My recent (positive!) experience under general anaesthetic

[rafiki]

I recently had quite a serious dog bite to the face, and was taken to hospital. I've never had a general anaesthetic before, and I was absolutely terrified of being given benzos, or reverting back to full HPPD after an anaesthetic.

They asked me if I wanted co-codamol or oxycodone. Easy answer there! I spent about 3 days on oxy, pestering the nurses constantly.

I've never had my HPPD medically diagnosed, as I'm worried it would interfere with my career. I had someone come in to ask me about drugs that I'm sensitive to. I asked my wife and (in particular) my mother in law if I could have some privacy. I told her that I'd had an addiction to valium and clonazepam 8 years ago and that I absolutely didn't want to have them again. I also told her that I'd taken tramadol a few years ago without prescription for back pain (given by a friend), and that I had rebound anxiety for a week.

At induction I asked them what they were going to use, and they said propofol. I had no idea what that would do to me, but went with it. I don't know if they did use it in the end - I think I might have been masked down.

I woke 4 hours later, threw up, took some more oxy, and kept going.

My HPPD has not changed a cent. Unlike the last time when I smoked weed and could barely function for 2-4 weeks, I would say I'm normal. I had 2-3 days of mild depersonalisation after stopping the oxy, and that was it.

I thought it was worth putting this out there anyway - don't be afraid to have an anaesthetic with HPPD. Tell them what drugs you don't want to have, and I hope you'll have as uneventful an experience as I did!

[K.B.Fante]

I've read up and down these forums as well as DP boards and haven't found a case of someone suffering a severe setback of any kind due to anesthesia. Seems pretty safe. 

[Jagermeister]

Excellent post. It's really useful for people who have hppd to have as much information as possible, faced the possibility to get worse.

Myself looked for that last week. I had to get anesthesy in tooth surgery, and I was wondering if it could affect me on bad way.