Today i'm facing my biggest fear!

wez130 said:
I'm currently in my hospital bed waiting to go down to surgery to have my gall bladder removed. I've got to 46 years old without ever having to visit a hospital for anything more than a sprained ankle! Now i'm about to go under a general anaesthetic and frankly, i'm bricking it, i've always dreaded this day coming, having no control of my immediate destiny. I'm sure everything is going to be fine but it's the fear of the unknown! Hopefully i'll be back in a few hours saying I had nothing to worry about :)
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Maybe rest assured your destiny is in better hands than your own. Unless you feel like taking a bash yourself of course. I wouldn’t mind having a go myself come to think of it.
 
Yulaw said:
Good luck.

Am currently sitting in my hospital gown waiting to go down for abdominal surgery.

Absolutely shi bricks, first time I've had surgery.
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Take it from me (of all people lol!), you'll be fine.

Update: Today i conquered my biggest fear.

So after yesterdays fiasco, i've had a lot to traumatize me lol. I didn't sleep much at all last night, I binged Slow horses on Apple TV to keep my mind off it all, what a fantastic series!

Anyway, doctor came to see me at just before 6am this morning to reassure me that my surgery was definitely going ahead and that i was first in the queue! que impending doom moment but calmly. That said, i didn't have much time to dwell on it as I had to rush around showering and toileting etc, soon after, the orderly came to collect me for the the long wheel of doom to theater waiting room, saw the senior doctor and surgeon who explained everything, then I just stuck some relaxing music on in my buds while I waited.

9.30am, I was collected then wheeled to theater, weirdly, a felt really calm but slightly anxious, I guess I was relieved the wait was over. I was asked to climb onto the operating table then made comfortable, there were around 6 or 7 people there trying to comfort me and something was sent into my IV tube which was supposed to relax me, I felt a little dizzy but I definitely was relaxed, they double checked all my tubes and connections and gave me oxygen, then a couple of minutes later, they told me i'd be going to sleep soon, though no countdown! Next thing, I woke up in recovery room and it was 2.30pm I felt groggy but I felt compus mentus too, i was aware of my surroundings almost instantly, I had no pain and I was very calm and relaxed, I just let it ride!

Surgery took almost 5 hours instead of the routine 1 to 2 hours, so seeing the time I was confused, I was taken back to ward and doc came to explain why the surgery took longer, he said I had a pretty aggravated gall bladder that was difficult to remove, they took most of it out but had to clean and make safe what was left but it's perfectly safe to do so. the procedure remained keyhole thankfully and the pain has been pretty tolerable, maybe 3/10 at most so far. I've just taken my first oral painkillers about half an hour ago. I have to stay in hospital for 2 days though.

Conclusion, whilst the fear of the unknown is valid, my experience was a positive one and i'm glad it's over, but I wouldn't rush to go and do it again lol. The worst part is definitely the waiting for it to happen! Here's to a speedy recovery
 
Glad you pulled through with no unexpected issues. I hate even going to my GP, can't remember the last time I went, I know it's asking for trouble but I'm good at putting up with ailments
 
wez130 said:
the procedure remained keyhole thankfully and the pain has been pretty tolerable, maybe 3/10 at most so far. I've just taken my first oral painkillers about half an hour ago. I have to stay in hospital for 2 days though.
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I had my gallbladder out about ten years ago. The pain wasn’t bad at first as I was on the Good Drugs. The worst part was after they wore off and I was home on over-the-counter painkillers. Sleeping was quite difficult at first. It took me about a week to recover and then the surgery hasn’t bothered me since. Interesting to hear that they’re keeping you in for two days. The NHS kicked me out on the evening of my operation!

Fingers crossed for your speedy recovery.

And, yeah, Slow Horses is a banger.
 
Sounds like your experience was better than mine. I have no recollection of coming round but apparently I ripped all the tubes & stuff out then told a nurse I wanted to steal a car.

I remember dreaming whilst I was under, something about a dog stuck on a roof.

The point from which I can remember felt like the aftermath of a seriously heavy night out complete with projectile vomiting.
 
Ayahuasca said:
Not really, because then they'd know you were conscious?
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Yeah, but if you start moving you can mess things...

It already happened to me 3 times, twice while having a surgery and once while having an endoscopy.
On both times while having the surgery everythiing was fine, once I opened my eyes and started talking, the other one I just opened my eyes for a few seconds and fell back asleep... and I remember both times what I saw.
and while having an endoscopy, I think they use a weaker anesthesia, because I was chocking like hell and they had to hold me down until I fell asleep again.
 
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Thanks for all the responses and support. I didn't sleep very well last night, couldn't get comfortable, plus the machine they had on my legs inflating and deflating to keep my circulation going well, whilst felt amazing all day, it got annoying in the night so I had to get it turned off. I am keeping on top of the morphine and the pain is in control, it's not gone above maybe a 4 out of 10 when moving around.
I have been quite mobile this morning, walked a few laps around the ward with my pet blood drainage bottle, which i'm hoping to be severed from today. Docs haven't been to see me yet but I feel pretty good apart from the immediate obvious.
 
Glad all went well. Only time I ever had surgery I fainted before they had a chance to put me to sleep. They had to wait for me to come back round and make sure I was ok before they actually gave me the anesthetic.
Use to petrified of hospitals, after watching birth of my two kids I can handle it now:D Compare to what women have to go through we have it easy.
 
Day 2...

The day started off ok, pain was in control but I could feel it, i've been taking steps to keep moving, all was fine until 2.30pm. The house officer came to check my blood drain pipe and authorized for it to be removed after checking contents of the cup were all good. 2 nurses came round a few minutes later with scalpers and scissors etc to remove the stitches that were holing the tube in, then they tried to pull it out. I cannot describe the uncomfort I felt when they tried to do this (and failed!) It felt like my intestine was being ripped out, forcing the breath out of my body too. I didn't half let out a huge 'cry' as they attempted it, I saw the look on my fellow room patients faces, grimmacing as they watched.

The tube was resisting removal more than it should have, so they went to get advice and half an hour later, they came to try again, and failed again, causing even more pain. Once again, they left me alone and went to get a junior doctor (it was saturday here), he came and didn't take any prisoners, he just grabbed it, put pressure on my body and firmly pulled it out, it really, really hurt! Since then, i've only been able to shallow breath because it feels like I have a stitch and my body is really tender at that point so it hurts when i cough / laugh or even shiver!

Lets see what today brings. I know i'm in hospital till at least tomorrow though.
 
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