One week today!

Ok people...I have my surgery one week from today! (3/24) Can anyone give me any suggestions on remaining calm? I'm scared to death! There's no way I would ever back out, but I do have concerns. I am an insulin dependent diabetic and I also have a stent in my heart. I have sleep apnea and had two back surgeries. With all these health issues, the concerns are REAL. Even WHEN I make it through the surgery, I am afraid that the pain will cause my blood pressure to go up and I'm so afraid of having a heart attack...aside from being afraid of the amount of pain involved. So HELP please....what can I do to relax? What can I expect? I'd like to hear from anyone with similar health issues that have gone through the surgery. I'm also afraid of infection since I'm a diabetic and it takes so much longer to heal. Any advice? Linda Shive

The week before is much more stressful than the week after surgery! Stay busy! The best thing you can do to position yourself for optimum healing is load up on protein this week before surgery and get in as much fluids as possible, especially the day before. Protein is the material the body uses to do healing. Make up your mind to do what you are supposed to post op. Start walking as soon as they will let you. Make it your goal to have the nurses talk about how "motivated" you are. Keep up with your fluids and protein post op, even if you have to take them as medicine. You will do fine. When you find yourself tensing up, take a deep breath and as you exhale, relax the tension that starts in your shoulders and back. It takes some practice, but will really help. You aren't alone! Joy -19 lbs / 16 days

Well first of all I dont think the pain will be so bad. I had Lap and was never in any "real"pain and I hear that open isnt that bad either. They give you good drugs-.You have already had 2 surgeries so you know what to expect and obviously everything went pretty good then so I know everything will be fine this time. Keep busy and hopefully the time will fly. This surgery is performed on the most high risk people, those with you kind of medical background and worse so take a deep breath, youll be a loser soon! LaDonna -22 my ette==>Teri