Trauma – PTSD » Post Traumatic Stress Disorder » Anesthetic —-> Panic Disorder

Anesthetic —-> Panic Disorder

Question:

Dennis – Did you take any strong narcotics after your surgery when you received general anesthesia ?

I also had percoset after surgery.  For me, it was about the same pain relief as aspirin.  All it did was knock the peaks off the pain, but it was still very much there.  The one main side effect was that it made the days go by faster.  I’d wake up in the morning and before I knew it, it was time for bed.   When I has my first breathing spell, about 24hrs after surgery, the doctor told me by phone to take a percoset (because I hadn’t before then).  I did, and it did allieviate the panic. Of course, it could have been the doctor himself that really stopped the panic.  I said on the phone, "Doctor I can’t breathe."  He said, "Then how did you just say that?"  He went on to say that panic attacks after surgery is normal, but he did not suggest the anesthesia. I still wonder what I said to the nurses while I was under :  )  They never told me but were all smiles when I woke up and left.

I had the same worry.  Some of those drugs are like truth serum.  The doctors and nurses can get you to answer anything while under the influence.   Since it has also been suggested that post traumatic stress syndrome after operations is actually to blame, I have to wonder if it is possible that the anesthetic drugs aren’t completely knocking us out. In other words, we may look knocked out to the surgeon, and we may be asleep, but what about our subconcious?  Is it still awake and recording every cut and tear the surgeon makes?  This would certainly go a long way toward explaining why some people say that it is post traumatic stress. Dennis. Dennis Hawkins (Remove "dont.spam.me." from address before replying) Do you want to know who has been calling you and hanging up when you answer the phone? Visit http://www.antitelemarketer.com to find out.

Response:

I felt very strange after getting my wisdom teeth removed because it was the first time I took a narcotic to relieve pain.  I took percoset (sp) for about 5 days and I felt very strange.  I was a social drinker before this so I was familiar with feeling "buzzed" but the percoset really made me feel out of it.  I pretty much was housebound while taking the percoset. Dennis – Did you take any strong narcotics after your surgery when you received general anesthesia ? I had a mean head ache when I woke up from the anesthesia and felt very disoriented but it didn’t last very long.  The percoset put me right to sleep when I got home from outpatient surgery for my wisdom teeth. I still wonder what I said to the nurses while I was under :  )  They never told me but were all smiles when I woke up and left. They were very cute and I had a few ideas in my mind :  ) Tony — "Let there be songs to fill the air"

People with panic disorder will experience panic attacks commonly a few days after general anesthesia.  General anesthesia is pretty hard on the nervous system, but it does not precipitate new onset panic disorder in those who never had it before.  In reading your post I would have to consider you and your mother as having had a very mild case of panic disorder that was aggravated by anesthesia, but in the many people I have seen with panic disorder over the years as well as a large volume of e-mail on the subject, I have not seen or read of anesthesia induced new onset of panic disorder. Dr.S. http://www.algy.com/pdi

  Myself. my mother, and a few other people I have spoken to have said   that they were normal and then started having severe panic attacks   (with varying symptoms) immediately following surgery that used a   general anesthetic.  All of the Doctors I talked to said that this was   impossible, but there are just too many people telling me the same   thing.  I was wondering if there is anyone on this list that was   panic-free until they had general anesthesia (even if the operation   itself was minor), and then developed panic disorder upon waking up or   shortly thereafter???   Dennis Hawkins   (Remove "dont.spam.me." from address before replying)   Do you want to know who has been calling you and hanging up when you answer the   phone? Visit http://www.antitelemarketer.com to find out.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Myself. my mother, and a few other people I have spoken to have said that they were normal and then started having severe panic attacks (with varying symptoms) immediately following surgery that used a general anesthetic.  All of the Doctors I talked to said that this was impossible, but there are just too many people telling me the same thing.  I was wondering if there is anyone on this list that was panic-free until they had general anesthesia (even if the operation itself was minor), and then developed panic disorder upon waking up or shortly thereafter??? Dennis Hawkins (Remove "dont.spam.me." from address before replying) Do you want to know who has been calling you and hanging up when you answer the phone? Visit http://www.antitelemarketer.com to find out.

