Patrizia's Posts

I read several of the comments on post surgery emotional problems. It would be very helpful to hear from professionals who deal with these problems and explain the reason for these reactions to surgery. After surgery I was more than surprised that rehab included everything but the emotional and cerebral reaction to the surgery. There doesn't seem to be discussion of it and there should be. We suffer from fear but there is much more to it. We are bombarded with new medications, a lack of physical mobility and are under anesthetics for hours. There should be some research and discussion about how this can affect a patient and what to do about it. My brief research leads me to believe that I have to develop techniques for dispelling the feelings of isolation and a reason to go on. I love life and lived my life before surgery with a feeling of purpose and zest for a new day. Now I just wonder when I'll be able to go through a day without an ancelary symptom. I wonder if it's the drugs, post operative depression or I'm just going crazy. I know I'm not going crazy and have seen a psychiatrist to talk it out. But I request that a concentrated effort be made to deal with this phenomenon. It's critical that patients be given the opportunity to anticipate that this may happen and is possible for post heart surgery patients to experience a multitude of unexpected feelings. Just knowing it is possible and not to be feared lessens the anxiety.