I woke up during surgery!
 

Hi Everyone, I was just wondering if this has happened to anyone else? Friday I underwent what was suppose to be a minor surgery to remove a pin in my foot, well I ended up waking up during surgery and was very much in pain! I even was able to lift my head enough to see them working on my foot. It took me crying out "ouch" in order for them to give more meds. At first they didnt even say anything to me even though I was moving around, then after letting them know I could feel the doctor chiseling bone away, the anes. dr said "im going to give you more meds now okay?" (i found out after he could not remove the pin, so he chipped some bone away so it would not rub against another bone).

Just wondering if anyone else woke during a surgery and if they were able to feel pain?

I woke up in the middle of knee surgery when I was 18. I was also in terrible pain. Im sorry that happened to you! :eek: Hope you are feeling good now!

well, I bet that wasn't too much fun..not that you were enjoying it to begin with anyway:eek:

I didn't wake up during surgery, but when I was having a c-section I could feel them cutting me...my epidural didn't go up high enough...I should have had a clue when they swabbed my stomach and it stung...but I was preoccupied...until I felt them cutting, I said "hey wait...I feel you cutting"...next thing I know I woke up with a baby boy (which I was told was a girl, but that's a whole 'nother story)

Hope you and your foot are feeling better!!

Wow, that's an intense experience!

I can't say I've woken up from surgery per say but pretty darn close. I had two of my wisdom teeth removed a few years ago. My Mom sprung for the "good meds" aka getting twilight anesthesia while they were doing the procedure. It's not technically a local anesthesia but it makes you fall asleep and feel no pain. Some where in the middle of it I woke up, became conscious, felt no pain, very little pressure/movement, but I heard the doctor and nurses talking! They were totally chit chatting like it was no big deal, talking about their plans for the weekend! I remember being rather offended they were taking the entire procedure so lightly and then next thing I knew I was waking up woozy. :D

When I was a child I was awake for my tonsil being removed. Talk about making a kid afriad of Dr.s. I ended up with my throat ripping and ALOT of stiches. And a deep rooted fear of medical personal.

Wow! That is so scary. Thank God you were able to let them know you were in pain and needed more meds! I have heard stories of people waking up and feeling the pain but not being able to move or speak to let anyone know what was happening to them! Now that's scary!! Glad you're okay!

I've woken up during several procedures. I always tell them that I tend to do this and yet they either don't believe me or think they have it covered. In answer to your question the only time I felt pain was the end of a colonoscopy when I woke up as they made that sharp turn and yes that was painful. Hope you're doing better. My husband has foot problems but won't let them put the pin in through the front of his ankle. Diana

I can't believe it has happened to so many other people! It is an experience I will never forget. I also am grateful I was able to move around and let them know I felt pain. I heard a lot of anesthics have something in it to paralize you, so I doubt that was in the coctail thank god. I cant imagine if I had to go through most the surgery feeling everything. I did a search and supposedly its fairly common :eek: :eek: :eek:

oh gosh!! i cant imagine that!!! i had my tonsils and adenoids out almost 2 years ago and that was what i was terrified of. i told every doctor or nurse or anyone that came in "i dont care what my height and weight say to give me, make sure i have more so i dont wake up" i had nightmares about that for like a week before. im sorry that happened to you, i cant imagine. id be so creeped out and scared.

oh my god, i am getting my tonsils out in two days and i am so scared of this happening!!

Don't worry. It is common, but not that common. Ive had 2 surgeries and didn't wake for either. I slept nice and long. Ive had my tonsils out and my wisdom teeth out.

It seems like alot...because everyone is confessing here...you will be fine. I have had my tonsils, gall bladder, c-section, ectopic, mass in abdomen removed...didn't feel a thing, never woke up.

Now with that aside....holy cow! I would hate to experience that...I know for my c-section I kept hitting my legs saying, I can still feel my legs. Later on, Anes. said I had too much for my weight/height. lol...I was okay with that!

