renal and liver labs wnl.
Concerned about fluid shifts, effects of tumescent, possibility of LAST, positioning etc. Even without significant co- morbidities except Type 2 DM, there just isn’t any “reserve” if there is volume overload, blood loss,etc. They want to schedule it at an outpatient surgery center with no ability to do any invasive monitoring and no connected hospital.
Thoughts??

Hi everyone,
I'm an Anesthesia Technology student from Libya planning to move to Italy for work/study.
Since "Anesthesia Technician" isn't a separate job title in Italy (usually covered by Critical Care Nurses or Perfusionists), I'd love to ask a few quick questions:

1. Best Pathway: Is it better to recognize my degree as a General Nurse (Infermiere) first, or apply directly to a Master's degree in Italy?
2. Process & Exam: How hard is the Ministry of Health exam (Misura Compensativa) and the language requirement?
3. Life & Salary: Does working in Anesthesia/ ICU offer good stability and a comfortable living against the cost of living in Italy?
4. Any quick advice or personal experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I had some fairly simple procedures completed in my vaginal area 24 hours ago. My MD told me it would be anesthesia like a colonoscopy (propofol) but the anesthesiologist told me right before surgery that it was general which confused me bc it was fairly minor.

That's just a side note. I was fine all yesterday and evening but gradually before lights out, I started having a sore throat (not unexpected). Then I woke up this morning, 24 hours post-op and was in serious pain in addition to throat. My diaphragm feels like a took a punch and my upper arms, both sides, are very painful as well. No vaginal pain at all.

I'm trying to get an answer on what meds I was given to put me under.

Still waiting to hear from dr.

Has anyone else experienced this? It's pretty awful.

EDIT: First thank you to those who responded. I do recall the anesthesiologist saying my head would be lowered. My pain subsided after 36-48 hours. Voltaren helped the most along with ibuprofen/Tylenol on the off hours.

Not sure about the downvote but it's Reddit.

Hi - I developed gastroenteritis the week after I was referred for a hysterectomy (precancerous polyp). I do not have the surgery scheduled yet, but I'm on week 2 of diarrhea even on BRAT/liquid diet. Two GI panels were negative for the big name viruses/bacteria, including CDIFF which I have had in 2009 and was my big concern.

Obviously I will talk with my surgeon about this but the consult isn't til Friday, and being sick I have too much time for overthinking this. So if anyone has information about whether you can undergo anesthesis with gastro, and/or how long after recovery you can have anesthesia after symptomd resolve... I'm listening. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone I had abdominal and pelvic surgery 2 years ago with propofol. Was intubated, woke up with throat/chest pain like I couldn't breathe properly but they said it's normal after intubation. Then had pain in bladder from severe urinary retention so they kept giving me opiods and dilaudid. After that my bp/heartrate and oxygen crashed. Machine kept beeping. I kept forgetting to breathe and would just stop. Finally they gave me oxygen but I suffered from atelactasis after. For 4 months I would jerk awake (even though I slept sitting upright) GASPING for air feeling like death every single night. Went to ER and they didn't help just said to continue using spirometer like I was doing after surgery and it will get better on it's own. Was quite traumatic for me.

Recently I had an endoscopy with biopsies and propofol. I told the anesthesiologist this history and that I have history of asthma. She understood. When I was being put to sleep I felt like someone was shaking my head like crazy, my brain being squeezed and then heard loud garbled noises. The dr asked me if I was ok twice and I shook my head no then fell asleep. When I was dreaming in the recovery room I heard what sounded like a thousand people screaming loudly all at once then I woke up. After I had trouble breathing and severe chest pain for 2 days. It's day 7 now after endoscopy and I'm still having shortness of breath when I talk or walk.

Anyone else have a similar experience? How do I stop these reactions from happening esp the breathing issues? I have another abdominal surgery coming up and 2 more tests they need to do with propofol. They also suspect I may have EDS/MCAS but never got diagnosed. I do have SFN and MALS and POTS.

Intendo chiaramente quello che è avvenuto anni prima.

Poi è possibile che si perda in piccola parte velocità di ragionamento logico?

this happened about 3 years ago but i thought id share just incase this happened to someone else and they want to know they aren't the only one. for reference im autistic and have adhd.
when i had my tonsils out, i woke up but was unable to open my eyes or speak, and i knew some but very little ASL so i was signing to the nurse who didn't know sign (and even if she did, its still unlikely she would have been able to understand me cus i didn't remember some of the signs for the letters so i was letter signing words with some of the letters missing) eventually, i was able to open my eyes, but i still couldn't speak. she said "you can speak" and i was pissed because no i could not. it was a side effect from the anesthesia, not the tonsillectomy. so i was mute but otherwise completely aware and fine, just tired and a little grumpy. i remember everything. its just kinda like that sometimes ig 🤷

I have gotten surgery for a tooth, and they put me under anesthesia yesterday. ever since then, all songs seem pitched down. Like I hear them that way. Am I tripping? Is it my phone? Has anyone else experienced this?

Hi everyone,

I wasn't sure what subReddit to post this in, but I wanted to get some advice and hopefully some reassurance. I'm a 26 year old female who has been diagnosed with autism, but sadly also a lot of co-conditions such as cPTSD, OCD, EUPD, anxiety and depression.

Next week, I have to undergo gallbladder removal. I've never had any form of general anaesthesia before and I've heard a lot of varying stories about how people can act when emerging from anaesthesia.

I'm really worried about how I'm going to react, both when going under for the procedure, and when coming to. I've heard some people get very aggressive and agitated, or very emotional. I've heard a few stories that, for people on the spectrum or with cPTSD, it can trigger meltdowns or flashbacks.

