My First Real Surgery

Technically, I've had minor surgeries before; both Lasik and a colonoscopy. But - I have never been under general anesthesia. I am perfectly confident in my surgeon, but I am terrified of going under. It's kind of funny actually, since I work with a surgeon. I've seen hundreds of his patients go under anesthesia and come out perfectly fine - and those surgeries are scary and intensive. What I'm doing is a gallbladder removal [cholecystectomy].

If you know me at all or follow this blog, you're probably aware that I've had gallstones (link to my blog about it here) since my first attack in February of 2006. This pretty well describes my whole feeling about the stones and why I've waited this long to get it taken care of. I actually didn't mention how it could possibly exasperate my IBS-D, but honestly, those attacks are pretty rare these days as well because my diet is much better than it used to be.

My deciding factor to get the surgery was three-fold:

1. I qualified for 80% FA through Multicare even after my insurance paid. Without this assistance I never would have gone through with it.

2. I had 2 attacks in the span of 2 months (after going 6+ months between attacks) and both required TWO Vicodin to get under control. That was certainly not normal and concerned me a great deal. Especially now that narcotics are on such a tight leash, I'd be lucky to ever get a refill again after my current supply runs out (which I've had for 3+ years now)

3. My mom said "what if you get a life-threatening attack while in Canada?" Touche. The last thing I need is gallstone pancreatitis when I'm away from home.

Like I mentioned already, I'm perfectly confident in my surgeon. Cholecystectomies are one of the easiest surgeries to do, and Dr. Burns does roughly 5 a week. I've got no comorbidities that would make the surgery more difficult. But I have no idea how I would react under general anesthesia. No one does when it's their first time. I keep being told that everything will be fine (allergic reactions to anesthesia are, in fact, very rare) but hello - I'm allergic to an allergy medication, remember? (Allegra). I gets the hives and a swollen upper lip, which the company confirms is a "severe reaction". So yeah, I'm a bit freaked out over this. So much so that I've filled out a Health Care Directive and Power of Attorney just in a case.

And of course, I will chronicle my surgery from start to finish in case anybody is curious!

Oh, also (look away now if you don't want to be grossed out), I will have Dr. Burns take a picture of my gallbladder once its out! Here is an example pic: