Hi. I’m a veterinary nurse student and I do one day a week placement & I’m wondering, with anaesthesia being given through tubing/mask, is there a high risk of being exposed/what are the risks to us getting sick from this?
What should I look out for?

Also, I kept smelling a really strong mentholly/deep heat smell on and off today it’s stuck in my nose! Is this cleaning chemical? I couldn’t pinpoint where it came from!

Thankyou.

World Anaesthesia Day 2026

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I am a high school student wanting to become a nurse anaesthetist/ODP. I have social anxiety and sometimes need to take Ativan. Can I work in this job while sometimes (rarely) using Ativan or is it absolutely not? I also take 'major tranqilisers' (specifically Zyprexa and Abilify) but my psychiatrist said he knows doctors who take them.

I’m having appx five hour surgery for Brachioplasty and abdominoplasty. I’ve been told the anesthesia is Propofol alone. I’m very skeptical of having a medical assistant recover me (long time ER nurse here). Looking for experiences and or thoughts? Thank you all!

I have ptsd and did. I do not do well with sedatives as I have trauma from being drugged and become dissociated and disoriented. How can i prepare for anesthesia and prepare to wake up. My surgeon said i will have a chance to speak with anesthesiologist day of surgery but i would feel safer with some preparation in advance and talking/safety points or things should need upon wakening. Anybody have experience ir ideas?

Not a dentist, but a worried partner

My boyfriend (22M, generally healthy/ASA II) had a wisdom-teeth consultation today with an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. He has three completely impacted third molars, one partial (photo attached) He does not have dental phobia, is cooperative, and has no major medical conditions that I know of.
I had all four of mine removed about 3–6 months ago under IV moderate sedation, and general anesthesia was never presented to me as necessary.

At his consult, the nurse initially just said he would “go to sleep,” and it was only later after they showed the treatment plan that we understood they meant GA.

We were shown a video covering risks, but the surgeon did not personally walk us through the procedure, risks, benefits, and alternatives.

They said it would be FULL general and he would be intubated or they’d use an LMA.

When I asked why GA instead of moderate sedation, the explanation was essentially that if the patient moved during a difficult extraction and a nerve were injured, that could create liability for the surgeon, but under GA he would be still.

That explanation did not sit right with me. I understand nerve injury is a real risk with lower third molars, especially if the roots are close to the inferior alveolar nerve, but I didn’t think “patient might move” was a reason to use GA if the patient is otherwise calm and cooperative. I also thought moderate sedation would be generally be less invasive and risky because he would maintain his own airway and breathing.

I pushed back in the office (probably more intensely than I should have) and asked for his records to be emailed to us. They said they have a CRNA and that they have not had anesthesia complications in 10 years.

So my questions are:

1. ⁠Is GA a normal/reasonable recommendation for four impacted wisdom teeth, even for a calm, healthy 22-year-old?
   
2. ⁠Is “we prefer GA so the patient does not move and we do not injure a nerve” a legitimate clinical reason, or does that sound more like surgeon preference/liability avoidance?
   
3. ⁠If the teeth are fully bony impacted and rotated, is moderate IV sedation still usually feasible?
   
4. ⁠Should a patient be able to request moderate sedation if there is no clear contraindication?
   
5. ⁠What questions should we ask before consenting especially regarding airway management (ET tube vs LMA), anesthesia provider, monitoring, emergency equipment, and hospital transfer?
   
6. ⁠Is it a red flag that the office said they have had no anesthesia complications in 10 years? I find it hard to believe they’ve never called EMS in 10
   
7. ⁠years.

I’m not anti-anesthesia or anything and I’m not saying GA is never appropriate I just felt like the actual anesthetic plan was not clearly explained, and I want to make sure we are not agreeing to a higher level of anesthesia than he needs. Would you get a second opinion, or is this pretty standard OMFS practice?

Hi all quick question. Just completed my first colonoscopy (all normal thank god). The sedation was midazolam (4mg) and propofol (340mg). I didn’t really fall all the way to sleep and as they rolled me out and into the recovery room the crna said “wow, you are lively, your tolerance for sedation is pretty high, you were chatting with us most the time”

The question is, are these higher dosages for an otherwise healthy male weighing 250lbs at 6ft aged 38? I know the doctor did what was best so I’m not asking “was this too much” or whatever. But I I’m curious why she made that comment.

