I had to be in the hospital by 0700 (after having been nil by mouth from midnight) and I was shown to my room and settled in. The nurses did the usual obs: blood pressure, temperature, heart rate etc. The phlebotomist came to put a canula (miniscule little tube that they can put fluids into your vein) into my hand although he couldn't do it (arms too fat) and left it for the anaesthetist to do in theatre. The anaesthetist came to see me and I mentioned my fear of the mask and she was very reassuring, please tell them if you are very anxious they are very sweet and so used to people being scared, they will help you enormously. I put my gown on (backwards don't forget) and took off my nix. When they were ready for me at about 1400 hrs I walked down to the theatre with a lovely nurse who kept my mind off it. Then they took me into the anaesthetic room where the anaesthetist put the canula in. I had to lie on the trolley and they put extensions on it so that I could have my arms out by my side. They hooked up a blood pressure cuff onto my arm and a clip on my finger that registered my oxygen levels and sticky things for the ECG machine to monitor my heart. I asked the anaesthetist to tell me absolutely everything they were doing when they did it, as I cope better when I know totally everything. You may be different and not want to know anything at all, just tell them. The anaesthetist then put the anaesthetic into my canula (no sign of a mask at all) and I went very, very woozy and then I believe I woke up in recovery although I can't really remember anything until I woke up on the ward at about 1900 hrs. I had only been in theatre for 1.5 hours but the rest of the time I was asleep. I had a urinary catheter in (they did this while I was under the anaesthetic), fluids going into my arm via the canula, an arterial line measuring my blood pressure (this is just like another canula into my arm), the ECG monitor lines and my PCA (patient controlled anaesthetic) that I could push when I felt any pain and it issued a small amount of morphine. The nurse was very vigilant and I can't remember being left alone at all, I had a buzzer if I needed anything. I was awake most of that night as I couldn't take my Amitriptyline which makes me sleep so I was bored and couldn't wait to move back to my room and get a TV! The nurse got me out into a chair some time during the night which was difficult for her as I had so many tubes and wires and I had a drink of water. I had no pain at all and it all went swimmingly. I hope you have an easy time too. Just tell them your worries, no matter how silly you think they are. They have heard everything under the sun and can help.
) having that in was personally the worst part of the whole thing for me because i was on totm x hope some of this helps good luck , anything else just ask x
