From the article: Understanding and Dealing With a Fear of Surgery
Surgery anxiety can make the thought of surgery seem like torture. Share your tips and suggestions for overcoming surgery anxiety. What helped you get past your fear of surgery and move on to better health? Surgery Anxiety Tips
Anxiety,panic,and hestitation to proceed
- Weeks or the day I'm informed of the surgery i panic and have hundreds of reasons why i should reschedule. I awake in worse condition than prior to. The nurses see my name and no one wants the case.
- —Guest Pamela
Hysterctomy!?!?!?
- Im 34 and have to have a hysterectomy and its in a week. for the past few nights ive been having chest pain, and just staring up at the ceiling. not sleeping. My husband says ill be allright but when i had my tubes tied my visit was in and out but i got a huge stafth infection and im just so worried about that again. that was horribly and i ended up in icu for 6 days because of it. im sure i will b e fine, just im still freaking out. can anyone help me?
- —Guest Denise
Anxiety
- I need an angyoplasty which is a reconstructive surgery for deviated nasal septum. I am just writing here so I can overcome my fear of surgery. First time when I was 17 they tried to fix it but instead of fixing the septum they just made my nose look better. I will be strong and I will get my nose fixed so help me god.
- —Guest David
knee replacement replacement
- I am scheduled to have a lower part of a knee done over again because it has become loose in the bone. I am 86 and not the best candidate for surgery. I am having several blood tests , ecg, chest x=ray to determine my eligibility for the procedure. My blood circulation is not optimum but my blood pressure is under control and I feel pretty well except for my leg below my knee. but I dread it. The orthopedic dr said he would have me kicking a football in 6 weeks and said if the cardiologist did not approve, we would find another cardiologist. That was before he knew of my other problems` Roy
- —rluptergrove
Biggest Concern was Nausea
- I experienced severe post-op nausea after a C-section, so when I had to have surgery a few years later, my biggest concern was the nausea. I discussed it w/ my doctor and the anesthesiologist beforehand, and apparently there was some anti-nausea drug they put in the IV that must have been introduced between the time my daughter was born and the surgery abt five yrs later. I had complete faith and confidence in my doctor, so that part I wasn't worried about. When I woke up from the surgery, I was complimenting the post-op nurse on her hairstyle and asking for some iced tea. I was so relieved not to be nauseous! Since then, I've had a couple more minor surgeries and felt at ease going in because I knew they'd be using the same anesthesia "cocktail" that worked before. I also looked forward to the surgeries making me feel better (one for a deviated septum; there's a reason we have two nostrils and the other for fibroids).
- —onthepatio
Worry? Good Jokes, Instead!
- I'm with Kevin. I didn't worry either, but I also have no fear of death and have already faced major life changes due to ill health. Instead, I spent my time in pre-op and post-op having a good time! As I told the staff, they were my captive audience --- I told funny stories and cracked wise and they, being good folk, laughed and grinned back. We had a great time!
- —BethPete
Meditation
- I was scared witless the first time I had surgery and when the procedure had to be repeated 6 months later I was desperately upset. A friend introduced me to meditation. I started with just 5 minutes a day and by the time the scheduled surgery was still only sitting for 15 minutes a time, but what a difference it made. I was so calm and didn't even need a pre-med before they took me down!
- —ElaineLemm
Overcoming Surgery Anxiety
- I'm not an advocate of surgery unless it is a vitally necessary life saving procedure or an extreme cosmetic need. In either case it’s a case of doing what needs to be done in a matter of fact approach. Anxiety helps nothing
- —S_Khalsa
What? Me Worry?
- I've never feared surgery (dentistry is another matter) but for some reason surgery doesn't scare me. I suspect it's because I think the worst outcome is death. I know it's not, but death doesn't scare me in the least. I've had two surgeries, both fairly significant but both also done endoscopically (they reached below my liver through a hole in my neck). So healing time and post-surgical pain was minimal (although in neither case did I know that beforehand). Nevertheless, "Well, if I die, I die. I have zero control over what happens so why worry?"
- —Guest Kevin
