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Avoiding medical care due to anxiety about surgery

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Grapeorange

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I need to get a gyn surgery to remove a growth in my uterus. I have been avoiding going to the gyn for the entirety of the pandemic at first it was to delay surgery and avoid covid, now it's just to avoid surgery. I've been told that there is an extremely low risk of cancer from what I have but that it needs to come out.
I am so terrified of surgery that I can't bring myself to even get routine gyn care right now. I know the doctor is going to try to force me to get surgery and I can't bring myself to get surgery. I've had surgeries with anesthia before and it has been a very bad experience for me.
I'm not sure how to even handle this intense fear that I have so I can get gyn care. I'm worrying and stressing about the situation a lot lately. It's keeping me up tonight.
 
cheer_mom

cheer_mom

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I would contact my family doctor and explain my fears. They may be able to help you through it or possibly refer you to a counselor. Surgery can be a scary thing, but doctors usually dont suggest it unless it is necessary. I am so sorry you are feeling this way.
 
Cuchculan

Cuchculan

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I would at least have it checked out and let the experts decide on what needs to be done. You can easily explain to them about your anxiety. I am sure they have handled people with bad anxiety in the past. It is things like this we don't mess around with. Might not be as bad as you think.
 
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mollyfin

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...Babe?? :wideyed:

Kidding, but my partner is going through the same thing with an endometrial polyp. I'm guessing it's something similar in your case. For her it was a quick in and out procedure; the worst part was not eating or drinking the morning before (she has horrible dry mouth). But she needs follow-up care she's avoiding because she doesn't want another procedure. I get it, but I wish she'd just go so she could stop stressing about it.

Meanwhile, I had a full hysterectomy a few years ago, and you know what? That was also a quick in and out procedure. The pain was fairly bad for a week, but the surgery itself? Zero complications, unless you count me being so zonked on pain medication (they give it to you pre-emptively then) that I kept pointing to people and telling them they were awesome. (That was also the day my best friend got her pet lizard, so I was sitting half-awake in the lobby of the hospital waiting for a ride getting text messages full of pictures of a cute gecko. Honestly the best part of my day.)

I know this stuff is scary. But it almost always turns out fine. The waiting and worrying is the worst part. And even when the recovery room stuff is miserable (it was pretty crappy for me when I had my thyroid out), it's over pretty fast. You can also talk to your surgeon ahead of time and discuss the things you're worried about. They've heard it all before and they usually have some ideas about how to make the process easier on you.
 
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bigjetplane6

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mollyfin said:
...Babe?? :wideyed:

Kidding, but my partner is going through the same thing with an endometrial polyp. I'm guessing it's something similar in your case. For her it was a quick in and out procedure; the worst part was not eating or drinking the morning before (she has horrible dry mouth). But she needs follow-up care she's avoiding because she doesn't want another procedure. I get it, but I wish she'd just go so she could stop stressing about it.

Meanwhile, I had a full hysterectomy a few years ago, and you know what? That was also a quick in and out procedure. The pain was fairly bad for a week, but the surgery itself? Zero complications, unless you count me being so zonked on pain medication (they give it to you pre-emptively then) that I kept pointing to people and telling them they were awesome. (That was also the day my best friend got her pet lizard, so I was sitting half-awake in the lobby of the hospital waiting for a ride getting text messages full of pictures of a cute gecko. Honestly the best part of my day.)

I know this stuff is scary. But it almost always turns out fine. The waiting and worrying is the worst part. And even when the recovery room stuff is miserable (it was pretty crappy for me when I had my thyroid out), it's over pretty fast. You can also talk to your surgeon ahead of time and discuss the things you're worried about. They've heard it all before and they usually have some ideas about how to make the process easier on you.
Click to expand...
Off topic but, Why did you have your thyroid taken out?
 
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bigjetplane6

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Grapeorange said:
I need to get a gyn surgery to remove a growth in my uterus. I have been avoiding going to the gyn for the entirety of the pandemic at first it was to delay surgery and avoid covid, now it's just to avoid surgery. I've been told that there is an extremely low risk of cancer from what I have but that it needs to come out.
I am so terrified of surgery that I can't bring myself to even get routine gyn care right now. I know the doctor is going to try to force me to get surgery and I can't bring myself to get surgery. I've had surgeries with anesthia before and it has been a very bad experience for me.
I'm not sure how to even handle this intense fear that I have so I can get gyn care. I'm worrying and stressing about the situation a lot lately. It's keeping me up tonight.
Click to expand...
Have you had it biopsied?
 
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