The pre op freak out, how do I stop it?

[ALittleMe0914 69]

Hi All!

I am 11 days away from surgery and I had come to peace with my decisions and settled my nerves and actually have been excited.

A close friend of mine and I sort of started this journey together. It has been great to have someone along for the ride to relate to, someone who had the same feelings, to give/receive advice and someone to just look forward to the journey with.

Well- she got sleeved on Tuesday, and has run into some complications and has not been released from the hospital yet. They are planning on going in and doing another surgery today to try and figure out what the exact issue is. I am so worried about her, she was so excited for this life change and I hate to see that she is struggling now. She has been wonderful in the sense that she hasn't told me a lot about it, has literally yelled at me not to compare myself to her or let this freak me out before my own surgery.

I know that everyone is different, and that this journey is my own and it's not going to be the same. I could have no complications or I could have a whole set of different complications. I could feel no pain where the next person finds the pain to be excruciating. But I can't help to suddenly be more scared than I was a few days ago.

I guess I don't actually know what I am looking for in this post, maybe I just needed to put my thoughts into words LOL. I am getting my surgery, and made the decisions knowing there were risks, and I did my research and my surgeon has a .04% complication rate, the hospital I am going to is one of the best in the United States. All of a sudden in my mind there is a 70% complication rate and I'm going to a chop shop because I know and care about someone who had the complications.

Have any of you felt this way?

[finding_onederland 226]

I am 4 days out and freaking out a bit also. I don't know the statistics, but I think complications are pretty rare. I know two people personally and 2 via support group that have had zero complications and are feeling great.

I think the anxiety is normal. The surgery is kind of a big deal. You just need to keep referring back to all the due diligence you have done up to this point!!

[dancielady 46]

I have the same feelings every other day. I go from being very confident and excited about the decision to panicking and thinking "maybe if I tried just one more time to loose weight on my own" or "I'm not THAT heavy." I stay home with my 4 young kids so I'm not sure what I would do if I had complications which just amplifies my concern. However, the thing I keep coming back to is my feelings around the 2 scenarios. What do I feel like when I think of canceling the surgery and going this on my own again? I feel completely hopeless and defeated. When I think about my surgery and what life will be like after? Excited for my future, can't wait to see what is in store, like I have a chance at succeeding!! That right there has pulled me out of my tailspin into negativity and worry and helped me continue to come back to the decision that WLS is the best tool for me.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[Dub 9,922]

I had a few jitters as well. Same jitters I've had before ankle, knee and hernia surgeries.

I stayed focused on the fact that I was in much greater danger living like I had been and the WLS was going to be a lifeline.

I experienced zero complications and it was the easiest and least painful surgery to recover from.