scared to death

im new to this site. so glad i found it. my total hysterectomy is for oct. 1. i am afraid of something going wrong and that i will die. ive also had my doubts if i should do this. i have endo and had a laparascope last oct. and a hyst. was scheduled for last dec. 27 but the insurance said no and i had to try lupron first. very evil drug. i only took one shot. now ive went back to my old ob/gyn he got a hyst. approved. ive had my tubes tied and i was sad that i wouldnt have no more babies( have 2 girls) and now this is for sure final. ive not said anything to my husband or anyone but im terrified. then im also worried about how long im going to be down because im the type that has to be up and doing something. how bad am i going to feel and for how long? i want to be pain free and this is what ive got to do. but i just need a few answers. thank yall so much. julia

Hi Julia,

Welcome to Hystersisters. I think most of us have had those scary "what if" thoughts prior to surgery....you're not alone. It seems that most of the ladies were in the hospital for 3-5 days and the initial recovery time is about 6 wks. Your dr will most likely restrict your activity during that time. Spend some time looking over these boards and you'll get a good idea of what to expect. If you have any questions, just ask.....someone will come along to give you their experiences.

I think being scared is normal. It appears those of use who are scared have found great support on this site. I go tomorrow to sign the consent papers and am scared to death. I can't sleep but I try to focus on the lack of quality to my life right now. It can only get better. My prayers and thoughts are with you.

I'm afraid of the anesthesia ... not waking up from it! I can't seem to get over it. Maybe someone out there can tell us something reassuring specifically related to anesthesia???

I'm okay when I think about the recovery - I did fine recovering from 3 C-sections and I am prepared for this to be worse in terms of pain, but I just can't seem to conquer my anesthesiophobia!

I had a very easy time with anesthesia--no problems waking up and no nausea. I'd had a pretty rough time with it back in March for my laparoscopy so I wasn't looking forward to this time. I also requested an epidural for pain instead of narcotics that might make me They put it in before surgery so I don't know if that affected the type of anesthesia they used, but I highly recommend the epidural. I have read on this site a couple women had their entire surgery performed with just the epidural. Every visitor I had, even an hour post op, could not believe how clear minded I was and I felt great. We all have worries about the what ifs. It is completely normal. I have had an uneventful recovery and I wish the same for all of you. Perhaps you can also meet with the anesthesiologist prior to your surgical date to discus your concerns and hopefully alleviate your worries.

For me anathesia (spelling??) was no problem. I understand there may be different types. As I have asthma they a specialist to discuss it first. On both occassion I came out from under and felt great. In fact prior to my first surgery I had a cronic plugges nose. This was a problem for I would say 8 years and when I woke up from surgery the problem was gone with no problems since that was 5 years ago. I count that as a bonus. I know some people do get sick after but my seconf time I woke up hungry. Talk to the anathesiologist that may help.