Deep – You won’t actually be unconscious, but you’ll sleep through the procedure and probably will have little or no memory of it.You may or may not remember some of the procedure. Moderate – You will feel drowsy and may even fall asleep during the procedure.This level of sedation is typically used when your doctor needs you to be involved in the procedure. You’ll understand questions your doctor is asking and be able to answer as well as follow directions. Minimal – Minimal sedation will help you relax, but you will likely be awake.

A physician anesthesiologist is a medical doctor who specializes in anesthesia, pain management, and critical care medicine. Regardless of the level of sedation, it’s important that a physician anesthesiologist be involved in your anesthesia care. Your age, medical condition, and health habits may also affect the type of anesthesia you’ll receive. The level of sedation a patient experiences depends on several factors, including the type of procedure you’re having and how your body responds to anesthesia. Sometimes IV sedation and analgesics will be combined with other types of pain control - such as local anesthesia, which involves one or more injections to numb a small area of the body, or regional anesthesia, which numbs a larger part of the body, such as from the waist down. Possible side effects include headache, nausea, and drowsiness, but you will likely experience fewer effects than you would from general anesthesia - and you’ll probably recover faster and go home sooner. Most patients wake up quickly once the procedure is over and the medications are stopped. But even with deep sedation, you won’t be unconscious, as you would be with general anesthesia.Įven with deep sedation, you won’t be unconscious, as you would be with general anesthesia. Analgesia may also contribute to drowsiness. Moderate or deep sedation may slow your breathing, and in some cases, you may be given oxygen.

Depending on the procedure, the level of sedation may range from minimal (you’ll feel drowsy but able to talk) to deep (you probably won’t remember the procedure). Sedation and analgesics are usually provided through an IV placed in a vein. Procedures using sedation and analgesics may be performed in a hospital or in an outpatient setting, such as a same-day surgery center, your physician’s office, or a dentist’s office. These procedures might include some types of biopsies or involve the use of a scope to examine the throat or colon to find and treat medical conditions such as cancer.Īn analgesic is a medication used to achieve analgesia, or pain relief, and is often combined with sedation. Sedation, also known as monitored anesthesia care, conscious sedation, or twilight sedation, typically is used for minor surgeries or for shorter, less complex procedures, when an injection of local anesthetic isn’t sufficient but deeper general anesthesia isn’t necessary. One common type of pain control is called sedation, which relaxes you and sometimes makes you fall asleep. Today, physicians have many ways to make sure their patients are as comfortable as possible during surgery or procedures for diagnosing medical conditions.

Does general anesthesia make you loopy