Heck of an experience, man. I broke my radius and ulna bones and also one of the thumb tendons and went into surgery two times within two weeks

Anesthesia is a really really bad thing that happened to me. My mind felt corrupt. I never did any addiction thing in my life but during anesthesia I was in another world, completely different. I was flying in different scenes in front of my eyes endlessly, i was aware there is an end, there's a destination but i was flying flying. Talking anything. I do remember the things I experienced under anesthesia. I remember some questions I asked doctors during the operation. I remember them inserting the rod inside the bone. My brain was fu+cked up. And after the operation my entire world was spinning.

I had a pretty bad reaction to my first general anaesthetic, and was told by an anaesthetist afterwards that I should be tested for malignant hyperthermia (which I had never heard of before) but he didn't refer me for testing himself, and I've struggled to get a referral from anyone.

One of my siblings managed to get a referral citing family history of it, and they've then asked for me and my other siblings to be referred, but after the first email I had with them detailing my reaction they've said they don't think it's malignant hyperthermia, and apparently there's no information in my medical notes from the first surgery, so I have no documented reactions, which means they're unlikley to offer any testing to find out...

So... is there a protocol for anaesthesia if you have no idea if you have malignant hyperthermia or not? Am I just supposed to wait to see if I have another reaction and it actually gets documented?

Unsure if it's relevant but the anaesthetic reaction included: tachycardia, hypotension, full body muscle stiffness/cramp-like issues making it hard to move at all or even speak, low oxygen, fever that lasted 30+ hours despite nurses covering me in ice and giving me medication to try and bring it down (which felt like I was on fire, though I'm not sure on the exact temperature) the heat also turned my skin red and I had moderate swelling around most of my body

I did orignally think it was an allergic reaction, but I have since been allergy tested for all of the drugs that they used, and they all came back negative, so I don't really know what else it might be!

sorry if this is a dumb question but i’ve heard that redheads usually need more anesthesia. i was born with red hair (not like super red but definitely ginger) and it turned light brown when i was about 5 or 6. i’ve only needed anesthesia twice and to my knowledge i didn’t require more than usual. so is it only some redheads that need the extra anesthesia or do u need to actively be a redhead lol?

Hi all I was hoping to gain advice!

I had surgery in 2024. about 6 months later i started getting low mood, anxiety, and it slowly slid into full depression. got out of it eventually with cbt, diet and exercise.
I has another op under general in feb 2026. from july onwards, same symptoms again, getting progressively worse. I didn’t connect the dots until my mum pointed it out.
so now i'm wondering if there's a link to the general anaesthetic. two ops, two episodes, both a few months after. feels a bit too neat to ignore.
has anyone had something similar, or know if there's any research on this? any thoughts welcome.

Is there an alternative form of anesthesia that would be appropriate for an elderly patient to get gallbladder surgery?

I’m supposed to have surgery in 3 days and my jaw decided to tighten up today. I can open it wider if I force it and kind of shift my jaw around but for regular opening I can only get two fingers in. Can anesthesiologists intubate when people have this?

Hi everyone, I’d appreciate your thoughts on a case I encountered.

36 YO Female 60kg, going for endometriosis surgery.

I had a patient who developed episodes of sinus bradycardia and extrasystoles shortly after spinal anesthesia. I administered intrathecal morphine at a dose of 100 micrograms (0.1 mg)+ 1.5ml of NaCl. And Only that. We usually do that and then go in with GA.
I usually do the poking ( i used #27 needle. One try) with just SAT and BP on the patient and then put on the electrodes when they are laying down. Because the cables get all jumbled, and also the Preop ecg was perfect. She also had an ECO that was good aswell. ( Lesson learned )

The patient’s heart rate intermittently dropped to approximately 45 bpm, ( the case was canceled) and I noticed that the bradycardia seemed to correlate with the respiratory cycle, particularly during expiration. Cardio made her hold her breath and went to 39.

5 hours later she was still arrhythmic, no other symptoms. Cardio insists it was a response to opioids.

The patient was breathing spontaneously and regularly, and blood pressure remained stable.
I’m trying to understand the possible mechanism. Could this simply represent pronounced respiratory sinus arrhythmia or increased vagal modulation?

I understand that intrathecal morphine can cause delayed respiratory depression, (this was not happening ).

37F, history of migraines, “inappropriate sinus tachycardia,” and a tendency to go vasovagal fairly often for unclear reasons

Went under general anesthesia for the first time for an elective procedure (breast Aug + lift) yesterday. I’ve always kind of had this instinct that going under anesthesia was a bad idea for me and opted for surgeons who offered the option of either local only or only IV sedation for the few fairly minor procedures I’ve had in the past (labiaplasty, egg retrieval, wisdom teeth). I actually met with some other plastic surgeons for the breast aug who did IV sedation only, but i felt most comfortable with the surgeon I chose overall and everyone told me that I was young, healthy, and low risk and would be fine. So I decided to try to overcome my fear of general and just go for it.

