Gallbladder Removal Anxiety

[Cattitude27]

After a few years of off and on stomach pain I finally had an ultrasound that reveals gallstones. I have a consultation with a surgeon and I am freaking out. I know that this surgery is pretty common but I am someone with high anxiety and occasional panic attacks, I've never had surgery and this is a huge step for me. The thought of being in the room just waiting to go back into surgery scares me the most. I feel like I will lose my breath and freak out. I'm looking for anyone who has been thru this surgery and felt similiar feelings to share their experience. I need some positivity and to know that I can do this because I'm fighting the urge to cancel the consult and just deal with the pain.

Thank you in advance.

[Adamj]

Maybe try thinking about the positive that after you heal you won’t be in pain anymore. You can and will get through this. When I had my wisdom teeth removed I was deathly afraid of being put under I had the doctor tell me everything to expect the day of removal they even gave me a pill to take before hand to help calm me down. And I know when I put something off or cancel something I end up regretting it in the end because I know I’m still going to be in pain or I could’ve had it done and over with already

[pinklady33]

I had this operation a few years ago and I suffer from severe anxiety and depression the doctor gave me some Valium before they took me down so i was quite sleepy and didn’t really have time to get anxious, maybe tell the doctor how you feel and ask him to give you some Valium before they take you down, good luck

[Bettikins]

Hi Cat....I had this surgery last year. Initialy I felt exactly the same way as you and actually cancelled the surgery. When the pain came back in a big way I rescheduled. I had a few days of downtime after.. relaxing on sofa, but, after that I was back to everything I had done before. Now I am free to travel and not worry about pain or attacks. Have a friend who I travel with and is a nurse who said that we would not travel again til I had it done! Let us know how it goes. We are here to support you.

[Contra21 in reply to Bettikins]

Have you had any side effects since removal, I'm currently in hospital

[Sparrow58]

I had this operation a few years ago. I went for my pre-surgery appointment and the nurse commentated on how nervous I was. She said go to doctor and get some meds to calm my nerves. I did and got Diazapan they got me through the op. It was keyhole and that makes recovery quicker. I was only in hospital for one night I think. If you need help to get through this I think should should ask the Doctor. The pain of gallstones is so bad, so if they say you need it removed it maybe for the best. Good Luck.

[NieceByMarriage]

I had mine out by keyhole surgery in May. I was scared and lost weight before the operation through stress. The operation was totally fine and recovery was quick. I spent the time leading up to the operation getting as physically fit as I could and that helped a lot with recovery. If you keep the stones you run the risk of a flare up that becomes an emergency and if that happens they would probably not be able to do surgery by keyhole. If you have been advised to have surgery I would recommend you go ahead.

[Quilt2]

I had had my gallbladder out a week ago tomorrow . I am highly anxious, but for me it it was due to a polyp that had potential to be or become cancerous, so my greater anxiety was around that. It really was easy peasy, though. From the moment i arrived, the nurses made me comfortable. I was guided all the way through and put at ease. Next thing, i woke up in recovery. I felt really really crappy the first few days and am having having some diarrhea since, which is pretty normal as the body adjusts. But if you you need it it out, the surgery was just fine.