Anyone Experience Panic When Planning for Resection?

[sf925415]

I'm 2 weeks before the surgery. I'm increasingly getting nervous about the procedure. Mostly it is the worry of waking up and learning of some complication, that the surgery went twice as long as expected, that they had to convert to an open from a hand-assisted laparascopy, waking up in the ICU (has that happened to anyone here??), or that they found actually nothing wrong at all and they all are upset that I wasted everyone's time. Anyone here experience similar feelings? Like when I think about it I feel like I may have a panic attack if I think too much on it, and it makes me worried just how stressed I'll be the night before, the morning of, getting wheeled in... my heart will be racing!

(I know I keep posting surgery related messages here... sorry .... just I continuously think about it and have no one here at home who understands or who wants to hear about it).

Thanks!

 

[Mountaingem]

:hug:I'm sorry you're having such a rough time-I've never had a resection, but I've had several surgeries and I always get panic attacks and stressed out!

In my experience it's never pleasant, but NEVER as bad as what I had worked up in my mind. Now I try to focus on how the surgery is necessary, probably going to be unpleasant but will lead to better things, and I try to imagine myself in better health, visualizing myself doing all the things I used to enjoy doing (hiking/camping/travelling) before this illness really kicked into gear.

If it gets really too much for you, call your doctor and he/she can prescribe some meds that will help you relax and alleviate your anxiety, don't hesitate to use them. We all need to do whatever we can to cope with all the crap this illness dishes out!

Sending hugs and best wishes on your sugery-please keep us updated!

 

[scifi-enthusiast]

Well right before my emergency resection they said I was bleeding so bad that they couldn't do a colonoscopy; meaning that they couldn't determine which part of the colon the blood was coming from. They told me there was a 50/50 chance I was going to live or die because they were going in blindly and may not get the right part of the colon. So that of course had me panicking pretty badly and even crying that I may die.

They had me sign some paper work disclosing what I wanted done to my body and my belongings after death, so I signed a release to donate my body to science and signed off all my possessions to my mother. During surgery I was bleeding out and they had to give me a plasma transfusion. They were so surprised when I woke up right after the surgery (in the operating room).

 

[Jennifer]

That sounds pretty rough Scifi. lol, that's not your case though sf925415 so thank goodness for that!

I think I was a little nervous but overall pretty comfortable with the idea of it and that it needed to be done. I had a great GI doc who I truly trusted with my life and still do to this day. Only thing I was upset about was that I got an infection and the scar had to be made larger and I had this stupid belly button flap for over a month and didn't know if it would heal right or just fall off.

If I were you, I'd tell the nurses, surgeon and doc and everyone involved with taking care of you that you are VERY nervous, you've never done this before, tell them your concerns and they should make you feel better by saying that they will take good care of you, you'll be fine, you're in good hands along with other words of encouragement. That made my heart rate go down before my last colonoscopy (cause the one I had before it the doc didn't wait for the medication to take affect so I was awake and was being held down as they forced it in, very painful and made me feel somewhat violated) cause the nurse was SUPER nice and kept talking to me with a soothing voice and over and over again said that I was doing great and it'll be over before I know it (that was just the prep before they even did the scope, she put me right out when they were ready to go).

I also had my teddy bear with me for my surgery (I was 18).

 

[Guest]

giving control of your body and your life over to the sugeons for surgery is always a scary thing, whether it's major, minor or routine surgery.. i don't think that fear, and the thoughts you're experiencing, are anything other than normal, and what most people go through..

i've had 6 abdo ops in my lifetime, and i've been petrified every single time... i've been known to clutch the nurse's hand in the pre-op room and beg her to not let me die - and the thing that wakes me up afterwards, every time, is the sound of someone crying - me.

but - on the logical side, these surgeons are specialised in what they're doing, they see it day in, day out - they know exactly what to do, what they're looking for, and how best to proceed for each individual patient. you have to try and get your thoughts to a place where you can put your trust in them, and relax knowing that you're in the best hands, and that this procedure is going to help you.

i agree with the posts above that you should talk to someone pre-surgery about your fears and worries, whether it's your gp, practice nurse, or someone on the ward - i'm sure they will reassure you, and as has been mentioned, give you something to calm you down if need be..

the one blessing about surgery is the fact that we're completely anaesthetised - the passage of time makes no difference to us when we're out - it just feels like seconds when you wake, from when you were last awake.

 

[Jennifer]

the one blessing about surgery is the fact that we're completely anaesthetised - the passage of time makes no difference to us when we're out - it just feels like seconds when you wake, from when you were last awake.

Maybe I'm weird but that was the fun part for me. When they have you count from 100 backwards. I think I might have gotten to 87 maybe? I remember they were trying to make jokes with me while I was being put under which made the counting difficult and then I'd try to respond with a witty comment that was never completed and I'd fall asleep to the sounds of laughter (theirs of course but it made me feel so comfortable). For me, laughter always makes me feel less nervous. I use distraction a lot when it comes to anxiety.

Also sf925415, I woke up in my own hospital suite, not ICU.

 

[partlycloudy]

I've had several major surgeries, and all except one went perfectly. Even the one where things went wrong it was only because they discovered some stuff while they had me open that required more surgery. But none of that mattered because I was out like a light for the whole surgery then so doped up for the next week I didn't care about anything...in a good way.

It was all much harder on my loved ones who weren't knocked out.

I did have a panic attack before one surgery (not the messy one) and was panicking as they wheeled me to the OR. To others it appeared I was only crying, but I was barely containing a panic and on the verge of leaping out of the bed and making a break for it, gown a-flappin'.

I second what others have said. Take the anti-anxiety meds. :hug: Why suffer any more than you have to? If I felt myself growing overly anxious about a surgery I wouldn't hesitate to make use of them.

 

[fateful_one]

Hey SF, hey everybody

I am going for resection 12/28! And I have been freakijg out, super nervous. So, as a result I have been calling my surgical nurse and gi nurse with all sorts of questions and comments on potential outcomes. Like everyone, these aweful fearful emotions must be a natural human reaction to placing yourself into such a profoundly prone situation. I am trying to look at it as mind over matter, and visualize that all will work out, life will be great afterwards, etc. Oh, that and I plan on taking a lot of xanax you should get some from your doc too good luck SF!

 

[kenny]

I was getting pretty uptight too. All kinds of possibilities coming up that I could not avoid thinking about. Then the week before I go in, my dad died. I was convinced I killed him by causing him too much concern and worry. I know there is some truth to that but I accept that it is not something I could control. So yea I was freaking the heck out big time when I went in. The Morphine Tabs and Oxycontin I was on for a couple of months didn't help my mental state either.

All I have to say is what a wonderful society we live in where there are doctors to fix us and Nurses to help us through the process. Trust in them and be kind to them. They will treat you to the best of their abilities and everything should work out ok.

 

[Sue-2009]

OMG! Totally normal..I'd be wondering if you weren't...Good luck, try to relax...enjoy your family or friends...Peace...Sue

 

[maxibear]

you should consider taking a xanax, its a great drug. when i had y emergency surgury, i really was not scared, just took another pill, said a prayer and then i woke up screaming in pain 8 hours later. had a open procedure, was very serious, almost had another one last week, but it cleared out. anyway, good luck. the xanax really helps. keep the faith

 

[oldcrohn]

I agree. Of course you're panicking but it's never as bad as you think. Just had surgery in October and was told every possible nightmare and woke up fine. You will be okay.