Hi Dennis! I just had gall bladder surgery in May. The anesthetic itself does not cause the anxiety or panic upon waking or shortly thereafter. It is very normal to have anxiety,panic or bouts of depression after  surgery,minor, or not, an accident or any stressful situation  that puts your body into "shock" so to speak. This is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The anesthetic does take time to empty out of your system but I know of no cases where the actual medication causes panic. sincerely,Julie Got questions?  Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com

Response:

Myself. my mother, and a few other people I have spoken to have said that they were normal and then started having severe panic attacks (with varying symptoms) immediately following surgery that used a general anesthetic.  All of the Doctors I talked to said that this was impossible, but there are just too many people telling me the same thing.  I was wondering if there is anyone on this list that was panic-free until they had general anesthesia (even if the operation itself was minor), and then developed panic disorder upon waking up or shortly thereafter??? Dennis Hawkins (Remove "dont.spam.me." from address before replying) Do you want to know who has been calling you and hanging up when you answer the phone? Visit http://www.antitelemarketer.com to find out.

Response:

Myself. my mother, and a few other people I have spoken to have said that they were normal and then started having severe panic attacks (with varying symptoms) immediately following surgery that used a general anesthetic.  All of the Doctors I talked to said that this was impossible, but there are just too many people telling me the same thing.  I was wondering if there is anyone on this list that was panic-free until they had general anesthesia (even if the operation itself was minor), and then developed panic disorder upon waking up or shortly thereafter??? Dennis Hawkins (Remove "dont.spam.me." from address before replying)

Nope – I had a gap of many years between having a general and developing PD.  I have had 2 operations since using a general anaesthetic, and the only slight problem I encountered was coming round to find someone holding an oxygen mask over my mouth.  Once I had fought that off I was fine. — Jon Guite Live support and chat for anxiety and panic disorders at the #anx/pan chat room in Dalnet.  For details see http://www.skcldv.demon.co.uk/anxpanw.htm

Response:

I have had exactly the same experience, before a minor surgery I had never suffered from anything like panic attacks etc, but afterwards I have been plagued by them, My doctor contacted the Anaesthetist about this who said no way but eventually said they did not really understand anesthics and it my well be linked. My mother has also notice that after every operation she has had her self confidence has reduced markedly each time My view is that there is defiantly a link.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Myself. my mother, and a few other people I have spoken to have said that they were normal and then started having severe panic attacks (with varying symptoms) immediately following surgery that used a general anesthetic.  All of the Doctors I talked to said that this was impossible, but there are just too many people telling me the same thing.  I was wondering if there is anyone on this list that was panic-free until they had general anesthesia (even if the operation itself was minor), and then developed panic disorder upon waking up or shortly thereafter??? Dennis Hawkins (Remove "dont.spam.me." from address before replying) Do you want to know who has been calling you and hanging up when you answer the phone? Visit http://www.antitelemarketer.com to find out.

Response:

