Posted by Waterlily on August 18, 2001, at 22:13:40
In reply to Re: Scared, posted by akc on August 18, 2001, at 20:16:28
> I had been fighting a depressed episode for some time when the gallbladder thing occurred. I think what then triggered the final descent into suicidal hell was a combination of the narcotic pain meds, trauma of surgery, and the anesthesia. I had a good talk with the surgeon, who is more than willing to work with my pdoc. There are a lot of differences already from last time. First, I am not using any narcotic pain relief. Second, the type of surgery is a lot different -- a lot of IV fluids were pumped through me, while the gallbladder surgery was done by a scope, it was still a much more invasive procedure, and postoperative pain and recovery will be a lot less this time.
>
> However, I am right now just coming out of a depression and it still is a surgery, so I think the fact that I am still scared is understandable. The effects of the anesthesia can still be a trigger. So I will probably talk a lot about it over the next month until I make it safely through it.
>
> akcakc - I think you're right about the anesthesia and effects of narcotic pain relievers. Last year I had two surgeries under general anesthesia and both sent me into a depression even though I was already on an antidepressant. The first one was cosmetic and there was considerable post-op pain. I was thrilled with the results but got depressed anyway. The second was a tubal ligation and didn't involve nearly as much pain. Even though the recovery was quick, depression set in about two days after the surgery - about the same amount of time as the previous surgery. Do talk to your doctor so you'll have a good plan in case you have problems again. Hope the surgery goes well.
poster:Waterlily
thread:9784
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010817/msgs/9842.html