Screaming after anaesthetic

Greystoner

Has anybody else out there had this with their child...

My 2 year old had to be 'put under 'at the weekend. That was traumatic enough, but when she came out of theatre, she cried intensely, and sounded terrified for a long half hour. It was extremely distressing. I was assured that it was not caused by pain, but the child (same age) next to us, did not cry much after his and a friend's child was fine too.

Was it just the shock of 'coming round' ?

I feel awful for her, she seems fine now, but it is replaying over and over for me!

Is this common? Or do I need to be concerned? The medical staff couldn't answer my questions.

liliq

Hey Greystoner...
I had to have an operation on my foot when I was about 8 I think, and I could swear I woke up laughing... but apparently I screamed like I was terrified non stop for about half an hour as well. I don't remember screaming at all, the first conscious thing I remember doing was laughing. Completely freaked out my parents!
I've had general anasthetics a couple of times since, and as far as I know it hasn't happened again.
Has left me none the worse anyway, and far better than if I hadn't had the operation!

shinikins

Hey OP,

I had my tonsils removed at age 4, and apparently came out of the anaesthetic in a similar way to your daughter. I can't remember a thing about that! My mother has had a few operations in her lifetime and reacts differently every time, from crying to talking incessently, to laughing like a crazy person, and again, she can't recall anything after.

Anaesthesia affects everyone differently, its how she bounces back from the operation that counts!

Best of luck and i hope she recovers soon!!

Mothman

It is horrible handing little un over......and then the wait till afterwards....

My son often cried coming back from being anaesthesised. Fortunately his crying could be subdued by breastfeeding him (he hadn't been weaned) and I feel, and is supported by previous replies, that it won't be remembered.

I imagine it must be extraordinarily confusing, perhaps nightmarish when in this semi conscious state and the best we can do is be there as soon as possible and comfort them for as long as needs be

CrazyRabbit

The after effects of anaesthesia can be quite scary for a young child. You can feel confused, unsteady & a little drained. And your vision can be a little blurred. Quite normal for a child to cry when feeling that way, especially for the first time.

I sometimes have an odd reaction to anaesthetics. They sometimes paralyse me but leave me semi-concious & fully capable of feeling pain. Thankfully only happened twice, and the 2nd time it was spotted. The first time was horrible though, but thankfully it was just a tooth extraction and not a major operation. But I still cried for hours afterwards.

Chuchoter

My cousin punched the doctor in the face when she woke up after an operation (she's in her 20s) and I was like totally confused and freaked out when I woke up. I assume its the same thing for babies.

Bicycle

Our eldest had GA when she was 18 months old. She needed to have a head CT. Wasn't in any pain either before or after. She woke up screaming. Totally wild. Kept on screaming at her Dad (who carried her in to the room for the GA). All the other kids who were having CTs at the time were totally sleepy and quiet afterwards. We were asked to take her home because of the noise levels :D:D

Same lady (now 18) had GA earlier this year for Wisdom tooth extraction. She was home within a matter of hours and was in fabulous form that evening (she was tired over the following days) and no screaming

Our other daughter has had GA twice, aged 10 and 11. Woke up without screaming both times.

I was removed from a recovery ward after GA once because apparently I was talking too much and disturbing all the other patients!!

KittyeeTrix

Hi OP.

My daughter suffered a femur fracture a few years ago when she was 6 and needed surgery to stabilise the bone with pins. She woke up fine following the surgery....

Fast forward a year and she needed a biopsy in her tibia to see if she had a tumour in it. She woke up from the GA in an absolute state......:eek:

Roaring and screaming and not knowing I was there holding her. Still sends shivers down my spine when I recall the panicked out of it state she was in.

The anaesthetist spoke to me and said that she had come around from the GA too quickly and this was the reason for her screaming.
They sedated her to allow her to get over the GA and when she came around about half an hour later she was grand:)

smelltheglove

My eldest has had it twice and both times behaved as if she was drunk, you know doey eyed, smiley, giggly, touchy etc, actually we all found it quite funny both times.

Pandora2

I am 46 and unfortunately have had numerous surgeries throughout my lifetime, I always ball my eyes out when coming round and if I was little I would give myself free reign and scream the place down...only my maturity tells me not to scream and I listen to it.. I think its a common enough response to anesthesia:D

Cellygirl

Just to give you my experience. I had major surgery when I was 26 and came around from the op shouting and screaming and calling for my Mammy! Morto, I know!

I was very agitated and got a bit of a fright and was just a bit all over the place, so it's TOTALLY normal to be upset and your little one is so small it's completely normal that they would be upset and crying.

If it's a help - I do remember waking up and calling 'Mammy' and saying 'I have to get up', I remember those two phrases but I remember absolutely nothing else. No pain, no fright, nothing. Just calling out those two phrases. So chances are your little one will remember very little or nothing at all.

Hope both of you feel better soon!

RIRI

Well, I am glad to see that I am not the only adult who "allegedly" woke up kicking & screaming after surgery!

I remember absolutely nothing at all so I'm sure your little one won't either OP. I know that doesn't take away from the horrible upset of seeing the poor mite so distressed though.

Here's hoping your little star has a sucessful outcome & speedy recovery

Good luck!