I have an operation next month and am terrified

[RealisticRobin]

I'm having my gallbladder removed and am scared I'll die

 

[TBRS1]

Upcoming surgery is very, very scary.

The odds are that you will be fine.

However, that doesn't make it less scary.

I wish you well.

 

[Xinyta]

The fear of doing surgery is a natural thing. You are surrendering yourself to doctors, in hope's that they will do what the say they will. But the likelyhood of dying is very low and would be a very unique situation.

 

[RealisticRobin]

They make you sign a waiver beforehand too..

 

[Xinyta]

Yeah. It's a c.y.a. for doctors. Just sucks that they overcharge you for stuff like that, if you don't have insurance to cover it. Or if you don't pay up front, in cash, for it.

Though I doubt many doctors nowadays even accept cash.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

As a person who has worked in busy intensive care wards, who has managed patients in the ICU as well as in surgery, all I can suggest here is that the people who will be with you...are highly trained.

Real life healthcare has very little to do with what TV and movies would portray...my wife (an RN) and myself (a respiratory therapist) literally cannot watch any of that without picking it apart. We are very quick to chastise the medical advisors on these productions. But...I digress.

As far as surgeries go...gall bladder surgery is one of the more simple ones. So, from that perspective I can say that risks are very low of anything "unforeseen" happening. Furthermore, your surgical team all have licenses...and if you hold one of those licenses, you want to protect it. From that perspective, if someone is a "high surgical risk" in terms of poor outcomes, they may choose to not perform that surgical procedure. They do have the right to not put themselves...and the patient...in that situation.

Now...as a healthcare worker, as a person of science, I have an understanding of what goes on in surgical suites, I understand what can go on, the risks, the unforeseen events, etc...my opinion goes mute when it comes to how YOU feel about letting go, putting your life in someone else's hands. That cannot be underestimated nor under appreciated. It's a scary thing. Personally, I deal with "non-elective" surgical procedures...in other words..."It needs to be done...or else." A gall bladder issue is not imminently life-threatening, per se, but in terms of surgery, it may not be "elective" either. So yeah...it puts you in a bit of a "pickle"...you can live in pain and discomfort, and have all the GI issues...you can live without surgery, per se. OR...you have the surgery and have it all go away...but in order to do that you need to have the trust to "let go". Everyone processes that differently. I can give you no advice on that. I wish we could share a consciousness and we can work through it, but I don't have those skills.

 

[Grondhammar]

Everyone else makes good points here, especially about medical license holders wanting to keep their license and so being very cautious of high-risk situations. The fact that they're will to operate means it's very, very likely you'll be ok.

One thing I'll add, from experience, is to bring something with you that helps ease the worry. They won't let you take it into the OR due to risk of infection, but the one surgery I had done (internal injury after a bike wreck), I very stubbornly brought a palm-sized stuff dog with me, and held onto it until the prep room where they put me under.

 

[Crabcore]

I've had both my appendix and gallbladder removed and honestly, the surgeries themselves were totally fine. You've got pretty good odds on your side there.