Proper explanation, indeed - you never get all the way through the countdown before you time travel. Beforehand, though (at least in my too many to count without it sounding like a weird brag experiences), the “last words” moment is before the mask, but after the pre-anesthesia. Depends on the procedure, and probably the person, too.
Then I’m glad I know my entire team, going in, and they’re all remarkably empathetic to their terrified, high-risk patient! Chances are, any final words through twilight sleep will be a last sentiment to my spouse, in case I don’t make it through. After my tight-five, of course, using the IV pole as a mic.
Barring any issues that could have brought her in certain circumstances, that’s adorable! How nice to have something immediately positive to wake up to, besides the post-surgery uncomfortable everything else. I was very happy to learn that our state is one of the few that’s thankfully outlawed got-dang pelvic examinations under general anesthesia, unless they have specific prior consent - with some of the things US teaching hospitals allow, I’d be down for some unethical unconscious skincare.
Neat, that’s legitimately interesting! Maybe you have something unique in your physiology that gives you a different perspective? I’m pushing 6 surgeries under general, and around 5 precedures under IV, probably missing some numbers with my now shoddy memory forming capabilities, but my experiences with the knockout sedation could be described much more similarly to your experience, and a few of the IV sedations weren’t as deep, so I remember a bit more of the “in and out”, but mostly it’s just “Oh, yeah, I feel there’s a change in my coherence-BLACKOUT”, and then next awareness is recovery room beeps.
Though the term “fit” can be derogatory, and definitely outdated, I’ve definitely said variations on: “I’m about to have a goddamn fit…” when I get a warning aura just before a seizure starts, because ya gotta see humor in life’s little horrors.
I wish this was more talked about, when people mention classic sci-fi. I’m an avid SF reader, particularly older stuff, and it could almost be a drinking game of how few pages it’ll take before you find an offensively outdated reference, no matter how great the book. But every time I’ve picked up a Heinlein, hoping to find more positive points in classic stuff, I’m left just…feeling ooky. An easy example being the lesser known Friday, with the “happy” part of the extremely unrealistic female protagonist’s journey: marrying one of her gang-rapists. I haven’t been able to make a dent in my stack of Heinlein’s since that nonsense. Too many other great and interesting authors that weren’t horrid shitbags.
Much appreciated! I sure as heck hope that, too, haha - my username is mostly related to my epilepsy, and how my oodles of seizures make me feel. Just…various, classic Windows error “bonk!” sounds, amongst other glitches, but in ma’ brain.