What is a common side effect of spinal anesthesia?

There have been many reported long-term side effects of general anesthesia. These include vision problems such as blurriness and difficulty focusing, mental problems ranging from confusion and forgetfulness to panic attacks and depression. Physical effects include tingling or numbness in the extremities, chills and exhaustion. Time duration of these effects vary considerably from person to person. Recovery times can be a short as a day or two, can take several weeks in many cases or even be permanent in extreme cases. Older and less healthy people will generally take longer to recover. Any of these symptoms should be discussed with your doctor at the postoperative visit. Extreme reactions such as extreme chills (hypothermia) should be treated immediately.