preop meds or not

I have been on xanax for years. I have been havinf panic attacks since scheduling surgery and my shrink switched my to atavan. Now he says Im loopy. Still having crying jags but not the terror.

The day of I feel like they will have to throw a bag over my head and toss me in a van. My shrink said the anaesthesiologist wont want me on anything that the anasthesiologist doesnt give me. I dont know how Ill get there.

my husband is driving me and now that I think about it he has a hand and knows how to sign paperwork! There's no way I could sit for a few hours waiting and stay chill. I'm supposed to be the first patient of the day so hopefully that means there wont be delays for me, I'll be the one causing the delays lol. I just hope I get a nice Anesthesiologist, some of them can be real jackholes! Respiratory Therapists and Anesthesia do alot together in the hospital and we clash alot, anesthesia thinks they are the only ones that can intubate, bag a patient and properly operate a ventilator... ugh I think my biggest issue with surgery is anesthesia. Its times like this I'd rather have the gift of obliviousness. Healthcare workers really are the worst patients lol, but I'm very sweet about things, I've never gotten rude or raised my voice with a doctor or nurse. But then again the only time I've dealt with anesthesia outside of work is when my daughter had surgery and I told them I didn't want no room hopping and I really preferred an actual doctor not a CRNA so she got her very own doc that stayed with her the whole time. But she was 5. And when my other daughter had an MRI with sedation I had a million questions for the anesthesiologist about that one, propofol can be a scary drug. Pediatrics is way diff than adults though. slooowwww deep breaths right?!!? I have 19 days to pre-op appt and 26 days to surgery

Girlies.... one month ago 3/22 I was in your shoes....PLUS my first surgery 2/25 was postponed due to laryngitis. I asked for something before that incident. JUST HAVING 5 Xanax available got me thru. I took 1/2 of one Xanax two nights before surgery. I had LAVH/BSO/Ant repair/cystocele and TVT sling. I'm 61-overweight-live alone-high BP-never had had any type of surgery and started up w/ another cough/cold before the surgery scheduled a second time. Had to be up at 4 to take enema after mag.cit. all night to get to hospital by 5:30. NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN MORE FRIGHTENED, INCAPACITATED, PETRIFIED THAN I WAS. I drove my family and friends nuts...they didn't understand my fears at ALL. Hated the urodynamics testing....that barbaric test got me fired up! The indignity of it all!
I read too much and looked at the youtube surgery videos and was so afraid of the pain/bleeding/catheter/bowel complications/possible sling failure and GUESS WHAT!!!! I survived. Left in 24 hours w/ no cath. Had no bleeding and have had no pain. Never did take any of the 2 rx for oxycodone and have most of the ibuprofen and 4 1/2 Xanax left over. All I can tell you is if I can do it YOU CAN DO IT!!! I had just wanted an ugly prolapse repaired... never had any idea that I'd have to have all this other stuff (surgery)and I WAS MAD!!! But I thought if I could reduce worries about ovarian, uterine, and cervical "C"...why not. Now I have to admit I have been accused of having a very high tolerance for pain when IN TRUTH,,,I have no pain. That is a problem in itself...because PAIN is an indicator that something is wrong. But I had NONE. And no complications. The best advice I can give is: Pray, drink cranberry juice (I had 19 small containers while in the hospital-the staff thought my sister was drinking it too. She just got it for me- constantly) WALK WALK WALK ALL NIGHT, meditate about PEE-ING, and PRAY. Have an advocate stay w/ you all night( sister got kink out of cath that could have been disatrous) and just believe you are a mighty,mighty woman. I have to admit also I did not have an abdominal incision and I did not have a uro-gyno...just the BEST female doc in the area. When you get home take MiraLAX daily, more cranberry juice, lay around like a slug and keep in touch w/ HysterSisters. You are gonna' do fine. Yeah-Yeah-Yeah that's what "they" told me and it made me mad.....so I mustered up some inner strength...read good reports and positive stories here and I'm 4 weeks out and doing great! NO- DOING FABULOUSLY! In all areas. Found the...."Can I ask a question about orgasm" thread this week and it has resolved those intimacy fears too. Just realize we are all "mighty mighty" Anatomy is destiny and this site will get ya' through!!!!

Tater,

I didn't take anything prior to going to the hospital. I didn't even take the vicodin I take for my back. I could have, just didn't need it.

