She desperately wanted to scream or even move a finger to signal to doctors that she was awake, but the muscle relaxant she'd received prevented her from controlling her movements.

"I was doing a combination of praying and pleading and cursing and screaming, and trying anything I could do but I knew that there was nothing that was working," said Weiher, of Reston, Virginia.

Weiher is one of few people who have experienced anesthesia awareness. Although normally a patient does not remember anything about surgery that involves general anesthesia, about one or two people in every 1,000 may wake up during general anesthesia, according to the Mayo Clinic. Most of these cases involve the person being aware of the surrounding environment, but some experience severe pain and go on to have psychological problems.

The surgical tools didn't cause Weiher pain -- only pressure -- but the injections of a paralytic drug during the operation "felt like ignited fuel," she said. "I thought, well, maybe I've been wrong about my life, and I'm in hell," she said. The entire surgery lasted five-and-a-half hours. Sometime during it she either passed out or fell unconscious under the anesthetic. When she awoke, she began to scream.

"All I could say to anyone was, 'I was awake! I was awake!' " she said.

http://awarenessunderanesthesia.org/

#Awareness during Anesthesia

#Wakefulness and Awareness Under Anesthesia

#awareness and recall during general anesthesia

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/17/...

#Awake under Anesthesia #Awareness under Anesthesia #Wakefulness and Awareness Under Anesthesia

#Awake under Anesthesia #Awareness under Anesthesia #Wakefulnes