“Why does it take so long to wake up from anesthesia?”
I am a 20 year old female. I want to know why does it take so long to wake up from anesthesia?
4 Answers
It depends on the type of surgery, any medical conditions you have, and the duration of the surgery. Obviously the longer and more complex the surgery, the longer it takes to recover. You can always consult your anesthesiologist for specific questions even after surgery through your surgeon.
That question has a multitude of potential answers. Length/type of surgery, amount and type of medications used, the sensitivity of the patient to the medications used all play a part. In addition, the ability of the patient to metabolize the medications is a factor. There's really not a single "good" answer you can hang your hat on.
This is most often a product of how long you were under anesthesia, but can also be influenced by how much adipose tissue you have, what drugs were used to maintain your anesthesia, and how deep your anesthesia was during the surgical procedure.
Normally, a patient awakes from anesthesia in a matter of minutes, or maybe in the elderly or sick people it could take hours. Delayed awakening could be when a patient after gas is discontinued keeps asleep for more that one hour. It could be due to a patient metabolic disorder, endocrine disorder, or low temperature.
