Nervous about surgery....

[Ariom63]

I don't know why but I am so scared of having my gallbladder taken out.  This morning I woke up having a full blown panic attack.  My surgery is set for March 31st next Tuesday.  I am ready for it....but I feel like I am overreacting!!!!  Has anyone else gone through the "freak out" stage?????(THAT IS WHAT I AM CALLING IT)  I feel so childish and stupid. Not my 1 st surgery, had my thyorid gland removed...but this surgery is scarring me.  

[keeleyzinc0100]

Hey, I know these posts are old but I'm having mine out in 3 days and I am scared to death!!!! How was your experience right after surgery? And even a while after how was it?

[lola7788]

I had mine out two years ago, when I was just 18. I was in the hospital because I was bloated, couldn't pass food, etc. When they said they would take mine out i thought no big deal, I had my appendix out the year before, so I wasn't really scared of the surgery. After I had my appendix out it was quite painful so I worried about the pain. The night before my surgery I started to read up all about life without a gall bladder, medications to be, foods you cant eat etc. I am a healthy, petite 18 yr old and was no going to live life without the foods I enjoy. Anyways I went and had it out and I think the worst part for me was I had to have a drain. When you have the drain in you, you cannot stand up straight so I had back aches from hunching over. The pain in the abdomen was definitly there but basically i loaded up on the pain killers for a week until it came the day to get my drain out. When I went they said there was too much fluid still, and had to wait another week. I finally went back to get it out and I was sooooooo nervous for him to take it out. When he did he quickly pulled and it was weird you could feel it being pulled out, almost like a worm, but it was so quick I couldn't even scream, cry, freak out or do anything. Luckily also, they didnt have to put a stitch in the small hole, that healed on its own. Once it was out I healed like 10000 times faster and was moving around really well the next day. When i first started eating fatty foods I would get bad diarrhea, but I continued eating it and today I am fine... eat whatever I want. All i can say is dont read to much into it, everyone is different.

[Ariom63]

You are right it will be over before I know it....and looking forward to posting after it is over and I am resting at home.  

Sorry to hear that your 14 yr old has to go through this.

Wishing her the best with her surgery and thanks for posting.

[franny829]

I had mine out almost 2 years ago.  I was so scared I searched the web every day to read up on it.  Friends and family were great at reassuring me and the hospital staff and Doctors office were also wonderful.  I was nervous the day of but it went fast and before I knew it, it was over.

Now, my 14 year old daughter has to have hers removed and I am more nervous for her than I was for myself.

Good Luck with your surgery, you will do fine.

[Ariom63]

And stnktn..Thank you both for the support!!!!  I am having Lapriscopic myself.  I just work myself up for nothing.  Everyone tells me the same thing...they will give you something even if you don't ask for it!  But trust me stnktn, I am going to ask for it.  I don't want to know what is even going on. I want to go to sleep with a Gallbladder and wake up without one.  

I shall keep bust watching movies which I love to do!  

I too have some anti-anxiety medication.  I will take 1 before I leave home.  I have thought about backing out, but the only person I am hurting is myself. I want this over with....don't think I can handle the pain of another gallbladder attack.

Thanks again for everything. I am so glad I was told about this forum.

[stnktn]

Hey I just had mine taken out a little over 24 hours ago. I went through the scared stage too. I actually was ready to cancel it! My husband helped me through it by telling me how important it was that I get it taken out. And it is important that if you are sick you get it taken out. My anesthesiologist was wonderful. I was so afraid and I told him so he gave me some medicine in my IV and I did not care at all what they did after that. It calmed me down completely. It is all over so quickly. Now I am just trying to rest up. I am on lots of pain medicine and still have the effects of the anesthesia wearing off. I keep nodding off all the time when I am doing stuff but I really should be resting. I was so afraid and there was really nothing to be afraid of. They were so good to me at the hospital. I kept busy up until the day of surgery and I spoke with my doctors who reassured me that everything would be OK.

The day of surgery I had my own prescription of antianxiety medicine I was allowed to take which helped a little that morning but the best thing I ever did was fess up to the anesthesiologist about how nervous I was. My husband asked him if he could give me something to calm me down and he was back in three seconds with something, twenty seconds later I was calm and comfortable.

No words I say are going to really help I think as most words people said to me never really helped. The best advice I can give is to talk with your doctor now and on the day of surgery talk to your anesthesiologist. They will help you be more comfortable. They are very good at it.

Good luck with your surgery.  

[Boogie8481]

Hello, I was freaked out about my surgery also.  It was my first.  What I did was keep my mind off of it by watching movies or having a good time until the actual surgery time.  I was nervous at the hospital and they gave me a sedative. But I really had no reason to be.  Mine was lapriscopic.  It was simple. There were no complications, and I healed pretty quick.  I think the surgery was about an hour or so.  But I have known many people who have gotten it done and it went fine.  Gallbladder surgery is one of the most commone surgeries, so I would just be calm and not think about it.  Keep your mind busy.