I checked in, and Immediately I was in my own little room in pre-op. The first thing the nurse asked me, was what kind of surgery are you having? I HAD to actually name the full surgery and all the possibles to her. My husband even asked couldn't she just say hysterectomy, the nurse said no, that I had to give the full account. Not sure if that is just my hosp ot not. I had a pre-op at the hosp, and met with one of the Anesthesiologist. and went over all the surg stuff.

My Bp was high it was 170 over something. I'm NEVER that high, even in labor. The only thing the nurse said ,was guess you're a little nervous huh?

They are used to people being anxious. I found listening to Enya really helped me calm down.

Good luck to you.

I also have terrible "white coat" syndrome and I can be a very nervous person. I have such performance anxiety when it comes to blood pressure that I give myself the white coat when I take it at home. The more I think about how I don't want it to be high - the higher it gets!

I had my LAVH/BSO on March 29. I have had terrible reactions to anesthesia and preop meds in the past so I have to be very, very careful. It is also the thing that scares me the most. I was the first patient of the day - surgery scheduled for 7:30 and they had me get there by 5:30.

I was thinking about running for the door but my hubby had my elbow. We got there and they took me in immediately. They had me change, pee in a cup (which I couldn't do after the bowel prep and liquid diet) and they started the IV. They chatted me up all the while - two very nice and calming type personality nurses.

Still, when they took my BP it was 200/110! My doctor came in and they told her she didn't want to know how high it was. She knows how I am and she just laughed. Then, they put on the TV for me - this was a new hospital with flat screen TV's in your own little private cubby area and I watched an Amimal Planet show about monkeys. They kept chatting me up and then took the pressure again after about 20 minutes and it had dropped to 150/88.

My doctor had told me that based on my previous experiences they were prepared for my pressure to be very high. She told me they would be medicating me for it throughout the surgery and she didn't make a big deal out of it. I do know I felt better after seeing her that morning.

I did go in to this surgery very prepared. I brought my file with me that has all the documentation about my medication allergies and previous reactions, my records from anesthesia from good experiences, my list of current meds, previous surgeries. I always have the anesthesia dept. make copies of the progress notes and I keep it in this file. They use it as a blueprint for the next time. I felt very good that I communicated very effectively to everyone and they really appreciate this file. You can get any of this info from the medical records dept. of any hospital you have had surgeries in.

I found the key to all this is to communicate effectively. Discuss with your doctor the basic plan for anesthesia, any anxiety meds you may want beforehand, and the plan for pain control meds afterward. We decided to use a Fentanyl 3 day patch and Toradol for me afterward and it worked great. These drugs are also on my 'good" list.

I had the chief of anesthesia and that made me feel much better. He was a "McDreamy" so that wasn't bad either - and all the nurses told me he would be the guy they would want on their cases. I didn't end up taking anything for anxiety because I am allergic to these kinds of meds but in spite of being wigged upon arrival - I still had the surgery, survived the 6 hours under general anesthesia, woke up with my pain patch and never felt more than a little crampy and a little sore with movement. No nausea, vomiting, headache or anything. I dd have the Propofol this time and no trouble with that.

Now, 17 days later and I feel really good. Get tired easier but feeling well enough for some house cleaning today - and it needs it! I am glad I made this decision - no more spinal pressure and I've already lost 8 pounds! I just feel lighter and not in pain anymore.

I agree with the other posters. You should take something for anxiety if you can and if your doctor is willing to prescribe it. But, if like me you can't, I hope my story helps you. They are prepared for people coming in wigged out and the worst part is really the stuff we build up in our heads ahead of time. I kept imagining that I was holding hands with all the sisters from this board who were having their surgeries on the same day, some the same time. I was relieved that when I woke up I would be a too!

Good Luck and you are not alone in your anxiety, your "white coat" and your wanting to escape to a small, uncharted island right now. But, think about how much better it will be to go on your next trip without all the pain, bleeding and problems!

Ok Thanks for the info ladies!

mmv- Urodynamics was BRUTAL! "oh you might have a little discomfort peeing the FIRST time after" BULL$*&$!!!!!!! It hurt like the ***** dickens the next 10 times I pee'd!! While doing it I asked the nurse in a sweet voice... "Has anyone ever kicked you in the head while you were doing this?" She was really sweet but that test was unreal! They should send you home with a few pain meds to get through the pee! And I too have a very very high pain tolerance. I've been in pain for 10 years from these stupid girly issues. When my doc did my endo biopsy, he said he's never had a patient take it so well and honestly I wasnt in anymore pain after that than my norm. Just had a little spotting after. And unfortunately I wont have anyone there with me overnight My dh has to come home to get the kids from school and stuff. I think being there alone has me quite scared too, and I do NOT want a roomate!! I honestly want to be on the postpartum ward because those rooms are almost always private. I would make a crappy roomie for sure.