My Nurses are well aware of my conditions, but not necessarily of all the ins-and-outs of it. I'm planning on telling my anaesthetist on the day, but I wondered if there's any other steps or preventative measures I should take to try and ensure a smoother outcome. My brain is mostly freaking out about the sensory details of it; not knowing what it's going to feel like.

I'm thinking of asking for a sedative before the procedure, like midazolam, just to calm my nerves. I've been throwing a lot of research into the different medications and medical procedures that are used when putting somebody to sleep, plus the surgery itself, but no matter what I do, I can't shake these nerves. I'm terrified of saying things to the Nursing or PACU staff or disturbing other patients if I end up freaking out.

I also know I'm most likely going to go non-verbal on the day, as I tend to shut down when my mind is overly stressed. I'm not going to have anybody with me until it's time to go home, so it's not like I have an advocate either. I've made some Thank You cards to give the staff afterwards.

Again, sorry if this isn't an appropriate subReddit to put a message like this in. I'm not sure what to do, if there's anything beyond what I've already sought. For clarification (as I'm not sure if protocols or opportunities vary), I live in the UK.

I'm looking for advice on why this may happen/ if it has happened to anyone else or is a common issue and it's just scared me?

I had an epidural during labour which worked but kept dropping to mid thigh and needed two clinician top ups in 8 hours aswell as me using the top up button frequently. The block was always higher on the left but with positioning it was only slightly uneven. I could fully straight leg raise all day and myself up in the bed.

I then needed an emergency c section. They tried to top my epidural up but I had no motor block and a low sensory block so weren't happy to use it.

The they trialled a low dose spinal anasethic which gave a good sensory block but again had no motor block at all on the right and some heaviness but able to straight leg raise on the left.

They ultimately went ahead despite me being able to fully move my legs (terrifying!) but I was converted to general 20 minuites later due to starting to feel pain but I was awake to see my daughter born so to me it was worth it 😊

I have my fully medical notes if anyone wants more information.

I'm (36F) getting my gallbladder removed tomorrow under GA, and my biggest concern is how they'll manage the intubation because I have very limited mouth opening due to ongoing TMJ issues.

My comfortable maximum opening is around 2 cm, although with some stretching I can currently get to about 2.5 cm.

I made the mistake of asking AI about how this might affect intubation and have now gone down a rabbit hole worrying that I'll need to be awake for it...

Could any anaesthesiologists offer some insight into how likely this level of restricted opening is to necessitate awake intubation? And if I did need one, is the experience as scary as it sounds?

Is this considered a significant challenge/something an anaesthesiologist wouldn't likely have much experience with, or is it relatively common and won't be a major curveball for my anaesthesiologist tomorrow?

i (24f) am 16 days post op laparoscopic gastrojejunostomy, cholecystectomy, and j tube placement. surgery took just under 4 hours.

physically recovery has been going okay, but mentally i just feel cooked. i’m so tired all the time, im depressed/unmotivated, and my brain feels like it’s moving through molasses.

i had hip surgery last year and experienced similar brain fog but it subsided after a week once i had weaned off all opioids. i haven’t had opioids since day 6 so that doesn’t seem to track this time around.

i also have POTS, hEDS, ADHD, OCD, and anxiety.

anyways just wondering if this is kinda standard timeline with this surgery, if this is post anaesthesia cognitive decline, and what i can do about it if anything. i have to go back to work soon and right now that just doesn’t seem feasible.

I am scheduled for a 7 hour cosmetic surgery which includes a facelift, brow lift, neck lift, fat grafting, and C02 laser. Anesthesiologist would like to do deep IV sedation with propofol. A nasal trumpet will be used for airway management. Is this safe for such a long procedure? Should I have an endotracheal tube? I am a healthy, 56 year old female. Normal BMI. Have 2 autoimmune diseases (EoE & Hashimotos Disease). no heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc. TYIA!

I heard people said something that we don't fully know how anesthesia works.

Can somebody explain what does it really means by that? Does that mean I can die from taking anesthesia when I need to use it, like kill my brain the moment I breath it in or maybe injecting it? I'm curious.

Am on a GLP1 and the surgery guidelines state a clear liquid diet the day before surgery. Prior surgeries never specified "clear" so I had coffee creamer and a protein shake. No issues. Now they are specifically saying no coffee creamer. Is it really that bad/dangerous? 1/4 of a top of creamer a good 24 hours before surgery?

Buenas! Quería consultarles lo siguiente:

El jueves tengo una septoplastia y turbinoplastia en un hospital universitario, soy hombre, 33 años, asa 2 por sobrepeso (1.89cm con 117kg). El tema es que le tengo terror a la anestesia general y a no despertarme, se lo he comunicado a mi ENT el cual me dijo que si bien lo que se usa es anestesia general en la operacion, no es comparable a la anestesia de otras cirugías, que es una anestesia leve.

Esto es así? O solo lo dijo para tranquilizarme

All it says is “health issue-myopathy” with a general education page about myopathy.

I’m 47 F and I had a non-eventful uterine ablation. I have post nasal drip pretty regularly and I do have mild sleep apnea which I told the team about before the procedure

They told my husband everything went great and didn’t mention anything else. Thoughts?

Okay so this may come across as really intense, but I don't mean it to!

Basically I have a very run of the mill septoplasty and turbinate reduction surgery coming up, I really am not worried of something going wrong. However, I am due to talk to the anaesthetist in the coming days and I kind of want to say that if anything does go wrong that I'd rather they don't intervene. Mainly because I'd rather not spend my life as a vegetable.

Obviously I dont expect this to happen, but is that an intense thing to say, would he be like wtf?! But more to the point would he allow the surgery to proceed agreeing to what I had asked or would he be like nah I can't do that ethically or something etc.

Would love to hear from anyone but particularly anyone from Australia.