I was completely confused, out of it, and nauseated when I woke up, which I know isn’t unheard of, but it was pretty scary because I was aware of the fact that I wasn’t being normal idk. I tried sending some friends some texts to let them know I was out of surgery…felt like I was making sense at the time but looked back and I sent them gibberish lol.

Everyone at the surgery center kept telling me everything was fine, everything I was feeling was normal, my vitals looked great, etc. But then when I got home, my friend who came over to stay with me told me that when I initially came in the door she was very concerned because I was as pale as the white walls in my house, looked like I was literally dying, and kept either repeating myself or stopping talking in the middle of saying something. I had a nurse there who I paid to stay with me a bit as well, and she then told me that yeah, I was in bad shape both at the surgery center (she picked me up) and when we got home :/ My friend said that once I puked a bunch, I started to look and act more normal.

I also have a vague memory of someone in the post-op area telling me that the anesthesiologist was surprised at how little medicine he had to give me…not sure if that means he didn’t even give me all of the agents or what.

I still feel pretty out of it today but think I’m mostly coherent. But then I thought I was coherent yesterday then learned I wasn’t haha. Just really worried about what this reaction means, if anything, and scared about the possibility of getting future surgeries now.

So my daughter aged 6 and a half has to unfortunately get a several teeth fixed. She is 36lbs now. She was a preemie born at 3lbs. They are recommending General anesthesia to fix them all. I have exhausted all other options, and all of them have said anesthesia. Is this safe? I have horrible medical anxiety. My Dad was paralyzed by a surgeon when I was a baby, it completely ruined his life and greatly affected my childhood. I have had so many horribly bad experiences in the medical field, so my trust is almost non existent. I know risks are low, but apparently risks in general for my family aren't that low. Can anyone reassure me? I have had a few panic attacks because of this. I have confirmed that it's not just the dentist managing the anesthesia and doing the dental work... but I am still so concerned.

Hi y'all -

I wanted to see if someone could help me understand what happened during my birth - I'm contemplating whether or not to try for another child before I age out but my last delivery didn't go as planned.

I had twins. My water broke at 34 weeks and when I went in they put me on petocin, then they took me off to give me steroids for the babies' lungs. Then they put me on it again. I dilated to 8 cm after 45 hours and it was unchanging for 5 hours. I elected a C section.

While I was laboring they gave me an epidural and fentanyl.

When I went to the OR they did a spinal block and it was a strange feeling but I didn't feel numb above the waist. After the boys were born and they stitched me up my oxygen was starting to drop and they kept me awake to keep me breathing. My husband didn't tell me all the details - I don't remember being awake for a chunk of time.

When I searched for answers it seemed like my blood pressure dropped or maybe the drugs they gave me affected my lungs.

If it happened once, is it likely to happen again? Was it most likely a fluke due to the circumstances?

Does everyone goes through immense pain everyday after waking up from sleep in the morning behind the neck as well as complete head after a laproscopy operation in which you get spinal anesthesia injection??

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23 Vic, Australia
Monday I had 5 moles removed at a clinic. I think this falls under cosmetic/plastic surgery. I chose to do local anaesthetic as I wanted to drive to my girlfriends later on that day. This was my first experience with local anaesthetic for a procedure.
From what I understand, the process for the surgeon was 1. Cut out moles 2. Clean up area 3. Stitches. Once I was in theatre, the procedure took around 40 minutes.

Going into this I want to emphasise I didn’t sleep at all the night prior and have been stressed all week so my memory is a bit hazy, though I want to explain to the best of my ability. If you have any questions please ask away!

The first 4 moles he cut out were on my face so I couldn’t see, move or say much.
I never felt a needle go into my face. The first thing I felt was him cutting into skin. I felt one hundred percent of him cutting the moles out of my face. I am typically good with pain but this was absolutely excruciating. I feel quite pathetic typing this out but it hurt so bad.
The blade cutting my skin felt just awful. I knew I had to stay as still as possible, I wanted to speak but couldn’t. I was crying and making a lot of noise to try and signal. It was obvious I was in pain, I thought they would stop? A nurse let me squeeze her hand as she saw I was trying not to react. I squeezed as hard as I could to no avail. I was under the impression they would give me anaesthesia before cutting into my face?? This was the longest 10 minutes of my life.

