Help! Surgery in a week! pharmacophobia!

[Mrsacdc]

Hello!

I'm a new member.

I have pharmacophobia. This started about 11 years ago when I was taking vicodin and smoking pot. My heart palpated and I immediately thought it was because of the medication. Because of that I wouldn't take anything. not even a vitamin because of "side effects". I'm not like that now. I can take natural stuff, and vitamins and ibuprofen too!

I have surgery in a week for reproductive issues. I'm in pain ALL THE TIME! I'm having spinal anesthesia and IV sedation. I'm freaking the F out. I've never been sedated and I really think I'm going to die! I want to write all of my family a "good bye" letter too.

Can someone give me any advice?

TIA

[NorseWolf94]

I can completely understand the fear you have over this. I have the same phobia, I have panic attacks if I have to take a tiny lil paracetamol. I also face a similar problem as well just with a more common procedure than the one you're having. I have to have a tooth filling soon but I've been given 5mg diazepam to take before hand as my anxiety is too much to have it done without it. The dentist told me it's either that or sedation!

I would just weigh up the pro's and cons, It's what I'm trying to do. I understand that you're deathly afraid of the meds they want to give you but you'll be in pain if you don't go through with the procedure. Have you asked the surgeon/doctor some questions about how long the op takes? And maybe tell him your concerns about the sedation and ask him some questions about it. Maybe knowing what to expect will help a bit? I'd try and look at it as just one of them things that has to happen. You'll be back before you know it and it will all be over and done with then you won't have to worry about it anymore. You're not alone though, I'm dreading taking diazepam despite everyone saying it feels great.

My mum was sedated via IV once and she said she was terrified about it. Apparently though you just become comfortably sleepy and don't remember anything about the procedure. She said It was a similar feeling to when you're snuggled up in bed about to drift off, very nice apparently! But I know that probably doesn't help much as I was still worried about it after she told me.

Maybe organise something to look forward to or to treat yourself with that you can have after you've faced your fears? I know you're terrified but you can 100% do this!

[poppadr3w]

I have a very similar fear, but never knew the correct terminology for it to be pharmacophobia. I mean, it makes sense that there is a fear of this foreign chemical, whether natural of pharmaceutical, entering your body. Every time I take a new medication or take a medication I haven't taken in a long time, I get quite anxious after taking it the first handful of times.

With that said, I had surgery about a month or two ago. Albeit more minor (small incision in my left wrist), I was quite nervous. I remember sitting alone in the hospital bed being prepped by the staff. My family all had work, and my mother was watching my daughter until she was put on the bus. The hospital itself was like... 30 minutes away, so by the time she got there I was already in surgery. My wife dropped me off. I was all alone. It seemed silly to be scared of such a minor surgery, but sedation scares the Hell out of me.

I've been sedated a handful of times before. I was sedated as a kid for some surgery, I've been sedated around 4 times over the past 2-3 years for other work to be done, including my wrist. Each time I get anxious. Luckily this time the Anesthesiologist gave me some meds to calm me down a bit before I got in.

Usually my anxiety starts when the Anesthesiologist puts a needle in me and pushes in the meds. At that point it's like other medications - when I take it, I freak out. Now imagine how I feel when it's being pushed in via my veins and I am going to pass out within a minute. I fight the sensation because I am a bit scared, but it's futile.

After this last experience, which was much more a breeze because of how great everyone was, I am not really fearful. Going under is actually fun to me now. The chances of something bad happening are incredibly rare, so that's not an issue.

My best advice is to just try and relax, know that you're in the hands of professionals, and you'll be totally out. Before you know it you'll be in the recovery room and, soon after, getting ready to relax at home or in your hospital bed. It's just the anticipation before hand that really gets people all wound up.

And be thankful that we have such medical advancements to help us with these issues. Imagine living even decades ago where surgeries were less than simple for many surgeries. These days many surgeries can be done via very small, multiple incisions.