conscious sedation vs general anesthesia?

Question

I had general anesthesia for surgery and woke up in hospital screaming and swearing.

Tomorrow I go in for conscious sedation for a colonoscopy.

I worry about how I will wake up vs. how I did under anesthesia and if I will be freaking out tomorrow !

I also take Xanex on a daily basis ... along with other anti-psychotic medication ... wonder if that would effect the dosage of what they give me and what my body is used to getting in the xanex (2-3 pills a day).

But they do know of ALL the medication I am currently on.

Answer 1

You should be fine since conscious sedation usually use fentanyl and midazolam.
Fentanyl is a highly potent, very short acting opioid. Midazolam is a potent, extremely short acting benzodiazepine (sedative/hyponotic/amnesic) in the Valium family.

Let the doctor know your concerns so he can give the right medications and dosages.

Answer 2

A little info I think should be considered about this drug Versed ( Midazolam ) that is used for Sedation for many medical procedures..Sedation and General Anesthesia are not the same and quite a few people being given Sedation
think they are being given General Anesthesia!

There is simply no good or valid reason to ever purposely induce amnesia during a medical procedure. It is only a recent development in medical thinking that amnesia is somehow a "benefit" to the patient. On occasion some
some patients will remember a bad experience. Forgetting does not mean it did not happen!!
I feel that if people were aware of the effects of this drug they would Opt For Another Drug!
Erasing someones memory of what was done to them is wrong!!
In fact, many people who use Versed for " IV Sedation,Conscious Sedation" Twilight Sedation, during a procedure are Awake For The Entire Procedure but remember nothing, often Believing They Were "Out" the whole time.

Versed (Midazolam) is an amnestic. It is also commonly used for minor procedures like setting broken bones,colonoscopies,endoscopies, dental procedures like extractions,conscious sedation,twilight sleep, so that patients won't remember pain and discomfort.HOWEVER THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THOSE SENSATIONS WILL NOT BE EXPERIENCED!!!!


Here is a note from a Dentist Who uses Versed
I've used Versed 1000+ times during oral surgery procedures and I've never had a complaint. It's a miracle drug because it is safe and it causes you to not remember an unpleasant experience. My answer to him is isn't it better to have not experienced the pain than to have forgot it. No wonder you have had no complaints they have no memory of the procedure.....

I feel that giving a drug for amnesia is cruel I would not want it done to me!

A strange development in medical thinking that it's okay for a patient to have
pain as long as they don't remember it and think they slept thru the procedure..


Here is a link for some info

http://www.freehelpforcancer.com/manages...

Answer 3

Some people wake up screaming, some cry, some laugh, some swear. (Most are just sleepy, though)

Since you know you have a propensity for waking up wild, you might want to request an anesthesiologist or CRNA (nurse anesthetist) to sedate you (instead of a colonoscopy nurse). When a nurse or medical assistant ,or whomever they have available, sedates you, they are VERY limited with what they can give, and how much they can give. The result can be an inadequate (or occasionally dangerous) anesthetic. Also, the sedation is supervised by the gastroenterologist, who has no training in resuscitation (and ACLS really doesn't count - live people are quite different from mannequins)

Colonoscopies can be done under conscious sedation (note the word CONSCIOUS), with the patient screaming, and being given enough Versed so they don't remember the event. Usually.

Anesthesiologists/CRNA's can use propofol, which will have you totally out, but only for the duration of the procedure. Don't let anyone other than an anesthesiologist or CRNA give you propofol, because in untrained hands, it can cause you to stop breathing.

You might have had a paradoxical reaction to Versed in your last anesthetic, and I would mention that as a possibility to whomever sedates you.

If I were anesthetizing you, I'd go with a straight propofol anesthetic. You'd be totally asleep, and would not have the risk of a bad reaction to either fentanyl or Versed.

(And by the way, fentanyl and versed are not really that short acting - they stick around for hours, much longer than the procedure will take. They make great adjuvants to a balanced anesthetic, but are not that great on their own for a lot of folks)

Answer 4

Pangolin is protecting her turf a bit, but she has a point, and I expect to see her in one of those "Got Milk" commercials any time now (inside doctor joke). There are actually lots of options for drugs, and many are quite safe, relatively speaking. Please keep in mind that doctors are all scared of drugs that everybody else think nothing about. But at a minimum, I hope you've discussed your previous experience and current concerns with the doctor.