Anesthesia Concerns

I dont have any advice to give you since I havent been in this situation; but just sending you warm calm vibes and prayers.

Hi, my son has cerebral palsy and has been under several times for surgeries and MRI's. His first time being put under anesthesia was when he was around two, and we were terrified. But the folks at Children's Hospital were so wonderful. And we were permitted to be right there with him, and of course immediately there once he woke up. He had no problems, and felt fine once he fully came out of it. Every child will be different, but the vast majority have no problems. The only problems we had this past year was that he was scared because he knew what was coming, but he was five years old and pretty savvy to hospitals by then! It is probably good that your child is younger, because she won't have that anticipatory fear that older kids have. She will be fine, and so will you. I can tell you that it is harder on you!!! But your love and strength and faith will get her through. I wish you best of success and tons of blessings!

Are they going to use Anesthesia for it? Because I had a circumstance with my (then)two year old. She had stuck a bead in her ear and the only way to get it out was to put her under. But what they meant by that was giving her some sleepy gas. She was in and out within minutes. With sleepy gas it is no big deal. If I were you I would ask if they could use that. It is much more safer and just as effective.
Hope all goes well.

Hi J.. I myself have been under many times (I had lots of ear problems). We just had to get my step-son's teeth done, and he was in the "twilight sleep." So I have a little experince.
I remember feeling tired and groggy. My eyes were heavy and my body ached. It was never very painful....but you could feel the pain trying to come through.
My stepson acting like he was drunk. His vision was doubled, and his balance was completely off. But he let them strap him down with no problems.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is uncomfortable. It is not the best feeling in the world. However, I think you should stop worrying so much. No matter what, your daughter has to get the surgrey right? So be calm. she will be just fine. Just let her rest lots afterward.
I hope this helps some. Good luck and Best Wishes, T.

My son had tubes put in his ears at 9 months. He was crying and cranky after waking up but otherwise fine. They say they don't understand the "drunk" feeling and hence they cry. Once we got him a bottle and kept holding him, he sailed right through. Just provide your child lots of love and intimacy no matter if she's happy or crying. They don't understand what their body is feeling but will definitely know the love they get from you! She'll be fine!

I have a surgery for my child scheduled in April, and I too am concerned about the anesthesia. NERVE wracking, isn't it??

I myself have been under 3 times for various procedures. It is very disorienting. The first few hours after you wake up, you won't remember much. And you wake and fall back asleep a lot. and for me personally, general anesthesia makes me nauseous, so I tend to puke after I wake up, sometimes a lot. I'm worried that my boy may take after me in that respect. :(

Good luck. He should be fine (they both should).

My daughter was put under for tear duct surgery when she was 5mos old. I would say the hardest part was that she had to be fasting, so it helped that we were scheduled early in the morning. She came through just fine and was very hungary upon waking. She was sleepy most of the day, and took a longer than normal nap, but was otherwise fine.

I am SO happy they are going at this early for your little one.... we had been telling Drs. since my now 4 year old was born that something needed to be done. To the poster that said it was not necessary, that is very untrue. My son did indeed have a slight impediment and it wasnt until then that the speech therapist said it had to be done.
That being said... he was 2 when we had it done, and it was a breeze!!!! They gave him some medicine, and it took about 10 minutes before he was a loopy little boy.... finally he was just on the cusp of falling asleep when they took him back. The procedure its self was only about 5 minutes, but it took them a while to bring him back over to us.
Just remember.... he has to exercise it! use peanut butter, licking pop sickles... anything it takes to get that tongue to stick out!!!

Hi, my daughter was put under twice since she was born. The first time was when she was 1 1/2 for an MRI and this last time at the end of Feb to have her tonsils and annoids removed. It's scary as a parent! My daughter was difficult when she was starting to wake back up. She is like that normally when she is very tired and/or she was woken up way to early from her brothers. So if she is like that when she is tired or such then let the doctor's know. They are very helpful and want it to be a smooth process for you and the child. Oh and once she fully woke up, she was fine!! Our prayers are with you and your family!

Dear J.,

I am so glad that you are following up on the tongue clipping so early.

The anesthetics and the practices the medical people have now is so good that you do not need to worry, but you do need to talk to the anesthesiologist about it. He or she will be there just before the surgery, so quiz away. It is better to be prepared.

Also, you might like to know that they do not use as much anesthetic as they used to. I always tell them that I don't need much to keep me comfortable, and they cooperate.

Good Luck, and what a good Mom you are. Your children are lucky.
C. N.

My son had surgery at 18 months and was put under for the procedure - all I can tell you is that is was so much worse for us than for him! It is really a very safe thing these days with all the high tech equipment and such the risks are extremely low. It was a hard day (well and the week leading up to it was rough for us grown ups but he didn't have a clue) by the following day he was pretty much back to normal. Hang in there - it is never easy when our babies have to go through medical treatments!!

Dear J. R,
Don't worry about anesthesia. They only use enough to put them under for as long as the surgery and enough to cover some discomfort afterwards. My son has had many surgerys starting from 10 days to his last 1 at 4 years old. Your child may be very sleepy afterwards and may have nausea but it should subside by the next day. Don't worry ! Keep me posted. M. Petersen

Hi!

I was born severely toungue tied - no docotor ever told my mother, the dentist never mentioned it, and so I grew up just thinking I had a short tongue! I do not have a speech impediment, and in fact, I worked as a professional background singer for many years.

It is NOT a necessary procedure. Being tongue tied does not cause speech impediments, has no effect on what happens in the mouth: doctors just want to "fix" anything that isn't normal. As an adult, my doctor offered to clip it if I wanted to, but suggested I not because it really doesnt make a difference. Granted, she may not be able to "french kiss" when she's older, but that really isnt a big deal. LOL. I had braces and retainers as a kid as well, and the tongue tied issue interested my orthodontist, but he saw no reason to do anything about it.

If you are scared about anesthesia, know that this procedure is mostly cosmetic, and not functional. She will grow up normally, just like any other child. Anesthesia is dangerous for small children, especially when the procedure is unnecessary. If, in the future, her tongue-tiedness is a problem for any reason, think about it then. If you do go through with the procedure, the anesthesia is safe (the anesthesiologist monitors the child every second she is under) but it may take her a long time to really "wake up" as it takes longer for a child's little body to rid itself of the anesthesia.