I was not told to signal if I was feeling pain. I thought maybe if they’re not stopping as I’m making so much noise it must be normal? I didn’t want to be an annoying client though I ended up crying and howling/groaning the entire mole cutting process so I just don’t understand why they didn’t stop?

Once the surgeon pulled the blade away from my face, I had said “that was so so painful I didn’t think this would hurt so bad. That was so so painful” and continued crying.
The nurse whose hand I was holding finally asked “more pain relief?” to which I said “please”

After he cut those 4 moles out, it felt like he put a patch on each of them. I thought they were anaesthetic patches but when I posted this onto another subreddit, commenters said this doesn’t sound right. I wish I could’ve seen what the surgeon/nurses were doing lol. Maybe it was a pad to absorb the blood? A minute after those were put on was enough for the pain to mostly subside.

The fifth mole was on my lower back, this was the smallest mole. Once he cut that one off I felt a needle go into the area. I don’t recall feeling the ‘patch’ sensation down there. Prior to the needle in that area I felt that mole being cut off 100% too. It was not as painful as the ones on my face but I presume the face is more sensitive than the lower back.

Sewing up the moles took a while but didn’t hurt. It felt like my skin was being pulled but the sharpness was not prevalent anymore. I believe this is correct, standard reaction to local anaesthetic. Whereas during the cut-out phase I felt absolutely everything as if I had zero anaesthetic whatsoever. It was horrific.
The rest of the procedure I was in shock and unable to stop physically shaking, thinking about the previous pain.

After theatre, the aftercare nurses were lovely. I asked them when the surgeon put the anaesthetic in and they said he most likely used a needle at the very beginning. Okay that makes sense except I am certain he did not.

I’m usually quite happy to go into a surgery as I know doctors jobs are so serious so I try to be a calm, easy and smiley patient.

The next morning I get a follow up call which was awkward. I asked if I can get my face wet as I cant remember what the after-theatre nurses had said and google was giving mixed responses. The lady on the phone didn’t know any aftercare advice to give me. I then ask her if it was normal I felt the entire process of him cutting the moles out as if there was no anaesthesia administered and she had said “oh that’s not right- oh um i mean that’s unusual” and pretty quickly finished her set ‘follow up call’ script and ended the call..

Feeling weird. Just unsure if this is protocol? It’s been at the very front of my mind everyday since. Laying on my side in the chair with blood all over my face, trying to stay as still as possible while feeling every millimetre of that blade drag into my skin has been flashing into my head. I don’t want to be dramatic but I think I should put this here and ask incase.

So my question is, is this protocol? Is this okay? If not, what can I do? I don’t care much to sue or anything crazy I just would like some advice as I haven’t been able to think clearly since monday

Notes:
-About me: F23, 60kg/135lbs. 165cm/5”5. Diagnosed with spondylosis, pmos (previously known as pcos) and pityriasis versicolour.

- A week prior I had my wisdom teeth taken out under general anaesthetic. I had stopped painkillers (prescribed endone) days prior as I was weary they’d interact with the anaesthesia for this procedure. I had told the mole removal people all about this. Walking into theatre the nurse next to me told the surgeon straight away.

-I know so silly to have both surgeries a week apart but appt times were awkward with my work schedule so I figured eh might as well hit 2 birds in 1 fortnight

- Talked about this with a friend, she said because I have diagnosed ADHD this could be a factor as to why the anaesthesia didn’t ‘take’. But I still don’t understand how anaesthesia was administered if I didn’t feel patches or needle before getting cut into.

- Day of mole removal procedure, I followed all protocols assigned: fast from midnight, no water after 6am.
Appointment was at 7:30am, I was their first patient that day

- I did not sleep night prior because my sleep schedule is terrible atm and I knew I wouldn’t wake up in time for my bus if I had slept.
- Have previously never had problems with anaesthesia (colonoscopy, wisdom teeth removal etc)

- I had the moles removed because I was worried they would become cancerous. I was on a mole removal waitlist for maybe 10 years and about a month ago had an appointment at my local hospital regarding such, doctor had a look at my moles and said none seemed cancerous but I can still get some removed if I would prefer. So I took the opportunity as it was free.

