[Nyororin]

I have had an emergency c-section, early enough in the pregnancy (I wasn`t even showing yet...) that it was nothing like the typical procedure and more like an abdominal surgery.

I was supposed to be put to sleep via IV, but I have a circulatory issue where my veins tend to clamp shut when over stimulated (just the type of thing that putting an IV in does) so it was impossible to get one in. I was put to sleep with gas.

In my case, I did NOT just go to sleep then magically wake up when it was over.
The initial "going to sleep" was mildly unpleasant, very close to fainting - just smelling much worse. It was like the way it feels when you lean over for too long then stand up too quickly, only instead of getting better as time passed, it got worse and worse. First sound sort of cut out, then there was a sensation of falling backward... And I closed my eyes. I really did not like the situation, was very very scared, and as I have trauma and phobia issues related to IVs (and had just spent 30 minutes having them try close to 20 times all over my body to get one in...) I wanted nothing more than to escape. Being put to sleep was an incredibly welcome relief and I definitely didn`t try to resist or stay awake.
I am fairly certain that from then until the surgery started about 5 minutes later that I was "asleep", and maybe even dreaming.

I was aware of when I was cut. It didn`t hurt, but was very cold. The incision was sort of like having an icicle slowly moved over my skin. I was "out" as far as the anesthesia was concerned, but was aware enough to know what the icy cold line advancing down from my belly button was... And to feel sheer terror and nausea, even if there was no pain. I was horrified that I would wake up more and that the pain would come. Apparently something indicated to them that I was conscious at some level, and I was asked if I could hear them - I did my best to answer that I did, and they either increased the gas or did something else.

The next thing I was aware of was a horrible pulling sensation - again, no pain, just the horrible knowledge that they were messing with my innards. This time I could tell they`d taken the gas mask off of me, and I was breathing clear fresh air. I was horrified again that I`d wake up, and that every breath brought me closer to consciousness and pain... So I held my breath, they noticed, again I was spoken to, answered, and the gas came back.

When I next started waking up it HURT. First there was a dull thudding pain, and then they put a catheter in and I woke up screaming. The pain from that was worse than the thudding pain from the wound.
I was aware that time had passed - not how much, but there were enough moments of almost-consciousness that remained in memory to make it clear that I hadn`t just been sleeping. (In reality, about 25 minutes had passed from start to catheter)

I didn`t see the inside of the OR. I was given gas in the prep room, and the next time I actually opened my eyes was in my hospital room. I do know that the OR felt absolutely freezing - there was a difference in temperature between it and the other rooms/halls around it.

So... Anyway, gas then waking up certainly wasn`t "it" in my case - but it didn`t hurt while they were actually doing stuff. But then again, I tend to be very strong when it comes to anesthesia of all types. An example, I had to have a termination of a borderline ectopic pregnancy - I was given a normal dose of sedative which did put me to sleep very quickly (count to 20 - at about 12 it was too much work to continue), but I woke up in about 10 minutes. They`d expected it to at least be 30, and had a room set aside for 2 hours as that was the normal time from the end of the procedure to "safe to go home" stage. I was ready to leave about 5 minutes after waking up, and passed the tests they gave to check.