pre-surgery anxiety. how did yours go?
tldr at bottom
i just got the go ahead to get my surgery done yesterday and its crashing on me what im about to do. i know i want it done- i experience chronic and severe pelvic pain for seemingly unknown reasons. tons of tests, no findings yet. i dont want to be pregnant, the thought just Petrifies me. theres no doubt in my mind i want the surgery, but im terrified of the process.
ive never had a major surgery done before (only impacted wisdom teeth removal) and honestly im mostly terrified of having an IV and the sedation, plus the possible complications and the "what-if" scenarios of the source of my pain. every time i think about the surgery again i start spiraling.
i think itd help if i was able to get an idea on what might happen and how to handle it if i heard from others that had it done. reading mayo clinic and other sites like that isnt helping me at all.
im getting a robotic-assisted hysterectomy. everything out except the ovaries. i already am experiencing menopause due to hormone therapy, but im not sure what other changes i might experience.
im scared of getting a catheter removed, ive never had one before and i know they place one during surgery, but do they remove it prior to waking up? what happens if they find endo (family history, worried that might be source of pain.)? how much help am i really gonna need afterwards? for how long? my mom will be staying with me to help me recover though i struggle with letting others help me. i want to be able to walk myself, shower myself, and use the bathroom without help. will i be able to do that?
too many questions, too much anxiety, please help.
tldr: getting a robotic-assisted hysterectomy, removing everything but my ovaries. first big surgery and scared. looking to hear others experiences just to ease my worries.