Whether you’ve been under anesthesia before, or it’s your first time needing it, it’s common to have questions (and even some fears) about how long it will stay in your system, what kind of side effects you might experience, and more. According to Patel, that just means the grogginess will fade within the hour. The systemic anesthesia, or the medicine remaining in your system, can last for up to four or five hours, she tells mbg. However, there is not an evidence-based way to flush anesthesia out of your system. “You have to let your body do the job,” Patel says. Depending on the operation, the surgeon should communicate any lifting restrictions, Patel says, as well as a timeline for adding exercise back in. If you were given a local anesthetic for a minor procedure (think: removing a mole or filling a cavity) the restrictions might not be as limiting, but it’s a good idea to wait at least 24 hours before doing any kind of intense exercise. When patients are able to add food back in, there’s no standard recommended diet. Finding the type of diet that works for you, depending on your genes, dietary preferences, or allergy requirements, is the best route. “Most of the time, people will be getting intravenous fluid for at least the first couple hours after the surgery, and sometimes more,” she explains. Once they’re given permission by a doctor to drink fluids by mouth, staying hydrated becomes highly important for two reasons. “One, to replete the dehydration from before the surgery. And two, to help your body do its job of metabolizing medications," she says. According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, other side effects of general anesthesia could include: a sore throat, confusion or delirium, muscle aches, chills and shivering, and itching. For example, “Most people can get IUDs without anesthesia, but some patients might have a lower pain tolerance or higher medication requirements,” Patel explains. Additionally, most dental procedures can be done with a local anesthetic, but if “some patients have a phobia or it’s difficult for them to stay still, there is the option for them to have general anesthesia.” Anesthesiologists will also ask if you take medication, have allergies, drink alcohol, smoke, or take recreational drugs, to avoid any dangerous interactions with the medicine. If the procedure requires a breathing tube, the anesthesiologist may also ask to look in your mouth. “This examination of your mouth is to assess for how much of the inside of your mouth we can see which is correlated with how easy or possibly challenging it may be to place a breathing tube,” Patel and anesthesiologist Meera Kirpekar, M.D., write on their blog.
