SEDATION & ANESTHESIA
Not all sedation or anesthesia plans are the same. How you will be kept comfortable will depend on where your procedure is done (big hospital or small office setting), what procedure you’re having, and your state of health. Understanding the different levels, or stages, of anesthesia can help you prepare your body and mind for your exam or surgery. The goal of anesthesia and/or sedation is to keep you safe and comfortable, in that order.
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WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT
Anesthesia for a colonoscopy is different than the anesthesia a patient can expect for open heart surgery. Both, however, require whomever is giving you anesthesia to know your health history as accurately as possible. Your job is report your unique history as completely as you can. Allergies to certain medications will change what medicines you may be given. If you have a recent cold or chronic cough, this information will help keep your breathing safe during and after your procedure. Using drugs like marijuana, anxiety medicines like Xanax regularly, or daily use of alcohol may mean you need more anesthesia. This is all to say, speaking to your anesthesia provider requires full honesty to take care of you safely.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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Not all anesthesia will “put you to sleep”
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You are continuously monitored with any anesthetic or sedation (e.g. breathing, heart rate, blood pressure). A person is ALWAYS with you looking at these numbers
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Do not eat 8 hours or less before your procedure unless your doctor has said it’s okay
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Report all medications, vitamins, supplements, injections, or drugs that you take to the person giving you anesthesia
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Anesthesia is very safe. In 2019, nearly 30 million hospital-based surgeries were done. Of those, the most common complaints after anesthesia were sore throat and nausea.
TYPES OF ANESTHESIA
General Anesthesia - What most think of when they think of anesthesia. With general anesthesia, you are unconscious and cannot feel or hear. Your breathing may need to be assisted by giving your extra oxygen with a mask or even putting a breathing tube down into your lungs thru your mouth or nose.
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Sedation - There are different levels of sedation. They all aim to make you less anxious or nervous, but it is not as deep of a “sleep” as general anesthesia. You may still hear or feel minor things. The medicine goes in your IV or you may breath laughing gas (nitrous oxide) to relax you.
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Regional anesthesia - Think of the dentist. Your gums can be numbed to pull out a tooth. This is regional anesthesia. Your whole arm can be numbed by placing numbing medicine right on the nerves or just a little patch where you may be getting a mole removed. Epidurals for delivering a baby also fall into this category. You are awake unless sedation is given. (You can get more than one type of anesthesia at a time).
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Local Anesthesia - This is an version of regional anesthesia. The health provider will inject numbing medicine in the skin or apply a cream or gel on the surface being worked on to numb a small patch of skin and tissue to perform a procedure.
WHAT I NEED TO DO TO PREPARE FOR ANESTHESIA?
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Bring your questions for the anesthesia provider
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Bring a list of anything you put in your body this is NOT food
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DO NOT eat after midnight the night before your procedure unless you have asked or are instructed to do so by the doctors or nurses involved in your care
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Report allergies to medications or things on your skin (e.g. Latex, tapes, iodine)
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Tell your anesthesia provider any painful, bad, or upsetting experiences you had with anesthesia in the past.
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Report missing or loose teeth
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Make sure you have someone to take you home. You CANNOT drive after anesthesia or sedation
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR
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Should I expect to be completely unconscious?
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What is the plan for pain management? What level of pain should I expect?
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What side effects should I expect? Is there anything that could happen that is should alert you to (anesthesia provider or the nurse)?
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When can I eat again?
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If I use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea, should I use it or bring it the day of surgery?
ADDITIONAL READING & RESOURCES