When I woke up from surgery, 10 years ago, my heart was racing at 120 beat a minute.  At the time, I just assumed that the fast heartbeat was just something they gave me.  Ordinarily, Licocaine is given during surgery and it can have this effect, but I informed the surgeon that I was allegic to this drug so it was not used.  It took several hours after I woke up for my heart to slow down.   Several days later, in pain, I started having trouble breathing.  I had just come out of nasal surgery and it occurred to me that maybe a bunch of blood or something had rolled down my lungs during surgery and stuck there or something.  I called the doctor.  He assured me that it was just panic and everybody gets like that.  He told me to take a pain pill (which I had refused to do up to that point).  I did, and my breathing returned to normal. A few years later, I was sent to the emergency room for a minor animal scratch to get a teatnus shot.  No fear of needles, no fear of doctors, no fear of anything really.  I was actually embarrassed to be there, but it was a Saturday and this was the only place to get one. I was waiting in the waiting room, they called me back.  As I was walking back there, I smelled this overwhelming formaldehyde odor that nobody else, including the other patients, could smell.  Totally unexpectedly, it hit me like a baseball bat and my heart shot up to 120 beat a minute again.  Before that, I wasn’t even nervous in the slight. My mother has had many surgeries before now and many of them were both serious and painful.  No post panic problems.  She is now 72 and just recently had minor, but painful, shoulder surgery.  She woke up in a panic and has been having breathing trouble since.  All lung tests show that her lungs are a high-normal capacity with no signs of disease.  The breathing problems have been shown to be caused by panic. So what I am saying here is that the anesthesia used is different now than it was when she had earlier surgeries.  Others have suggested an allergy to the drugs, but I have never seen an allergic response last 10 years after cessation of exposure. Dennis. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have had exactly the same experience, before a minor surgery I had never suffered from anything like panic attacks etc, but afterwards I have been plagued by them, My doctor contacted the Anaesthetist about this who said no way but eventually said they did not really understand anesthics and it my well be linked. My mother has also notice that after every operation she has had her self confidence has reduced markedly each time My view is that there is defiantly a link. Myself. my mother, and a few other people I have spoken to have said that they were normal and then started having severe panic attacks (with varying symptoms) immediately following surgery that used a general anesthetic.  All of the Doctors I talked to said that this was impossible, but there are just too many people telling me the same thing.  I was wondering if there is anyone on this list that was panic-free until they had general anesthesia (even if the operation itself was minor), and then developed panic disorder upon waking up or shortly thereafter??? Dennis Hawkins (Remove "dont.spam.me." from address before replying) Do you want to know who has been calling you and hanging up when you answer the phone? Visit http://www.antitelemarketer.com to find out.

Dennis Hawkins (Remove "dont.spam.me." from address before replying) Do you want to know who has been calling you and hanging up when you answer the phone? Visit http://www.antitelemarketer.com to find out.

Response:

Dennis, I went under when I had my wisdom teeth removed at age 19.  I didn’t have an irrational panic experience until about 25.  I went through a very difficult curriculum in college and never panicked although I was under a great deal of stress. PD is a permanent side effect of general anesthesia. I used to look at every detail of my life to attempt to find one specific thing that caused my PD. I found that the answer is in my DNA. Take care, Tony — "Let there be songs to fill the air"

Myself. my mother, and a few other people I have spoken to have said that they were normal and then started having severe panic attacks (with varying symptoms) immediately following surgery that used a general anesthetic.  All of the Doctors I talked to said that this was impossible, but there are just too many people telling me the same thing.  I was wondering if there is anyone on this list that was panic-free until they had general anesthesia (even if the operation itself was minor), and then developed panic disorder upon waking up or shortly thereafter??? Dennis Hawkins (Remove "dont.spam.me." from address before replying) Do you want to know who has been calling you and hanging up when you answer the phone? Visit http://www.antitelemarketer.com to find out.

Response:

writes: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Myself. my mother, and a few other people I have spoken to have said that they were normal and then started having severe panic attacks (with varying symptoms) immediately following surgery that used a general anesthetic.  All of the Doctors I talked to said that this was impossible, but there are just too many people telling me the same thing.  I was wondering if there is anyone on this list that was panic-free until they had general anesthesia (even if the operation itself was minor), and then developed panic disorder upon waking up or shortly thereafter??? Dennis Hawkins (Remove "dont.spam.me." from address before replying)

Hi Dennis! I wasn’t one of the people, but I have seen posts here before.  They said the same thing you did.  They were fine, never had PAs or anxiety, and then upon wakening from anesthesia, wham, hit with it!  I’ve head many stories.  I’m sure you’ll see posts regarding this and maybe why it happens.  Please take care! Di

Response:

If you like this post and would like to receive updates from this blog, please subscribe our feed. Subscribe via RSS

Related Posts

Leave a Reply