OMG! This sounds soooo scary....I've never heard of that happening to anyone before....how frightening! Am glad to hear u r ok now xxx

ahhh that must have been painful!
It kinda reminds me of that movie Awake with Jessica Alba, pretty scary stuff!!!
I once had local anestecia while they were making a few holes in my scalp in order to insert some type of aparatus that was going to help straighten my spine (I broke my neck :eek:), well, I was awake during that whole ordeal, didn't have much pain, but the noise of the drill in my head was pretty scary and annoying... plus the whole surgery room experience wasn't pleasant..

I work in the OR everyday as a OR tech~you know the one that sets the room, passes the instruments, works along side the doctor while he is doing surgery.

I'll explain this as simply as possible~there are many factors that go into giving someone anesthesia for a surgery and also many different types of drugs that do different things during surgery.

Depending on the type of surgery you are having, that is how they decided what type they are going to give you. So you cannot compare a c-section to a gallbladder to a T&A. Also your health is assessed by the anesthesiologst and that has a HUGE part to plan in how deep they will put you under. Also you there are different levels of sedation. They are not going to put you to sleep as deeply for a pin removal as they would when you have your gallbladder removed. A c section is usually done with an epidural so you are awake but groggy. T & A you are not going to be a sleep very deeply because it only takes a few minute~literally to remove your tonsills and adnoids.

If you are a drinker or recreational drug user this also plays a HUGE part in how you react to being put under. So when they ask you those questions about drinking and drugs (pot, coke, others) you had better be very honest in what you tell them. The take all of this in to account when they give you the drugs to put you to sleep.

As for it happening a lot~NOT TRUE! It will happen occasionally but people are NOT waking up during surgery on a regular basis. Paralyzing drugs are not used during every surgery and cannot be used on many different cases. This is also dependant upon the type of surgery you are having.

Colonoscopy is done strictly with Versiad (sp?) which makes you forget and is also used in regular surgery. We like to call it happy juice. They give it to you and you just don't give cr@@@p and also don't remember.

When you are asked if you ate or drank in the past 12 hours you had better be VERY HONEST about that as well. If you are have eaten and think they will never know~you are wrong! You could easily asperate and never wake up~~DEAD. No water, gum, coffee, toast NOTHING!

Finally, I have had 6 MAJOR surgeries and NEVER woke up during any. I went to sleep and woke up in recovery. No need for a massive panic!

Oh thats like a nightmare! :( Im so sorry that happened to you! YOu'd think they would know by now what to give for meds/gas whatnot so that would not happen to anyone, that could seriously freak people out for life!

I woke up in the middle of having my wisdom teeth removed. Tried to get up out of the chair. They gave me more gas! I was out for HOURS after that! I still remember it and I was only 17 at the time!

I dont drink
I dont smoke
I didnt eat for more than 18 hours
I didnt drink water or anything for more than 18 hours

I am healthy as a horse and have no drug history, and I dont care how minor the surgery was suppose to be, there was no reason why I should have been under light anesthesia. When a dr cuts someone open they should be knocked out or numbed up. They were literally yanking my foot around checking for movement and drilling off bone, I think I should have had a little stronger coctail for my "pin removal"

After all this, not one of the staff mentioned what happened. The dr finally asked me if i "rememebered anything"

Maybe its because you never woke up during surgery and FELT THE PAIN but I feel it is cause and a very valid reason to be upset.

If it doesnt happen often, then why is there a handful of people on here that have had an experience with waking up during surgery?

What an awful experience!
 

How scary that must have been! There was an article about this in Readers Digest (I think it was) a few years ago. There were several people who told about waking during surgery and having had the paralysing medicine and not being able to move or let the doctors know that they were awake. I don't think it is really common, but it did mention that they started a group for people that this happened to. Many of them the doctors didn't believe them when they told them after that they were awake and how painful it was. But some of them were able to tell the doctors what they had been talking about etc. and convinced them.

I am glad yours was only minor surgery. That was bad enough. Some of these people were having major surgery.

