[TalnSG]

Surgery, yes, more than I would have liked to over the years - tonsils, jaw, wrist, rotator cuff .... etc.

Yes, its really just falling asleep. Depending on your medical condition and the anesthetist, you may even be asleep before the they wheel you into the OR and start the gas. Sometimes the preliminary meds will knock you out for that nervous first part. Other times, you may be fully awake to get a view of the OR and the crew to work on you. If so, you'll probably be to cold to be focused on much else. Being lifted on to the table can even be a brief entertainment.

Coming out of it is variable. You may wake up slowly in your hospital bed and go right back to sleep (used to be me). Or you could be like my brother who was wide awake and fighting the orderly to get off the gurney and get food on the way back to his room. If you have medical issues with anethesia (me) you will probably be brought fully concious very quickly - within minutes of them rolling you from the OR to Recovery. Not too thrilling scenery there, but they will usually discuss that with you, so you know to expect it. You also may come to and remember having some very wierd dreams. Last time they put me under I dreamt my surgeon was playing baseball in Puerto Rico. He said I asked him the score at one point when they were bringing me out of the anesthesia. I have no idea where any fo that came from - I don't like baseball, he's not even remotely hispanic .... just a crazy, drug-induced dream.

Basically, an appendectomy is not something to take lightly, but not something to panic over either. The surgery is usually pretty basic and getting better and quicker all the time.

Now for the down side. The muscles and stitches are going to be sore for a while. I have never known anyone to say they were anything else. And whatever you THINK you can do physically without bothering the site, pay attention to your doc and don't push it. You don't want them to have to open you back up and repair a tear. In 10th grade my best friend decided he could play tag while the stitches were healing. He spent that night back in the OR and really hurting the next few days.