To be terrified of upcoming surgery?

[lollilou2]

Never been put to sleep before, and quite an anxious person to begin with!

Booked in for endometrial ablation and tubal ligation. I’ve heard having them together can make it a hard recovery?

Also, I’m afternoon slot, so what’s the chances I get to go home that night? What sort of things would they keep you in for?

Sorry, just trying to get my thoughts together!

Not had ablation but I did have tubal ligation. Was home the same day. You think they won’t be able to put you to sleep but they do. They’ll ask you to count to ten and by the time you get to about 2 you’re asleep. You think you won’t wake up but you do. It’ll be fine and a relief to know you’ve done it. Good luck x

When I first had a gynae operation, when I was 27, I made sure I told the dr and anaesthetist that I was very scared. They offered to move my slot forward so I wasn't hanging round so much and they gave me a tablet which calmed my nerves. They seemed to take extra care with me as they could see how nervous I was. Before I knew it, it was done and I was in recovery and very proud of myself!! This was a day surgery and as long as I could walk to the bathroom and have a wee, they were happy to send me home by teatime.

Good luck, you'll be fine x

I don't even remember counting down. The anesthetic doc gave me an injection and said it was going to feel like having a glass of wine. The only thing I remember is saying "this is a rather large glass of wine", next thing I know I wake up in recovery.

You have absolutely no sense whatsoever of time passing with a GE, like you do with normal nightly sleep. It honestly feels like you blink and then there you are in recovery. I haven't had these ops, but I wish you the best with recovering – take one day at a time and rest, rest, rest.

Thank you all! Resting might be difficult I’ve got 3 autistic children who all favour me 😅

I've had loads of ops, and never managed to count lower than 7!

@sueelleker Exactly! Think I got to 2 counting to 10 🤣

Tell them you're scared and they should be able to support you. They can give you diazepam beforehand for example, and a nurse can hold your hand while you go under.

I was terrified the first time but the nurse looking after me was lovely and held my hand. The second time I had some sort of pre-med given intravenously and drifted off before they even gave me the GA. It was bliss.

The third time I was given just propofol as it was a short procedure. The last thing I remember is the anaesthetist saying 'you're going to start feeling sleepy now' and a few moments later I was out. I woke up to the nurse calling my name which really pissed me off as it was the most wonderful sleep.

I've never been told to count down on any of them.

When you wake up you'll have someone with you. You'll probably feel a bit confused. Some people wake up crying but this is some sort of weird effect from the GA. I woke up sobbing and had no idea why. If you're in pain, tell them and they'll give you something to help.

Be prepared to feel very tired for a few days afterwards. I did for my first as it was a long GA, but was fine after GA for my gynae surgery. You might also feel a bit low and tearful, which is common while the GA works itself out of your system.

I know it's not massively helpful to say when it's such a big unknown - but generals are often a delight for planned surgeries! Even knowing that I've had good experiences before I still get anxious, which I think is more than reasonable. My usual form is for them to ask me nice normal questions like 'can you confirm your name?' and I start crying 😅Do let them know that you're anxious. In my experience they're very reassuring and explain everything very clearly. Anaesthesiologists seems to be their own breed of person and are just lovely.
I find when they start giving you the medicines I get headspinny - like I've just crawled in to bed after one wine too many. Then you literally blink and you're sat upright in recovery being prodded with a straw so you can drink some water! You'll likely be VERY thirsty and probably at the 'texting with one eye closed so you can focus harder' level of woozy for a little while but it soon wears off.
Hope you have a speedy recovery and the kiddos let you take it easy for a bit!