Anesthesia

If he doesn't seem better by tomorrow I would take him to the hospital to be reevaluated. It could be that he has a sensitivity.

M.

I would think it's fairly normal. Call the doctor just to make sure, you don't want to take a chance on such a tiny tot! I hope things are better for Baby post surgery...what a scary time for you! Don't worry though, it takes me 2 days just to recover from Benadryl and that's nothing compared to what they gave your baby! ;) Hang in there, I'm sure it's fine!

** after reading Catherine's response, that made me think...is he on pain meds? I mean, probably right?? The pain meds could totally be what is causing him to be groggy and not himself. If he isn't, I still think it's not totally weird, but like I said call a doctor if you're worried!

The anesthesia... not long. Several hours, but not several days.

1 will get you 100 it was the SURGERY that's affecting him.

How long is the recovery time? Take that and add 1 week - 6 weeks before things are "normal" again. Because in addition to healing from the surgery, it takes awhile for the body and mind to get used to the "way" things are now.

With adults "normal" takes much longer, because we are aware of what normal used to be. (For example, it can take YEARS for adults to fully adjust to major surgery). For infants and small children, they adjust exponentially faster because their "normal" is in constant flux.

My son took about 4 days to get back to normal when he had surgery at 15 months. But, as mentioned below, he was on pain meds and I weaned him off by day 3 after the surgery.

M. ~
I would agree with the other writers and say it's probably more from the surgery than the anesthesia. I see from your previous posts that he was premature, so kidney function will affect any medications that he gets. Lots of fluids will help flush that out. I know from having surgery myself that I often am really worn out from the surgery. And is he in pain? Babies sleep to block out pain. I would think that this is all normal, but you can always call the surgeon and ask him what is normal.
Hope he feels better!
D.

Our 3 year old had tubes put in his ears a week or so ago and the smell of the anesthesia was gone in about an hour and the effects were gone by that afternoon. There can be serious side effects from anesthesia, please call the hospital and ask the anesthesiologist to call you to discuss it. Pediatricians know a LOT but anything to do with drugs or procedures I go to the horses mouth. If the anesthesiologist won't talk to you find out who at the hospital will.

You don't mention if the surgery itself could be causing him pain (maybe at the incision site or elsewhere). In thinking back to a few surgeries that I have had, I felt "out of it" for ~12 hours after surgery, and after that it was more that I was in pain that was causing me to slow down. If you think he may be in pain, check with his doctor and see if there is anything you can give him for it. If you're sure he's not in pain, just groggy, I would call the doctor right away and express your concern. I don't recall ever feeling groggy from anesthesia 2 days after surgery.

I know You asked this a few days ago, but I just saw your post. I am a pre- op and recovery room nurse and frequently take care of toddlers and younger kids. Anesthesia is not completely out of a person's system for 24 to 48 hours depending on the specific medications that were used. However the symptoms of anesthesia usually last much less time, most kids are back to normal within 24 hours. That depends though, on what kind of surgery your baby had, and how long they were under anesthesia. I wouldn't be concerned at this point, you have to take into consideration the surgery recovery and his age also. As long as the baby is eating and waking, that's ok.

Hi M.---I think all posts so far have good ideas. Not knowing what kind of surgery, follow-up instructions, etc, it's harder to pinpoint any one thing. Keep pushing lots of fluids to help remove the chemicals and anesthesia biproducts from his system.

Are you breastfeeding? Be sure that you are eating optimally healthy to help him recover faster. Eat mostly fresh fruits and veggies, try to get more than 10 servings per day...even more if you can. Whole grains are important, as are legumes, seeds and nuts. An optimal diet has 90% of daily calories coming from plants. This info comes from a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. If curious, please read The China Study by T Colin Campbell. When you eat like this, you give the body the nutrients needed to heal the body sooner than later.

Anyway, part of this doesn't exactly answer your question, but I do hope that it helps. Feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions. Just remember, any surgery and the use of anesthesia is serious. Every person will react to it differently. Good luck. D.