Nuttygal~ I think Enya would make my BP go up lol! I like music most of you ladies would cringe at lol. Pink FLoyd is about as "calm" as music gets for me. Maybe I'll listen to Comfortably Numb lol. I do need to get my ipod ready so I can have a playlist to listen to in preop if i need to distract myself. And your just across the state from me. My doc never even told me what exactly he was doing I learned that from my insurance company, I mean I know what he's doing but exact procedures I only know from the pre-auths they got. And if the nurse told me I had to tell her exactly what was going to happen and I didnt want to talk about it I think I'd tell her to get me a new nurse! I'm having a hysterectomy and a bladder thingy and thats what Imma tell them!! lol, if its not good enough then they can consult my doc he'll tell them to get over it cuz he's sweet like that

Charmane~ Fentanyl is on my bad list! When I was in labor with my last they put it in my epidural (I still dont know why) and my bp bottomed out to like 30/15~ the funny thing was I was telling them (while in and out of consciousness) what to do lol, I said push the Narcan stat, then the doc said I'm going to give her Ephedrine, I said thats a good idea doc I've taught you well lol. So after that experience I'm afraid to try that med again. Percocet makes me sick. I think I'd rather have some Ambien and a nice cozy bed than pain meds. I want to sleep until I feel ok lol. I've never been under anesthesia before, except the wisdom teeth thing, never had surgery either.

AT least you had a nurse for the urodynamics. I had a male who sat on the floor in front of me "feeling" for leakage. How embarrassing was that? They are outside "consultants" ??? that come in w/ their machine and potty chair. Not even a hook to hang my clothing...clothes were pitched behind table. The psychic pain was worse than any physical....
I watched that video also ...so I had some idea...but didn't expect a male....(yes-there was a female assistant on the machine)

I asked my nurse what made her "want" to do those and she said it wasnt really her choice. She is their OR nurse and they wanted her to have something to do to fill her time so they made her do these. So on the plus side she's my doctors assisting nurse during surgery and I think I have to have follow-ups with her post op to work on rebuilding my pelvic floor, my doc calls her the "Leaky Plumbing Expert" She told me I'm the youngest patient she's had yet. That made me feel worse, and they keep saying this bladder repair will last 20 years if I'm "lucky" and I'll prob need it done 2-3 more times in my life. I have decided to have the mindset I dont care how young I am, I have a problem and I want to fix it so I can live semi-normal while i'm young.

My docs office has a room just for this stuff and all. I hope they at least numbed your bladder with the first cath like they did mine. I had no idea what to really expect I had a pelvic ultrasound right before so I had to have a full bladder for that then I had to empty it for the transvag part then I had to run to McD's and chug 2 Lg sweet teas so my bladder would be full again.

I did Kegel's for 40 years to avoid having the prolapse surgery. Didn't know if I wanted more children and they would not do the prolpase surgery w/o getting tubes tied. Sooo- I just did Kegel's and was quite successful-some positive "side effects" to that. Alas, too many birthdays resulted in further prolapse acting like a "plug" so I didn't know if I'd be incontinent if I just had cystocele repaired. No I didn't have any numbing w/ urodynamics and no pain w/ peeing afterward. I'm still feeling differently after emptying bladder. (bubbly feeling -like air in the line-similar to car brakes?) BUT I DO NOT WANT TO GO THRU URODYNAMICS TESTING AGAIN...no matter what!!

I was diagnosed with Intersistial Cystitis (chronic bladder inflammation) as result of the Uro testing so thats probally where alot of my after pain came from. My last 2 pregnancies I had to use the motor carts at Walmart because if I walked more than 5 min my vagina was the size of a football from pressue from prolapse issues. I've tried to do kegels but I think I'm too far gone. I told the doc maybe if he fixes it then I can work on strengthening it. I have a grade 3/4 cystocle and a grade 2 rectocele. I have a retroverted uterus, which adds to my pain but my doc said if my uterus was in the right place my uterus and bladder would have probally totally prolapsed already. But for Urodynamic testing NEVER again for me either and if I MUST I'm leaving with pain meds!!! ANd when I say MUST I mean there MUSt be a real reason like suspected cancer or something!