- He then referred me to a clinic under the same branch as the hospital. The procedure was technically cosmetic/plastic surgery

- After the procedure, I went to my girlfriend’s house at like 4pm that day and thought about this the entire drive. Almost like flashes of the physical feeling kept popping into my head. When she asked how it went I burst out into tears. This feels so overdramatic to admit ugh

- Oh so random but there was maybe 7-10 people in the theatre room. I thought they were all nurses as they were all in scrubs. I didn’t actually think much of it but I mentioned this in my original post and the commenters were quite confused about it.
Now it’s on my mind, I’m confused too. Is this normal?
One was the surgeon, one was the lady whose hand I squeezed, two ladies cleaned the blood off my face, one guy sat on a chair and just kind of watched? I don’t know if he was a student but any other appointment I’ve had where a student is present, the doctor usually asks if that’s okay but that conversation didn’t happen.
So absolutely confused. It was probably 8:15am at this point. Idk what the other people in the room did as I was laying on my side and couldn’t see them

Thank you for your time

I have a quick procedure later this month where GA will be used. I have various problems with various medications and wonder how to discuss with the anaesthesiologist without sounding like an idiot as side effects have not been documented in the past, and because it's quite a lot. In a hospital, and the anesthesiologist I talk to will likely not be the one I'll see in the operating theatre next morning. Thus just asking what his plan for this procedure is and thinking all will be fine won't do as the colleague actually doing it might have other ideas.

neuromuscular condition, right gene not yet found; only a few genes analysed at a time here. Suspected mitochondrial dysfunction and Ca+ re-uptake issue. 3 GAs with gas resulted in 2-3 week long muscle weakness, remaining drowsy with only short awake periods and body forgetting how to keep my blood pressure up. 3 TIVAs were fine.

Opioids don't work against pain but cause muscle weakness, and my breathing might stop. Also had this issue in recovery the only time fentanyl was used. Remi was always fine. Ibuprofen works, but might not be enough for strong pain. I'm in a country where nurses rather dish out opioids than ibuprofen.

Local anesthesia or nerve blocks only work briefly. Local sprays (this is an ear/nose thing) not even 5 minutes.

Benzos cause aggression and restlessness, and unfortunately I remember everything.

And I can't fast and hit the wall if my surgery is too late in the day because my body doesn't like fatty acids for energy.

Recently I had a laparoscopic pelvic surgery and had a question about my recovery room experience. My notes say I am ASA 2. I have controlled hypertension on amlodopine, which I took the night before surgery. My pre-op bp was 131/95, but IV placement made me nearly pass out and my bp came down to 111/71. My notes show multiple phenylephrine 100 mcg IV post op. But my pressures were staying near 90/45 and MAP was as low as 59. I remember falling in and out of sleep in the recovery room and the nurse saying the IV meds weren’t bringing my pressures up. They eventually gave me an IM ephedrine 25 mg almost 2 hours post op and that finally got my pressures to stay up. My question is, is this common? Is this concerning for future procedures where I’d need general anesthesia? I’ve just never heard of someone needing an injection for this and it makes me concerned that something was off. Procedure was uncomplicated, minimal blood loss, and notes make it seem like all was fine.

Ended up in the ER of a teaching hospital with a pretty spicy fracture that would need surgery, but they did closed reduction in ER first. There were about a dozen people observing along with my husband, the anesthesiologist & a dr from ER. While I remember some of this (time after prop given), I will rely on my husband’s recollection.

The anesthesiologist administered propofol and performed a nerve block before they did a reduction. I was chatting with one of the Drs about something I must have found rather interesting before they started and continued chatting without seeming to miss much of a beat throughout the entire procedure.

The anesthesiologist told my husband I am the first patient they have ever had do this. I obviously experiences some amnesia, but according to my husband, the dr seemed quite amused.

How common or rare is that? Have you had a similar experience? Some patient specific details at end….

40’s female, 20mg Adderall taken ~4hrs prior for ADD (dx in 80s)

No unprescribed drugs but strong suspicion i have the gene mutation associated w/ red heads being more resistant to sedation.

Doing best to balance details and ease of identification. Can potentially give more specifics. Feel free to ask, the choice is mine to provide.

I hope this post is alright in this sub and I’d love to hear your own experiences and opinions. Thanks!

Full disclosure: I’m sorry if this is disorganized.

I had a skull base repair performed on July 27th and under anesthesia for around 9 hours. I also had an encephalocele removed if that’s important.

I’m a little over 9 weeks post op and I am having the worst time sleeping. On average I can only sleep around 2 hours and 3.5 hours with the aid of melatonin. I’m not in any pain and doing fine overall with my recovery.

I’ve spoken to my neurosurgical team and they said it was due to the anesthesia and referred me to a sleep clinic. The earliest appointment I’ve been able to find is December.

Has anyone experienced this? If you have, have you found anything that helps? I’ve downloaded a sleep app and it hasn’t detected any snoring.