Susan,

A few months prior to being diagnosed with OC, I had some female surgery that lasted about 3 hours. The worst part was that I had to wait a few months before the doctor could do the procedure so during this time I did a lot of research on the surgical procedure and all the risks of anesthesia. Needless to say I had myself totally stressed out for weeks before the surgery. I made sure my will was updated, my finances were in order, and that my husband knew where the check books were! This was the first time I had general anesthesia.

A lot of worry for nothing. They gave me some anxiety medication when I got to the hospital along with some anti-nausea medication. I did successfully wake up from that surgery, and from the three other OC surgeries done under general anesthesia since. I was groggy for a while right after surgery, but by the time they took me to my room I was wide awake. The only after effect I had was a dull headache for a day or two afterwards.

In each case I had to be cleared for anesthesia via a physical and met with the anesthesiologist staff before the surgery to review any medications I was on that could interact with the anesthesia. The other big thing was that you could not have anything to eat or drink after midnight regardless if your surgery was at 8AM or 3PM. The first time I did ask them a lot of �dumb� questions.

Of course this was my experience and as with any medical treatment each individual could have a different reaction.