Pre op anxiety through the roof

[QueenEthelTheMagnificent]

Hi all

Yes this is very outing but I don't care.

I'm having my gallbladder out on Thursday.

I'm over 50 and have never had a general
anaesthetic/any kind of operation in my life.

I'm shitting bricks. My anxiety about it is through the roof. What's making it worse is at my pre op my blood pressure was though the roof. I've been checking it all weekend and it's high, so I'm now panicking that the op could be cancelled if it's that bad on the day!!!

I've tried everything to calm myself down, but my adhd brain won't shut off about it, even watching tv or listening to music it's all I can think about.

which I know isn't helping and will be making me worse.

Platitides aren't helping, yes I know realistically I'll be totally fine, hundreds of people a day have this op and they're fine.
My stomach is a constant knot, I can't sleep..... I could go on but I think you all get the picture!!!

Yes I'm going to ring the gp in the morning about it.

But please, does anyone have any idea what I can do to try and calm myself down!!!!!

Three years ago I had to have four operations within six weeks. Up until
then i had never had a general anaesthetic. Since then I’ve had two more. I was absolutely petrified. I was so scared I was having panic attacks. I am due to have at least one possibly two more operations and now I don’t even give it a second thought. Honestly you will be absolutely fine. I can almost promise as things going wrong are so rare xxx Sending lots of love xxx

Always remember that the surgical team will not proceed if there are any serious issues with your underlying health. Did the pre op team say anything to you about the blood pressure? Don't forget that many people (including me!) have very high BP readings in a medical setting, they call it "white coat syndrome". It is usually normal at other times. I know you say yours is high even at home, but that sounds like a reaction to your stress levels, not anything sinister!

This is what pre op is all about, checking you out to see if there's anything that might prevent the surgery. What did they say at pre op?

It is quite normal to be bricking it before surgery, especially your first general anaesthetic. The medics are well used to this. Explain to them and they might, just might give you some pre op meds to calm you a little.

You will have a cannula put in your arm, and when you lie down in the operating theatre, they will put a mask over your face and you breathe in, then the coma juice (lol) goes in and next thing you are back in your bed, all done.

Have you heard of box breathing? It helps me calm the anxiety and brings down my heart rate a bit. Google might give you a better explanation. But it's essential making the 4 steps of breathing the same. Breath in slowly through your nose to the count of 4. Hold the air in your lungs to the count of 4. Slowly exhale through your mouth to the count of 4. Hold your breath to the count of 4 before starting the cycle again. Try it for a few minutes, some find doing it for 10-15 mins is more helpful for them.

I’m not trivialising your feelings at all, but, genuinely and honestly, that anaesthetic is going to be the best sleep you have ever had. The staff are gentle and comforting. They’ve seen it all. They will chat to you, hold your hand, do whatever it is that helps you. You will fall asleep calmly and safely, and when you wake up it will all be over.

You will wake up in Recovery. The nurses in Recovery IME are more matter-of-fact. They check regularly that you’re OK, and they come when you call them, but they don’t fuss over you. I tend to keep asking for a drink of water, but they won’t let me have one until they’re satisfied that I’m alert enough to swallow properly. I don’t think I’m actually thirsty, because I never want more than a few sips. Maybe that’s just what I do after GA. You’ll probably fall asleep again in Recovery. I never remember being taken out of Recovery, but I do remember arriving back on the ward. And DH giving me a kiss before I fall asleep again 😊

Something I always find grounding when I’m going for a GA is to ask the surgeon how I will know that the procedure is over when I wake up. When I had oral surgery the answer was that I would feel swabs in my cheeks and the strings from the swabs on the outside of my cheeks. And that was exactly what happened. Another time it was that I would be in Recovery, which was described as ‘a much larger room with more people in it’. Again, exactly what happened.

I hope this reassures you a little.

Keep breathing. Do you know Box Breathing? It’s really helpful for bringing you down from stress-induced physical symptoms.

I see I’m not the only one to suggest Box Breathing 😄

Try to do it with a slack jaw. The pause is not a hard ‘hold’, so don’t clench up. Just…pause…and then let the breath fall back in or fall back out.

They will probably give you some kind of sedative so that they can get your normal blood pressure reading. If that's OK they'll proceed as planned. I've told this story on here before but it might help you so.... When I was in my early 30s with 2 young children I needed a GA so that I could have 2 very badly impacted wisdom teeth removed. Despite being married to a doctor I was convinced I was not going to wake up and my children would be left without a mother. My blood pressure was through the roof! The lovely anaesthetist came to see me. He talked with me, listened to my fears, gave me a sedative and then made me laugh by saying 'there's no way I'll let you die on the table - the paperwork is a nightmare!' The laughter helped and I of course lived through my surgery (and have had a further GA years later). OP they will not let anything bad happen to you and you'll have the best sleep of your life (I wish I could sleep that well every night!)