Having a General Anaesthetic. What will happen ?? VERY SCARED PLEASE ANSWER I'm 13?

Question

I'm 13. Having my Tonsils out.

Very scared about having a operation. Will it hurt me ?

Scared of being "put to sleep", what will happen ?

please tell me. very scared and don't want it.

Answer 1

It's very natural to be frightened of going to hospital and getting an operation so don't think you're the first or last person to feel this way. Since you're thirteen, you're probably going to be treated in the children's ward which will make things a bit easier for you. Before anything happens, the doctor, your named nurse (the nurse who will be caring for you) and perhaps a play specialist will be there for you to ask any questions you have. Do ask so you can put your mind at ease.

You will get an IV in your hand to give you medicine but you will probably be given a gel first which will numb the area so you won't feel it go in. You'll also receive a pre-med which will keep you calm and even make you feel a bit strange. Your parents can be with you all the way up to the operating room and can stay right until you fall asleep, which they do by either giving you a gas or injecting something into your IV.

When the op is over, you will feel very sleepy and some kids do get sick (if this happens, they can give you something for it). Your parents will be there to comfort you though. Your throat will no doubt be sore but you'll get medicine for this. Always tell the nurse if you're feeling sore because they will be able to stop that. But you'll be up and about in no time and might even be home the next day. You will be encouraged to eat and drink and you might not want to if you're feeling sore but you should as that's the best way to help your throat.

If you want to read a bit more on having your tonsils out and having a general anaesthetic, these sites will help you:

http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/factsheets/families/F010273/index.html

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/info/anesthesia/anesthesia-ent.htm

But try not to stress too much as it will be over before you know it. And you'll feel better after having it done.

Answer 2

I can well understand why you are scared. Its a pretty frightening thing to go for an operation if no one has explained to your satisfaction what is going to happen. First ,at the hospital they will give you a shot to calm you before the operation (about 10 minutes before surgery.) Then they will put you on a gurney and roll you down to the operating room. Once in the operating room you will meet the anestheologist and generally he asks if you have any questions. If you do, he will try to answer your questions. If not they will procede. They will put a mask over you mouth and nose and have you breathe. In a few seconds, you will be asleep. The doctor will remove your Tonsils. You will not feel a thing during the operation. Then, you will wake up in your hospital room. Your throat will be sore. Very sore, but with my tonsilectomy (at age 12) it took me about 2 weeks and I was out playing and going to school. There is nothing to be frightened about now that you know what will happen. You will be glad it was done earlier in life. I am much older now, and what they did is only take out the tops of my infected tonsilis and left the tabs and I get Tonsilitis atleast once a month during the winter.

Answer 3

Hey I'm 15. I've had 3 surgeries, 2 of which were in the last year. The anaesthetic never bothered me. They just give you an IV in your arm and put the medicine in through that. It may burn but I don't ever remember it burning me. They also ask you if you are scared and they will give you like a pill to relax you if you are. Everytime I have had surgery they also gave me a pill to help with an upset stomach afterwards. And of course there are always funny stories to hear about yourself afterwards about things you don't remember saying or doing. I apparently was obsessive over a certain football team. They said I asked 10 times if the Jaguars won before passing out. Right before you are put to sleep they will ask you to count backwards that's how they know when your out of it because you will stop counting. Good luck with your surgery, the anasthetic is nothing to be worried about.

Answer 4

Ouch - sorry you have to get your tonsils out. As far as the surgery and anesthesia, they will make you very comfortable and give you something before the surgery to relax you. When they give you the anesthesia, you'll close your eyes and wake up after it's all over. You won't feel a thing during the surgery.

I had my tonsils out when I was 18, and while it wasn't fun, it wasn't terrible. Your throat will be a little sore for a few days, so you'll want to stock up on ice cream, jello and soft foods to eat while you recover. Try to avoid food that scratches your throat going down - like crackers, salty things, large pieces of meat, etc. After a week or so, you should be feeling back to normal again.

Good luck with the surgery.

Answer 5

Nothing to be scared of. You may get an IV in your hand which won't even bother you and then they will give you something to make you not care about anything, you will just feel really happy. When you wake up it will be exactly like coming out of a deep sleep on a rainy Saturday morning! They will give you medicine to help keep you from getting an upset stomach and they usually even have some pain medicine in the IV (if you have one) so you don't hurt when you wake up either. Any hassle of the operation will be worth it so you don't keep having sore throats! Sweet Dreams!!! PS - I worked in healthcare for 10 1/2 years!

Answer 6

it is natural to be frightened
as both a nurse aand a person who has had anesthesia 5 times i can tell you there is nothing to it
they put a mask on your face or give you the meds in an iv and as you to count backwards from 10 to 1 by the time you reach 8 you are asleep and will wke up a few hours int he recovery room
you may be a little groggy at first
and tired for about a day but the anesthesia will not hurt you
your throat may be a little sore for a little while but you will be given liquids as a diet for a while
cool fluids and ice cream!
gradually you will begin to have soft food for a few days
and when your throat is no longer sore will return to you regular diet without having to worry anymore about having frquent sore throats

Answer 7

I promise you, the operation will not hurt you at all. You'll be sound asleep, you won't feel a thing, and it will be over before you know it. I'm sure you've already been told that your throat will be sore for awhile afterwards, but that's normal.

The anesthetic part is really pretty cool -- you'll feel really relaxed and probably a little giggly before falling asleep. I've had generals 5 or 6 times and it's never been bad at all.

I understand why you're scared, but I promise you...it won't be bad at all. It really won't.

Answer 8

General anesthesia is REALLY not something to freak out about. Gazillions of people every day go under anesthesia for surgeries every day, and a tonsilectomy is totally no big deal whatsoever. It's one of the easiest, quickest surgeries out there.

Some people wake up from anesthesia feeling somewhat nauseous (personally, I woke up FREEZING when I had surgery, but the nurses had hot blankets all ready for me!), but they have medications that will counteract this for you. You will also feel sort of drowsy for a while, and your nose and throat may be dry and irritated (well, your throat especially, since that's where all the action will have been).

After the surgery, that sore throat will last for a few days, but it shouldn't be severe. You'll get lots of attention from your parents and the wonderful nurses on staff, and you'll get to stay in bed and watch TV all day! It's really not something to stress out over. I've had three surgeries myself in my lifetime (and I'm only 33!) and none of them were a big deal at all.

Good luck and try not to stress too much about all this! You're going to be TOTALLY FINE, I promise!

Answer 9

Nothing to be scared. It's the best the doctor can do for you. You won feel a thing. It will all be over before you know it. Relax and good luck with your op.

Answer 10

Don't be scared sweetie! They will give you a pre-medication to make you kinda sleepy and relaxed. Then when you go totally under, you'll just sleep. You won't remember anything! I promise it isn't bad. Nothing bad will happen to you.