Forums » Smalltalk » dealing with pre-op stress (SURGERY UPDATE)

so i found out yesterday that i need an urgent surgery to remove half of my thyroid just before christmas. we were given a confirmed date to be the 17th, with a pre-op exam a week before & a covid test. due to this i'm not going back to school until at least january.

i tend to stress about things i shouldnt really stress over, and the thought of operations terrify me- especially when its on such a place like the neck with the risks. i know some people here have dealt with operations, so im hoping people might have ideas to cope? especially since theres a possibility of being stuck in hospital over christmas-

I don't have any advice, I'm mostly commenting to bump this up so you can find the advice you need. This is an absolutely understandable thing to be nervous about, and I hope things go smoothly!

I have been through surgery but it was much smaller than this so I don't feel like I can say anything. I'm sorry. I'm just writing to show you some support and that I would feel exactly the same way as you!! It's really scary, but remember to hold onto those you care about and seek support there. That's very important. And if that's not an option, no matter what, try to do things you like that keep you distracted. That's all I can say, again I'm sorry and merry christmass!!

Thank you both, I really appreciate it merry Christmas to both of you too!

thank you so much!!!

Hey Hey

I've had jaw correction surgery in December a few years back. While it wasn't an urgent surgery, it surely was very painful and in an area where you are usually very easily annoyed by wounds (aka (near the) face), too.

It helped me to take my family with me. We were spending a normal day at the hospital walking outside and eating dinner before I stayed there for the night before surgery. This took a lot of the stress away.
It helps if you just get into a mindset where you accept that this is happening and try to put your trust into the medical personnel completely. Especially right before it goes down.

As to the pain afterwards: There might be pain, but you'll be most likely way too groggy and tired from the surgery to even care.

I hope this helps you out a bit.

Hello!

I had a spinal fusion about two years ago, which like any rational human being I freaked out about for weeks until it happened. I just tried to keep myself busy with stuff to avoid thinking about it. For me personally it helped to look up facts about what was happening and how often complications happen, although I'm not sure how well that works for others.

Taking things that bring you comfort is a good idea if they allow it, and I strongly recommend it. I brought my lamb plush from my papaw and some books and art stuff so I had stuff to do after.

The pain after is different for everyone, but at first you don't really feel anything because you're all loopy feeling. After I was fully awake they let me have a morphine pump that really helped, and once I got home I used a heating pad and pain killers to knock the pain away.

Be sure to have things ready for when you come home, have things set up to make your recovery as quick as possible. Don't be like me and wait to set things up then be laying on the couch waiting for others to get things set up after the surgery.

I hope this helps you out, and if you want to talk my pm's are open!

Does it help if I say I know someone getting surgery for appendix cancer today?

... This isn't a joke. I'm serious. That's the amusing part. Doc's confident it's caught early enough.

Also my ex had ovarian cancer and she turned out fine.

My dad had a brain tumour and he's fine.

I was in hospital when little for bronchitis with tubes in me and I'm fine.

Markiplier had to get his guts cleared out without surgery (they used a nose tube) and he's fine.

Sharing success stories. This could be increasing your confidence or decreasing it.

thank you to everyone who offered advice!

distracting myself worked right up till maybe an hour ago since the surgery is tomorrow, so im now freaking a bit more we figured my moms gonna stay for a while, and if all goes well she's gonna head home while I stay overnight afterwards and then they'll come pick me up on friday so everythings planned and set up.

again thanks to everyone who offered advice & small success stories

Update for those who want it: everything went well and I’m okay now! We arrived at the hospital at 7am, I went into the operation theatre at around 1:30pm and was out by 6pm. Definitely longer than any of my family expected, but as far as we know there were no complications at all. My throat is hella sore, especially when talking and eating, but it’s manageable. I can’t move my neck certain ways at the minute either, and have a very croaky voice but the potentially harmful lump is GONE!

What I find cool is since they couldn’t find a vein when I was awake (very awkward, my veins tend to disappear in my arms and hands) they decided to initially make me breath the oxygen mask with the local anaesthetic. I HATED that part, it made me feel like my head was about to just explode and it was a nasty feeling. But the cool part is they’re letting me KEEP the mask and take it home as a sort of “souvenir” of it all since this is the first operation I’ve had.

I keep getting routinely woken up by nurses for medication, which is getting slightly annoying but I understand why they have to do it so I’m not mad or upset with them or anything. I’m still sleeping pretty well despite it so. It’s 11pm now and I think the next one is 2am so it’s all good.

My dad is coming to pick me up tomorrow, not sure what time yet (definitely AFTER 10 though) and we decided since I can eat better than we thought, we’re still going to have Christmas dinner too!

The nurses were hella nice all day, even the ones who made me feel like my head was gonna explode. He was a magician too, and one of the ladies had a pokemon tattoo (since I brought in my pokemon comfort plushie). Even when I felt like a bother because I couldn’t do the simplest of tasks (like opening a pancake packet because I felt so weak) they reassured me I wasn’t and that it’s normal to tend to feel that way. I genuinely think today couldn’t have gone any better.

I'm very happy your okay! (Even though we don't really know each other lol) I'm happy the surgery went well and if it makes you feel any better, I had to have surgery on my throat like a year or two ago (it was because I had trouble swallowing and I would choke almost every time I would drink something) my throat was super sore for a couple days to a week, I couldn't really eat or drink anything without it hurting (I couldn't even swallow without it hurting) and when I tried to get up and out of the bed after the surgery and after I was awake, I felt weak and couldn't stand without feeling like I was gonna fall over (it was like I was super drunk and it sucked). This is actually the first time telling anybody this (I haven't told anybody, not even my best friend). I hope you start to feel better after some days!!

Thank you!! And I totally get that: for the last few hours every time I got up I got super dizzy and almost slipped and fell several times thanks to the polished floor and my socks hah. The pain is bearable at the minute, but I’m still taking pain medication so I’m expecting it to get worse lol

Just another small update: I’m definitely going home today! It still hurts, but since my vitals were stable all night and this morning, they gave me the all clear. My dads on his way now, although I won’t be able to leave until the doctors have come and talked to me/us. But definitely getting home today is awesome,

I'M SO HAPPY FOR UUUUUU I'm so glad you're getting better

I’ve just been discharged and am on my way home now, the fresh air smells so good 🥺 Probably going to crash when I get home, although my parents are picking up a kitten today too so cuddles 🥰