Look what I just found on Google: waking up during surgery - Google Search

According to a USA Today article from 5 years ago anesthesia failure that allows a patient to wake up during surgery paralyzed and unable to cry for help happens at least 100 times a day in the US!!!!
USATODAY.com - Study: 100 patients a day in USA wake up during surgery

This more recent article 30,000 people a year wake during surgery - Health care - MSNBC.com
says it is more like 30,000 people a year!! :eek:

It may still be a small percentage of overall surgeries performed, but still...to that person it happens to what a devastating experience.

Me too!!!
 

So sorry this happened to you!!

This same thing happened to me too- I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth, was "put under" and all the while I could hear the Dr. & Nurses telling jokes and laughing; I did not feel pain but I could feel myself crying.

This also happened to me! I heard the Dr. say, something about a "sharp turn," I felt excruciating pain, screamed, then the next thing I knew, I was awake and the Dr. & nurses were looking at me kind of funny....I think I might have kicked the Dr.!!:eek::D

This is totally a nightmare of mine!! I've only had one surgery (tonsils when I was little) but I've always been scared of this happening. I think I fell like this could happen to me because every time I used to go to the dentist he would numb me and then start working on me and I would tell him I could feel it and he would say no, you can't and I would say yes, I can. I finally found out that I could use another drug that works better (I use Articane because Novicane doesn't work on me). I guess the doctors like to use the Novicane because it is cheaper and the Articane is more expensive. Now it is on my notes to use the Articane and I always make sure to ask him just to make sure it is the good stuff. So because of this experience I feel like stuff doesn't work on me like it is supposed to so I feel like the whole not being asleep thing could happen to me!

I'm not crazy...
 

I was in a bad accident on a ride @ a local amusement park. I had nerve damage to my right arm and had to have surgery to move the nerves under the muscles on my arm. I woke up during the surgery. I kept telling them and no one did anything. I ended uo hitting the Dr. in the face with my left arm and then everyone heard him hit the floor...They then put me under AGAIN!! Needless to say the surgery did not work and I have no feeling from my elbow down including my 2 last fingers!! I've always wondered if he did it on purpose since I hit him!!! I called the Medical Association on him. He's still in practice. So, it didn't do a bit of good to report him!!! Sory this has happened to others!!!:aimeeyork Baron's Mom

How horrible for you. I personally have never had such a scary & painful experience, but when my husband was young and had his tonsils removed, his body was put out but not his mind. He felt everything but couldn't do anything except feel is tears running down each side of his face. He said he would never be put under again. Horrible!!!

I woke up in the middle of my wrist surgery when I was 14. I didn't feel any pain though. I was very drowsy. They saw me open my eyes and start squirming some, then they put the gas mask thing back over my face and I was out again. Thankfully I didn't wake up during my knee surgery 1.5 years ago.

AHH I did not need to know that. Now i am even more scared. Now I see why you told me to stay out of this thread. I don't want to be put under "lightly".. I want to be out cold!! I am going to tell them to knock me out good. Now I am looking at links :( I have to PM you about something also..

i did during my wisdom teeth extraction.. i couldnt feel anything i just lifted my head around and remember it was blurry and i went back to sleep.. sorry u felt the pain.. ouch :( must have been scary for you... hope youre feeling better

Your anesthesiologists was not watching you. That is the reason you work up. When you have surgery, that is who is in charge of the room and you. The surgeon follows his lead. So you need to ask him why you woke up during your pin removal. Why would you expect the nurse or anyone else in the room to tell you that you started to wake up. Yes it happens but you care comparing all different people, procedures, medical condition, history and concluding this happens all the time. It does not and I have seen thousands of surgeries.

I had MAJOR surgery and you cannot compare having a pin removal to a hysterectomy or open gallbladder or even an etopic pregnancy. Those are all surgeries that you are put into a different type of sleep.

You have every right to be upset, but you need not be upset with me. I am stating what I have seen in the many years I have been working the an OR.

:eek:so sorry for the pain, that is just so scary:(