How is it to be put under anesthesia and how long does it take to fall asleep?

Anesthesia Induction: With I.V. Sedation prior to induction(going to sleep), you may not even remember going into the o.R. Once all the monitors and oxygen is on, you may feel a little warmth in your I.V. And then you will be out in a matter of seconds. Even without much sedation, the medications we use now acts so rapidly you wont really be able to comprehend you are going to sleep.

Relaxing/Soothing: Typically in the pre-op area you will have an IV placed & then on your way to the or you will be given a small dose of a benzodiazepine, which will make you very relaxed & somewhat amnestic. You will be placed supine on an or table & have more medication given through the iv, which will take just moments for you to fall asleep & then you will receive inhalation anesthetic & be intubated.

Very Few Know: With modern anesthetics we try and shut down the memory of the patient before they go to the or. Once they can't remember what happened, it is very hard to find out what they felt as they went to sleep. Without sedatives the very medication that is used to put people to sleep blocks memory formation, so we have the same problem. Same with waking up. Most patient first memory is of the pacu.

A few seconds: The drugs we use work quickly, most people are out within a matter of seconds.